When people were discussing the NHL playoffs last year, one of the teams from the Western Conference that Bruins’ fans feared was the Detroit Red Wings. The fear was justified, as the Red Wings toyed with the Bruins in a home-and-home series in February, and when healthy, Detroit had one of the deepest teams in the NHL. In the end, however, the Red Wings fell behind 3-0 to San Jose in the Western Conference semifinals before rallying to knot the series at 3 before eventually falling in Game 7.
A team that features the defending Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom and one of the world’s best two-way players in Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit should be near the top of the Western standings again, but there are some questions, one being the age of the team, and Octopus Thrower writer Monica McAlister examines Detroit’s upcoming season. McAlister writes about two of Detroit’s major off-season acquisitions, which GM Ken Holland hopes will makes his team stronger defensively:
"New faces on defense are Mike Commodore and Ian White. Commodore had a falling out with the Columbus Blue Jackets and ended up being bought out of his contract. Which works out great for Detroit because now he is on our blueline rather than going against him. I’ll be honest. I remember hating the guy in the 2009 Playoffs. Though I think him ending up on the Wings bench in that series may have just been some foreshadowing for where he was bound to end up. Ian White comes via the San Jose Sharks after they couldn’t get him locked up before he hit the UFA market. One of the top sought after Free Agents this summer the Red Wings snagged him for the next two years."
You can read the rest of McAlister’s preview at Octopus Thrower.