2005 DETROIT RED WINGS PREVIEW

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2005-06 Detroit Red Wings preview

(MySportsbook.com) - Since we last saw meaningful National Hockey League competition, the Detroit Red Wings have seen some changes.

Brett Hull and Dominik Hasek both left town before the lockout, while Darren McCarty, Derian Hatcher and Ray Whitney had their contracts bought out in the wake of the new collective bargaining agreement.

However, many other key components of the team's nucleus remain in Hockeytown. Captain Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Kris Draper, Chris Chelios and Mathieu Schneider were among the players re-signed by the team in 2004 and '05, leaving new head coach Mike Babcock a solid base to work with.

Hiring Babcock was the team's first move after the lockout ended, as he shunned returning to Anaheim in exchange for a chance to coach the Red Wings. He is a very structured and disciplined head coach, which might be what this team needs in the wake of old boss Dave Lewis. The latter was a former assistant on the team, so it was somewhat difficult for him to get his message across.

Some say the Red Wings have fallen back to the pack in the Western Conference. That might be true to an extent, but if you're thinking they'll be battling it out for the final playoff spot instead of the top seed, you're probably mistaken.

The Western Conference is no longer Detroit, Colorado then everybody else, but the Wings are surely going to make their presence known.

FORWARDS - What can you say about Yzerman? Entering his 22nd NHL season he is merely looking to cap his career off in the near future. He's already one of the game's all-time greats, and his place in Red Wings' history is only behind that of Gordie Howe. In 03-04, Yzerman posted 18 goals and 33 assists in 75 regular season games, and in the playoffs, of course, he suffered a severe eye injury.

Shanahan, meanwhile, is no longer one of the league's top power forwards, but his 25 goals and 28 assists of 03-04 would be acceptable this season. He also remains a physical presence, evident by his 117 penalty minutes last campaign.

Robert Lang will eat up many of the minutes at center, as he embarks on his first full season in the Motor City. Acquired from Washington late in the 03-04 campaign, Lang had the best season of his career. He combined for 30 goals and 49 assists with the Caps and Wings, and added nine points in the playoffs. He remains one of the premier passing centers in the NHL, and if he can pot 30 tallies again that would be a bonus.

A key loss appeared to be Pavel Datsyuk, who signed a one-year contract with Avangard Omsk of the Russian Super League. However, the youngster will likely be in the NHL this season after all. His loss would have been extremely disappointing for the Wings, as Datsyuk erupted with 30 goals and 30 assists in 03-04 and continued to become one of the league's more dynamic centermen.

Henrik Zetterberg is another component of the old line that also included Hull and Datsyuk, while Tomas Holmstrom is again back to be a force in front of the net. Kris Draper, meanwhile, is as hard a worker as there is and is the reigning Selke winner as the league's best defensive forward. He will be without former "Grind Line" mate McCarty, but Kirk Maltby remains in the fold.

DEFENSE - Nicklas Lidstrom didn't win the Norris Trophy in 2004 but he remains the textbook example of how to play defense in the NHL. He is still a point producer and can still go out and shut down an opponent's top line at the age of 35.

Schneider is more one-dimensional as an offensive threat, but plays a sound defensive game. Overall, having smooth skaters like Lidstrom and Schneider at the top of your blueline depth chart is a terrific counter-measure for the NHL's new offense-friendly rules.

Jiri Fischer has been up-and-down during his career, but he has become a terrific stay-at-home presence at 6-5, 226 pounds. His size will especially be counted on in the wake of Hatcher's departure.

Andy Delmore was added to the mix, and he brings pure offense to the blueline mix. Having a trio like Delmore, Lidstrom and Schneider available for power- play duty is flat-out scary. Delmore posted 10 of his 18 goals during the 2002-03 season with Nashville on the man advantage.

Of course, we cannot forget to mention the 43-year-old Chris Chelios, who returns for his 22nd NHL season. He won't play a lot of minutes, but if used in the right situation the three-time Norris winner can be an asset.

GOALTENDING - Curtis Joseph left for Phoenix and Hasek is now in Ottawa, so the goaltending duties are left to a returning Chris Osgood and perennial backup Manny Legace.

Osgood comes back to Motown after spending three seasons away with the Islanders and Blues. In 03-04 with St. Louis he had his best season since leaving Detroit, going 31-25-8 with a 2.24 goals-against average. He backed the Wings to the Stanley Cup in 1998, but was waived prior to the club's run in 2001-02 after Hasek arrived.

Legace is one of the league's top backups, and has been at it full-time for the Wings since the 2000-01 season. In 2003-04 he actually logged 41 games (36 starts) due to injuries, posting a 2.12 GAA and .920 save percentage.

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE - They might not dominate and they might not win the Presidents' Trophy, but expect the Wings to remain in the mix atop the West. One issue is the fact that so much still depends on the contributions of aging vets like Yzerman, Lidstrom, Shanahan and Chelios. If breakdowns begin to occur on a regular basis, Babcock could have some issues.

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