EDMONTON -- He has heard it so often, it must sound to Ken Holland like wishful thinking.

"Is this the end of the Detroit Red Wings?"

Are the coming losses of important players like (fill in blank from list including everyone from Steve Yzerman, to Igor Larionov, to Brendan Shanahan, to Nick Lidstrom, to…) going to spell the end to the Red Wings' Western Conference dominance?

The short answer is, of course it will not.

Although we have to say, when Lidstrom - who turns 42 on Apr. 28 - decides to hang 'em up, it will mark the loss of a nightly competitive advantage that cuts deeper even than the loss of an Yzerman - or, you could argue, even a Gordie Howe - from the Red Wings lineup.

"I'm big on defencemen, and I think Nick has been the best at his position," begins general manager Ken Holland. "We've had the most valuable player, in my opinion, in the last two decades,"

Under Holland, the best GM in the business, the Red Wings can survive anything. He'll likely lose legendary low-post artist Tomas Holmstrom to retirement this summer, and power forward Todd Bertuzzi doesn't have many years left. But Holland will have over $17 million in expiring contracts after this season, to go along with the $5 million in cap space he currently has.

"We've got some kids coming …" Holland said. "We're like everyone else. You've got to find players through the draft, or find veterans (as free agents).

"I'm big on the Original 6. Hopefully the history and the tradition of the Detroit Red Wings is kind of intriguing to some players down the road. Like it was to Dominik Hasek, like it was with Marian Hossa. That can turn the wheel for you."

Undoubtedly, with Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, plus this management team and its winning culture in place, the Red Wings remain a Top 3 destination for UFAs. But here's where we come back to Lidstrom. He has been a UFA magnet, as players leap at the chance to play with a Hall of Famer like Lidstrom.

That powerful drawing card could disappear at any time, not to mention the major advantage of having the best player on the ice every time the Red Wings have lined up to play a hockey game over the past 20 years.

"We haven't missed the playoffs in the 20 years that Nick has been a Red Wing. The past 11 years we've had 100 points or more. He's won seven Norris Trophies and was (a finalist) another three or four times," Holland said of Lidstrom, who was plus-2 in a 5-4 loss at Edmonton Saturday. "I'm a former goaltender, played pro for nine years. For me, premier, elite, defencemen are the most important players in the game. They defend, they attack, they transition to offence, they play against the other team's best offensive players, they play on the penalty kill …

"It's going to be a very sad day in Red Wings land whenever Nick decides he isn't going to play anymore."

The Boston Bruins missed the playoffs the next two springs after trading Ray Bourque to Colorado in 2000. It took the Bruins nine years to win their next playoff series.

That Boston organization was not this Detroit organization however, the NHL leaders with 72 points, entering Monday's game in Phoenix.

Holland and right-hand man Jim Nill -- along with a scouting staff led by Mark Howe and European super scout Hakan Andersson -- keep the cupboards stocked.

Of the top 11 scorers on the Red Wings today, eight are 31 years of age or older. This would mark critical mass in a lot of organizations, yet you have to believe Detroit will find a way to stay ultra-competitive.

"We've tried to be patient," Holland said. "In 2006, when we lost to Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs, we had 124 points and Edmonton went to the finals. I sat with Jim Nill in his office afterwards, and there were questions: Did we have too many Europeans? Were we too small?"

At that moment, Datysuk had played 52 playoff games and delivered only nine goals. There was legitimate conversation around the NHL about whether this guy had game or not.

Today, that conversation would get you laughed out of the bar. Or perhaps beat up, at The Detroiter in Greektown.

"At the end of the day," said Holland, "Jim Nill, Mike Babcock and I believed we were on the right path, and to continue down it."

It was a good idea. They have a lot of those, in Detroit.