Detroit — The greatest hockey team ever assembled?
A description like that, when you begin to analyze any championship team in any sport, is difficult because there are different eras, and opinions can be so subjective.
But, obviously, the Red Wings’ 2002 Stanley Cup-winning team is right up there with any of the best. It was an amazing collection of talent.
Monday is the 20th anniversary of the Wings’ 2002 cup-winning team, having defeated Carolina in five games, capped by a 3-1 victory in Game 5.
It was a fitting end to a team that had the most talent (nine Hall of Famers, 10 after Pavel Datsyuk gets enshrined one day), arguably the greatest coach of all time (Scotty Bowman, another Hall of Famer), one of the most passionate owners (Mike Ilitch, Hall of Famer) who paid the big salaries, and a talented front office (Hall of Famers Ken Holland and Jimmy Devellano).
Everyone meshed or buried their egos for one common cause: Win a Stanley Cup.
“There’s never been talk about making the playoffs,” forward Luc Robitaille said before the 2002 playoffs, talking about the pressure that year “If we don’t win the Cup, it’s not a good year. I love that.”
Rarely has there been a Dream Team of sorts in hockey, like that Red Wings team. The Wings were like rock stars on tour, and every road stop became an event in those cities and buildings.
The pressure was something else. As Robitallie said, anything short of winning a Stanley Cup would have been a colossal disappointment, as well as a huge financial hit for Ilitch.
But, ultimately, the best team did win.
From the start of the previous offseason until the confetti fell from the roof of Joe Louis Arena, here are the highlights of that magical hockey season:
► Acquiring Dominik Hasek: Chris Osgood had a marvelous career with the Wings, but heading into the summer of 2001, his inconsistency in recent seasons had worn on fans and had an impact on the Wings’ early playoff exits.
When Holland acquired Hasek from Buffalo a few days before free agency began — Hasek had asked out of Buffalo — in exchange for forward Slava Kozlov, a 2002 first-round pick and future considerations, there were no more goaltending issues.
“We felt good about our goaltending, but when a goalie of Dominik Hasek’s stature becomes available to you, you have to react,” Holland said
But Hasek was to be only the first domino.
► Signing Robitaille and Brett Hull: Robitaille signed first, then Hull shortly later in free agency. Both were surefire Hall of Famers, prolific goal scorers, and big-name personalities.
Hull had won a Stanley Cup before in Dallas, Robitaille was searching for his first.
“I came here because I want to win the Cup, no question,” Robitaille said at his introductory news conference.
When both signed, the roster became a collection of extraordinary talent. But there were valid questions about chemistry, whether one puck was going to be enough for this offensively star-studded crew, and were the big egos going to clash?
“You’re always worried about chemistry,” Holland said before the season began. “I would say that’s one things that will need to come together as we look ahead. It will be a challenge. Things such as ice time, who’ll see the time on the power play. But I feel we have a group of players (for whom) things like that will not be an issue.”
► Fast start: The Wings won 22 of their first 27 games that season and clinched the Presidents’ Trophy (best record) in March. The Wings finished with 116 points, 15 points than the next closest team (Boston).
The interesting thing was, the Wings weren’t necessarily looking at the standings for most of the season.
The key point of emphasis became how they were playing, challenging themselves to get to a certain, consistent and elite level, and basically playing against themselves.
And, interestingly, they were playing somewhat sloppy hockey heading into the playoffs, causing fans to panic.
► The Olympics: But a few months before the playoffs, the 2002 Winter Olympics took place in Salt Lake City and a staggering 11 Red Wings represented their respective countries.
In the gold-medal game, Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan’s Canadian team defeated Chris Chelios and Hull’s United States team.
Many Wings who took part in that tournament credited the Olympics with a needed boost of energy, getting away from the doldrums of the regular season, and sparking the run into the playoffs.
Yzerman, after winning the gold medal, was thrilled.
“It’s hard to contain your emotions,” Yzerman said ” Guys were trying to be all calm and stoic, but you can’t. You let it loose. You become a kid again, and the boyishness just comes out.”
► Vancouver scares early: All Wings fans remember the Wings lost the two first games of the first-round series to Vancouver, causing widespread panic.
Hasek played poorly, the Wings’ big stars were sluggish, and Vancouver’s young talent was surging.
But in Game 3, a slap shot by Nicklas Lidstrom from center ice eluded Canucks goalie Dan Cloutier, the Wings took the lead, and the series was never the same again. The Wings won the next four games convincingly.
► Colorado again: After eliminating Vancouver and St. Louis (in five games), it was time, again, to face the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Finals. For many of the participants, it would be the fifth series between the heated rivals.
“It’s about respect,” Kirk Maltby said about again facing the Avalanche. “We know what each team is capable of doing. A lot of it gets blown out of proportion as far as the hatred and blood spill. It’s two very good teams trying to move on and win. There is respect there. There is a lot more respect there than there is any type of hatred or anything like that.”
This particular series was incredible to watch. The talent level was sublime. Terrific, entertaining hockey, and the Wings found themselves losing 3-2 in the series before winning Game 6 in Denver (goaltender Patrick Roy fumbling the puck led to Shanahan’s game-turning goal).
Then, in Game 7, at JLA, the Wings trounced Colorado 7-0 in a game that was astonishing, unexpected and showed the Wings dominance all at once.
“I just told them before the game a few stories about Game 7s that I’d been involved in,” said Bowman, whose pregame banter was credited with keeping the Wings loose. “And I told them that no matter what happens, it will be memorable — that I remember every one of them, whether we won or lost.”
► Defeating Carolina: The Hurricanes were a surprise, upstart team that few expected to reach the Stanley Cup Finals — then won Game 1 on a Ron Francis overtime goal.
But the Wings gradually took control, keyed by Igor Larionov’s triple overtime game-winner in Game 3, and the Wings had their Stanley Cup after five games.
Lidstrom was the deserved Conn Smythe winner (playoff Most Valuable Player), Hasek was sensational, and Wings depth, not surprisingly, proved too much for Carolina.
► Bowman retires: Right after the victory, Bowman went onto the ice and told all his players, individually, he was retiring. It wasn’t shocking, but obviously still startling, the legendary coach calling it a remarkable career.
Bowman was content in his decision, and relished going out the way he did.
“I enjoyed the year, but it’s a long, tough grind,” Bowman said. “The tough part was leaving the players But it’s time. I know it’s time.”‘
More: Even 25 years later, Wings’ Stanley Cup win still brings unforgettable memories
► Impact of winning: For players such as Robitaille, or Steve Duchesne, or Hasek, veterans who came to Detroit to win a Stanley Cup, this was a special evening, a special season.
Robitaille’s family remained in Los Angeles while he lived in Detroit that 2001-02 season.
“I’ve been waiting for this my entire career,” Robitaille said. “I don’t even know what to say. This is incredible. There was a lot of sacrifice. This makes it all worthwhile.”
You can become somewhat jaded being around professional sports. After a while, it seems like money is the lone motivator for teams or individual players.
But seeing the pure emotion on the faces some of the veterans who had never won a Cup before, well, you saw what winning a Stanley Cup can mean to someone.
► Mission accomplished: Even trailing Vancouver and Colorado in those series, there was a sense of calm and professionalism about that Wings’ team.
Eight players were 35 or older, and had experienced so much in the NHL. There was no panic.
It was as if the Wings knew that season was going to end that particular way.
“I never really felt uptight during the playoffs because I always felt we were going to win,” Yzerman said after the Game 5 victory. “This is the most rewarding of the Cups, maybe because I’ve been through it and could enjoy it.”
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter; @tkulfan