A quick thought on the Red Wings 2014 season

Well, that did not take very long. The Boston Bruins thoroughly out-played Detroit in the brief five game series. Detroit had moments of promise against the Bruins but Boston was never really in any danger, even after dropping game 1 at home.

I'm not sure anyone is that surprised. This was not like last year when the Red Wings knocked off an overrated Ducks team, totally lacking in depth. As a fan, I silently hoped Detroit could at least make a real series of things. Maybe their speed would give Boston the same fits that Chicago did in the cup final a year ago. If Detroit got by Boston, the East was wide open enough that they could very well have made it all the way to a rematch with Chicago. Alas, it was not to be.

My hope is that the drubbing Detroit took will open Ken Holland's eyes to the realization that he can no longer paper over the team's weaknesses. While injuries to Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Jonathan Ericsson didn't help Detroit's chances, I think it's pretty clear that even if fully healthy the end result would likely have been the same. Boston has remarkable depth and, just as impressive, clear structure and roles from top to bottom. I'm sure it's not true, but it felt like I could count on one hand the number of times the Bruins were ever really out of position in that series. Every rush, Boston seemed to have four guys back.

Would it have been more fun if Detroit had made it into the seven spot to knock off the Penguins? Or maybe into the 2-3 match up with Montreal/Tampa Bay? Sure. But if the goal is to win the cup, then why waste time? For the next few years, the road to the cup is going through Boston and the Red Wings need to get used to trying to measure up.

Obviously things have gone disastrously when the calendar has not even hit May and the Red Wings are already done playing hockey. I've complained a lot about Ken Holland's wasted millions on useless players, so I won't go into that. It's hard not to wonder what could have been if the roster had been built a little more soundly.

But there are some positives to come out of this season. The young, speedy forwards are not going anywhere (well, maybe Tomas Jurco. I could see him starting in Grand Rapids next year). Gustav Nyquist, Riley Sheahan, and Tomas Tatar will be able to provide depth scoring at a really cheap price. Danny DeKeyser and Brendan Smith proved they can be top four defensemen. Also for a bargain price. And Holland and Babcock realized they can get the same crap numbers and mediocre penalty killing that Dan Cleary provides at the scrapheap price they're paying Luke Glendening.

That should give Detroit the cap flexibility to bring in at least two more elite-level players. With the right additions, suddenly everyone moves down to a proper role, reducing mistakes, and getting results. In today's parity driven NHL, that can be all you need to get back on top.