The Red Wings all-star assembly accomplished the only thing they could without being considered failures -- they won the Stanley Cup.

Dominik Hasek, Brett Hull, Sergei Fedorov, Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan, Chris Chelios and Luc Robitaille -- just to name a few -- blistered through the regular season with a 51-17-10-4 record and took the President's Trophy into the postseason.

	2001-02 by the numbers
	Record: 51-17-10-4, 116 points (1st overall, 1st West, 1st Central) Goals for: 251/3.06 (2nd overall) Goals against: 187/2.28 (T3rd overall) Differential: 64 (1st overall) 20-goal scorers: Brendan Shanahan (37), Sergei Fedorov (31), Brett Hull (30), Luc Robitaille (30) 50-point scorers: Shanahan (75), Fedorov (68), Hull (63), Nicklas Lidstrom (59), Robitaille (50)

There was a little scare at the start of the playoffs, when a younger Vancouver squad won the first two games of the first round. But then, the veterans woke up, winning the next four games behind a Hasek shutout and a Hull hat trick.

A 7-0 Game 7 victory over the Avalanche in the heated Western Conference finals seemed to suggest the inevitable, which came in a commanding 4-1 series win over Carolina in the Cup finals.

Hasek and Robitaille captured their first Cups, Yzerman captained his team on one leg, and coach Scotty Bowman ended his storied 30-year career on top.

Can the Original Six team top such a magical season and repeat like it did in 1998?

Looking at next season
Detroit's offseason moves already make them a Cup favorite in 2002-03.

Right move, No. 1 -- With Bowman's retirement, Detroit promoted Dave Lewis into the head coaching spot. Lewis is the safest and most logical choice for the Red Wings. He has been an assistant with Detroit since retiring as a player in 1987, and he won't change much of the existing system. Most important, the players are familiar with Lewis and respect him. If a replacement was brought in from outside the organization, the Wings would have run the risk of a failed chemistry test.

Right move, No. 2 -- After winning his first Stanley Cup in 12 seasons, Hasek decided to call it quits. The Red Wings' answer to replacing arguably one of the game's best goaltenders? Signing the most sought after free agent this offseason, Curtis Joseph, to a three-year, $24 million deal. Joseph, who helped the tattered and torn Maple Leafs for the Eastern Conference finals, will definitely be under the microscope in Detroit, but he will have a little more help in front of him.

On the same day the Red Wings signed Joseph, they also agreed to terms with 40-year-old, free-agent defenseman Chelios, who signed a two-year deal worth $12 million. That leaves restricted free agent Jiri Fischer and unrestricted free agent Jiri Slegr left to sign on defense.

Right move, that's about to happen -- Detroit is very close to re-signing Igor Larionov. The NHL's oldest player at 41, Larionov just happened to post 43 points in 70 games last season and his teammates were amazed by how physically fit he was last season. Red Wings general manager Ken Holland has recently said that both sides are close to agreement on a one-year deal that could be worth $1.3 million. Another selling point for Larionov was the promotion of Lewis, whose promotion he publicly supported.

The only downside heading into the new season will be the absence of Steve Yzerman, who will be paying the price for playing on one leg. Playing for Team Canada in the Salt Lake Olympics led Yzerman to a gold medal, but it also hampered his right knee. Offseason surgery will keep Stevie Y out of the lineup until at least January. Yzerman will be an influence off the ice, but the Wings will sorely miss his leadership on it.

Another issue that won't go away is the age factor. With an average age of 30.6, including 10 players over the age of 35 who appeared in the playoffs last season, the Red Wings might not have helped their case by resurrecting wingers Derek King, 35, and Michel Picard, 32, from the German League.

But Chelios recently said that you can't put a price on experience. The Red Wings did last year and reaped the rewards.