Thu Sep 20 14:03:56 2007

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2007-08 Detroit Red Wings Preview

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(Sports Network) - The Detroit Red Wings were supposed to be too old to matter in the playoffs anymore, but last year there were a few teams in the Western Conference that gained a new-found respect for their elders.

The Red Wings have gained 108 points or more in every campaign since 1999-2000 and the club posted a whopping 113 points last season. However, since winning the Stanley Cup in 2002, Detroit had failed to advance to the conference finals in each of its previous three postseasons and had been an opening-round victim twice during that span from 2002-06.

That all changed in the last postseason as the Red Wings rolled into the conference finals before losing in six games to Anaheim, the eventual Stanley Cup champions. It was a surprising run for Detroit, which counted a 42-year-old goaltender and a 45-year-old defenseman among its team's assets.

The goaltender (Dominik Hasek) and the defenseman (Chris Chelios) mentioned above are coming back in 2007-08 to take another shot at winning the Cup, and they'll be joined by an excellent cast of polished veterans and budding stars.

One thing is clear, if Detroit makes it into the playoffs this year, other teams would be silly to think that the club is going to simply cave in under the weight of its years.

FORWARDS - The Red Wings had an superb offensive year in 2006-07, as they scored 252 goals, the 10th-highest total during the regular season.

Centerman Pavel Datsyuk is the main weapon on offense for Detroit and has scored 87 points in each of the last two seasons. The 29-year-old Russian posted 27 goals and 60 assists last year and is the kind of player who makes everybody around him better.

Datsyuk is the Red Wings best playmaker, but for finishing the team often turns to left wing Henrik Zetterberg. The Swede has scored 30-plus goals in each of his last two seasons and he wound up with 68 points (33 goals, 35 assists) in 2006-07 despite playing in only 63 contests.

Zetterberg, who will turn 27 on October 9, struggled with back spasms last year, but could approach 50 goals if he manages to stay healthy in 2007-08.

Tomas Holmstrom has become a steady contributor on offense for the Red Wings in recent years. The Swedish winger makes a living getting the tough goals in front of the net and has potted quite a few of those over the last two seasons. Holmstrom has notched 59 of his 155 career tallies in years nine and 10 of his NHL career. He finished with 30 goals and 22 assists in 2006-07.

Right wing Daniel Cleary also had a solid season last year as the 28-year-old set career highs in goals (20) and points (40).

Detroit let a few veteran forwards (Todd Bertuzzi, Kyle Calder, Robert Lang) leave through free agency in the offseason and will rely on some younger players to fill those roles.

One of those emerging youngsters is 23-year-old centerman Valtteri Filppula, who should take over for Lang as the team's second-line anchor. The Finnish Filppula had just 10 goals and seven assists in 73 games as a rookie last season, but has the offensive skills to greatly improve upon those numbers.

DEFENSE - While Chelios gets a great deal of attention for still playing at his age, another veteran is actually the main man on the Red Wings blue line.

Nicklas Lidstrom has won five Norris Trophies as the league's top defenseman and is pretty much a lock to make the Hall of Fame. Lidstrom won the Norris again last season after recording 62 points (13g, 49a) and posting a plus-40 rating in 80 contests.

The 37-year-old Swede also had a superb postseason as he notched four goals and 14 helpers in Detroit's 18-game playoff run.

The Red Wings added another top-notch defenseman this offseason in Brian Rafalski. The longtime New Jersey Devil signed as a free agent this summer to help replace the departed Mathieu Schneider, who signed with Anaheim.

The 33-year-old Rafalski, a native of Dearborn, Michigan, played in all 82 games with New Jersey last year and put up 55 points on eight goals and 47 assists. Rafalski is a smart player with excellent skating ability.

Chelios, who broke into the league with Montreal back in the 1983-84 campaign, is no longer an offensive weapon, but still contributes with his physical brand of defense. The American played in 71 games in 2006-07 and contributed 11 assists.

Niklas Kronwall, 26, is a rising star on the Detroit blue line and was the second-leading scorer on the Red Wings defense last year. Kronwall had one goal and 21 assists in 68 games, but Detroit expects him to contribute with more offense this year.

GOALTENDING - Hasek is back for another year and his $2 million salary for the upcoming season makes him one of the better bargains in the NHL.

The Czech legend has six Vezina Trophies to his credit as the league's best goaltender and put together another amazing campaign in 2006-07. Hasek played in 56 games, posted a 38-11-6 mark, was second in the NHL with a 2.05 goals against average and also notched eight shutouts.

Hasek, who helped the Red Wings win their last Stanley Cup in 2002, also played 18 postseason contests last year and was 10-8 with a 1.78 GAA and .923 save percentage.

Chris Osgood, who was the main goaltender for Detroit's 1998 Cup-winning team, will back up Hasek again this year. The 34-year-old played in 21 games last season and recorded a solid 11-3-6 mark.

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - The Red Wings have made 16 straight playoff appearances, the longest current streak among teams in the four major North American sports, and it appears that Motown will witness postseason hockey again this year. Detroit is primed to win its seventh straight Central Division title with only Nashville posing a legitimate threat to that streak. However, the Red Wings are not judged by their regular season, but on how they perform in the playoffs. It's hard to say if another deep postseason run is in the cards for this year, but the Wings will be one of the main contenders by the time the NHL's second season rolls around.