New coach (Dave Lewis), new goalie (Curtis Joseph), same goal: the Cup

By Daniel G. Habib

Curtis Joseph. David E. Klutho SI Fast Fact Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios were one-two in the voting for the Norris Trophy last season, the first time in the award's 49-year history that teammates were so honored. SI Insider Rankings Offense: 2 Rookie Zetterberg will make impact; watch Datsyuk shine Defense: 1 Lidstrom's tops and supporting cast is better Goaltending: 4 With talent in front of him, expect Joseph to thrive Special Teams: 4 Skill on PP scary good; PK will miss injured Yzerman Management: 3 G.M. Holland keeps talent in full supply

Midway through Dave Lewis's first training camp as coach of the Red Wings, the Detroit city council passed a resolution honoring Scotty Bowman, who had vacated the post moments after winning the Stanley Cup in June. The council proclaimed that Bowman's career "set a new gold standard for future generations of coaches to dare to strive to achieve." The first to take the dare is the 49-year-old Lewis. "Every coach in the league has pressure on him," Lewis says of replacing Bowman, a Hall of Famer whose nine Cups are the most by a coach in league history. "The teams that didn't make the playoffs have pressure to make the playoffs. The teams that have a chance to win it all have pressure to win it all."

Though weakened by the retirements of Bowman and goaltender Dominik Hasek, the Red Wings remain in the latter camp. In Lewis, who's been on the Detroit bench since the 1987-88 season, and free-agent signee Curtis Joseph, who had a 2.23 goals-against average for the Leafs last season, Detroit has found excellent replacements. Like Hasek, Joseph is a ceaselessly competitive netminder capable of making game-turning saves. "He's similar to Dom in that he's got a unique style," winger Brendan Shanahan says of Joseph, who has yet to win the Cup. "He never quits on a puck."

Little has changed up front, where the Red Wings have a deep forward group led by 30-goal scorers Shanahan, Sergei Fedorov, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille. The absence of center Steve Yzerman (sidelined until January following knee surgery) means a promotion to the second line for 24-year-old Pavel Datsyuk, who had 11 goals and 24 assists as a rookie. He is an artful passer and unflappable stickhandler, especially in traffic. Twenty-two-year-old Henrik Zetterberg, the rookie of the year in the Swedish Elite League last season, is an outstanding playmaker and could flourish on the top line with Shanahan and Fedorov.

Major progress is also expected from 6'5", 225-pound defenseman Jiri Fischer, who was +17 last season while paired with Chris Chelios. Like his partner, Fischer plays with an edge. The Wings won't dominate as they did last year, but a repeat run isn't out of the question. "We're cocky," says winger Darren McCarty. "We know we can win."

Issue date: October 14, 2002