A few comments on a dynasty

First, in this day in age, I think this Red Wings team can be called a dynasty. First off, because of the salary cap and free agency it's hard to keep any group of talent together for any length of time. Second, this is the third conference finals in a row. Winning it all last year and well on their way again this year, another fact I've heard is that they have been to the conference finals 8 times in the last 14 years. Lastly, the Stanely Cup playoffs is the hardest post-season to go through in all of sports, no arguments, period.

Last time the Blackhawks played the Wings in the Conference finals, the Wings still had a very young Lidstrom, Draper and Maltby. Chelios was playing for the Hawks and was considering retirement shortly after that year too I think. Anyway, the Wings have plenty of great players come up through their ranks and make huge contributions. Take Ericsson for instance, he was the final draft pick in the 9th round, 291st!!! Since football is always talked about, you can almost compare the Wings drafting to that of the New England Patriots. The Pats always seem to find gems and system players as well, but nothing compares to the Wings system.

Most of the credit goes to the Wings system, the front office of Nill and Holland is second to none. The European scouting is by far the best and I have no idea why other teams don't try and offer the Wings top guys more money since their money doesn't count towards the salary cap. Anyway, the Wings don't rush their young talent into playing in the NHL. First, for most of their European players they play them in the AHL to get used to the longer seasons and the different sized rinks. It always seems to work and Holland has a knack for patience.

When the Wings do need to get free agents, they don't do it like they used to anymore. They go out and get players that will fit with the team, like Stuart. Most teams would just try and get a big name rather than the right player. Kind of like what the Avs always seem to do and why they're in the toilet right now. Then other free agents like Hossa come along and want to take a huge pay cut just to play with the Wings for one year. Everything I've been reading is that he'll take another pay cut to remain a Wing, that much remains to be seen though.

In the end, I'm just loving watching these Wings kick so much butt and take names. The Canadiens and Leafs may have more or the same amount of Cups to their names but the last time either of them won anything was in 92-93. Neither of those teams are going to be winning it anytime soon either. The Wings are here and they're here to stay for a long time granted their system stays in place.

Go Wings Go!!