2006 Detroit Red Wings Preview

2006 Detroit Red Wings Preview from Maddux Sports. With the NHL Hockey Season opening up, now is the time to get aquatinted with the 2006 teams and players. Remember if you are NHL hockey betting look no further, as we offer hockey picks and can help you turn a profit betting on the NHL this season.

2006 Detroit Red Wings Hockey Season Preview

It was a shock to many when last season Detroit, the number one seed in the playoffs, bowed out in the first round, losing to the Edmonton Oilers, the last seed in the Western Conference. Still, there’s no doubt about it, Detroit will be back in 2006-07.

Despite the fact that Steve Yzerman retired and Brendan Shanahan has left to skate on different ice, the Wings are still a scoring juggernaut. About one-third of the returning forwards had 30 points or more last season, with center Pavel Datsyuk (28 G, 59 A, 87 Pts) the team leader and wing man Henrik Zetterberg (39 G, 46 A, 85 Pts) right behind him. Additionally, Detroit has a slew of young faces that have been scoring machines in the minors. They were second in offense and first on the power play, expect the same output this season.

The defense placed third in the league and the penalty kill was also third. Nicklas Lidstrom (16 G, 64 A, 80 Pts) was the top defenseman in the league, followed closely by Mathieu Schneider (21 G, 38 A, 59 Pts). Young Niklas Kronwall is the new vanguard and has shown some amazing potential as both a checker and scorer. But there’s a definite drop-off after that. Chris Chelios (4 G, 11 A, 15 Pts) is 44 years old. Other younger, inexperienced players are bound to be mistake plagued. Look for a drop off in this area.

Goaltending may be the biggest issue. Despite a fantastic regular season, Manny Legace’s post-season play led to his departure. The dominant Dominik Hasek (43 GP, 28 W, 10 L, 4 OT, 2.09 GAA, .925 SP) is back in Detroit, but he’s 41 and has had a nagging groin problem. Chris Osgood returns as a steady backup.

Detroit will probably not be the top team in the NHL in 2006-07, but if their goaltending holds up and their defense matures, they could be close to it.

For more information on the 2006 Detroit Hockey Club check out the Red Wings team website.