Red Wings Win Stanley Cup

Alright, so Steve Yzerman wasn't there. Other than that, though, these are the same Red Wings as ever. Lidstrom, Holmstrom, Draper, Maltby, Osgood... you know the list. Pavel Datsyuk won his second cup. Henrik Zetterberg took home the Conn Smythe in this, his first Cup win.

Expect European players to be back in vogue in the offseason. This was a team with a European heart, and all the top end talent was from the other side of the Atlantic.

Zetterberg, incidentally, becomes the lowest ranked draft pick to ever recieve the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP; only one other player in history picked outside the top 100 has ever won it (Ron Hextall).

This is an organizational win; a win by a team with a consistent plan, a team that refused to rebuild based on (several) disappointing playoffs. From Ken Holland to Mike Babcock, this team has believed in doing things their way, regardless of the setbacks, and it has resulted in a constantly competitive team that could have won the Stanley Cup any year over the last decade. In an era of evenly matched teams, it is the only way to do things.

Pittsburgh, depsite constant comparisons to the 1983 Oilers (one commentator I read argued they were a better team, since the Oilers were swept in the Finals) has significant retooling to do in the offseason. Many key parts (Hossa, Malone, Orpik) will either not be back or will command massive raises; this is not a team built to contend year after year, although with Crosby they'll never be out of it.

At this juncture I would argue that Detroit has a better chance of returning to the finals than Pittsburgh does.