9302060267 DETROIT FREE PRESS 931005 Tuesday, October 05, 1993 METRO FINAL

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3D MITCH ALBOM; ROB PARKER; CHARLIE VINCENT NHL SPECIAL SECTION; STAFF PICKS Copyright (c) 1993, Detroit Free Press Mitch Albom * I like this new guy Bowman. He puts his best talent up front (Fedorov and Yzerman on the same line), and he doesn't waste a lot of time with the press. The Wings have tried every other kind of coach. Maybe this is what they need. If -- and I say if -- the goaltending is high-caliber, they will go to the Stanley Cup finals and play Pittsburgh. I just hope Bowman goes to the right locker room once that happens. Winner? Pittsburgh. Rob Parker * Scotty loves the players. The players love Scotty. Scotty hates the players. The players hate Scotty. In other words, it's going to be a year of adjustment. It will not be a Stanley Cup year. The Wings still will win their division but stumble late in the playoffs. The Stanley Cup? Toronto. Charlie Vincent * I saw the Red Wings beat Montreal, 8-1, in the first exhibition and wanted to run out and buy tickets for this year's finals. A friend convinced me I couldn't afford the airfare back-and-forth between Vancouver and Pittsburgh. The temptation is to pick the Wings, but last season is too fresh in my mind. They'll win the Central Division, but improvement comes in small increments in the playoffs and the Wings were knocked out in last year's first round. This time they'll get to the second. Vancouver will beat Pittsburgh for the Cup. Keith Gave * The Wings will win the Cup, but not before some major roster changes. By November or so, coach Scotty Bowman will identify flaws in the lineup and recommend changes that owner Mike Ilitch will endorse without hesitation. And general manager Bryan Murray will have the chips to bargain for the missing pieces. There will be a big trade, perhaps two, before Bowman can look his owner in the eye and say, "This is a team that can win in the playoffs." Then it will. Steve Crowe * The new coach can't beam the Wings up to the Cup without the help Murray did not get last spring. And these are essentially the same Wings who lost their nerve when it was needed most. The Wings will make a stirring run into early May, but Montreal again goes all the way. Steve Kornacki * The Wings will provide one of the year's top stories. Bowman will get them into the conference finals where they will lose to LA. The Kings go on to win the Cup, Wayne Gretzky becomes the first Canadian governor of California and takes the franchise to Sacramento. DREDWINGS; HOCKEY;Red Wings