Most Detroit Red Wings fans went into this offseason with some big questions that needed to be answered.
But no question was bigger than, "will Nick Lidstrom retire?"
Obviously now know that Captain Nick will come back for another season, but his longtime partner on the ice, Brian Rafalski will not return.
Rafalski announced his retirement in May, foregoing another year of hockey which would have seen him make $6 million.
Some Red Wings fans, myself included, were initially surprised by Rafi's decision to hang 'em up, but in hindsight, Rafalski's injuries caught up to him and he made the right decision to retire while he was still on top (with a top five ranking in defensive scoring).
The big questions that face the Wings going into training camp revolve largely around who will be imported into the Red Wings defensive corps to try and fill the shoes of Rafalski, as well as the departed Ruslan Salei.
I will attempt to summarize what look like the best options for the Red Wings and suggest what I believe to be the best pairings on the back end.
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Article written by Isaac Smith
Detroit Red Wings: How Will Brian Rafalski’s Retirement Affect Defense Pairings?
August 5th, 2011 by Isaac Smith Leave a reply »
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