from Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News,

In six seasons, the Red Wings have gone from struggling for a another shot at the Stanley Cup, with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk, to battling to remain in playoff contention.

There has been some more emphasis on rebuilding, recently.

Now, the stars are gone.

Zetterberg joined Datsyuk in departing prematurely, His back issues roiled for more than a decade, remedied only temporarily by surgery.

The struggle for the playoffs has become what Ken Holland and his management team sought to avoid: A team consecutively eliminated, for which improving chances in the draft lottery seems a useful alternative.

But having mostly decided against managing down the success of the team to increase lottery odds and create playing time for prospects, the Wings find their fortunes in considerable decline, nonetheless.

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