OPINION

By Craig Custance

updated 7:48 p.m. ET Sept. 29, 2009

The interview had been over for a good 15 minutes when Mike Babcock re-emerged from a nearby room.

"Let me edit that story," the Red Wings' coach said while walking briskly toward a reporter sitting behind a laptop. Something had irked Babcock, though the glint in his eyes suggested he also might be teasing — a little. Maybe.

"You guys have been writing that story since I got here," Babcock said before being sidetracked by another interview request.

So what was the topic that bothered Babcock? It was the suggestion his Red Wings are on the decline.

It's not a new idea, but this year there's a new wrinkle: Pittsburgh has put itself in position to replace the Wings as the model NHL franchise, the team everyone wants to beat, the team on the cusp of a dynasty. All because of one Game 7 loss.

If the Red Wings win one more game last season, we're talking possible three-peat. Instead, we're wondering whether the reigning champ Penguins will become this generation's Edmonton Oilers, with Sidney Crosby playing the part of Wayne Gretzky.

Babcock is partly right: The rumor of Detroit's demise has been circulating for a while, even before he took the Red Wings job four years ago.

Sergei Fedorov left for the money in Anaheim. Steve Yzerman retired. Scotty Bowman left coaching for a front office job, then left Detroit altogether. The new salary cap meant owner Mike Ilitch couldn't outspend every other team to acquire free agents.

All of those things were supposed to trigger Detroit's downfall. So far, none has.

But before last season, it was hard to find a flaw in the Red Wings. It doesn't take much digging this year.

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Marian Hossa and his 40 goals are gone — he signed with rival Chicago. Proven goal scorers Mikael Samuelsson and Jiri Hudler left, too — casualties of the new salary cap. Despite his playoff success, Chris Osgood was shaky in goal for most of last season and now has unproven Jimmy Howard backing him up instead of reliable Ty Conklin. Captain Nicklas Lidstrom will turn 40 in late April — just about the time he'll be expected to lead Detroit on another long playoff drive. Even Lidstrom will eventually be caught by time.

"We're heading into this season with a lot more question marks about our team than we were a year ago," G.M. Ken Holland says. "But we had question marks in '05. We had question marks in '06."

Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has two of the game's biggest stars in Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Marc-Andre Fleury is earning a reputation as a clutch goalie — two trips to the finals and a Stanley Cup-clinching Game 7 win on the road will help with that.

None of Pittsburgh's three cornerstones is older than 24. The Penguins are so young and talented, it's not hard to envision them being even better this season.

"I'd like to see us as on the rise for sure," Crosby says. "We've been to two finals in a row, with a young group of guys. Hopefully, we all continue to improve as an organization."

Detroit and Pittsburgh are the only teams to play in the Stanley Cup finals since the Ducks won in 2007, and Sporting News is picking another rematch this season.

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But the gap between the franchises is gone. The Penguins, with their wealth of playoff experience mixed with still-developing elite talent, no longer can be considered anything but Detroit's peer. And if there is any slip from the Red Wings, it's conceivable the Penguins will blow right past them.

"The way I look at it is this: We're at the start again; we're building a foundation," Babcock says. "Change is a real good thing. We're going to embrace it, and we'll find out."

But does change equal decline?

"Next year," Babcock says, "when you write this story at this time, you'll actually know."

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