With apologies to the New Jersey Devils, the Detroit Red Wings represent the clearest facsimile of a NHL dynasty since the glory days of the Edmonton Oilers.  But things have plainly broken down this season.  With injuries piled up like rush-hour commuters in the season's first snowstorm, the Red Wings are currently fighting for their playoff lives.  But now their injured players are returning, what will this mean for you?

Returning Wings

There are a variety of reasons why the Red Wings' Hemi finally blew a gasket this season (the early goaltending and off-season loss of goal scoring talent to name but two), yet the chief factor may have been the succession of injuries that decimated the Wings' dressing over the course the first few months of the season.

A turnaround may be in the works, as many of the Red Wings' key individuals are now returning.  In case you'd lost track of the madness, here's a run-down on the worst of Motown's misfortunes this year.

This list represents an extraordinary tally of lost talent, and with all these noteworthy injuries returning, a smart fantasy GM should detect a whiff of opportunity amidst the stench of splattered oil and burnt metal.

So what will represent the best opportunities for you?  There are two strategies to employ in order to make use of the Wings' improving health.

You could go after formerly marquee players like Datsyuk (O-rank: 10^th, current rank: 60^th), Zetterberg (O-rank: 12^th, current rank: 53^rd), or Lidstrom (O-rank: 65^th, current rank: 94^th), all of whom are likely under-valued in your league due to their relatively sub-par performance.  This strategy is higher-risk since you will have to conduct a trade to get your hands on these players, but it is certainly higher-reward since these players will be the ones who have the highest fantasy impact.

A less risky strategy involves snapping up players like Cleary (O-rank: 148^th, current rank: 255^th), Kronwall (O-rank: 171^st, current rank: 506^th), or the Holmstrom (O-rank: 249^th, current rank 216^th) from the waiver wire.  These players are best used on your bench where you can take advantage of a hot streak or a favourable line combination, but with the exception of Kronwall on your blue-line (who is supposedly fine after "tweaking" his knee on Sunday against the Penguins), they won't permanently dislodge the starters on your roster.

The most interesting pick-up to make might be the still-injured Franzen.  Owning an O-rank of 43, but only owned in 70% of the Yahoo leagues, he might be the best of both worlds, low-risk if you can get him off the wire, but very probably high-reward.  Franzen excels at late-season play, and will serve as a game-changing catalyst for the Wings.

A final note on the returning injuries – when Lilja and Franzen do return, the Wings will be over both the salary cap and the 23-man roster limit.  Some moves will have to be made.

Olympics Games to Rekindle or Douse Wings' Playoff Flame?

The timing of their return to the line-up is fortunate for several of the Wings; seven are headed to the Olympics, including Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, and Kronwall for Sweden, Datsyuk for Russia, Filppula for Finland, while Brain Rafalski will suit up for the United States

Some might suggest that rest, rather than Olympic wreaths, would better help the Wings' chances of making the playoffs.  Certainly, the last thing Hockeytown needs is another injury.

But the high-octane competition of the Olympics might serve as a mojo-boost for the Wings, particularly for the four Swedes who will benefit from wearing the Tre Kroner together.

Additionally, Nicholas Chabot has discovered something interesting when it comes to Red Wings' captain in particular.  With his sharp statistical scalpel, Chabot illustrated in the February 1^st issue of The Hockey News that Lidstrom (who happens to be on a nice little scoring streak at the moment) increased his points-per-game significantly after participating in both the 2002 and the 2006 Winter Olympics.  In 2002, he displayed an extraordinary 0.54 point-per-game increase, while after the Turin tournament he enjoyed a still-impressive 0.24 per game increase.

So by no means is it a certainty that the relatively heavy Olympic participation is going to burnout the Wings. Combined with their bevy of returning players, it might represent the turning point of their season.