48-20-10-4 (110 pts)
2nd in West
3rd overall

Matt Ellis, LW (FA); Derian Hatcher, D (FA-Dal); Kevin Miller, RW/LW (FA-Europe); Anders Myrvold, D (FA-Europe); Jamie Rivers, D (FA-Fla); Ray Whitney, LW (FA-CBJ); Clarke Wilm, C (FA-Nas)

Bryan Adams, LW (FA-Europe); Andrew Allen, G (FA-Ott); Patrick Boileau, D (FA-Pit); Ed Campbell, D (FA-Bos); Sergei Fedorov, C (FA-Ana); Igor Larionov, C (FA-NJ); Luc Robitaille, LW (FA-LA); Stacy Roest, RW (FA-Europe); Jesse Wallin, D (FA-Cgy)

Last year, the winds of change blew into Motown when Curtis Joseph took over starting goaltending duties from retired Dominik Hasek. Joseph, the man who was supposed to give Detroit back-to-back Stanley Cups, was largely blamed — rightly or wrongly — after the upstart Anaheim Mighty Ducks swept Detroit in the first round of last year's playoffs.

After the Red Wings' shocking departure in the postseason, Hasek announced that he was coming out of retirement. With that news, Joseph quickly became the odd-man out.

Hasek, with six Vezinas and two Hart Trophies and one Stanley Cup, certainly has the credentials to dominate the crease again. But whether the year off has any effect on him has yet to be seen. In his first pre-season game against the New York Rangers, Hasek allowed three goals on 14 shots in two periods.

Now that Detroit has two No. 1 goaltenders, the Red Wings have made no secret that they are trying to deal Joseph. If that's the case, the backup will certainly be the ever-reliable Manny Legace.

Legace is regarded as the best No. 2 goaltender in the league. In 25 games last season, he sported a 15-5-4 and a 2.18 goals against average.

It's hard to believe the Red Wings defence could get any better with their crop of Norris Trophy defencemen. But with the addition of free-agent signee Derian Hatcher, they have. Hatcher joins a blue-chip blueline in Detroit, which also includes Nicklas Lidstrom, Chris Chelios and Mathieu Schneider among others.

The only criticism of this group is their age. But given their amount of ice time and offensive production — Lidstrom and Schneider, for example, played over 20 minutes a game and had 62 and 50 points, respectively, last season — that assessment is quickly put to rest. Plus, Detroit gave up just 2.48 goals per game, eighth best in the league.

Detroit's forward unit stays virtually the same as last season with two major changes. Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman, who spent most of last season recovering from knee surgery, will be in uniform for the full year. But Sergei Fedorov, the team's top scorer last year with 83 points, won't be there. Fedorov signed with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the offseason.

Even with the loss of Fedorov, veteran centre Igor Larionov and Luc Robitaille, the Red Wings have plenty of firepower. Ray Whitney, who had 76 points with the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets last season, joins all-stars Brett Hull and Brendan Shanahan on a formidable front line.

The familiar threesome of Kirk Maltby, Darren McCarty and Kris Draper continues to frustrate opponents as "the grind line."

The loss of Fedorov hurts the Red Wings, but it also opens up ice time for up-and-coming centres Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. Datsyuk had 12 goals and 39 assists in 64 games last season, while Zetterberg had 22 goals and 22 assists in 79 games.

Talented youngster Jiri Hudler could also be in the mix if the Czech junior has a solid camp.

When Hasek decided to un-retire this past Canada Day, Red Wings fans couldn't be happier. In Hasek, the Red Wings have an experienced netminder who has won the big game. A technically sound goalie with a knack for making the big save, the 38-year-old Hasek is an intimidating presence.