Worth the effort? The Red Wings are the latest Presidents' Trophy winner to make an early exit from the postseason

Speed? The Red Wings have always been known for their team speed. But that was before they had to contend with eager, young, quick teams like the Calgary Flames.

"We learned as we went along in the playoffs that our speed is a factor," says Flames coach and general manager Darryl Sutter. "It was absolutely the reason that we beat Detroit. It was a huge factor in Game 7 against Vancouver and against San Jose. They believed they were faster than us and we proved them wrong."

The architect of championship teams with both the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings recognizes the need for change.

"We're a team that is getting long in the tooth," admits Devellano. "But saying that, we've had a lot of success--three Stanley Cups, three President Trophies, five straight Divisional championships--but we have players here that have played a long time. They've played well, but like all of us, you get a little past your prime and I think that has happened a little bit to us. I think it's a natural evolution. We will continue to attempt to be a good team, to be competitive, to be entertaining, but we need to make some changes. I think it's a little easier for us to change now than a year ago when we just came off from winning a Stanley Cup. We can't live in past. We've got to keep moving ahead."

COPYRIGHT 2004 Century Publishing Co.
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