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Let’s Not Forget
by Paul on 07/09/06 at 11:30 AM ET
Comments (7)
The building was electric, filled with anticipation. The Wings finally had their power forward. It was rumored for weeks in Detroit, the Wings were attempting to acquire Shanahan from the Whalers. The wishes of many Wings fans came true on October 9, 1996. The final piece was in place.
Shanahan made it to the Joe with minutes to spare for the first game that season. The Wings actually held up going onto the ice so Brendan could join them.
With Shanahan scoring 46 goals that year, the Wings went on to win the Cup and repeated the feat the next year.
Now he is gone, and with it the “piece” leaves a big hole in the Wings lineup. Now where do they go? Gomez in New Jersey may be an option, the Devils are cap strapped and need to move some salary. Can Anson Carter replace one of the greatest goal scores in the last 15 years?
Ken Holland has some work ahead and now is the time for Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Kronwall to put their stamp on the Wings.
Meanwhile, Shanahan will be a huge hit on Broadway. Just don’t believe him when he tells you he was a goalie on the Irish National Soccer team.
added 12:38pm, Official announcement from the New York Rangers…
added 4:25pm, from the CP via Yahoo,
“It really came down to an instinct I had,” Shanahan said Sunday. “Detroit has a great past and a great future ahead of them as well, but I guess I just felt that maybe I was identified with the past a little bit more than the future.”
“To take on a new challenge was a little scary and exciting at the same time,” said Shanahan, who scored 41 goals last season.
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Comments
The summer of Ken continues, he has some real work to do now. We’ll see how the Wings take shape, it looks like youth might finally prevail.
Posted by Ryan on 07/09/06 at 11:54 AM ET
Tough offseason for the Wings...but they are the Wings then replace him effectively!
Posted by Mac on 07/09/06 at 12:40 PM ET
Uh, can we have Kronwall have a season where he performs even average at the NHL level before we talk about him leading the Wings?
I swear, you Wings fans are freaking ridiculous about this guy.
Posted by Thomas on 07/09/06 at 04:57 PM ET
Oh, how I will laugh if he winds up hurting himself and being sent to a conditioning stint in Hartford.
Posted by The Acid Queen from Raleigh, NC on 07/09/06 at 05:10 PM ET
Acid Queen, why be such a downer? The guy did a lot in Detroit. Maybe you could hate him for his Blues days or something, but he was totally respectful of Detroit. I think he realized that people would never say they didn’t want him back because he was a hero there (which is why Stevie Y had such a hard time making a decision to retire, and why Messier took too long to retire), and I guess he genuinely thinks that he can win a cup with Jagr leading the way, and Lundqvist backstopping them.
Posted by bcrt on 07/09/06 at 10:34 PM ET
Acid Queen, why be such a downer?
bcrt, why assume that I’m a Red Wings fan?
Posted by The Acid Queen from Raleigh, NC on 07/10/06 at 12:43 PM ET
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I’m excited. It’s a 1 year deal so if it doesn’t work out, no big loss for the Rangers (especially when they still have a good amount of cap space), and if it works out, this year could be even more special than the last.
Posted by bcrt on 07/09/06 at 11:47 AM ET