Detroit Red Wings effectively reload

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Western Conference Final Stars-Red Wings Morning Papers
Published 5/7/2008 by remis at Illegal Curve
... Chuck Carlton marvels over the greatness of the Red Wings front office. Their payroll is now $20 million less than than their 2003 payroll (pre cap era) and this is their 17th consecutive season making the playoffs (the longest streak in pro sports). GM Ken Holland and a central scouting staff that has been together for over ten years have done a fantastic job, finding gems like Pavel Datsyuk (6th round/1998 draft) and Henrik Zetterberg (7th round/'99 draft) ...

Holland lauds Stars' front office, discusses his own organization's post-lockout success
Published 5/7/2008 by George James Malik at Red Wings Snapshots - MLive.com
... to interview Holland regarding his ability to keep the Red Wings atop the NHL standings despite having its payroll slashed by the salary-capped CBA that resulted from the lockout. The Wings' success, Carleton argues, has as much to do with Detroit's front office sticking to its organizational identity as it once did with its ability to outspend the competition: May 7, Dallas News : The Red Wings' style was formed in 1996-97, when the team acquired center Igor Larionov. Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman put his five Russians together as a unit. The puck-possession game soon ...