Between the Ilya Kovalchuk/New Jersey Devils contract saga, the dismantling of the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks and the Montreal Canadiens' questionable decision to trade playoff hero Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues, National Hockey League fans have had plenty to talk about this offseason.
One of the more under-the-radar news items this summer was a declaration from Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock of his intention to reunite star forwards Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg on the same line for the upcoming season.
The news surely was music to the ears of most Red Wings fans.
NHL's Dynamic Duo
Not so long ago, Datsyuk and Zetterberg were the league's dynamic duo. Datsyuk, 32, and Zetterberg, 29, burst onto the scene during the 2002-03 campaign playing on a line with veteran Brett Hull. Known as the "Two Kids and a Goat Line," the trio dominated opponents. While Hull may have provided goal scoring and leadership, it was the magical chemistry between Datsyuk and Zetterberg that made the line so formidable. Although both players were supremely talented individually, it was their uncanny ability of knowing where each other was on the ice at all times that made them so enjoyable to watch.
Babcock ultimately decided to split up the duo following Detroit's Stanley Cup victory in 2008, opting to have each player anchor his own line. At the time, Babcock figured the move would enable the Wings to have more depth at the center position.
Although the move did pay dividends to some extent (Detroit would return to the Stanley Cup finals in 2009), it could be argued neither player has been the same since their breakup, particularly Zetterberg.
While Datsyuk would record 97 and 70 points, respectively, in the two seasons since the duo's separation, Zetterberg has failed to emerge into one of the league's premier scorers. Granted, Zetterberg has saved his best work for the playoffs, but his 73 and 70 points the last two seasons is not enough for a player who was recently awarded a 12-year, $73 million contract extension.
Regaining Confidence
Babcock believes the remedy is to reunite the stars in hopes of regaining their confidence.
"I'm going to start Pav and Z together, for sure," Babcock told the Detroit Free Press in June during the NHL entry draft. "I think they both need more confidence. I think they need to be the dominant players they were. Now, don't get me wrong, they're great players, but I didn't think neither one was as great as they've been in the past. By putting them together and getting their confidence to a level, I think that will help our team."
Thanks to the signing of Mike Modano and the expected emergence of Valtteri Filppula, Detroit will enter the upcoming season deep at center, which allows Babcock to reunite Datsyuk and Zetterberg and still have three lines capable of generating offense.
More importantly, the move should enable Detroit's top two forwards to regain the magic they once shared together.
Kostas Bolos - Kostas Bolos has a deep passion for sports. He's also very opinionated. Suite101 is the ideal platform for him to express his views on a ...
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