Kukla's Korner Hockey
Detroit’s Playoff Streak
by Paul on 04/24/13 at 06:05 PM ET
Comments (4)
from Nicholas J. Cotsonika of Yahoo,
No player in the NHL today was in the league the last time the Wings missed the playoffs. Nine of the franchises in the NHL today weren’t in the league the last time the Wings missed the playoffs.
The Wings’ oldest player, Todd Bertuzzi, was 15. The Wings’ youngest player, Dan DeKeyser, had just been born.
DeKeyser was born in Detroit on March 7, 1990. His earliest playoff memory is the Wings’ run to the Stanley Cup final in 1995. He followed their Cup victories in 1997, 1998, 2002 and 2008 and everything in between. When he played at the Joe for Western Michigan, he used to look at the names on the wall and soak up the history. He signed with the Wings as a free agent March 30....
An entire generation of Wings fans has grown up with playoff hockey as a rite of spring. Some Detroiters might even consider it a birthright. The Wings never came close to missing the playoffs the past 21 seasons. They finished in the top four in their conference 18 times, and they had a cushion of at least a dozen points the other three times. So many big names are on those plaques: Sergei Fedorov, Nicklas Lidstrom, on and on.
But playoff hockey is not a birthright in Detroit. It has just seemed to be.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Comments
I still say the most-amazing aspect of the playoff run is that during it the Wings TWICE abruptly lost key defensemen to career-ending injuries. And still chugged on anyways.
Posted by Primis on 04/24/13 at 10:22 PM ET
I remember Fischer. Who was the other? I am going to have to assume nobody as high profile. Fischer was still the best defenseman the Wings have drafted since Lidstrom.
Posted by teldar on 04/25/13 at 07:20 AM ET
teldar, I believe Primis is referring to Vladdy.
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 04/25/13 at 08:32 AM ET
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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.
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That article is freaking AWESOME
Specially this:
Posted by Zqto on 04/24/13 at 10:13 PM ET