With the Red Wings on the verge of winning their 4th Stanley Cup in 11 years, it would be incorrect to describe this as a dynasty because of the amount of time between wins. But in today's NHL, it is an incredible feat to finish at the top of the standing each year and have a shot at the Cup for so long. It has been 18 years since they finished out of the playoffs. In the past 14 seasons they finished with over 100 points 12 times (excluding the strike shortened season). They have won the President's Trophy 6 times during that period.
So how do the Red Wings do it? Well obviously they have the strongest organization in the NHL. Great owner, management, coaches, scouts, etc. No weaknesses in this organization. They have an excellent eye for talent and seem to know how to fill in those gaps in their lineup. But as much as the Leafs like to claim how much players want to play in Toronto, the truth is that Detroit seems to be able to sign players for discounts because of their reputation.
If you look at the salaries of some of the players who dominated during the playoffs you will see what I mean:
Henrik Zetterberg, $2.7-million
Tomas Holmstrom, $2.25-million
Niklas Kronwall, $1.5-million
Johan Franzen, $900,000
Chris Osgood, $800,000
Some would say that Niklas Lidstrom at $7.6 million is a bargain. Do you think the Wings would trade any of these players for a Bryan McCabe or Jason Blake? And there are other bargains in the bin:
Daniel Cleary, $650,000
Chris Chelios, $850,000
If you want to make big money you can always sign with the Leafs, Rangers, etc. If you want to win a Stanley Cup then sign with Detroit.
12 years ago
