Seven losses, only five wins. Only one road win. Thirteen to two. Unfortunately, that is how most people will remember the Wings 1999 season. 1999 was surely a disappointing year, coming off a championship season in 1998, but there were some high points. After losing 5 regulars off of the championship team, the Wings struggled early, especially on defense, allowing 70 goals in the first 4 games, and losing all of them. They settled down after that, however, and started to put things together, winning 5 of their last 8 games, including a thrilling 16-13 upset of the Baltimore Thunder, before the stunning 13-2 loss in the semi-finals. I can't tell you what went wrong in that playoff loss to Toronto, but the Rock did lead the league in defense last year, and the Wings just couldn't find a way to score.

So what does all of this mean for 2000? Can the Wings forget that playoff drubbing and return to that mid-season form that saved the season for them? Let's take a look at this year's team:

The Wings solid core of veterans returns this year, with 9 of the 10 top scorers on the team in '99 coming back for 2000. In Jake Bergey, Tom Marechek, and Kevin Finneran, the Wings a potent offensive trio with vastly different playing styles. Finneran can strike from the outside, Marechek has all the moves in front of the net, and Bergey just pounds the defense into submission. John McEvoy & Michael Busza are back to prove once again that size doesn't always matter! If you weighed heart & effort, these guys would be among the biggest in the league, going all out on every play. If third-year forward Sean Radebaugh continues to improve like he did last season (finishing 4th on the team in points per game), he could be one of the leagues surprise players this year. Newly acquired forwards Tom Phair and Tom Ryan should provide some toughness to the team, and Ryan definitely adds hair to the team! Rookie Attackmen Jason Clark and Gewas Schindler will give the team some added scoring punch, while Andy Towers(6'4", 220 lbs) and Peter Jacobs (6'5", 225 lbs) give the team more size. The Wings did lose long-time forwards Chris Bates & Chris Flynn to retirement, and Adam Mueller was traded to the Albany Attack. The Wings will have to find a way to replace the leadership these veterans gave the team.

The Wings defense, led by big Dan Radebaugh and Jamie Hanford, needs to play the way they did in the second half of '99 for this team to make a run for the title. The Wings strong suit, as usual, is their goal-tending. Even though fighting a neck injury last season, Dallas Eliuk reminded everyone that he is the best goalie in the league, ending the season second in goals-against average, and first in saves and save percentage. With a solid backup in Andy Piazza, and newly acquired goalie of the future Chris Sanderson, the Wings goal-tending situation is the best in the league.

The Wings certainly should be improved this year, but will it be enough? Toronto didn't make many big changes in the off-season, but they didn't need to - if they play defense like they did last year, they will be tough to beat. (Just a reminder - the Rock come to town for the rematch on March 25 - The FU Center should be rocking that night!) Rochester did make a big move - trading up to draft John Grant, Jr. - adding even more talent to a team that held their own against Toronto in the finals last year. The Thunder moved to Pittsburgh and became the CrosseFire, but will their defense and goaltending ever catch up with that high-powered offense? Buffalo and New York will probably continue to just miss the playoffs, and the Albany Attack could be the best expansion team since the Buffalo Bandits in 1992, and may compete for a post-season spot. As for the Smash... Hopefully Boston will be ready for them next year. Just kidding - but the Smash do need to improve and get some fans in the seats, or they will be in trouble.

Although they have more talent, it's going to take a huge effort this year to bring the championship back home to Philly. As much as I'd like to pick them to win it all, my money is on Rochester to beat the Wings in the finals - but anything can happen!

Please feel free to discuss or argue my predictions on the WingsZone message board!

My predicted final standings for 2000:

Rochester over Pittsburgh

Rochester over Philadelphia