Red Wings old, smart and soon to be champs

Detroit. Tonight the Red Wings should skate the Stanley Cup for the 10th time as an organization. They lead the Cinderella Carolina Hurricanes 3-1 and the Wings will be on their home ice. It will be nuts at the Joe Louis Arena and Lord Stanley’s hardware will wait in the wings for the successful suitor.

The ‘Canes will not go willingly into the night, but they are not the better team.

The Wings are an interesting group. They are the oldest team in the NHL this season, lead by the oldest coach in finals history, 68-year-old Scotty Bowman.

Their $64.5 million payroll is double that of their opponent and it was spent to get older. They acquired 37-year-old Dominik Hasek as a free agent in the off-season to be their backstop to the Cup.

They spent to acquire 36-year-old Luc Robitaille, a 600 regular-season goal scorer headed for the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Already on the roster was 40-year-old Chris Chelios, 1 of only 15 players ever to appear in 200 or more playoff games. He is having one of the best years of his career.

Also on the roster is the NHL’s oldest active player, Igor Larionov, at age 41. A member of the Soviet Red Army’s KLM line, perhaps the greatest hockey line ever, he is the epitome of health and fitness, not to mention hockey smarts.

The Wings’ captain is 37-year-old Steve Yzerman. He is stoic, introverted, and an honest to goodness athlete-warrior. With a knee barley able to carry his weight that is in a brace from the mid-thigh to the calf, he has played well enough in this year’s playoffs to be the MVP.

The Wings probably have eight future Hall of Famers on their roster. Bowman behind the bench is already a member having been elected as a coach when he first retired, only to unretire to go back behind the bench. The Wings exude experience.

Perhaps most importantly, they signed a check to have Brett Hull wear the Detroit wheel on his jersey. At 37, Hull is the “I play this game because I love it” veteran who speaks his mind often and with little reservation. For that the NHL and the Wings should be thankful. He is a beacon of candidness in a sea of spin.

He spoke to the age issue this week when he said, “I’d rather be old and smart than young and dumb any day.” Hull is old and smart.

Sitting after a practice this past week, he tried to define just what this Wings team is about and where the old vets like him get the energy to grind out the long season and playoffs.

“It’s hard to explain because it comes from the other guys, it doesn’t come from within so much. As you look at the other guys and what they are doing and how they are battling and it just – you know, you take a look at Igor (Larionov) or Chelios and you go look at them, how can’t you go and compete for them?

I think that’s what makes this Red Wings team so wonderful because they have kept that core group that cares so much about themselves … they care about each other more than you could ever imagine. And to be a part of this, is very special, and that is where we draw the energy from.”

Nice energy source. The last 5 Wings goals against the Canes read Larionov, Hull, Larionov, Hull and Larionov. Oh, to be old and smart.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and NBC sportscaster.