End of an era?

Last night my Detroit Red Wings were eliminated from the NHL playoffs. Although they "only" won three Stanley Cups in the past ten years, they've arguably been the most dominant hockey team since the early 90s.

Partly due to the huge expansion of the NHL since the 90s that drastically watered down the talent, hockey's been difficult to watch (especially for those not familiar with the sport) because it's so defensive with reduced offensive flow. But I've always followed the Wings.

(For those of you not into hockey, in my opinion, until this boring, defensive style of hockey took over, there was no sport that compared to NHL hockey. It was by far the most exciting game to watch - more than NCAA basketball and the NBA playoffs. Now, unless Detroit is playing, even I can't watch it unless I'm actually attending a game.)

Now, due to the impending lockout next September and the fact that the aging stars of the Red Wings aren't getting any younger, this team seems like it's going to be broken apart. I have a feeling that this is probably the end of what may have been the greatest era of Red Wings hockey.

This is how I prefer to remember this era: