By JOE GUZMAN

Senior Reporter

It will go down as one of those events where  one remembers where they were when they first heard the news.

It was your average summer day and I was driving  my car. The sun was shining so bright that it seemed like  it was shining directly on Detroit, which was  a breath of fresh air,  as bad as things have been for the city.

The Red Wings signed Marian Hossa, the most sought-after player in this year’s free agent class, and just about everyone who cared had an automatic orgasm.

Hossa rejected more money and more security with Edmonton to take a one-year, $7.4 million contract to play for the Stanley Cup champions. And now the had   three of the top five or six players in the league,

I couldn’t believe it, it was the case of the rich getting richer, and it had nothing to do with a Wall Street buyout.

The most potent offense got even more dangerous, and Hossa stuck his middle finger up in  the faces of everyone who thinks that all athletes care about is money. A classy player made a very classy move, and the classiest organization in sports remained the envy of its league.

But, before the season began, I said the most significant move was signing Conklin.  Obvious  I suppose, considering Osgood’s age and history as a number one goaltender, not to mention our lack of a trust-worthy backup.

It’s simple though, defense and depth win Cups.

We beat Pittsburgh because a little known player named Franzen played out of his mind, our defense was strengthened by the acquisition of Brad Stuart, and Osgood out-played Fleury-who could have easily been backing up Conklin if it wasn’t for his contract making him a number one.

So coming into this season, I was more worried than most about the team, despite the addition of Hossa. Lidstrom and Osgood were bound to lose a step sooner or later. And although his numbers may not show it, Lidstrom seems to have lost some of the hockey intuition and anticipation that he has relied upon his entire career. The instincts  which set him apart from his peers, that allowed him to go down as the best stay-at-home defenseman in NHL history.

And since Ozzy’s abilities aren’t on par with the greats, the margin of error for which age affects him was slimmer. This is why I believe he is done; what we are witnessing this season is what  you get when age catches up with a goalie that is just a decent.

Hasek and Chelios have played into their 40’s. These men were great and significant players in the Wings’ 2002 championship. Osgood was a just-above-average player; he led the Islanders into the playoffs one year and was a serviceable starter for a bad Blues team, but the life for a decent player in any sport usually doesn’t last longer than 35.

So when talks about possibly keeping both Franzen and Hossa hover about the airwaves and blogosphere, don’t blame me for considering it a bad move. The salary cap era hand-cuffs formerly big spenders, and although the wings deified this for the short term, they will have to look long term sooner than later.

There is less money to be thrown around nowadays; we will not see the hall of fame type of team from ’02 again, any time soon. So concentrating on allocating more money towards goaltending and defense for when Lidstrom and Osgood say goodbye is of more importance.

I’m not here to predict the outcome of the Wings playoff run. Predictions are for the ignorant. Their offense is strong enough  possibly to carry them to their fifth cup in 12 years, but it doesn’t follow the blueprint of their championships past.

For anyone who watched this year’s Super Bowl, World Series and NBA Finals, the team that led in defense won, and that’s been the rule for a long time. So if the Wings do win this year, it will be in spite of their ability to keep points off the board.

I must say though, if any team can win as the exception to the rule that defense wins championships, the Wings can. Hossa and the Wings have already defied one rule already.