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Get StartedThat Franzen over Hossa decision continues to haunt the Wings. That was the beginning of their slide downwards from Cup contention in my opinion.
Last season the wings had a 30+ goal scorer was 2008-09. We have had two with 29
Franzen, and Tatar . Nyquist with 28. But that is a long drought. We need some goal scoring !!!
Forwards weren't the issue, problem stems with the back.
#1 Retirement of Brian Rafalski in 2011.
#2 Retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom in 2012.
How do you replace two legends like Rafalski and Lidstrom on the backend?
White, Colaiacovo, Quincey, DeKeyser :clap:
White signed in the offseason Rafalski retired. He put up good offensive numbers playing with Lidstrom. When Lidstrom retired he was left exposed.
Colaiacovo, unfortunately, was always hurt.
Quincey was acquired at the trade deadline following Rafalski's departure. At that time he was one of the top offensive D-man in the western conference. FOr one reason or another he didn't pan out as an offensive d-man in Detroit. By the end of his tenture he evolved into a shutdown D-man because Detroit was so bad defensively following Lidstrom's retirement and the frequency of his defensive partners getting caught up into the play. Had not problems with Quincey apart from his contract which paid him as a great scoring D-man.
DeKeyser, still has tons to improve. At least he is solid defensively. However, he will never match the puck moving skill of either Rafalski or Lidstrom.
If you look at the years Detroit won the cups, it was their best defensive seasons not their best offensive years. The D-core has been decimated and last years addition of Green is great, but he's not the player he used to be and it is not enough. The D requires further bolstering.
Should I mention Green signed only 3 years after Lidstrom retired? Any wonder why barely squeking into playoffs and a 1st round exit has been on the cards the past few years?
Point of clarity, retirement of Rafalski was kinda of a shocker. Finding a replacement can be somewhat excusable as being caught offguard. However, retirement of Lidstrom? This was written on the walls for years. Holland was obviously without a plan.
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