Training camp questions: Western Conference

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/stor...&id=3591242

Detroit Red Wings: The most negative thing you can say about the defending Stanley Cup champs is they lost a soon-to-be 75-year-old former coach in Scotty Bowman, who joined Chicago's front office. Everywhere else, the Red Wings are even more formidable than last season with the addition of forward Marian Hossa and super backup netminder Ty Conklin. GM Ken Holland also managed to keep defenseman Brad Stuart in the lineup, giving the Wings the top four defensemen of any team in the NHL (Nicklas Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall and Brian Rafalski round out the group). Hockeytown, indeed.

Burning questions:

• No team since the Red Wings in 1997 and 1998 has managed to pull off a repeat; do these Wings have the mojo to do it?

• How does Hossa fit in with the rest of the top-end Red Wings forwards and will this be more than a one-year romance?

• Is there room for all of the talent the Wings have and also sufficient playing time for young players in the system?

• After Chris Osgood's stellar turn in the playoffs, will people stop asking questions about his talent?

• And if the questions don't stop, does that mean goaltending is an issue for the Wings?

• After a dynamite postseason, will Kronwall move into Norris Trophy consideration?

Citing the last three bullet points, any or all questions about Osgood should have been answered last season. And while Kronwall for Norris Trophy consideration is a bit of a stretch I think, somebody considering that for him should show the potential he still has if he stays consistent/healthy and that he still has plenty of upside.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

I wouldn't be suprised to see Kronner in Norris contention before too long here.

[Dawgs 0]

There will always be questions about Osgood, right up to the day hes inducted into the HoF.

Kronwall is close but as long as Lidstrom is playing at this level I dont see his chances as being good for the Norris.

How many times have teammates been finalists for the Norris? Rafalski could even be top 5, with another career year playing alongside Nick. And Anaheim thinks they have the best defense in the NHL . Not even close if ya ask me.

[P. Marlowe 748]

At least in 2007 Anaheim's Pronger and Niedermayer shared the Norris for humans price.

[b.shanafan14 733]

There will always be questions about Osgood, right up to the day hes inducted into the HoF.

Kronwall is close but as long as Lidstrom is playing at this level I dont see his chances as being good for the Norris.

How many times have teammates been finalists for the Norris? Rafalski could even be top 5, with another career year playing alongside Nick. And Anaheim thinks they have the best defense in the NHL . Not even close if ya ask me.

I believe the Red Wings defense top to bottom is better than Anaheim's but the Ducks are second for sure.

As far as Osgood, I think he is going to do great as long as he doesn't play too much and gets burnt out before pkayoffs.

If Kronwall remains consistent to what he was doing for us in the playoffs, he will get plenty of Norris votes. In the Cup run last season he showed all the things that the NHL wants to see, crushing hits, solid defense, and offensive touch (15 A). That said, the best he will ever get while Lidstrom is still playing is a Norris Finalist.

Good article, hit some good points.

[egroen 384]

In '02 Lidstrom won the Norris with Chelios a hair behind him.

[Dabura 12,232]

Is there room for all of the talent the Wings have and also sufficient playing time for young players in the system?

Gee! I dunno, Scott! You tell me!

Holmstrom - Datsyuk - Hossa

Hudler - Zetterberg - Franzen

Cleary - Filppula - Samuelsson

Maltby - Draper- Kopecky

Lidstrom - Rafalski

Kronwall - Stuart

Lebda - Chelios

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Here's a similar blurb from SI.com's Allan Muir regarding the Central Divsion.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writ...x.html#?eref=T1

Detroit Red Wings

Can they just skip ahead to April?

Anything can happen. There are no sure things. The game is played on ice, not paper.

Those are the mantras steeling the mental resolve of 29 NHL teams as they gear up for a new campaign that demands they find a way past the mighty Red Wings in order to make their Cup dreams to come true. And they're right...to an extent. Anything can happen. Look at football's New England Patriots. Favorites heading into the season, they lost quarterback Tom Brady on opening day, a catastrophic injury that brought them back to the pack, at least a little. If it could happen to the Pats, well...

But what separates the defending champions from both New England and the rest of the NHL is depth. No team is better built to withstand that sort of loss than these Wings -- an enviable achievement in the cap age. They are, if anything, deeper and more intimidating than last season, making for yet another Stanley Cup-or-bust year in Detroit. And so, for the Wings, the upcoming regular season is just a formality, an 82-game warm-up that will allow them to try a few things out, make some minor adjustments (like working in top free agent Marian Hossa) and prep themselves for when they play the first match that really matters: round one, game one of the playoffs.

[VM1138 1,921]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/stor...&id=3591242

Citing the last three bullet points, any or all questions about Osgood should have been answered last season. And while Kronwall for Norris Trophy consideration is a bit of a stretch I think, somebody considering that for him should show the potential he still has if he stays consistent/healthy and that he still has plenty of upside.

Shoot me, but I'm kind of worried about Ozzie, too. Not that I think he's not good (I've been a staunch defender in good times and bad). He's amazing.

My fear isn't about Ozzie, but about goalies in general. They're so damn flaky. One season they're on (or two season), and then one theyu're off. If anyone can be great again it's Ozzie, but the general inconsistency in goalies concerns me a tad.

But I'm glad to say that's the only thing I'm even slightly worried about, and that's not very much.

[Z and D for the C 712]

Is there room for all of the talent the Wings have and also sufficient playing time for young players in the system?

Gee! I dunno, Scott! You tell me!

Holmstrom - Datsyuk - Hossa

Hudler - Zetterberg - Franzen

Cleary - Filppula - Samuelsson

Maltby - Draper- Kopecky

Lidstrom - Rafalski

Kronwall - Stuart

Lebda - Chelios

That really is a ridiculous lineup.

[Nev 1,085]

Kronner is a long way from being a Norris finalist IMO - much as I have defended him round here

* For a start he needs a full, healthy season (that would be 2 back-to-back). His health last season, and his form are no coincidence

* He needs to start hitting the net a lot more, and scoring more goals. Probably the biggest weakness in his game

* Can a 2nd pairing guy really be considered for a Norris?

[Reds4Life 51]

* Can a 2nd pairing guy really be considered for a Norris?

Phaneuf was finalist this year so..yeah.

[Dabura 12,232]

A 2nd-pairing guy can definitely be considered, but yeah, Kronwall would need a really dynamite season to get on the ballot.

I'm not worried about Ozzie. The key is the backup; if he's got a good one who can handle a pretty considerable workload in the regular season, he'll be in good shape come the postseason.

[eva unit zero 271]

Kronner is a long way from being a Norris finalist IMO - much as I have defended him round here

* For a start he needs a full, healthy season (that would be 2 back-to-back). His health last season, and his form are no coincidence

* He needs to start hitting the net a lot more, and scoring more goals. Probably the biggest weakness in his game

* Can a 2nd pairing guy really be considered for a Norris?

Conceivably, a third pairing guy could be a Norris finalist; if he's the third best defenseman on the team, and gets almost all of the third-place votes behind teammates, then he would have a very good shot at being a finalist. The chances of that happening are fairly slim, but it's a realistic possibility.