"It has been an interesting summer for the Stanley Cup champion Red Wings.

They've lost more staff than players and will enter training camp with a roster arguably stronger than last season's.

Goalie Dominik Hasek and forward Dallas Drake retired, and forward Mark Hartigan went to Latvia to play for Dinamo Riga of the Kontinental Hockey League. Drake was the only one of the three to play in the Cup finals.

The biggest losses have come from the staff. Associate coach Todd McLellan was hired as head coach of the San Jose Sharks and took video coach Jay Woodcroft with him as an assistant coach.

Consultant and former coach Scotty Bowman became an advisor for the Chicago Blackhawks and will spend more time with his son, Stan, an assistant general manager.

Pro scout and former NHL head coach Bob McCammon retired, and assistant equipment manager Chris Scoppetto left to become head equipment manager of the Florida Panthers.

"You've had success, and other people want your people," general manager Ken Holland said. "We had good people. I'm disappointed that we've lost them, but in every case they've got a bigger role, a bigger paycheck."

The Wings made headlines this off-season when Penguins forward Marian Hossa rejected big money and longer-term job security to join the Wings for one year, $7.4 million.

The Wings added backup goaltender Ty Conklin for one year at $750,000.

The Wings also retained the services of defenseman Brad Stuart (four years, $15 million) and forward Valtteri Filppula (five years, $15 million).

It has been a short summer for Holland, who recently spent two weeks at his summer home in British Columbia, part of it working on Filppula's new deal.

"We tried not to leave all our business to the summer," Holland said. "That's why we signed Chris Osgood last October and Dan Cleary in February."

Holland doesn't have much work to do between now and the start of camp next month. His only unfinished business is deals with defensemen Chris Chelios and Kyle Quincey and forward Darren McCarty.

"We knew we had to get another goaltender," Holland said. "We felt we addressed it with Ty Conklin. We signed Brad Stuart and Hossa. We think we hit on all our needs.

"In Hossa, we got a star. He chose us. He had bigger money, longer-term deals elsewhere.

"A Stanley Cup champion team had the chance to keep their team together and add Marian Hossa," Holland said. "That's not supposed to happen with the salary cap.""