from Nate Brown of Detroit Hockey Now,
Going all the way back to the 1996-97 team that snapped a 42-year Stanley Cup drought, the Red Wings were buoyed by five foundational players that the other players were built around. The five?
Steve Yzerman (drafted 4th overall in 1983)
Sergei Fedorov (drafted 74th overall in 1989)
Nicklas Lidstrom (drafted 53rd overall in 1989)
Brendan Shanahan (acquired via trade from Hartford in 1996).
Vladimir Konstantinov (drafted 221st overall in 1989)...When looking at the 2007-08 Red Wings, several names come to mind as foundational pieces:
Lidstrom
Henrik Zetterberg (drafted 210th overall in 1999)
Pavel Datsyuk (drafted 171st overall in 1998).