Season Gambling Preview: Detroit Red Wings
Sigh. Do I really have to write a new Detroit Red Wings preview?
I should just use a template. Nothing changes. Two years ago or one year ago, the Red Wings had an ageless wonder on “D” in Nicklas Lidstrom, two of the game’s best all-around players in Pavel Datsyuk and Nicklas Lidstrom, a bonecrushing hitter in Niklas Kronwall, and a rising star goaltender in Jimmy Howard. Guess what?
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DETROIT RED WINGS
Stanley Cup odds: +1000
Nothing has changed. The Wings have virtually the same team they do every year and, once again, will contend for Lord Stanley’s Mug.
Just in case I can find something different about this team – which may move to the Eastern Conference next year – I’ll try my best to offer some new information.
We keep waiting for Lidstrom to wilt. Instead, he wins his seventh Norris Trophy at age 41. He’s a living legend and second only to Bobby Orr on my list of the greatest defenseman ever to play the sport. Obviously, he could break down any time now, but we have no choice but to trust him to be a 30-minute-a-night horse on Detroit’s blueline until he proves otherwise. That means the Wings’ defense corps is in good shape again.
With Brian Rafalski retiring, look for Niklas Kronwall to finally have that breakout offensive season people have expected for years. Ian White, a creative and well-rounded player, looks like a solid addition to the “D” as well.
Detroit’s forwards are coach’s pets, showing offensive flair but also great discipline and defensive responsibility (read: Cleary, Daniel). Enforcers and agitators simply don’t play for this team, unless you count Todd Bertuzzi. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are still in their primes and outstanding at either end of the ice. Given his all-around ability, some people consider Datsyuk the best player in the world today.
The Red Wings do have one key weakness among their skaters, especially their forwards, which I believe has kept them from advancing past the second round of the playoffs two years running: size and sandpaper. [ad-4437448]
This is not a mean team and, up front, not a big team. Other than Bertuzzi, the Wings don’t have an intimidator. Kronwall blows guys up with open-ice hits but isn’t mean every shift; Johan “The Mule” Franzen a big player but his size helps him score, not dish out punishment. When the playoffs come around, the Wings get pushed around a bit, and I think that’s part of the reason why this team has struggled with injuries to almost all its players at various points in recent campaigns.
In goal, Jimmy Howard may have hit his ceiling. It feels like he’s a young pup but he’s actually 27. He’s above-average, capable of starting 60-plus games, but he hasn’t proven to be a consistent performer. Detroit’s skaters positions themselves and backcheck so well, however, that an above-average goalie is all they really need. After all, they won the Stanley Cup in 2008 with Chris Osgood.
Detroit is once again a rock-solid choice to win the Central Division, tally 100-plus points and enter the playoffs as a legit contender. But has complacency set in? I don’t see this group regressing from last year but I don’t see it improving either. If Detroit wants the Cup, general manager Ken Holland needs to work the phones on deadline day and acquire some size and grit.
Prediction: 1st, Central Division
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