In 1995 and 1996, the Detroit Red Wings learned the regular season doesn't mean much after they finished with the league's best record both seasons then were swept by the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup finals and lost to the Colorado Avalanche, 4-2, in the Western Conference finals, respectively. So it came as no surprise last season when they kept their cool through Steve Yzerman's knee surgery, Chris Chelios's knee and hand injuries and Chris Osgood's inconsistent play. Their patience was proven prudent as they still managed to finish with the second-best record in the league and entered the playoffs as one of the hottest teams.

	2000-01 by the numbers
	Record: 49-20-9-4, 111 points (T2nd overall, 2nd West, 1st Central) Man-games lost to injury: 163 (20th) Goals for: 253/3.09 (5th) Goals against: 202/2.46 (8th) Differential: 51 (6th overall) 20-goal scorers: Sergei Fedorov (32), Brendan Shanahan (31), Martin Lapointe (27), Vyacheslav Kozlov (20) 50-point scorers: Shanahan (76), Lidstrom (71), Fedorov (69), Lapointe (57), Steve Yzerman (52)

But in the playoffs -- where the Red Wings have usually been eliminated by the perennially dominant Colorado Avalanche -- the Wings wilted. Yzerman was sidelined with a broken ankle and Brendan Shanahan, the team's leading scorer, suffered a broken foot. After winning the first two games against the Los Angeles Kings, inconsistent play defensively and the inability to score resulted in a first-round exit, the Wings' earliest since 1994. And losing to the Kings, who hadn't won a playoff round since 1993? That was the last straw.

Looking at next season
The Red Wings acquired some of the top -- and aging -- talent on the market, showing they have big pockets, little tolerance for failure and the need to maximize what might be Scotty Bowman's last year behind the bench (again).

General manager Ken Holland won the Dominik Hasek sweepstakes by sending Vyacheslav Kozlov and a draft pick to Buffalo for the six-time Vezina winner. The Wings received a scare in mid-July when the 37-year-old Hasek was afflicted with a mysterious viral infection that necessitated a two-week hospital stay in the Czech Republic town of Pardubice. Now that Hasek says he feels "excellent," Holland can return the phone calls inquiring about the services of Osgood, who was all but handed a one-way ticket out of town upon Hasek's arrival. Despite his inconsistency over the last season, Osgood isn't typical backup material, especially with the dearth of No. 1 goalies in the league and his $3.5 million salary.

The Wings quickly snatched eight-time all-star Luc Robitaille off the free-agent market, which he only entered after the Kings offered him a one-year deal worth $1 million less than his $3.5 million salary last season.

The Wings are unlikely to make any additional changes now that they have veteran depth at each forward position -- Robitaille, Shanahan and Tomas Holmstrom on left wing; Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov and Kris Draper at center; and Pat Verbeek, Darren McCarty and Kirk Maltby at right wing. Proving a player can be younger than 28 and still play forward for the Wings, center Yuri Butsayev (22) and right winger Jason Williams (20) will likely see more playing time next season.

With Martin Lapointe, the Wings' penalty minutes leader last season, now in Boston, Bowman reportedly has asked Holland to pursue an enforcer-type player who can take over the pugilistic duties from McCarty and Shanahan. Should Holland decide to unload Osgood, it's a good bet a physical defenseman would be included in the deal, if one isn't found on the open market first.

A defense that includes Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom, Chelios and Steve Duchesne is hardly in need of an upgrade, if it can stay healthy. The departure of Aaron Ward in a trade to Carolina, Todd Gill via free agency to Colorado, and Larry Murphy, who the Wings elected not to re-sign, dissolved the logjam on defense and ensures that Jiri Fischer and Maxim Kuznetsov receive more playing time next season. Although with the signing of Frederik Olausson, Kuznetsov will likely be the seventh defenseman. If that's the case, the Red Wings may entertain a trade as any trip to the minors by Kuznetsov would be through waivers, where he would more than likely be claimed by another team.

With the addition of Hasek and Robitaille to an already talented lineup, the Red Wings have secured a spot as one of the favorites to emerge from the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup playoffs. But as they learned last season, staying healthy will be a major factor.

Sherry Skalko is the NHL Editor for ESPN.com.