The times are changin'

By Tyler Norwood Sports Central Columnist

Bob Dylan once wrote a song. A song that ought to be ringing in the ears of John Ferguson, Jr. and Ken Holland, General Managers of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings, respectively.

The order is Rapidly fadin'. And the first one now Will later be last For the times, they are a-changin' -- Bob Dylan

Perhaps they don't realize it yet and they'll give it one more go, but the time has come to say goodbye to the aging dinosaurs. The future is now. An outmatched and undersized Calgary Flames knocked out the President trophy-winning Detroit Red Wings. It wasn't luck. It has ushered in a new age.

The Tampa Bay Lightning, Calgary Flames, and San Jose Sharks -- three of the four teams in the Conference finals -- have, combined, 16 players over 30. That's four less than Detroit and one less than Toronto.

These veteran-laden squads are no longer capable of winning of Stanley Cup. It's time for the young stars to shine and the decrepit veterans to say goodbye. Say hello to Matt Stajan and Pavel Datsyuk. They're the ones who will take these two teams out of the dark ages.

In November, on the eve of Toronto's incredible transformation into a Stanley Cup contender, I labeled them, "aging, past-their-prime losers." I don't pretend to be a prophet. I don't pretend to know everything about hockey. But I do know what it takes to win a Stanley Cup and the formula for that does not include adding players from the 35+ club.

To win Lord Stanley, you have to go through a process. Draft well. Start with a solid nucleus of young players, preferably under 25. Bring in veterans as necessary. Lay your hands on a solid young goaltender and a star two-way defenseman. For the final touch, hire a coach that doesn't mind developing youth and let simmer for four-to-five years.

Tampa, Calgary and San Jose have done it. Detroit passed this stage 10-15 years ago. Toronto never did go through this process.

A change of guard is coming and if Detroit and Toronto (soon to be Colorado) don't tread carefully and heed this advice, they will be wallowing in the gutters. But there is hope. Both teams have a stable of young players with loads of potential. Pavel Dastyuk of Detroit, 25, is coming off a 30-goal, 68-point season. Despite missing 21 games, Henrik Zetterberg, 23, posted 43 points.

As for Toronto, Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky proved themselves on a line centered by Joe Nieuwendyk. They're just hitting their prime at 24-years-old. As well, Matt Stajan took Travis Green's roster spot, earned his fair share of ice time, and will play a big role in the future.

Make no mistake, however, it will be tough to replace the two-and-a-half dozen members of the 30+ club. Both Detroit and Toronto will need to revamp their scouting. It also wouldn't hurt to have a couple of high draft picks.

It's going to be a tough road for the next couple of years, but it will be interesting to see how management approaches this problem. I have been assuming, of course, that there will be hockey next year.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.