The Cup Changes Everything
That’s the tagline the NHL has used during this year’s NHL playoffs. The idea is that once your team has won the Cup reptuations are made, misperceptions are dealt a fatal blow, and you join a very select group of people and teams who have won the most difficult piece of hardware to claim in professional team sports.
Here are some of the things that would change if Detroit can get one more win.
Reports of Hockeytown’s demise would be proven to be greatly exaggerated. It’s been six years since Detroit’s last championship and over that time we’ve had a lockout and a salary cap put in place. Steve Yzerman retired, Sergei Fedorov has drifted aimlessly from Anaheim to Columbus to DC, and Brendan Shanahan moved on to New York. There were many suggestions that free-spending teams like the Red Wings would be hamstrung by a limited budget. With one more win the Red Wings would deliver a dagger to the critics who suggested Detroit’s remarkable run is over.
Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg would cement their reptuation as being amongst the best forwards in the game. There were lots of questions about both players when the Red Wings bowed out in previous seasons to Calgary and Edmonton. With one more win they will join Trammel and Whitaker, Yzerman and Fedorov, Lindsay and Howe, Isiah and Joe D, and Chauncey and Rip as the greatest duos in Detroit sports.
Is there a better captain than Nick Lidstrom to become the first European captain to accept the Stanley Cup from Gary Bettman should Detroit get one more win? Of course not. The first European Conn Smythe winner, the best defenseman of his generation, with one more win Lidstrom will once again make history. Based on how smoothly, calmly and capably he does everything on the ice it would be incredible to see how he handles the greatest honor a captain can receive.
Chris Osgood would earn some measure of grudging respect from a hockey public that has largely viewed his career as being buoyed by playing on a lot of very talented teams. Brad Stuart would receive the ultimate prize of having his name engraved after having found a team where his talent was maximized and he was able to make major contributions at the most important time of the season. Dan Cleary’s career resurrection would be Newfoundland’s proudest moment and Dallas Drake and Brian Rafalski would prove that yes in fact you can go home again.
Niklas Kronwall would reap the rewards of just staying healthy. All kidding aside, one more win would cap a season where Kronner established himself as one of the better blueliners in the NHL. His counterpart at forward would have to be Johan Franzen, who more than lived up to expectations this season. One more win and heck - maybe even the winning goal - and Mule might get some votes for the Conn Smythe trophy. Val Filppula and Jiri Hudler haven’t had breakout seasons yet but experience in the rough and tumble playoffs could provide the impetus for them to take their games to the next level next season. Darren Helm would experience the greatest joy possible in his given career after being on the opposite end of the spectrum last year during the Memorial Cup championship.
Those are some of the things that would happen with one more win. The Wings still have home ice so I’m hoping they treat tonight’s game as an opportunity to really go after the Pens right from the drop of the puck and carry play early. If they are lucky enough to get that first goal then I like their chances.
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