Maltby Reflects on Transition of Red Wings
TSN has a good article on Kirk Maltby, who has played for the Red Wings since 1996. Maltby commented on his reaction on his first trip to the locker room:
“…I came down for practice and I was sitting in a stall over there,” he says, pointing to the far side of the Joe Louis Arena dressing room where he now sits. “One by one, all of these guys are coming in - Steve Yzerman, Paul Coffey, Nick Lidstrom, Dino Ciccarelli - guys I’d watched since I was young or had played against.
“I was in awe. That team was expected to win the Cup. It had set records in wins and points. Scotty Bowman was the coach. I was ecstatic to be part of it. I was young and living in the moment. I was taking everything in. I knew I was going to learn so much from just watching those guys. I did, and that was a key part of developing as a player.”
The article points out that only four players remain from the team that won the Stanley Cup in 1997. Nick Lidstrom was quoted on the rules changes and how they have affected play:
“There’s not as much clutching and grabbing, which makes the game a little bit different.
“It’s more open. You have to play a little bit differently. You can’t use your stick to your advantage the way you could. Now your stick is on the ice a lot more. You can’t put your stick on a guy or they’re going to call a penalty. You still see a lot of penalties because you’re in battles, but it is a faster game than it was 10 years ago.”
The article also goes over in general detail some of the reasons the Red Wings have been able to be so consistent for such a long time. There are also a couple quotes from San Jose forwards Bill Guerin and Joe Thornton.
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