In the past, the only way to make sure your star player received fair treatment was the threat of retribution. The prevailing philosophy was, “If you hurt our best player, we’ll make sure you wish you didn’t.” As recently as the late ‘90s, teams would be crazy not to keep at least one enforcer on their roster.

While today’s NHL emphasizes speed and skill, players like Derek Boogaard and Donald Brashear are still employed for the same reasons Tony Twist and Tie Domi were kept around: Protect the stars.

But on a franchise known more for scoring goals than KO's, finding enough players to fill out a top 10 list was hard enough. Ranking them only exacerbated the situation.

When it comes to goonery, the Detroit Red Wings are one of the last teams that come to mind. However, if you look at their roster over the decades, you can compile a who’s who of NHL pugilists.

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This idea hasn’t come out of nowhere.

Opened in 1979, it replaced Detroit’s original home, Olympia Stadium. Every season since then, the Wings have called 600 Civic Center Drive home.

While the concourse has been renovated and actually looks good for a building its age, once entering the arena, it’s quite apparent this is the oldest barn in the league. The seating is crowded, the luxury boxes were clearly an after-thought, and the general atmosphere just screams “I’m a product of the ‘70s!” Say what you will about nostalgia, but “The Joe” is very much resembling the crumbling city around it.

Don’t just take my word for it. Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press has said, “Objectively speaking, Joe Louis is one of the worst arenas in sports.”

With all the revenue and traffic the Wings faithful bring to the downtown area, it would be crippling for the city to lose its biggest draw. To put it bluntly, the city needs the Wings much more than the Wings need the city.

Owner Mike Ilitch has shown his dedication to the city and would love to keep the team where it is, but with renovation estimates in the ballpark of $150 million, it’s hard to imagine that being a fiscally responsible option. Where does the team go from here?

The lease on JLA is up July 1. The Wings are easily Detroit’s most successful team and constant draw downtown, so it is definitely in the city’s best interests to draw up a new lease and keep the team downtown.

With the deadline approaching, and the Wings currently without a home for the 2010-11 season, the situation has the potential to get very, very interesting. Here’s why.

On March 9, 2009, Bill Davidson, the owner of the Pistons and chairman of Palace Sports and Entertainment Group, passed away. With his passing, the ownership of both entities now belongs to his widow, Karen.

Reports flourished that Mrs. Davidson is exploring the possible sale of the Pistons, and Palace Sports and Entertainment, which includes the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Ilitch, who owns the Red Wings as well as the Tigers, also owns Olympia Entertainment, which includes venues like the Fox Theatre and Cobo Arena. Rumors have circulated that he is very interested in Palace Sports and Entertainment. Purchasing Davidson's empire all but gives him a monopoly on the entertainment venues of Southeast Michigan.

And why does this purchase make sense? How smoothly could it possibly go?

On February 23, Tom Wilson, former president and CEO of the Pistons and Palace Sports and Entertainment, resigned his position and joined Ilitch in Olympia Entertainment.

If that isn’t writing on the wall, I don’t know what is.

If Ilitch were to purchase Palace Sports and Entertainment, he would have a new home for the Wings, as well as other entertainment venues for about the same price a new downtown arena would cost.

If lease negotiations don’t make headway, the Wings could find themselves playing in the Palace as soon as next season. Ilitch has been in talks with Palace Sports and Entertainment for years, and even toured the Palace in 2008.

Assuming The Joe's days are numbered, the biggest question becomes, will the Palace become the new permanent home for the Wings, or will a new arena be built downtown?

It would be a devastating move for Detroit and the surrounding businesses, but it would please countless Wings fans. 

Having to make the 45 minute or longer drive downtown, then going through the hassle of either scouring the city for free parking or paying the extra $10 is often more painful to the Wings faithful than watching Chris Osgood in net.

Playing in the Palace is less of a hike for the majority of the Wings’ fans, and with the on-site parking, there’s no need for ticket-holders to fork over even more money.

Whether the stop in Auburn Hills is only temporary while a new arena is built downtown, or the Wings end up being permanent roomies with the Pistons in the Palace, it looks to be only a matter of time before the Wings need to pack their bags.

Wings fans will have to accept that fact. Despite the longevity the building has enjoyed and all the championships it celebrated, the Joe is no Fenway Park. In Boston, the fans love the team and the building equally. Any love for JLA comes from the fond memories on the ice, not from the building itself. 

If the Wings moved to Ford Field, one Stanley Cup championship later, it would be Wings fans’ new favorite arena. If the old Olympia and Tiger Stadium can be replaced, transitioning from JLA will be a snap.

There are reasons to maintain hope Ilitch will keep the team’s permanent home downtown.

With all that Ilitch has done for the city of Detroit, it would be tough for him to permanently move a team from the downtown area. From investing in businesses to keeping downtown ventures alive, he has done everything in his power to help the regeneration and rejuvenation of Detroit.

Moving the team from the city might give people the idea that he has finally given up on the city and moved on.

Also, he owns land in the same area of his other holdings: Comerica Park, Hockeytown Café, the Fox Theatre, and the City Theatre. Using this land to build a new arena centralizes all of Detroit’s sports and entertainment options to a six-block radius.

All of this depends on Ilitch’s finances and the city’s willingness to cooperate in order to build a new arena for the Wings, with the likelihood that the Pistons will join them. Looking at the city’s current struggles, however, backing a $500 million venture is a tough sell to a city with 15 percent unemployment rate.

Without a significant change of heart from Detroit, it looks more and more likely that the city’s crown jewel will be kept in a Palace.

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In recent years, however, the casual fan might become confused as to who the home team actually is.

The Home-white, Away-dark color scheme was the basis for the whiteout. Everyone in the arena, including the players, would wear white, and the effect was nothing short of dazzling.

In 2003, the NHL switched the jersey scheme, so that the home teams started wearing their dark jerseys. Come playoff time, however, fans still promoted whiteouts. If the home team is no longer wearing white, does the “whiteout” still work?

It’s no surprise what prompted the switch. Teams were looking for more revenue, and manufacturing “third” jerseys seemed to be the easiest way to go. Teams would wear these alternate jerseys every so often at home games, giving the fans something new to look at, and hopefully purchase.

The majority of these jerseys were dark, forcing the away team to don their normally home-white jerseys.

Eventually, every team in the league had at least one alternate jersey to use at home games, and the inevitable color-swap must have been confusing to the casual viewer.

In an effort to avoid such confusion and simplify team equipment managers’ lives, the league swapped the home and away color scheme. Now, if fans wanted to be in vogue at home games, they’d need to purchase the former “away” jersey. Very clever NHL. Very clever indeed.

Two problems immediately come to mind. First of all, fans aren’t afforded the pleasure of a different look every night. Previously, you would have a home team in white, and a team in a different color jersey every night.

These days, it’s the same every night. Home team—dark, away team—white. If you’re watching home games in Pittsburgh, you’re stuck with the monotony of  watching black and white up to 41 times a year.

The second and more pressing issue is the fact that the whiteout is rendered almost completely useless. Why on earth would you want a whiteout if the opposing team is the one wearing white?! It makes no sense.

The Philadelphia Flyers' fans seem to have adjusted in time for this year’s Finals. Fans at the Wachovia Center this postseason sport shirts and jerseys in the Flyers’ distinctive orange, with nary a plain white or black jersey to be found.

The Blackhawks faithful look a bit more discombobulated, but it’s hardly their own fault. The team itself seems to have a bit of an identity crisis when it comes to dark jersey color.

From the team’s inception in 1926 until 1955, their dark jerseys were black. Then, before the 1955-56 season, the team inexplicably switched to red jerseys. It stayed that way until 1996, when the team re-introduced black jerseys as an alternate.

With the last year's Winter Classic jerseys gaining popularity, fans are torn between the classic black jerseys of the team’s origins (not to mention two Stanley Cup wins), and the more recent red.

Games televised from the United Center only emphasize that this attempt at team unity has gone wrong. Seeing a sea of red, with sections of black speckled in reminds me of a Chicago-style deep dish pizza, complete with black olive topping. Delicious for sure, but not terribly intimidating or unifying.

While I’m sure switching official home colors drives jersey sales through the roof, it has to drive attendees mad. Showing up to the United Center in the brand new red jersey you just bought last season, only to find out the official home jersey color switched to black would be aggravating, to say the least.

Even when the ticket holders get their colors coordinated, it’s nothing compared to the original whiteout.

I remember watching a playoff series between the Winnipeg Jets and Detroit Red Wings back in 1995-96. The Jets fans knew this was their last playoff series before the team’s relocation to Phoenix. The footage is nothing short of incredible.

You don’t see a single fan in anything but white. Red is right out. Pittsburgh, Chicago, are you taking notes?

If the league really wanted to promote jersey sales, it should go to the system the old IHL had: wear the dark jerseys at home for one half of the season, then after the All-Star Game, switch to the white jerseys. Not only would your fanbase get to see both jerseys, they would have a reason to buy both, and viewers wouldn’t be lulled to sleep by the same colors every night.

I, for one, am opposed to changing the colors simply to promote sales. I grew up with home-whites, and I want to stay with home-whites. They just make sense. What color does the home team wear in baseball? In basketball?

The only other sport to make use of dark home jerseys is football, but I’m sure that practice can be attributed to a few too many hits to the head.

So here’s to the return of the home-whites and restoring the proper playoff whiteout. C’mon Mr. Bettman, make it happen!

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Though the playoff run is over, the Wings’ personnel struggles are about to begin.

If they hope to make another run at the Stanley Cup next season, GM Ken Holland’s next foe will be much more formidable than the San Jose Sharks.

The NHL Salary Cap has depleted many teams, and turned championship-caliber squads into cellar-dwellers.

Losing to a team in the playoffs will, at most, cost you your season. Not playing the Salary Cap correctly could set your franchise back decades.

If Holland thought last off-season was tough, he’s in for a doozy this year.

He currently has 12 players (eight forwards, four defensemen) under contract to the tune of about $44 million.

To clear up the roster mess, let’s take a look at who remain unsigned, and their realistic future with the Wings.

Tomas Holmstrom, Todd Bertuzzi, Jason Williams, Kirk Maltby, Brad May, Nicklas Lidstrom, Andreas Lilja, Brett Lebda and Doug Janik are all unrestricted free agents.

Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader, Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller, Derek Meech, Jakub Kindl, and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen are restricted free agents.

Williams fell out of favor with coach Mike Babcock, only playing in three playoff games.

With Maltby’s contract up, it looks more and more like he’s going to call it a career.

Brad May has become obsolete as a one-dimensional enforcer. While Lebda and Meech are serviceable defensemen, but often looked overmatched if caught in unfavorable matchups.

Doug Janik only played 13 games with the team, and his role can easily be filled by any of the up-and-coming defensemen in Grand Rapids.

Adding up all these expiring contracts, it’s a savings of $4.6 million.

It would be in Detroit’s best interests to bring back Holmstrom, Bertuzzi, and the restricted free agent forwards, but that’s where the Cap will come into play.

Now, if we are to believe NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, the cap won’t move much, if at all.

For sake of this article, let’s call it $58 million.

That means that the Wings have roughly $14 million to fill six roster spots. Sounds easy, right? Not so fast.

Future Hall of Famer Nicklas Lidstrom and goalie nuisance extraordinaire Tomas Holmstrom are unrestricted free agents.

Should neither decide to retire, they’ll command more than half of that surplus. Lidstrom was making $7.45 million last season, while Holmstrom pocketed $2.25 mil.

For the sake of argument, let’s say they both come back, and at a hometown discount: Lidstrom signs for $six million, and Holmstrom for $1.5. That now leaves the Wings with $6.5 million to sign at least four players.

Again, this doesn’t sound like a terribly daunting task. But if the Wings are to contend for a title, they’ll have to do so against the reigning Western Conference champion Blackhawks, and the much improved Predators. And that’s just in their own division.

So with that $6.5 million, what moves should be made?

To start, not re-signing Andreas Lilja saves money.

Instead, the Wings can re-sign both RFA defensemen Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and Jakub Kindl for about the same amount of money.

Not only are both players younger, but Tollefsen will add the grit and mean streak the Wings’ blue line has lacked since the days when Vladimir Konstantinov patrolled the back end, while Kindl will bring a more refined puck-moving and transition game.

With roughly $5.2 million left, the Wings have one unrestricted free agent (Bertuzzi), and four restricted free agents (Abdelkader, Helm, Eaves and Miller) to try and resign, or take their chances signing someone from the open market.

Todd Bertuzzi earned himself a new contract in Detroit. With Franzen out and Zetterberg hobbled, Big Bert carried the Wings, keeping them in contention with timely goal scoring and gritty play.

In the playoffs, he was even more valuable, tallying 11 points in 12 games, and was one of the few Wings immune to the Coyotes’ relentless physical presence.

He is one of the few Wings with both size and skill, and the willingness to use both.

If the Wings can re-sign him to the same $1.5 million contract, it would be a steal.

Darren Helm is a player the Wings would love to have back, but I have a sneaking suspicion some team will make an out-sized bid for him, and the Wings would be foolish to match it.

The recent resigning of Mattias Ritola could play a part in the Wings’ ability to let Helm move on.

Out of the three remaining players, Patrick Eaves and Justin Abdelkader have the best chance of coming back. Both play a much more physical game than their stature might indicate, and that is something that the Wings sorely lack.

While Drew Miller did play well since coming over via wavers, The Wings can hit the market and find more value for their money.

Finding free agents that will fit not only into Detroit’s budget but style of play is much like wanting the SUV with a sports car’s performance for a moped price.

But one player does stick out as a perfect fit.

Manny Malhotra plays the fast, physical style that aggravates the Wings so much. Putting him between Abdelkader and Eaves, players that are comfortable playing the grind/cycle game, makes the Wings more adaptable and therefore harder to predict and contain.

In addition, he was only making $700k last season. Even with a pay raise, he’s a guy Ken Holland would be hard pressed to ignore.

All in all, the Wings’ safest bet to make it back to the Stanley Cup Finals is to focus on re-signing their own free agents, bringing up some of the kids from Grand Rapids, and filling a hole, maybe two, created by free agency.

While this year’s free agent pool is good, Detroit is better served trying to keep their own talent, rather than overpaying for someone else’s. 

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Detroit players spent most of the first half of the season on the IR and, subsequently, the team dropped as far down as 11th in the conference. Not exactly familiar territory for the back-to-back Western Conference Champs.

Credit the players that were healthy enough to suit up to at least pick up one point in 15 games that would have otherwise been losses. Without those 15 points, the Wings would be looking to the draft rather than the postseason.

With a fully healthy lineup, the Wings became the hottest team post-Olympics, going 16-3-2 down the stretch. Their top two lines are creating the same kind of chaos for opponents as they have for the past two years. And we all know where those playoff runs ended up.

Don’t get too relaxed, though. The Wings head to the desert on Wednesday, and these are not your father’s Coyotes.

At the onset of the season, nothing was expected of Phoenix, aside from a high draft pick. They quickly proved the experts wrong, going 9-4 to open the season. Everyone saw that start as an aberration, trusting that the rest of the league would figure this team out. Then it would be back to the basement.

That didn’t happen.

As a testament to their resilience and confirmation that this team is for real, the Coyotes had streaks of at least four consecutive wins at four different times this season. Compare that with the Wings ability to string four wins or more together only once this season.

We’ve all heard about the Wings’ hot finish to the season. Not much has been said about the Coyotes finishing 13-4-2, including nine wins in a row. That streak included victories over Colorado, Vancouver, and Chicago.

Phoenix is the epitome of what drives the Wings crazy: A young, fast, hard-checking team willing to win battles along the boards and lean on their red-hot goaltender to clean up any miscues.

While putting the puck in the back of the opposition’s net may not be Phoenix’s forte, they excel at keeping it out of their own. The ‘Yotes are fifth in the league in 5-on-5 goals for/against ratio, and third in goals against per game (2.39).

The season series was split 2-2. There is nothing that says the playoff series won’t be as close. If the Wings hope to make this a short series, they need to get pucks at Bryzgalov and force the Coyotes to play from behind.

I don’t see this being an easy series for the Wings. Detroit’s health and recent play has them as the odds-on favorite. Despite being the higher seed, Phoenix has all the ingredients of a spoiler. Ultimately, the Wings have too much offensive talent, and the Coyotes just don’t have an answer.

Red Wings in seven.

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For the first time all season, the Wings finally have a fully healthy roster, and they’ve been on a roll since coming back from the Olympics.

Having all their regulars back, including game-changers Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg at full strength, the team has gone on a tear. The Wings have won 13 of their last 18, moving from out of the playoffs to fighting for the five-seed.

Detroit has gone from a postseason afterthought to the team no one wants any part of come mid-April.

The last two games, however, have exposed holes in the defending Western Conference champs’ game.

In back-to-back losses to Nashville and Philadelphia, the Wings have faced teams with similar make-ups that have historically given Detroit fits. Both Nashville and Philly boast a roster full of fast, young forwards more than willing to forecheck, clog the middle, and force play along the boards.

Detroit wouldn’t have to worry about the Flyers until the Stanley Cup Finals, if at all. The Predators are a much closer threat. But why do they cause a team like the Wings so much trouble?

A highly skilled team like Detroit likes to play the puck possession game. Whether they couldn’t diagnose the Preds’ defensive scheme, or they just didn’t feel like dumping the puck in isn’t clear, but the for most of the game Saturday, they refused to do so and suffered as a result.

Nashville took away the middle of the ice, lined up both defensemen and a forward along their blue line, and waited for Detroit to try and carry in. The forward would either fail to identify what the defense was doing, or simply try to skate through it, get caught in the defensive trap and turn the puck over.

When those attempts fell flat, Nashville was able to control the puck, kill some time off the clock and set up their forecheck, something that Detroit has had issues trying to break this season.

The Wings’ defensemen have had plenty of issues breaking out of their own end in the face of an aggressive forecheck. Even Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski have been pestered into turnovers. Errant outlet passes and sluggish decision making have led to more scoring chances than coach Mike Babcock would like to see. If this issue in particular isn’t resolved, don’t expect Detroit to make much noise come playoff time.

Nashville’s Shea Webber and Dan Hamhuis are exactly the kind of defenders that can nullify Detroit’s crafty forwards. Neither is overly big, but both are strong enough to knock the likes of Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg off the puck, and quick enough to stay with them when driving to the net and force them to the boards.

It’s then that Nashville’s forwards and defensemen really shine.

Detroit’s team is made up of mostly small, very shifty forwards who are deadly in open ice. When playing possession hockey, a roster full of those players is fantastic thing to have. It’s not such a good thing when you have to win battles along the boards all night. Call it hockey karma for all those years the Wings reaped the benefits of the "Grind Line."

The number of Wings you can depend on to win a battle in a corner or along the boards shift after shift can be counted on one hand, with room enough to show how many finals the Wings have been in over the past five years.

Should their defense break down or lose a battle, however, Nashville’s greatest asset is more than ready to step up.

A hot goalie is the ultimate equalizer in the playoffs. On many occasions, a goalie has more than made up for his team’s lack of offensive talent when playing the Wings in a seven game series. After shocking early playoff exits in ’03, ’04 and ’06, I’m sure names like Giguère, Kiprusoff, and Roloson are still causing Wings fans nightmares.  

Nashville’s Pekka Rinne is that type of goaltender. He’s fully capable of stealing a game and getting into the heads of the opposing forwards. He’s 2-0-2 against the Wings this season, with a 1.75 goals against average and a .943 save percentage.

It’s highly unlikely the Wings will draw the Predators in the first round, but there are two other teams boasting many of the same threats that have a very good chance of drawing the Wings come April 12.

Vancouver is all but a lock at the three-seed in the Western Conference, which sticks Phoenix firmly into the four-seed. The Wings could potentially tie the Coyotes in points if they win out and Phoenix loses their remaining three games, but the ‘Yotes have more wins and would take the four-seed on that tie-breaker.

Both teams have world-class goaltending, stout defense, and a willingness to muck up play with their forwards.

It’s a bit late to expect the Wings to shore up their short-comings and walk over these types of teams. Detroit might be better served resting players like Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Lidstrom, dropping a couple of their last three games and move to seventh or eighth, thereby drawing San Jose or Chicago, teams they have all but owned in seasons past.

In a Western Conference that is the most wide open we’ve ever seen, and after such a tumultuous season for the Wings, a move like that might be the best strategy

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The Wings currently stand tied with Dallas for ninth in the Western Conference. With 21 games to play, they need a supreme effort from everyone on their roster, as well as a little help from some other teams in the conference, if they hope to make the playoffs.

There are, however, some significant obstacles in their way if they hope to get to the playoffs for the 19th consecutive year.

The biggest concern for the Wings lies in their schedule. They play 15 of their last 21 against teams either solidly in the playoffs or playing for their postseason lives.

Detroit has an 11-11-6 record against the teams remaining on the schedule. While that stat should have an asterisk next to it given the Wings’ injury woes all season, I doubt any of those teams are willing to grant a mulligan now that the Wings are close to being completely healthy.

The Wings play the three teams directly in front of them in the playoff hunt (Colorado once, Nashville three times, Calgary twice). This will offer Detroit an opportunity to gain ground on each of those teams, and should the Wings beat them in regulation, keep the opposition from picking up any points in the process.

The Wings are unlikely to catch Colorado. With the schedule the Avs have ahead of them, they will make the playoffs, most likely as the No. 4 seed.

Unless those trades start to work out in Calgary, the Flames will end up missing the playoffs. They had won only five of their previous 20 games. It’s hard to tell if things can actually turn around. It doesn’t help that both Dallas and Detroit have a game in hand on them.

Nashville, likewise, hadn’t been playing stellar hockey before the break, losing nine of 13. They do, however, have the kind of defense and goaltending to shut a team down and win the close games. With the favorable schedule they have left, along with the points lead and win total, they’ll sneak into the playoffs.

Another problem is that Detroit doesn’t play the team they’re currently tied with or the team nipping at their heels for the rest of the season.

Dallas, tied with the Wings with 68 points, was playing well before the Olympic break, winning four of their last six and earning nine of a possible 12 points. Detroit has no way to directly impact Dallas’ playoff run or keep them from earning any more points. All they can do is play well and hope that Dallas falters down the stretch.

Anaheim also played well before the break, winning six of their last eight. Acquiring Jason Blake just before the Olympics gives them two solid scoring lines and will help with the playoff push. The Ducks also have 12 games at home to finish the season. That, coupled with not having to run into Detroit anytime before the playoffs, means the Ducks are all but in.

Looking critically at the Wings’ schedule (and barring any blockbuster trades), I see them going 13-6-2 down the stretch. Given the way things have gone this season, that’s a fantastic run to end the year. That would give them 96 points and a decent shot at the playoffs.

However, with the way Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan, and Jonas Hiller played for their respective teams in the Olympics, I see the Ducks going 15-4-1 in that same span. That would give the Ducks 98 points, beating the Wings out for the eighth and final playoff spot by two points.

I hate to say it Wings fans, but not even a clean bill of health can salvage this season. The consecutive playoff streak ends at 18.

But look on the bright side, at least there will be a decent draft pick come June 25.

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