Tue Sep 23 13:30:34 2008

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2008-09 Detroit Red Wings Preview

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(Sports Network) - How does a defending Stanley Cup champion approach the NHL offseason? If you're the Detroit Red Wings then you simply hold onto all the pieces from the championship season and add the best available offensive player through free agency.

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland did just that, keeping all the main components from last year's Stanley Cup squad in addition to signing right wing Marian Hossa to a one-year deal.

Detroit's latest championship was their fourth Stanley Cup title in the last 11 seasons and this year it could become the first club to repeat as champions since the Steve Yzerman-led Red Wings won consecutive titles in 1997 and '98.

The Red Wings were the class of the NHL during the 2007-08 regular season, winning the Presidents' Trophy for the fourth time in six campaigns, and carried that success over to the postseason.

Repeating as champs is difficult in any sport, but especially in hockey where the playoffs last two months and a hot goaltender means just about everything. That being said, the Red Wings have as good a chance at repeating as any team has since the franchise pulled off the feat a decade ago.

FORWARDS - Of all the superstars on Detroit's roster none is more valuable to the team than top-line center Henrik Zetterberg.

The Swede is possibly the best all-around player in the NHL, as he boasts a dazzling array of offensive weapons on top of being one of the league's best defensive forwards.

The 2007-08 campaign was the best as an NHL player for Zetterberg, who recorded career-high numbers in goals (43), assists (49), points (92) and plus/minus (+30). And that was despite missing seven games to injury.

But, what really set Zetterberg apart was his play in the postseason. He was virtually unstoppable in 22 playoff games, posting 13 goals and 14 assists en route to winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the postseason.

As if having a player of Zetterberg's caliber on your top line isn't enough, the Red Wings are also able to match him with invaluable left winger Pavel Datsyuk. The Russian played in all 82 games and led the Red Wings with 97 points (31 goals, 66 assists).

Like Zetterberg, Datsyuk is none almost as much for his defensive prowess as he is for his ability to put points on the scoresheet. In fact, Datsyuk won the Selke Award as the league's top defensive forward last year, beating out finalists John Madden of New Jersey, and, of course, Zetterberg.

Detroit's top-line also includes gritty right wing Tomas Holmstrom, who is renowned for his ability to create traffic in front of the net. Holmstrom had 20 goals and 20 assists in 59 games last season.

Unless head coach Mike Babcock chooses to go with the Mt. Rushmore of top lines, Hossa will likely play on the second unit with centerman Valtteri Filppula and left wing Johan Franzen.

Hossa had somewhat of a disappointing regular season, recording 66 points (29g, 37a) in 72 combined games with Atlanta and Pittsburgh in 2007-08, but maybe that's because he had a total of 192 points in his previous two years with the Thrashers.

However, the 29-year-old Slovakian did help shed the notion that he isn't a big-game player by posting 12 goals and 14 assists in 20 playoff games with the Penguins. Shortly after the postseason, Hossa decided to join the Red Wings, signing a one-year, $7.4 million with the team who downed Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup final.

Franzen, meanwhile, was a revelation last year, as the man known simply as "Mule" notched 27 goals in the regular season and added 13 more tallies in the playoffs. All told, Franzen scored 28 times in the final 32 games of the season -- regular season and playoffs combined.

Filppula is another strong two-way player although he doesn't have quite the offensive upside that Datsyuk or Zetterberg has. The 24-year-old Finn did have 19 goals and 17 assists in 78 games during the regular season.

Babcock has a handful of veterans to create the remaining lines with left winger Dan Cleary, a 20-goal scorer in 2007-08, leading the way.

DEFENSE - On top of having loads of firepower on offense, the Red Wings also have Nicklas Lidstrom, who happens to be the best defensemen of his generation.

Lidstrom won his sixth Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman in 2007-08 after leading all NHL blueliners and finishing third on Detroit with 70 points (19g, 60a).

The Swedish-born Lidstrom also made NHL history in the postseason, becoming the first-ever European player to captain his club to a Stanley Cup title. All told, it was the fourth Cup for the 38-year-old Lidstrom, who has spent his entire NHL career in the Motor City.

Led by Lidstrom, the Red Wings had the best defense in the NHL during last year's regular season, allowing an average of 2.18 goals per contest.

Although not as good of an all-around defenseman as Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski is one of the best offensive blueliners around. The former New Jersey Devil was fourth on the Red Wings with 55 points (13g, 42a) last year.

The remainder of Detroit's vaunted defensive rotation includes another two-way threat in Niklas Kronwall, a prototypical defensive defenseman in Brad Stuart, physical blueliner and shot-blocking specialist Brett Lebda and Chris Chelios, the ageless wonder.

Chelios, who will turn 47 years old on January 25, announced he would return for his 25th NHL season in 2008-09, tying him with Mark Messier for the second-most years of service in NHL history. The Chicago native played in 69 games for the Red Wings during the regular season, but was a healthy scratch through a large part of the playoffs, including the entire Stanley Cup finals.

GOALTENDING - The Red Wings started last season with the plan of using a goaltending platoon, featuring Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood, but in the end the job was all Osgood's.

Both players had strong regular seasons and Babcock opted to name Hasek as the starter for the playoffs. However, after the six-time Vezina winner Hasek went 2-2 in the first four games of the opening series against Nashville, Osgood was handed the starting reins, and the rest was history.

Osgood went 14-4 with a 1.55 goals against average, .930 save percentage and three shutouts during the 2008 postseason. For Osgood, it was his third Stanley Cup title, all of which have come with Detroit, and his second as the team's starting goaltender.

Babcock won't have to decide between Osgood and Hasek this year, as the latter player opted to retire.

The Red Wings picked up a solid backup in the offseason, signing Ty Conklin to a one-year deal back in July. Conklin played for the Pittsburgh Penguins last season and went 18-8-5 with a 2.51 GAA and .923 save percentage in 33 games.

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - The Red Wings have no discernable weaknesses in their lineup and are a bona fide favorite to win their second straight Stanley Cup crown. The transition from the Yzerman era to the reign of Lidstrom, Zetterberg and Datsyuk was completed last season and those players can add to their legacy with another title this year. Plain and simple, anything less than another Cup would be a disappointment for the most-talented team in the world.