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Red Wings Rebuilding and Adapting to Maintain Dominance The Detroit Red Wings have been in a rebuilding phase since Brian Rafalski hurt his knee and retired. But with Brad Stuart and Nick Lidstrom gone, this sends the Red Wing organization into a much deeper rebuilding process. We are the victim of our own success. The Wings were so dominate for so long that fans around the country figured who ever won the Detroit/Colorado series would become the Cup Champion. The Eastern Conference could only hope the two teams would beat each other up to have a chance. But not even the mighty Avalanche could keep up with the Red Wings. As a result the NHL introduced a policy of parity among teams. That’s why I laugh at all the knuckleheads on this forum who attack Kenny Holland and the Red Wing management. These are the same people who forced the NHL to change the rules toward parity. The Wings not only dominated the ice with leadership and skill, but their marketing dominated even the NHL front office through its Hockeytown campaign. They redefined the game with the left wing lock and a specialized system which was unique to the league. The Wings dominated with an active owner willing to commit the resources for developing talent and building morale. The Wings dominated in attendance and fan base around the league. But the biggest domination has been in the draft and evaluating talent. It really would have been scary if 11th round pick Vladimir Konstantinov played a full career alongside Nick Lidstrom. Kris Draper for a dollar from Winnipeg! Kirk Maltby a trade with Edmonton in '95 for defenseman Dan McGillis! WHO IS DAN McGILLIS!!!! Vladimir Konstantinov 1989: 11th round, (221st overall) Sergei Fedorov 1989 - 4th round (74th overall) Keith Primeau to Hartford for Brendan Shanahan! Nick Lidstrom 1989 - 3rd round (53rd overall) Slava Kozlov 1990 - 2nd round (45th overall) Bob Probert 1983 - 3rd (46th overall) Joe Kocur 1983 - 5th Round, (88th overall) Johan Franzen 2004 - 3rd round (97th overall) Darren Helm 2005 - 5th round (132nd overall) Pavel Datsyuk1998 - 6th round (171st overall) Valtteri Filppula 2002 - 3rd round (95th overall) Tomas Holmstrom 1994 - 10th round (257th overall) Henrik Zetterberg 1999 - 7th round (210th overall) Jonathan Ericsson 2002 - 9th Round, (291st overall) Chris Osgood 1991 - 3rd round (54th overall) Jimmy Howard 2003 - 2nd Rnd, (64th overall) This proves the Wings didn’t just throw money at players! They built a dominating franchise in all phases in the sport! THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT As Red Wing fans we need to accept this transition of rebuilding and not demand trades for overpriced forwards like Rick Nash ($7.8 annually). Don’t trade the youth… develop the youth! The NHL has changed the rules, now we need to adapt and dominate like we have in the past. The following list of Red Wing youth all have a tremendous chance to contribute to the organization. Brendan Smith D Damien Brunner LW Riley Sheahan C http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=PET_AGhPCg0 Petr Mrazek G http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TVpMrFNzOYTomas Jurco RW http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=biPsk6n2q5g Teemu Pulkkinen RW http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzfGZwoiGjU Gustav Nyquist LW http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGuCbnHiy3o Tomas Tartar LW http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=OivN-x05v24 Calle Jarnkrok C http: //youtu.be/pJrqdY4HDDg Ryan Sproul D http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fil5eZGVyb0 Xavier Ouellet D http: //youtu.be/aMgjqcQzbp0 Landon Ferraro C http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=20sz6_Aj4xc Martin Frk http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEQbMQLgZO0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j4JBkqsFG8 While pondering the idea of not getting anymore D help other than Q once he is awarded a contract, it would be nice to see this kid in Detroit for some games here and there (if it's possible)...he is the next D in line on the prospects list behind Smith and l am pretty impressed with him. His highlight vid looks just as impressive as the Justin Schultz one that everyone has watched...at 19 years old he is 6'3" but only 186lbs. By time he hits 21 I am sure he will weigh more...he is big and a right handed shot...that shot looks pretty impressive from what I see here. I think the Wings D is in good shape, Suter-less and when this kid is ready to be here fulltime, I think he will become a very solid and dominant player...

Our top-6 was boxed out to the perimeter in the o-zone. Our secondary scoring dried up. Our bottom-6 was a joke. We need a shot in the arm, some new looks our top-6 can throw the opposition. We need a guy who's not going to get boxed out to the perimeter and be content to take bottom-basement-percentage shots from the tops of the circles against a physically huge, world-class goalie like Rinne (though I do think he's not a little overrated). We need to get a little bigger, a little stronger, a little faster, a little nastier. Obviously we need more goals, but I'm not sure adding a sniper like Semin is really the answer. He'd be more than content to take shots from outside the box; he wouldn't really give us a new dimension. We'd still be forced to play the Predators' game. A guy like Bobby Ryan or Rick Nash (pipe dream) or Corey Perry (pipe dream) or Milan Lucic (pipe dream) will do what no one in our top-6 does (at least, not consistently): break through the box, drive to the net, crash and bang in the corners - cause problems. Oh yeah - and score. And in doing so, he'd free up things a bit, give our skilled guys more time and space. That, in turn, would give us a chance to take over with our style of game. At the very least, it'd disrupt the opposition's system. Calm your ass down, buddy. I'll answer all your burning questions.

I disagree. Many of the goals that Nashville scored were the result of defensive lapses in which Howard was hung out to dry. He wasn't great but we did not lose because of him. Howard has only been in the playoffs for 3 years. The first year he wasn't very good but you can give him as pass because it was his first time. The second year he was awesome - 0.923 save %. Last year he was hung out to dry.

Dear Lord, Please allow the millionaires on both sides to get what they want so I can attend the 3 games this year I can afford.

He's a goalie. I think that right there eliminates any sort of "normal" mindset.

If I was a GM and had a potentially hot young goalie and no decent backup, I'd have a conversation with Dom about coming in as a backup and kind of mentor to the kid. If they had a similar style, Dom would be a fantastic teacher. (Not that anyone really has a "similar" style to Hasek, but you know what I mean.) His work ethic, mad training, and drive to succeed alone would make him a valuable asset as a locker room leader. I could see him used as a veteran presence that can be relied on to carry part of the load. He's been dominating in lesser leagues, and don't forget that his last NHL appearance was due to two bad games. He and Ozzie split time evenly during the season. They didn't win the Jennings on the merits of only one of them. It was a true tandem. I say that if someone's willing to give him a go, more power to him. Plus it makes me feel younger if there are players in the NHL that are older than I am.

Man, would you shut up. It makes me mad that he has to say something like this. Don't get me wrong, if they want a new arena they should get one. However why does the NHL think it has the right to demand local governments to pay for their new toys??? Also don't they have the "best" ice in the league? Why mess with that? I just don't get why this jerk has to threaten a team with such history. I know if he said to Detroit, build the Wings a new stadium or they are going to leave I would go off the handle. Oilers, if you need a new stadium to see your young guns grow up, then build it yourself. Besides where are you going to send the team that will get more attendance? Hamilton? Winnipeg? Maybe Atlanta after they move? Any one think there is any reason he should be interjecting himself? EDIT: First article did not cover the full story according to TSN. So... TSN.CA

Goaltending is waay waaay down on the list of reasons why we the Wings lost that series.

No. Rinne's not even all that much better than Howard. He's the size of an elephant, and we were shooting from the perimeter.

Great list! Except that the newest pick on there was SEVEN YEARS AGO

Exactly. How is it Howard's fault that none of the Wings aside from Z took the puck to the middle of the ice instead of taking every shot from the side boards?

The wings defensive prospect pool is really exciting to me for the first time in a few years. Smith is a stud but the other guys are pretty good as well Jensen comes out of nowhere as a late round pick and is doing very solid in college. Hes big, fast, can hit and is a very offensive type of guy. Hes come a long way for such alate pick Sproul is also big, fast, can hit and is very good offensively. He has sky high potential but is still somewhat raw. If he keeps developing the way he is, he could be a stud on the PP in the future Ouellet is much more polished then Sproul but doesnt have as high of potential I wuoldnt say. Looks like a pretty sure bet to be an NHLer because he does a bit of everything. Plays well defensively, puts up some points, can play very good positionally, occasionally fights and throws a big hit. Hes a swiss army knife type On top of all that, the wings finally have the nastiness on the blue line coming up that theyve lacked a bit. All these top guys have a bit of a mean streak but guys like Nicastro, Nedomlel, and Mckee all bring a legit mean streak to the game. If one or 2 of these guys work out, no one will be coming near Howard in the future

Ryan or Nash (for the record, I'd much prefer Ryan) would probably cost something like Filppula/Franzen + Nyquist + a good prospect + a 1st-round pick. We'd be losing a lot, yes, but you have to give a lot to gain a lot - and we would be gaining a lot. Like I said, our top-6 needs to be more dynamic, more dangerous. As things currently stand, we are far from deadly - because we can be completely shut down. Any scoring unit that can be snuffed out like ours was against the Preds is not going to win the Stanley Cup - and the goal is the Cup, anything short of it being a disappointing failure for this great organization. Franzen scored all of one goal, and it was a total fluke. He was uninspired, undisciplined. Filppula scored zero goals and was barely noticeable, let alone dangerous. I don't care about his regular-season stats, they mean jack - especially if he doesn't produce in the playoffs. Are Nash and Ryan proven playoff performers? No. Do I think Flip is a playoff bust? No. Do I think we desperately need a power-forward? Yes. Do I think adding one (or two, if you count Doan) power-forwards would make us more formidable, even though we'd be giving up Flip or Franzen? Yes. Players like Filppula are rare. Players like Bobby Ryan are just as rare, if not more so. We can only acquire a player like Ryan via free agency or a trade. Flip, we may have one or two younger hims waiting in the wings (no pun intended), and I don't think he's so special that we'll never be able to draft another player like him. Moreover, we have Datsyuk and Zetterberg, who are - while, yes, older - basically better versions of him. It is, I think, a low-risk, high-reward trade (assuming it's more or less like the package I put forward at the beginning of this post).

It's hilarious to look back and read some of the posts that this guy made when he was still pretending to be a Wings fan. Hahaha..

people continue to over react.... the wings arent rebuilding. the roster is simply changing. lidstrom wasnt going to be around forever. he is the only player that cant be replaced. white was servicable in rafalskis place. quincey is slated to replace stuart. will they be exactly the same? of course not. (also note, i too thought quincey was terrible after the deadline, but i think he will be better going forward) every year, fans are clamoring for the wings to get younger and try out new players. well some of that is finally happening. thats not rebuilding. thast reloading. its not about parity or finding gems in the draft or anything else. the wings lost earlier than expected in the playoffs; s*** happens. this year they ran into a hot goalie. its the same thing that happened when they hit kiprusoff in 04 and giguere in 03. people think because we lost in the first round that suddenly the wings run of success is over.... let me remind you of something: after winning back to back cups in 97 and 98, the wings won only 2 playoff series the next 3 years. after winning the cup in 02, the wings won only 1 playoff series the next 3 years. after winning the cup in 08, the wings won only 2 playoff series the next 3 years.

I just don't understand why any of you guys want to trade for a forward right now.. We are loaded with forwards and have a ton of forward prospect depth. Our forward unit looks better than it has in years. The only trade that would even be worth looking into is for a defensemen, and trust me they have looked plenty you just don't here about it. Even a trade for a D just might not be worth it and only make our team worse. You guys need to get real and quit assuming we can trade a couple unproven players for a super star. We tried for a FA in Sutar, It didn't work so we will try next year. It may not work next year, but were not going to destroy our team to make a trade that all you guys bitching will end up bitching even more about.

He did score in the Preds series.

U know what f*** ozzy he's a f***in joke compaired to hasek that's like tryin to compare patrik roy with felix potvin. Hasek is the s*** best goalie ever best attitude reflexes (though now I'm unsure he's 48) id love to see him play even on the wings. Him in the winged wheel was the best time ever for me watchin the wings. My absolute favorite goalie of all time and u wanna say ozzie the two bit joke that couldn't give us a solid track performance. Everytime ozzy won was the team in front of him hasek most of his carrier had no team and was still amazing. Don't disgrace a legend by compairing him to a fraud. Remember we never traded hasek for poor performance but we did get rid of ozzie and then he bounced around a few teams before hanging it up. Hasek were ever u go I hope you prove it to these haters that ur still the best there is I know ill be watchin.

I'd welcome him back one more year, I think he plays with heart and determination (not that skillfully) but could still be an influence on the younger guys. At the very least he'd be a great pest for the goalies on the PP, which is fairly weak right now.

I agree 100% about the personal attacks Disagreement is fine, but when nearly all of your posts on a Red Wings forum are taking shots at the Wings you're straddling the line from being a dissenter to a contrarian troll.

Absolutely agree. Though I don't agree with the post you quoted, he's at least talking hockey. If people would stick to that we'd be fine. It all goes to hell when people start attacking the person for their unpopular opinion. Plus some of the smarter trolls toe the line and antagonize people without it necessarily being an outright personal attack. I don't want to speak out of turn (correct me if I'm wrong fellow mods) but Matt and the mods prefer to keep things on the looser side around here so people can speak their minds rather than clamp down on every little thing. I think in general it makes is a more fun place to talk hockey, but it also does mean there's some irritating stuff that you have to live with on occasion.

I was so glad Silva won. Been a fan of his for as long as I can remember. Finally shut that loud mouth up for good, and what better way for all of this to happen than for Sonnen to look like a complete idiot after that failed backfist and turtle in front of everyone.

Jesus Christ? That guy is lazy and sucks, I don't know why the Wild would want him... He apparently does too much partying with hookers and blow anyway...

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