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No Longer The Favorite
by Paul on 11/07/09 at 08:54 AM ET
Comments (6)
from Michael Traikos of the National Post,
Even Holland conceded that for the first time since he has been in Detroit, the Red Wings are no longer thought of as championship contenders.
“It’s a long-term plan,” Holland said prior to tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. “If you just hang onto the old guys, eventually everyone’s play falls off at the same time and it’s a long way back. What we’re trying to do is put a team on the ice that we think is going to be capable of being a playoff team. At the same time, we’re trying to get some younger people going.
“Obviously, we’ve played at a high level for a long time. We lost all the offence in the offseason. And some of our key guys are getting older. Nick Lidstrom is 39 and turning 40 in May. The expectations are at some point in time we’re going to decline.”
It has been a while since “decline” has been in the Red Wings’ vocabulary.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings | KK Hockey | Permalink
Comments
By far the biggest part of the “decline” is the “incline” of the teams within their division.
That’s some truthiness right there.
Posted by Nate A from Dark side of the moon on 11/07/09 at 10:33 AM ET
He willfully allowed Marian Hossa, Mikael Samuelsson, Ty Conklin and other established veterans to leave as free agents.
A more accurate description would be that Kenny “was forced to allow Marian Hossa, Mikael Samuelsson, Ty Conklin and other established veterans to leave as free agents because of the salary cap.”
Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 11/07/09 at 11:01 AM ET
If this is what the Red Wings “decline” looks like, I consider myself incredibly fortunate being a Wings fan. Most declines in capped leagues look like what the Leafs or Islanders are going through, or like what the Pens had to do—hit rock bottom for a few years, stockpile picks, take another couple years to develop them, and then expect to compete.
Posted by Nathan from Jonny Ericsson's ice cream truck on 11/07/09 at 11:12 AM ET
I love how hockey journalists make truisms on small samples of data. Wasn’t there talk last year around this time all the way till january about how the penguins weren’t the same team that went to the stanley cup final? anytime a team has datsyuk, zetterberg and lidstrom all it needs is a tweak or two, or maybe just the team coming together to become a contender. But obviously thats not worthy of an article. hyperboles make better journalism.
Posted by Shawn on 11/08/09 at 01:35 AM ET
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By far the biggest part of the “decline” is the “incline” of the teams within their division.
Posted by penaltyshots on 11/07/09 at 09:24 AM ET