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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Are the Red Wings a dynasty?

From Jamie Samuelsen of the Detroit Free Press:

Dynasty - a powerful group that maintains its position for a considerable time.

Well, the Wings may not be the Mings or even the Carringtons ('80s TV reference that about six readers will get), but if you go by the definition, they are a dynasty.

A lot of callers disagreed. They claimed that to be a sports dynasty, you have to win multiple championships in consecutive years. Like the '90s Bulls or the '80s Islanders and Oilers. But I disagree. In fact, I’d argue that it’s the opposite.

To me, a dynasty is a franchise that maintains excellence even as the players change. The Bulls were great because of one guy – Jordan. The Oilers were great because they had Gretzky and surrounded him with Hall of Famers like Kurri, Messier and Coffey. Those guys stayed together and won a ton. Those are great teams, not dynasties.

The Red Wings have been the best or one of the best teams in hockey for more than a decade. Each and every year they are a favorite to win. They are a consistent challenger for the top spot in the league. And they’ve won four Cups. Yet during that run they have changed general managers, coaches, goaltenders, captains and leading scorers. They have maintained excellence while changing the roster almost entirely. That’s more dynastic than striking gold for three or four years with a superstar player or tandem.


Read the entire entry here.

If you consider his definition of a dynasty, then why doesn't he include the 1995-present New Jersey Devils as a dynasty?

Ballhype: hype it up!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

No question that they are a dynasty! Similar to the Spurs of the NBA, even though they (Spurs) won NBA titles every 2nd year, perhaps they should be referred to as an "Unconventional Dynasty"! Similarly, the Wings have been dominant (Presidents Trophy or Stanley Cups) for the past decade and clearly deserve this type of recognition.

Anonymous said...

No way they are a dynasty. As Shark fans have been repeatedly reminded of over the last few years regular season accomplishments does not a great team make. Dynasty = championships. That last time the Red Wings won the cup was 6 years ago. Can that possibly be a dynasty? I don't think so. Let's see them win in two more times in a row and then I'll happily call them a dynasty.