• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Detroit Red Wings

Wings Dream Team, Post Yzerman

By Ian Dunham October 24th, 2012

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

 

The NHL should be synonymous with speed, strength, skill and grace.  Not economic minutia and financial brinksmanship.  But, at 9:23 pm on October 23, 2012, matters of dollars and cents continue to dominate hockey headlines.  This absolutely sucks.  There is no elegant way to describe it.  Fans of the other sports get to watch games and we get to watch snakes in suits point wrinkly and chubby fingers at each other.  The only people who find pleasure in lengthy discussions regarding wealth are those who have an unhealthy lust for it.  So, this being the case, let’s have some adolescent fun.

It’s hard to believe that Detroit’s 2002 Stanley Cup Championship was over 10 years ago.  This cup marked the unofficial end of the “Yzerman Era”, even though Yzerman played for Detroit until the end of the 2006 season.  Although the Wings have suffered set backs since the captain’s departure, they still have remained the premier squad in the NHL, clearly demonstrated by another cup added to the collection in 2008.  Some fine, fine players have suited up for Detroit since Yzerman called it a career, and I thought it might be fun to take a break from our routine of having hopes dashed by stale press conferences and long sighs.

So, in this spirit of jollification, I put together a dream team for Detroiters, comprised of players who filled Yzerman’s skates admirably.

Line 1a: Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Hossa

Line 1b: Hudler-Zetterberg-Franzen

Line 3: Samuelsson-Filppula-Cleary

Line 4: Draper-Helm-Maltby

Defense 1: Rafalski-Lidstrom

Defense 2: Schneider-Kronwall

Defense 3: Chelios-Stuart

Goaltenders: Dominik Hasek, Jimmy Howard

Personally, I think the “Yzerman-Fedorov Era”  would be a more appropriate title.  Reverse 19 and you have a player just as valuable, if not more so.  But, the Detroit brass delivered a steady supply of the NHL’s elite long after the centers who carried the city had departed.  While leaving Osgood off the list of goaltenders might raise some eyebrows (and it shouldn’t), consider that Ozzie was never even nominated for the Vezina Trophy in his career, and claiming that his impressive numbers are the result of anything other than the team in front of him is foolish.  The best answer to the claim that “Osgood won two Stanely Cups” has always been a quick production of a golden roster sheet, and a reminder that hockey is a team sport.

It will be some time before we see a team like the one above in Detroit again.  The roster above is scarcely different from the one that fell one goal short of winning a consecutive cup in 2009.  But at 10:25 pm on October 23, 2o12, any Red Wings team would suffice.

  • Tags
  • 2008
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 23rd 4:05 PM
All-Star Weekend

25 Years Later: The FoxTrax Glowing Puck Makes Its Debut

Jan 23rd 3:50 PM
Boston Bruins

Bruins Should Play Grzelcyk With McAvoy

Jan 23rd 3:23 PM
Toronto Maple Leafs

Maple Leafs Are Being Too Patient With the Puck

Jan 23rd 2:20 PM
Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins’ Pierre-Oliver Joseph Shines in NHL Debut

Jan 23rd 2:10 PM
Anaheim Ducks

Ducks Prospects: Lacombe, McLaughlin, Sundsvik & More

Jan 23rd 2:00 PM
Colorado Avalanche

Prospects News & Rumors: Clarke, Byram & Cozens

Jan 23rd 2:00 PM
New York Islanders

Islanders’ Kieffer Bellows Adapting to New Role

Jan 23rd 1:50 PM
Calgary Flames

Flames’ Monahan Vying to Be Best Center in North Division

Jan 23rd 1:40 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets

NHL Rumors: Oilers, Canucks, & Truth Behind Jets and Blue Jackets Trade

Jan 23rd 1:30 PM
Vancouver Canucks

Green Says Canucks Have Looked ‘a Little Immature at Times’ [Video]

Editor’s Picks
2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini's Top 75 Rankings

2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini's Top 75 Rankings

Wayne Gretzky Almost Joined the Detroit Red Wings

Wayne Gretzky Almost Joined the Detroit Red Wings

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information