Rafalski Gone, Free Agent Hunt Begins
Tuesday, November 30th, 1999With the retirement of Brian Rafalski, and Nicklas Lidstrom still deliberating, the Red Wings now have only three sure things on defense; Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart, and Jakub Kindl. The latter, now 24, played 48 games with Detroit last season and will replace Ruslan Salei, most likely on the Wings’ third pairing. Kronwall and Stuart, meanwhile, played significant roles all of last season and were Mike Babcock’s first choice in pressure situations in the playoffs. They will likely become the number one pairing next season.