9903240040
DETROIT FREE PRESS
990324
Wednesday, March 24, 1999
METRO FINAL
1A
The Red Wings hope Chris Chelios, left, and Wendel Clark can help the
team retain the Stanley Cup. Details, 1F.
MITCH ALBOM
SEE RELATED STORY, PAGE 1F
Copyright (c) 1999, Detroit Free Press
WINGS' DEAL: WIN NOW, WORRY LATER
This was the last magic trick, the final yank of the tablecloth. The Red
Wings, just hours before the NHL trading deadline, burned up the phone lines,
said "deal," "deal," "deal," "deal," and acquired four new players, three of
them major personalities, in hopes of finally straightening the wheels on
their wagon roll to a third straight Stanley Cup.
"I went to bed last night with a wish list," general manager Ken Holland said.
"We had lots of irons in the fire. We had lots of lines in the lake."
And that's a lot of metaphors. But to sum them up: Wishes? Granted. Fire? Lit.
Fish? Hooked.
Here is what the Wings got: defenseman Chris Chelios, 37, from Chicago,
defenseman Ulf Samuelsson, 34, from the New York Rangers, left-wing Wendel
Clark, 32, and backup goalie Bill Ranford, 32, from Tampa Bay.
Here is what the Red Wings gave up: the future.
Not the whole future. Just a part of it. Two first-round draft picks, two
second-round draft picks, one third-round draft pick, young and promising
defenseman Anders Eriksson and young backup goalie Kevin Hodson.
It is, quite clearly, an attempt to grab the big prize now, and worry about
later prizes, well, later. I like the chances. But make no mistake. This is
not about being a smart move or a dumb move.
It's about being the only move.
"Our record is not as good as it should be," Holland admitted, which is kind
of like saying Monica Lewinsky is overexposed. "We've had a lot of our guys
injured. But at some point you say, 'If we don't get some depth in here, we're
gonna be in trouble.' "
Of course, waiting until the last hours of the final trading day is a little
like saying that you only recognized the water was deep when it began to come
out of your mouth and ears. But the Wings -- fighting to keep from dropping
from third to sixth in the playoff pecking order -- were hoping to right their
ship without making major trades.
But give Holland and coach Scotty Bowman credit: When they saw trouble, they
sent up a flare. They made the deals.
And what they got is big, strong, tough.
And old.
New leases on life
Yes, it's true, the newest Red Wings are a lot more VH1 than MTV. The average
age of the new men is 34. They are long in the tooth -- if they have any of
their own teeth left.
But don't let that fool you. For one thing, the Wings didn't get these guys
for next year or the year after. They got them for now. If they help them win
one more Cup, it's worth it.
Secondly, there are certain advantages to giving championship hope to players
who have put in their time waiting. Remember Larry Murphy, acquired as a
throwaway on trading day from Toronto a few years ago? He got one whiff of a
championship aroma and seemed to lose 10 years off his skates.
So it shall be -- the Wings hope -- with Chelios, who, in coming to Detroit,
at the very least, gives Wings fans one less guy to boo when they play the
Blackhawks. Chelios always has been tough, he plays hard, and what he may have
lost to age he could make up for in enthusiasm, now that he has been sprung
from the purgatory of Chicago hockey.
"Chris is one of the premier defensemen in the league," Holland said. "I've
been interested in him for a long time, but it wasn't until (Monday) night
that Chicago indicated he might be available."
Chelios gives sting to the Red Wings' blue line. So, too, will Samuelsson, if
he recovers from a broken foot that is supposed to keep him sidelined for
another two or three weeks. Why trade for an injured player, you ask? Well,
the guys the Wings have are injured, too. It now becomes a race for quickest
recovery time.
As for Clark? Red Wings fans will remember him as a feisty forward who used to
regularly tangle with Bob Probert in the late '80s. In those days, Wings fans
hooted and called him "Wendy." My guess is we won't hear that any more. Clark
was having a whale of a year with Tampa Bay, scoring 28 goals, and the Wings
could always use some firepower.
The final piece of the pie was Ranford, a nod toward caution. In losing
Hodson, the Wings lost the security that comes with a third goalie. Ranford
returns that, and has experience.
In fact, experience is hardly the concern with these new Wings. A bigger
question is how much they have left in the tank.
A risky business
Time will tell. The fact is, this is one of those moves that works brilliantly
or backfires like bad gunpowder. To introduce four new faces, at this point in
the season, into a championship locker room, can do one of two things: It can
mess up the chemistry, and throw off the precious equilibrium of the team --
or, it can stir the pot just enough to make things fresh, make everyone
hungry, and the team can ride that new passion right to a championship.
The Wings clearly are figuring on the latter. The teams they must beat have
all made improvements since last year. This was about shoring up, flexing some
muscle, and sending a message that just because they own championship rings
does not mean they spend all day staring at them.
It is the final magic trick, the last pull of the tablecloth. Now fans,
players and management hold their breath and watch if the plates and cups --
especially the one marked Stanley -- remain standing or come tumbling down.
THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE.
COLUMN;HOCKEY;RED WINGS;CHRIS CHELIOS;WENDEL CLARK;ULF
SAMUELSSON;BILL RANFORD;SPT