What The Red Wings Can Learn From The Cup-Winning Penguins
By: Will Burchfield
@Burchie_Kid
Since topping the Penguins in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, the Red Wings have steadily fallen from the NHL's elite. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, reclaimed the throne with Sunday night's Game Six victory over the Sharks.
So how can the Wings reverse their decline? Look no further than the team that triggered it in 2009.
When the Penguins knocked off the defending Stanley Cup champs that spring, they seemed poised for a long of playoff success. They boasted a young, talented core and a cap situation that spelled financial flexibility moving forward. But the dynasty never materialized, as the Pens continually transformed from a regular-season juggernaut into a postseason also-ran.
Sensing the team's formula had grown stale, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford shook things up entering the 2015-16 season. And there's lesson number one for the Wings.
For all the talk in the hockey world about the difficulty of orchestrating big-time trades, Rutherford has certainly proved otherwise in his two years as Pittsburgh's GM. First, he acquired gritty goal-scorer Patric Hornqvist in the 2014 offseason. He followed that up a summer later by trading for Phil Kessel, providing the Pens with as much talent and versatility up front as any team in the Eastern Conference.
The Wings could use an offensive shakeup of their own. Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk (who may not even be back next season) aren't the players they once were, and the team's younger forwards haven't shown the elite capability to fill the void. Sure, there's skill in the likes of Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyqust and Dylan Larkin, but those guys – Tatar and Nyquist, in particular – feel more like supplemental pieces than frontline stars. What's more, they're largely the same players.
If Detroit needs to enhance its forward group, they need to diversify it as well. They need to get bigger, more imposing. They need to find more ways to wear the opposition down. They need to bolster their physicality without sacrificing a substantial measure of skill. This, by the way, is exactly what's made Hornqvist such a great fit in Pittsburgh.
In identifying "untouchables" on the Red Wings roster, the list ends with Larkin. GM Ken Holland should look at everyone else in the organization as a potential gambling chip in a significant trade. It might not be that a player of Phil Kessel's quality is available, but Holland should work the phones nonetheless. With the comprehensive rebuild gaining traction in front offices around the league, more and more teams are looking to unload proven stars.
While Rutherford significantly improved his team through the trade market, the Penguins were also built from within. In fact, it was around the time that youngsters Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust (among others) were called up to the NHL this winter that Pittsburgh began turning its season around. What Sheary and Rust added right away was speed – the same could be said of midseason acquisition Carl Hagelin. And there is nothing more important in today's NHL than speed.
The Wings already boast a few speed demons of their own. Larkin is a flat-out blur, and Andreas Athanasiou, who was called up in February, can skate with the best of them. Abdelkader could be listed here as well, but after that the Wings' forwards lose a step.
When Detroit's training camp opens prior to the 2016-17 season, the team should give prospects like Evgeny Svechnikov, Tyler Bertuzzi and Mitch Callahan a serious look. All three of them are fast, energetic players who could add some much-needed jump to the Wings' offensive outfit. Bertuzzi and Callahan have considerable work to do in other areas of their game, but so was the case for Sheary and Rust at this time a year ago. They entered the fray with speed and figured out the rest, well, on the fly.
Pittsburgh's influx of youth this season wasn't limited to the forwards. The Penguins also gave significant playing time to young defensemen such as Derrick Pouliot, Brian Dumoulin and Justin Schultz. There were growing pains along the way, but by season's end both Dumoulin and Schultz became key cogs on a Cup-winning team.
The Wings certainly aren't without prospects on the blue line. Xavier Oullet, Ryan Sproul and Robbie Russo are all coming off strong seasons for the AHL Grand Rapids Griffins and deserve a shot at cracking the Wings' top six defensemen next year. Both Oullet and Russo are on the smaller side for NHL blueliners, but they compensate for that with – you guessed it – strong skating ability.
In reviewing the Penguins' season, though, the single biggest moment was the hiring of coach Mike Sullivan. When Sullivan was brought in on Dec. 12, the Penguins were 15-10-3; they would close the year with a record of 33-16-5. What changed? Put simply, Sullivan let his players play. He recognized their speed and skill and harnessed it within a system that allowed it to shine. He encouraged his team to come with speed through the neutral zone, to hold on to the puck rather than dump it in and chase after it. The result was a team that thoroughly dominated possession, that consistently out-shot and out-chanced the opposition. Not surprisingly, the wins piled up pretty quickly.
It's been said numerous times before: the NHL is a copycat league. Teams look at what worked for the Stanley Cup winner, and then rush to replicate it. And there's nothing wrong with that. Indeed, it would be shortsighted and overly prideful to do otherwise.
The Wings aren't an organization to take cues from their rivals. For so long, they've been the NHL's model franchise, the team that everyone else strives to emulate. But they've slipped recently – and continue to slip – in terms of competitiveness, and changes must be made. If the Penguins are any indication, the Wings must get faster and stronger up front, and younger on the blue line. And if it's going to take a bold trade by Holland to see that vision through, he can't be afraid to pull the trigger.
