What do you think the team will be like when Cheliosaurus, Lidstrom, Draper and Hasek retire?
2007-09-30 13:18:53 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Hockey
I figure they'll stay a darn good team from what all of you have said. I sure hope so b/c I love the games between the Ducks and RWs.
2007-09-30 17:16:51 · update #1
The Red Wings will continue to be a force among the Western Conference's elite for one simple fact: they always seem to turn up gems when scouting for players (see Datsyuk, Pavel and Zetterberg, Henrik; a pair of late-round finds). In terms of drafting, scouting, and development, the Detroit Red Wings are among the very best in the entire NHL.
2007-09-30 13:43:28 · answer #1 · answered by Snoop 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
If Hasek retires after this year as expected, Jimmy Howard will be the starter next season. I highly doubt he will ever be as good as Hasek, but he is solid and will hopefully be the first franchise goalie the team has had in a while.
Losing Draper will be bad, but realistlically, purely defensive forwards usually have lower salaries so that gap can be filled through free agency or just through drafting. Im not trying to undermind what he does, he is great at what he does and hes important to the team, but finding a competant replacement for him wouldnt be TOO difficult.
Losing Chelios and Lidstrom will be the toughest for the Wings. Although Cheli is only on the 3rd defensive pairing, hes good enough to play on the 1st pairing for some other teams. As he showed in the playoffs, hes capable of stepping up and playing more minutes when needed. I dont even know where to start when it comes to losing Lidstrom. Im betting it will be 20 to 30 years before the Wings have another player that can be compared to him. Maybe longer. The Wings do have some long term security when it comes to defensemen though. Rafalski and Kronwall are locked up until after the 2011/2012 season. Kronwall has had some bad luck sinced coming into the league, but I think/hope he will become comparable to Phaneuf in the not too distant future. On top of that, Detroit has drafted quite a few good defensmen over the last few years. Kindl and Ericsson will be really good when they finally make the jump to the NHL
2007-09-30 16:09:02 · answer #2 · answered by redwingsrthebest19 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Since 1998, the Detroit Red Wings have had only 3 first round draft picks, and that still hasn't stopped them from finding future stars. They grabbed Datsyuk 171st in '98 and Zetterberg- 210th overall in '99.
The Red Wing organization has to be considered one of the best managed teams in all of hockey, from Devellano, Holland, Nill and Bowman all the way through to the scouting staff.
That said, you cant just replace a future HOF defenseman without feeling the effects of his loss, so yes, the eventual retiring of Lidstrom will leave a huge void on Detroit's blue line. But very similar to the huge void that they said would exist when Steve Yzerman retired, see what I am getting at?
So Chelios and Lidstrom will be missed, but I am more than excited by the abilities and futures of defenseman like Quincey, Meech, Kindl, and this years pick, Brendan Smith.
As far as Draper is concerned, there is a kid skating for Medicine Hat named Darren Helm that I see filling Drapers role perfectly, he is just as fast as Draper and is a hard worker that would make a great 3rd line center. He could be ready as soon as next year.
When it comes to Dom, I was hoping he would be gone by now to be honest, so Detroit could struggle a bit in the goaltending department because I am not completely sold on Howard or Liv as an A-1 NHL starter yet.
But as has been shown in the past, when the Wings have a glaring weakness, Holland does not waste time in spending the money to fill those holes.
So as much as the Wings haters would love to see that collapse they have been predicting for the last 6+ years, bad news, its not going to happen.
Also, despite what some may try and have you believe, only Montreal had a higher average attendance last season. The Wings had an 11-year streak of sellouts at the Joe before last years playoffs, so although the economy suffers, the fan-base in Detroit is still strong and as the city rights itself, the Red Wings will reemerge as one of the strongest fan-bases in all of hockey.
2007-09-30 14:10:02 · answer #3 · answered by Zam 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Different.
Who knows? Truth is that losing those guys will free up a ton of cap room. Who the Wings pick up to fill in the gaps is anyone's guess. There is no way to know. That said, Red Wing management is rock solid. They'll fix the ship pretty quickly, so don't worry too much about it.
2007-09-30 14:31:03 · answer #4 · answered by Mr. Taco 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
That'll depend on how Hudler, Kopecky, Kronwall and Ericsson develop in the interim.
Lidstrom will be hugely missed, but he Hasek question seems to be the most pressing. Without being entirely familiar with their goaltending prospects, I'd guess a trade for, or FA signing of a starting keeper will be top priority for Holland in the next 10 months.
2007-09-30 14:12:01 · answer #5 · answered by zapcity29 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You called?
I think the team will be fine, Chelios, Hasek, and Draper, shouldn't be too hard to replace, it can be done. Lidstrom on the other hand, leaves a big hole, Detroit will probably never see another D-man like him.....Anyways, everything will work out, if not, well then I guess I will finally know how it feels to cheer for a losing team.
They have been frequenting the playoffs longer than the Ducks have been around, just a little tid bit of info for you.
2007-09-30 13:46:00 · answer #6 · answered by Wings Fan! 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I am sure they will still be a good team. They have the knack of picking up the right players at the right time in order to keep them a strong team. Lidstrom might be a tough act to follow, but that's not an issue now. Lidstrom is not retiring for a long time.
2007-10-01 03:09:20 · answer #7 · answered by Miss Redwing 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hey, don't pick on Cheliosaurus; He's my age!
Cheli is a "D" man, the loss of speed means nothing.
It seems Detroit has a good system, they have weathered a lot of change rather smoothly, for years.
2007-10-01 00:44:02 · answer #8 · answered by Icewomanblockstheshot 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Wow, I wish I had the money to even go to a game, but good on him for sticking up for Detroit and throwing an octopus in a hostile arena and then sneaking back in!
2016-03-19 02:50:54 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
With the young offensive talent they have right now i think they will be somwhat fine.
They will probably end up getting rid of draft picks soon to get a strong goaltender (Heck, they should start now =P) and rebuild on their defence.
2007-09-30 13:48:51 · answer #10 · answered by |Flames| |Fan| 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋