from Josh Berenter of DetroitRedWings.com,

Eleven Stanley Cup championships. Original Six. The Winged Wheel. Hockeytown.

That's the cache that comes with being a member of the Detroit Red Wings, and this season, the Wings welcomed seven new members to the exclusive fraternity as the clubs looks to jumpstart their rebuild.

The Red Wings began their offseason by signing Swedish forward Mathias Brome on April 29 and traded for 13-year New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal on September 26 before attacking the free-agent market in October.

On the first day of free agency on October 9, Detroit signed veteran forward Bobby Ryan and Michigan native defenseman Jon Merrill to one-year deals. The next day, the Red Wings added 11-year NHL goalie Thomas Greiss and 26-year-old defenseman Troy Stecher, and on October 11, Detroit capped off its new haul by signing center and Red Wings bloodline Vladislav Namestnikov.

Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said he was pleased with the offseason work of executive vice president and general manager Steve Yzerman.

"I think all of them have the opportunity to make our team a better hockey team, without a shadow of a doubt," Blashill said during training camp. "They all have good hockey in them. I think they're a good group in their own different ways that can give us good, good minutes, which is what you need lots of times in the NHL."

The Wings badly needed defensive depth after finishing last season near the bottom of the NHL in goals-against average. And with the help of Merrill, Staal and Stecher, along with the return of Danny DeKeyser from a back injury, Blashill said the back end has been stabilized.

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