Quote:
Originally posted by Mach 1
This shows your lack of hockey knowledge. It is widely accepted and well known that the Red Wings are one of the wealthiest teams in the league, and have one of the highest payrolls in the league as well.
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Maybe compared to the other teams they do have more money, but that wasn't really my point anyway. In hockey
you can't buy the Stanley Cup . It just doesn't work like other sports or at least it hasn't yet.
The New Jersey Devils won the cup in 2000 with a mid-level payroll and Colorado's payroll wasn't exceedingly high until after they won the cup last year and gave Sakic, Roy, and Blake big contracts. A big payroll in the NHL doesn't mean that you will win.
That is why I drew the parallel with the yankees. The Red Wings are not the Yankees of hockey. Yes, they probably do have more money than a lot of teams, but they are an original six, are in a huge market for hockey, have been sucessful the last decade, which means the Joe has been sold out for god knows how long, and that gives them more money to spend. They spend the money by rewarding players such as Yzeerman, Lidstrom, Federov, Shanahan, and others for the hard work and grit they have put into the team. Those players weren't just big name free agents when Detroit won in 97' and 98' who signed on that year to try and "buy" the cup. Yzerman, Federov, and Lidstrom had been on the wings for a while and deserved the money they have gotten. And I'm pretty sure they didn't get the big bucks until after they won the cup.
I'll say it again. A big payroll doesn't guarantee you get to take lord Stanley out waterskiing in Manitoba in the summer, or back home to your European country of birth, or whatever you chose to do with your day with the cup. Teamwork, Skill, Luck, and good ole' fashion grit your teeth Hockey does. And if the Wings are fortunate enough to win this year it will be for those reasons and not $ the$e $.