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NO, WE DON’T HAVE A LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE RED WINGS.
But thanks so much for asking.
Last season, we anointed Ken Holland as the No. 1 GM in the league. A couple of issues back, we came to the determination the Wings have the premier defense corps in the NHL this season.
And now this. Hey, if the skate fits…
After an exhaustive study of each of the NHL’s 30 organizations, we can say with confidence the Red Wings are the No. 1 franchise in the league and it isn’t even close. In our examination of nine on- and off-ice criteria focused primarily on the past five seasons, the Wings not only finished first in the NHL, but the gap between themselves and the second-place Ottawa Senators was bigger than the chasm between any other two teams in the league.
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That was the case when we ranked the league’s GMs and came up with Holland, and the NHL’s blueline corps and also settled on the Red Wings. It wasn’t even close, as evidenced by the fact that when we ranked Detroit’s defense corps No. 1, we said, “it’s not even close.” When we picked Holland as the top GM in the league, we quoted a fellow NHL executive as saying, “To me, Ken Holland is the best GM in hockey and there’s nobody even close to him.”
But what makes the Red Wings so dominant in a league that has been overrun by parity? They have not won a Stanley Cup since 2002, but that’s one more than 25 other teams in the league have won in that time span. Simply put, the Wings are very strong in every organizational aspect. They’ve been perennial playoff contenders; been dominant in the regular season; have one of the best ownerships and front offices in the league; have drafted relatively well considering their dearth of high draft picks; their franchise value is high; and, until this season, their attendance has been among the most robust in the NHL.
They are, if you will, the model franchise. They have managed to be a powerhouse with an unlimited budget and unlike some other big-market teams, have yet to become a casualty of the salary cap. They continue to develop solid, if not spectacular players and their late-round picks – such as Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and (maybe one day) Niklas Kronwall – have proven to be major home runs.
