DETROIT -- The Red Wings and Penguins are indeed staging what figures to be a tremendous rematch in the 2009 Stanley Cup Final.
But the teams’ respective rosters have changed since last June, meaning there are a number of players for whom this go-round isn’t technically a rematch. The Penguins, in particular, have a lot of new faces for the 2009 Final -- including coach
Dan Bylsma, who may well be the most important addition to the Penguins’ roster.
After last season’s Final, the Penguins underwent a major roster turnover.
Marian Hossa left as an unrestricted free agent, signing with the Red Wings, so he is very much a focal point in the 2009 Final. Also heading to Detroit from Pittsburgh was backup
Ty Conklin, who fortune seems to favor. Conklin has played in three of the last four Stanley Cup Finals with three different teams, Edmonton in 2006, Pittsburgh in 2008 and now the Wings in 2009.
Also leaving the Penguins after last season were several veterans.
Adam Hall,
Gary Roberts and
Ryan Malone all signed on in Tampa Bay.
Georges Laraque signed in Montreal and
Jarkko Ruutu moved on to Ottawa. A couple of in-season trades changed some faces on defense:
Darryl Sydor was dealt to Dallas and
Ryan Whitney was traded to Anaheim.
In the other dressing room, the Wings have been the models of stability. After winning the Stanley Cup, forward
Dallas Drake and goalie
Dominik Hasek retired, opening the door for the surprise one-year signing of Hossa and the addition of Conklin.
The Wings took care of business among their own players, most notably signing defenseman
Brad Stuart.
So who has taken over to find successful roles, most notably for the Penguins? General Manager
Ray Shero also worked the unrestricted free agency market, signing veteran forwards
Ruslan Fedotenko,
Miroslav Satan and
Matt Cooke, as well as tough guy
Eric Godard.
On defense, veteran
Philippe Boucher came in the trade with Dallas for Sydor and backup goalie
Mathieu Garon joined the Penguins in a deal with the Oilers.

Just before the March 4 trade deadline, Shero swapped Whitney to the
Anaheim Ducks for forward
Chris Kunitz. On Deadline Day, he sent a draft pick to the
New York Islanders for veteran forward
Bill Guerin. Another vet, forward
Craig Adams, was claimed off waivers from Chicago, and Pittsburgh also promoted defenseman
Alex Goligoski from the AHL.
The Red Wings have successfully used their farm system to import some impressive depth players. Defenseman
Jonathan Ericsson carved out a place on the deep Detroit backline, while forwards
Justin Abdelkader and
Ville Leino also have earned valuable minutes -- especially in the Western Conference Finals, when the injury bug struck the Wings.