Can Bowman Build A Winner?

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Call it Great Expectations, The Sequel.

Only this time, the Detroit Red Wings have hired the best in the business to author a happier ending. Frustrated by futile efforts in the playoffs that have cost them millions in gate receipts over the past two springs, owners Mike and Marian Ilitch spent nearly $2 million to bring coach Scotty Bowman to Detroit for at least two seasons.

But despite the impressive rebuilding effort general manager Bryan Murray has orchestrated over the past three years, Bowman has his work cut out for him in 1993-94.

Like last season, the Wings begin the season with a deeply talented lineup that ranks them the best team in the west, ready again to challenge the Pittsburgh Penguins or whoever in the Stanley Cup-a trophy that has eluded them since 1955.

There is pressure, from team ownership to the legion of devoted fans running out of patience. Unlike last year, however, this team begins the season with more questions about its preparedness to win it all, than answers. Notable among them:

□ How does this team replace its leader, Gerard Gallant, the most respected player in the dressing room?

□ Is Tim Cheveldae the goaltender to lead Detroit all the way?

□ Is the defense as set as it appears?

□ Will Keith Primeau finally emerge as an assertive, consistent force in the Wings’ lineup?

□ Will this team, despite all its talent, measure up to Bowman’s lofty standards?

□ Can the NHL’s best offense last season play enough defense to satisfy the coach?

Though much will be made in training camp of young players challenging veterans for jobs up front, the real competition is for the top positions. Which is why Primeau’s progress will be monitored carefully by the Detroit management.

He prefers to play center, his natural position, and the Wings have him penciled in as the No. 3 pivot behind Steve Yzerman and Sergei Fedorov. With both expected to play upwards of 25 minutes a game, that doesn’t leave much time for Primeau and precious little for a fourth center.

This suggests Primeau will remain flexible. He began showing an inclination towards playing the wing on Fedorov’s left flank down the stretch last season and he could wind up there again.

But who plays on Yzerman’s left side after Gallant left as a free agent for a better offer from the Tampa Bay Lightning?

The Wings hope Bob Probert can turn his game around and fill that spot. But they hoped that last year, when he slipped to 14 goals and 43 points with a team-leading 292 penalty minutes.

Dallas Drake was the team’s top-scoring left winger with 18 goals and 44 points and played with the kind of aggressiveness that most coaches appreciate. He could see time with Yzerman and Dino Ciccarelli.

But if the Wings were to acquire Steve Larmer from the Chicago Blackhawks, or someone like him, that would enable them to try Ray Sheppard on his off wing.

The defense appears set, but Murray still sees a hole to fill.

He covets a big defenseman that he has been seeking for two seasons. Until then, the Wings enter the season with the defense they ended with last spring. The pairings: Paul Coffey and Nicklas Lidstrom; Steve Chiasson and Vladimir Konstantinov; and Mark Howe and Yves Racine.

Detroit’s goaltending isn’t nearly the concern to Bowman as it is to fans and others around the NHL. Cheveldae, the workhorse who ranked among NHL leaders in games and victories the past three seasons, has achieved a lot at 25, though he didn’t come through when it counted most.

Bowman compares Cheveldae to Pittsburgh’s Tom Barrasso, among others, who had to overcome adversity early in their careers before achieving success. But the coach also adheres to a strict commitment to team defense that should help the goalies.

Bowman said he feels pressure to win not only from the team’s generous owners, but wherever he goes around Detroit.

“There’s something about wearing the jersey of some teams. Detroit is a very vibrant hockey city,” he said.

One with high expectations and desperate for a happy ending.