Wings.jpgChicago Blackhawks vs Detroit Red Wings 12:30 p.m. EST - Sunday, March 7, 2010 Live on NBC
The Detroit Red Wings have been so good, for so long, it’s downright scary. They last failed to win a division title in 1999, and have appeared in two straight Stanley Cup finals, and have only lost in the first round of the playoffs once since 2003. They’ve found a way to continue to rebuild through free agency, but more importantly through the draft as they’ve remained competitive for well over decade.
This season the Red Wings are going through something they haven’t suffered in a very long time: a fight for a playoff spot in March. Detroit started off the season in a hole, as a poor start put them towards the bottom of the conference standings and the team has been struggling to get out it since then.
It’s been a tough road and one has to wonder: If the Red Wings are able to sneak into the playoffs this season will they be able to continue to dominate like they’ve done in the past in the postseason? Perhaps the age and yes, experience, is finally catching up to Detroit. It’s a situation that the team has not faced in a very long time.
The Red Wings players are not getting any younger.
The average age of the Detroit Red Wings is 30.5, with the youngest player on the active roster 23-year old Darren Helm. Every other player is older than 25 with eleven players over the age of 30. The Red Wings have built their current team through the draft, with gems such as Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg coming in the 6th and 7th rounds. Has the increasing age of the Red Wings contributed to their struggles this season, as they fight to maintain positioning just for a playoff spot?
Is it just a case of injuries?
The Red Wings have had a number of devastating injuries to key players this season, contributing to a poor start that has forced Detroit to try and crawl out of the basement of the Western conference standings. Yet just as it seems as if they were getting back on top and making a run, as in January, they stumble and hit another bump in the road. Now that they are relatively healthy, they sit in 8th place with a one point lead over Calgary and are just four points ahead of 11th place Dallas. They may be getting stronger as the season goes along, but how will this older -- yet very experienced -- team fare in the playoffs against the younger and faster opponents. Will their discipline and coaching carry them?
Have to rebuild at some point.
Every successful team goes through ups and downs from one season to the next; what made you successful one year will not necessarily carry over to the next. Somehow, the Red Wings have maintained a high level of competitiveness for nearly 14 years. Yet there will come a point when they will stumble, and require a season or two to rebuild and restock their team. The days of free-agent spending are over and the most successful teams are winning because of the players they have drafted during the down years.
Is Detroit starting to enter that cycle? The franchise’s drafts the past few seasons have not fared all that well, although last year they were able to draft Landon Ferrarro and standout Tomas Tartar. Are there any mid-round surprises on their way from the 2006, 2007 and 2008 drafts?
Are the Red Wings going to be forced to restock? Most of the successful teams that are inching towards of top of the conference standings have done so due to drafts that provide a powerful nucleus from which to build around. Most times, these teams can do so because a few years of disappointment and mediocrity have given them high draft picks from which to work.
Detroit is approaching a turning point in the history of the franchise and what happens this spring and this summer will be a clear indication of the direction this team will take.