The past calender year has been one of the busiest and most successful in the NHL's recent memory.
I encourage you to visit
Bryan Thiel's blog post on the Top 10 Stories of the NHL in 2008 at the Blleacher Report; but not wanting us Red Wings fans to have to wait for story No.1, I'll bring that to you now !
1. The Detroit Red Wings
It's kind of cliched to pick the defending Stanley Cup champions as the most interesting story to follow for the 2009 year—after all, they are the defending champions, and no champion has won back-to-back titles since...well...the Red Wings in 1996/97 and 1997/98.
But despite the Wings trailing the San Jose Sharks and Boston Bruins by seven points for first in the league, it's impossible to count them out: They have one of the most balanced attacks offensively in the leauge, one of the most responsible defensive squads, and while their two goalies (Chris Osgood and Ty Conklin) aren't the greatest, they know how to stop pucks when they need to and win games.
But what makes this team even more interesting to follow during the 2009 year, is what could happen in the offseason.
Marian Hossa signed a one-year deal with the Wings because he wanted to win a cup. Now the rumor is that he's happy in Detroit and would love to stay there (and who wouldn't want to, what with the chance to play with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk) for the foreseeable future.
But in looking at Detroit's upcoming free agents, you have to wonder how that's going to work. Along with Hossa's upcoming unrestrictedness, you've also got Zetterberg hitting the open market after this season, and Johan Franzen testing the waters as well.
Granted these are the only three free agents the Wings have of note this offseason, but they're currently sitting only $274,000 under the cap meaning there isn't much room for a raise for anyone.
So is a higher-priced contract going to be traded? Will everyone resign for less-than-market value to stay with a contender? Or will the Wings just cut their losses, let someone walk, and then just fill from within like they always have?
Whatever their strategy, Detroit's cap structure will undoubtedly be something to behold, as the NHL's model of consistency looks to stay that way for at least the next year.
Article by Bryan Thiel, a Senior Writer and an NHL Community Leader for Bleacher Report. If you want to get in contact with Bryan you can do so through his profile. You can also check out all of his previous works in his archives.
