Core values: Wings built to win for long haul
PITTSBURGH - "Take 'em off," Red Wings equipment manager Paul Boyer told his players as they entered the visiting dressing room at Mellon Arena Wednesday night. "Give 'em to me. Otherwise, they're gonna get stolen. They're gonna get lost. Believe me, I've done this before."
So one by one, the Wings dutifully pulled their jerseys over their heads and dumped them in Boyer's hands. They were in no place to question Boyer, who has been the steward of title-game jerseys in four of his 14 years - a run of dominance that makes Detroit the closest to qualify as a recent NHL dynasty.
Over all four Stanley Cup titles (1997, 1998, 2002, and 2008), the most significant on-ice component has been Nicklas Lidstrom, who became the first European-born captain to win the championship with the 3-2 victory Wednesday over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Lidstrom, 38, is the favorite to win his sixth Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman, and has thrust himself into the conversation of being one of the top three blue liners of all time (with observers often citing Bobby Orr and Doug Harvey as the others).
Lidstrom has served as the standard-bearer for the organization's dominance of the Swedish market. This year's roster included fellow Swedes Henrik Zetterberg (Conn Smythe Trophy winner as MVP of the playoffs), Tomas Holmstrom, Johan Franzen, Niklas Kronwall, Mikael Samuelsson, and Andreas Lilja.
"Nicklas Lidstrom, in my opinion, is a phenomenal leader and captain, with his poise and his skill," said Detroit coach Mike Babcock.
Perhaps just as important, however, has been the off-ice presence of general manager Ken Holland, who has helped turn Detroit from a free-spending organization to one that is held to the restrictions of the salary cap, but has been just as effective in the new NHL.
"We've proven that under the new system, where it's more of an even playing field, the team has really responded well," Lidstrom said. "We've had the same core group of guys - four, five, six guys - for a lot of years. I think that's been very helpful to keep that core group and add a few players every year. People probably thought we were going to drop off a little bit going into the first season after the lockout. The team didn't lose a beat. I think we've just been getting better and better under Mike Babcock."
After the lockout, Holland turfed Dave Lewis, who went on to coach the Bruins for a season, and replaced him with Babcock, the man who came up short in the Cup finals with Anaheim in 2003. In each of his three years, Babcock has won 50 or more regular-season games. In his first season in Detroit, the Wings lost in the second round of the playoffs to Calgary. In 2006-07, the Wings flamed out in the first round against Edmonton.
It was a different story this time.
"This year, it's been a process," Babcock said. "It didn't happen overnight. We've been a good team. I think an elite, elite team for the last three years. And we were finally able to get it done."
While Babcock kept his firm hand at the helm, Holland had built a championship club in the following fashion: Draft well, lock up the core players, and complement the roster with trades and free agent signings. Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, the team's top two forwards, were drafted in the sixth and seventh rounds. Holmstrom, the third member of the No. 1 line, was taken in the 10th round in 1994.
On July 1, 2007, Holland signed free agent defenseman Brian Rafalski to a five-year, $30 million contract. Then at the Feb. 26 trade deadline, Holland acquired former Bruins blue liner Brad Stuart from Los Angeles.
The result? A puck-possession machine that took Pittsburgh's best and closed out the series in six games.
"They deserve a lot of respect," said Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien. "We got beat by a quality team. They showed it all through the regular season and through the playoffs."
The scary part is that Holland can keep his core intact, with Stuart being the only big-time unrestricted free agent. On the other hand, Pittsburgh counterpart Ray Shero will almost certainly not be able to afford some of his players with expiring contracts, including wingers Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone and defenseman Brooks Orpik.
"It's going to be a challenge for Ray to keep our team together," said Penguins owner Mario Lemieux. "But there's been a great lesson here. We really built this team to give us a chance to win this. I'm sure we'll make the right decisions at the right time."
