Wild Recall Kalus; Minnesota Debut Likely
The Minnesota Wild have recalled Petr Kalus in the event that Cal Clutterbuck is not ready to go for tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers. Clutterbuck was injured in Sunday’s loss to the Calgary Flames and is thought to be nursing a deep bruise to his thigh muscle.
View from the Lighthouse has reported that Clutterbuck was not at the morning skate and it is likely that Kalus will make his debut for the Minnesota Wild tonight, wearing #23.
Kalus, the main return in the trade with Boston for Manny Fernandez, has 15 points (11-4=15) this season for the Houston Aeros with 64 PIM and a minus-8 rating. Should he play in tonight’s game, it will be his first NHL action since 2007 where he had four goals and an assist in nine games for the Bruins.
The Mail Bag! And other stuff
Well alright. Sorry about the delay in this post but, as many of you are sure to know, I was a touch busy over the last few weeks getting things ready for Hockey Primetime’s trade deadline day which, I’m excited to say, was a pretty large success.
Thank you to J.P. Hoornstra, Scott Rosts, Denis Gorman, Justin Bourne and Ms. Conduct for helping out in our trade deadline blog, as well as Dave Turner and Sam P. Woo for their coverage on HPT Radio, as well as the kind folks at Primetime Radio for hosting our show.
Let me tell you that, if you didn’t listen in, you missed one heck of a show. The sound quality was top notch and the guests were on the same level. My last shill of the day on this one…If you didn’t sign up on Primetime Radio yesterday, head on over there and register. There’s some cool stuff that’s going to be going on the over the coming months I think.
Mailbag
Now, a while ago I asked for mailbag responses. Well…I got a few and my response to these has been looooooooong overdue (at least by a month or so.) So, with my sincere apologies, here are my responses to these mailbag questions.
Not sure if these would be interesting to anyone but me…
1. Why would the salary cap go down next year? Who and how do they decide that?
2. During warm ups before a game – are guys assigned to certain jobs? I’ve noticed that Sheppard clears pucks out of the net and distributes them around the ice. Brunette passes pucks to guys once at a time and they each take a shot. Is this punishment for doing something the coach didn’t like? Or do they rotate these jobs?
3. Can you explain (in short sentences) how waivers work? You hear that a player “was put on waivers” or “cleared waivers” but I haven’t figured out what that actually means and a Google search didn’t help!
Thanks for any light you can shed on these questions. Feel free to ignore them if they are not blog worthy.
– Laurie/Minnesotagirl71
Laurie,
I can tell you that these questions were most certainly blog worthy. The reason I know this is because I actually had to do a fair amount of research in order to actually answer these!
1. The explanation for how the salary cap is set isn’t an easy one. Basically, there is a cap ceiling and floor. You can’t go above the ceiling or below the floor. This is determined by the assignment of a percentage of “hockey-related” revenues to player salaries. The ceiling is the maximum percentage that the league allocates to player salaries, while the floor is defined as $16 million below the cap. This is decided by the NHL front offices, though I believe that the Board of Governors also has a say in this.
Basically, the reason that the cap would go down is based upon league revenues. If the league gains money, the cap is likely to go up. If it loses money, the cap is likely to either remain static or decrease.
While I don’t have a line into the revenues of the league, my guess for this coming season is that the cap will remain static or drop a bit due to the hard economic times. Not an indictment of anyone or anything in particular. Just the reality of things.
2. You’re in for a treat on this one, Laurie, because this comes straight from the horse’s mouth. Justin Bourne of Bourne’s Blog has been gracious enough to answer this question from first hand experience:
The jobs are pretty random – some guys like to be more focused and not worry about that sort of thing, while some guys like having an extra little role. In general, the captain (or one of the assistants) will fish the pucks out of the net. They’re sort of expected to, but if they don’t want to, they’ll just delegate – ask anyone in the dressing room if anyone wants to. The drill where there’s one puck, and one player will pass it to whoever from behind the goal line for a bit, that’s a different one. If takes more skating and effort, but for me, I liked doing that job because it made me move a bit, something I normally wouldn’t make myself do in warmup (also, it’s a little reminder of who is which hand). Its definitely not punishment. Just a team working out what works best for all the guys. Somebody’s gotta do it!
3. Ah yes, waivers. According to the current CBA, a player is exempt from waivers based upon this chart:
Now, if that was as clear as mud, the bottom line is this. If you are a goalie and are on your NHL club at the age of 18, you have six years or 80 games (whichever comes first) in which you are exempt from passing through waivers. For a skater at age 18, you have five years or 160 games (again, whichever comes first). This counts for both regular season and playoff games.
It is counted as a season if a player plays more than 11 games in that season, which is why you can see players re-assigned to juniors after playing ten games etc.
If that doesn’t make much sense, don’t worry. I’m pretty sure 90% of general managers don’t truly understand it either.
But, here’s the good part. After a player is placed on waivers, there is a 24-hour period in which they can be claimed by another team. If only one waiver claim is made on a player, they will be transferred to the club making the waiver claim. If multiple waiver claims are made, the player will be transferred to the club that has the lowest point percentage at the time that the waiver claim was made. So, for example, if Teams A, B and C make waiver claims on the same player, Team A has 6 points in 3 games, Team B has 3 points in 3 games and Team C has 2 points in 1 game, Team B would be awarded the transfer since they have the lowest percentage of points, not the lowest total points.
Hopefully that’s shed some light on it for you!
1. Any idea what big names will be free agents after the season and of those who if any can you see the Wild going after?
2. I’ve become a pretty big Wild fan this season, I live in Kansas City, but grew up in Houston who houses the AHL affiliate Aeros, which is how I choose the Wild as my NHL team. My question is what is the relationship between the Aeros & the Wild. Are they co-owned? Is there a five year lease as affiliate? Can I expect Houston to still be the AHL affiliate 5 years, 10 years from now assuming Houston doesn’t get the Coyotes or go belly up?
Will see Wild live for first time when they play Blues Jan. 14th, can’t wait!
–Brian
Brian, I hope to hear soon about how you enjoyed your first Wild game! If you ever want to experience how a Wild game is supposed to be viewed live, too, definitely come up and see a game at the X. It’s well worth the trip.
1. For free agents this summer, I don’t know that you’ll see the Wild make a huge splash. Right now, the salary cap is expected to stay relatively close to what it is now ($56.8 million), and the Wild have about $45.454 million already spent towards the cap next season on 15 players. What that boils down to is that it’s going to be tough for the Wild to get any huge acquisitions with around $11 million to spend on eight players.
That being said, Fletcher has been very good at finding the right players for the right prices, so nothing is out of the question. With our first two lines fairly cemented, I think you’ll see Fletcher take a stab at some quality depth players this season unless he can manage to talk a player like an Ilya Kovalchuk or a Patrick Marleau into a long-term, cap-friendly contract.
The splash I think you’ll see the Wild make (and make no mistake, we need to make one) will be in the trade department. We have restricted free agents Josh Harding and James Sheppard to potentially shop (Harding’s job is easily replaced for cheaper by Anton Khudobin, while Sheppard has never quite caught on here) and he has proved that he’s willing to pull the trigger on deals. While no teams inquired about Harding at the trade deadline, he could be a very tempting player for teams who are going to have vacancies in net in the offseason.
2. To the best of my knowledge, Houston and Minnesota are both owned and run by Minnesota Sports & Entertainment.
While Houston does have their own executive staff, they are owned and run by MSE and managed by assistant General Manager to the Wild, Jim Mill. While some affiliates are agreed to as a business deal, it appears that the Wild actually own the Aeros and it would stand to reason that their relationship would be one that would be longer than just a lease.
Trade Deadline
Alright. Now that I’ve actually answered my mail (I promise a more timely mailbag next time around), we’re on to the move made yesterday by the Wild.
Plain and simple, it was inevitable that Belanger would be moved. He had not been contacted for talks by the Wild and, despite his interest in staying there was no interest in retaining him.
To get a second round draft pick for a player of Belanger’s caliber is, in my opinion, a huge windfall for the Wild. If you would have asked me if we would have gotten that high of a pick for him a few days ago, I would have laughed in your face.
It’s a win for Belanger because he gets to go to a contender, it’s a win for Washington because they get a solid defensive forward and it’s a win for the Wild because they get to make out like a bandit with a shiny new draft pick.
More importantly, though, I like the Wild’s trade deadline for the move that they didn’t make.
They didn’t trade Owen Nolan.
That tells you how much respect he has by the players, the coaching staff and the management. Quite simply, he has earned the chance at a contract extension and I applaud Chuck Fletcher for giving him that opportunity. I have been fairly outspoken in my belief that the Wild should afford Nolan every opportunity to retire in a Minnesota sweater, and it appears that they will do just that.
Next up for the Wild are the Edmonton Oilers on Friday at 8pm CST.
Breaking News: Wild Re-signs Clutterbuck
Per Mike Russo,
The Wild avoided restricted free agency this summer with heavy hitter Cal Clutterbuck by extending the winger’s contract this morning. Clutterbuck signed a three-year, $4.2 million contract ($1.4 million cap hit).
“Cal is an intense competitor who has quickly become a fan favorite with the Wild,” GM Chuck Fletcher said. “We look forward to watching his development for years to come.”
Clutterbuck, 22 (11/18/87), set the NHL’s single-season hits mark in 2008-09 with 356, and again leads the NHL this season with 252 hits. Clutterbuck has recorded a career-high 12 goals in 54 games this season, while also tying his career-high with 18 points. The 5-foot-11, 213-pound native of Welland, Ont., has posted 36 points (23-13=36) and 110 penalty minutes in 134 games over two-plus seasons with the Wild. Clutterbuck was the Wild’s third-round pick (No. 72 overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
Obviously myself, as well as every other Wild fan out there, loves this move.
Clutterbuck has been a breath of fresh air to this franchise since he arrived here and is one of the more loved members of the organization.
His gritty, physical play injects energy into the team every time he hits the ice and is beginning to find his offensive game as well.
The Wild have just three other RFA’s to lock up and, from what I have gathered, are currently in talks with leading goal scorer Guillaume Latendresse to extend his contract.
The Minnesota Wild Trade Deadline Primer
The Olympics are just a few days from being over, and the Minnesota Wild have hit the ice once more, practicing together for the first time since the Olympic freeze on Wednesday.
Looking at the standings, the Wild have a daunting task ahead of them. With 21 games remaining, they sit five points out of the playoff race and, seeing Kim Johnsson shipped out to Chicago, are looking more and more like they will be sellers at the March 3 trade deadline.
As Hockey Reference shows, the Wild’s chances of making the playoffs are slipping drastically.
The bottom line remains that the Wild simply are not consistent enough to be in the playoff picture this season. They cannot sustain any sort of solid effort on the ice in a single game, much less in a stretch of games.
Keeping that in mind, here is a look at the players that the Wild could potentially move and what their going rate might be.
Owen Nolan: After Johnsson, Nolan is probably the next “big ticket” item that the Wild have to offer.
I know what you’re thinking. 14 goals, 28 points? How is Nolan a big ticket item?
I’ll tell you how.
65 playoff games.
He’s been there and done that, plain and simple. At the trade deadline, playoff contenders are typically looking at two things. Veteran leadership and either defensive help or scoring punch (depending on the team’s needs).
Nolan brings both veteran leadership and the ability to score clutch and timely goals. He has been a key part of the Wild’s locker room this season and a great number of Wild fans will be extremely sad to see him go; however, he is a player that the Wild could get some good assets for the future for.
Estimated Cap Hit: $598K
Expected Return: Prospects and/or picks
Eric Belanger: Belanger is having one of the best seasons of his career. He’s just two points off of his career high in points and assists and he’s been a huge asset defensively for the Wild.
He also has something else that playoff teams tend to look for.
He can win faceoffs.
If there’s a big draw to be taken, Belanger will be in on it. He’s been a large part of many of the Wild’s successful runs this season and has also started showing a bit of a gritty side to his game.
As a penalty killer, he’s one of the better ones on the Wild’s squad and has started to exhibit that he has the hands to be a threat on the offensive side of things as well.
In addition, Belanger has the added upside of still being relatively young (or, at least compared to Nolan). If the fit is good enough, there’s the potential for the team to get a couple more solid years from him after the trade.
Estimated Cap Hit: $390K
Expected Return: Depth roster player and/or pick(s)
James Sheppard: Wild fans will attest to the fact that Sheppard’s stock has fallen like a rock this season.
Sheppard has gone from the asking price for Olli Jokinen to being less tradable than Benoit Pouliot (which, in Wild fans eyes, was saying quite a bit).
If there’s one thing that Chuck Fletcher has proven, though, it’s that he’s more than willing to move a player that might need a change of scenery and Sheppard could use just that.
I’m firm in my belief that he can be successful somewhere—I just don’t think that somewhere is in Minnesota.
Sheppard was touted as the “next big thing” for the Wild, and he certainly hasn’t turned into that. Fans have begun to tire of seeing him on the ice, to the point where many would rather see Derek Boogaard get Sheppard’s ice time.
The bottom line is that Sheppard needs to play somewhere where the expectations facing him are tempered, and that place isn’t in Minnesota.
Estimated Cap Hit: $312K
Expected Return: Struggling young roster player
Derek Boogaard: I’m putting Boogaard on this list because there is the chance that he could get moved, but I’ll say this right now.
The chance is slim-to-none.
Boogaard is one of the most feared enforcers in the game on a team that lacks a suitable replacement and is earning ice time this season.
While it’s a possibility, it certainly isn’t probable.
Estimated Cap Hit: $212K
Expected Return: Late round draft pick
Shane Hnidy: The Sherriff has been an excellent addition to the Wild’s blueline this season, but two facts remain.
One, he’s been an excellent addition, meaning that he would be an excellent and cheap addition to a team needing defensive help and two, what he brings to the team can be done by either a) Clayton Stoner or b) Jaime Sifers.
If any team is looking for an injury filler or depth on the blueline, Hnidy can certainly fill that need and fill it quite well.
In addition, he has gotten more playing time this season on the offensive side of things (more notably, on the powerplay) and has exhibited an extremely heavy (if not very accurate) shot from the point.
While the return for Hnidy probably wouldn’t be great, he could be a low risk, high reward pick up for someone in need of a d-man.
Estimated Cap Hit: $167K
Expected Return: Mid-to-late round draft pick
John Scott: Let’s face it. Scottie won’t be on the team next season.
He’s regressed this season in terms of the ability that he brought to the table that had the Wild keep him around, but he’s moved forward in his enforcer ability—something that teams may be looking for.
He brings toughness and he can play solid defense, if you don’t take into account his lack of skating ability.
Scott is the more likely of the two “big men” that the Wild have to be moved, as he quickly became expendable on the blueline—even moreso with the emergence of Stoner.
Scott could easily be a boon to a team looking to increase its toughness heading into the playoffs.
Estimated Cap Hit: $123K
Expected Return: Late round draft pick
Josh Harding: Harding is the player that he Wild will likely look to shop the hardest, especially with the emergence of Anton Khudobin this season.
Hards had a tough start to the season, but has rebounded nicely and if there is one thing that teams love heading into the playoffs, it’s a capable, young backup that can take over in the case of injury (see: Cam Ward).
Harding can provide that for a team and deserves the chance to be someone’s goaltender of the future because, with Backstrom planted in net for the Wild and Khudobin and Matthew Hackett coming up behind up, the Wild’s net is starting to get a little crowded.
Harding is a restricted free agent this coming off season and would be a tremendous pick up for just about any team looking to improve in net.
Estimated Cap Hit: $245K
Expected Return: Roster player and/or prospects or picks
The Draft Picks/Prospects: Fletcher has said that he’s not interesting in trading picks or prospects for players; however, he will be willing to part with picks or prospects if the price is right.
If he can get a good, young player that can have a future on this club, he will not hesitate to pull the trigger, even if it involves a pick or a prospect.
While it may be maddening to some, it is a stark contrast to the strategy of Doug Risebrough, and ultimately leads to the line…
In Chuck We Trust.
Random, Random, Random
Well, the Olympics are here.
That means that the Wild news slows waaaaaaaaaaaaaay down. At least for a few weeks.
Day one of the Olympics brought exactly what was expected. Team USA ground out a win over the Swiss, Team Canada overcame early jitters to dominate Norway and Russia overpowered Latvia.
But, no Wild players played, so there’s really not much for me to talk about.
Today, though, could be a different story. At 2 p.m. Central time, the puck will drop on Finland’s first game of the tournament, which will see Mikko Koivu and Antti Miettinen take the ice for their home country, and Niklas Backstrom likely get some splinters backing up Miikka Kipprusoff.
That leads me to the match up of the night. The new versus the old. Martin Havlat versus Marian waitheshurtagain? Well. Nevermind. I guess the subtext to that matchup just won’t work here. But in all seriousness, it should be one hell of a game, as it will be the first time that two of the teams considered medal contenders face off in this tournament.
Now that I have that out of the way, it occurred to me that I never weighed in on my thoughts of the Wild’s big trade in the hours leading up to the trade freeze.
Wow. I mean, wow.
Whether you like the trade or not, there’s one thing that you absolutely have got to admit. Chuck Fletcher’s got balls. I mean a biiiiiiig brass set.
Personally, I love the trade.
Fletcher managed to dump the Wild’s most unsightly contract (let’s be fair, Butch gets a free pass here until he’s had at least a full season under the new system) and picks up a solid top four NHL defenseman and he’s 23 years old? What’s not to like?
I’ve read the fan reactions to the trade a hundred times and it seems to be a 50-50 split. Half love the trade, half hate it. But, I’d be willing to assume that the half that hate it were also the half that were whining about Doug Risebrough never making any moves of significance at the trade deadline or never trying to improve the team or always know what’s best for the team.
Again, personally, I love the trade, and here’s why.
First, it saves the Wild some money. It moves Johnsson’s contract before the Olympic Break, meaning that the Blackhawks, not the Wild, have to pay him for sitting on his duff doing nothing.
Second, it moves an older player with an expiring contract for a younger player with a few years left without giving up anything. Say what you will about Johnny and Barker, but they both have relatively the same skill set, though Barker seems more willing to throw his weight around.
Third, it moves a prospect that, quite frankly, I haven’t been too impressed with. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the team drafting Leddy, but I did my best to try to see it in a positive light. The bottom line is, though, that Leddy’s development (as was the case with Kyle Okposo before him) had started to stall. The U is known for a great many things, but their development of their players over the last few years has been much less than stellar. The Wild recognized that and decided to take the devil they knew over the devil they didn’t, so to speak.
Leddy could very well turn into a top flight defenseman down the road, but he’s still at least three to four years away from being an NHL player. Barker, meanwhile, is just five years older than Leddy, has 201 NHL games under his belt and is ready now.
Barker will help a powerplay that has been shaky, at best, this season and will give the Wild a third young defenseman that they can count on as part of their defensive core.
Does Barker have many of the defensive shortcomings that Johnsson did?
Absolutely.
But the difference between the two is that Barker is young enough to have those bad habits broken by our defensive taskmaster, Mike Ramsey.
Anywho…That’s all for now. I swear I’m still working on the mailbag and will have it up sometime during this Olympic break. If you want your questions answered, I’m still taking submissions so feel free to send them in!
Almond Recalled; Earl Demoted
Veeeeeeerrrrrrrrrry interesting.
The Wild have sent Robbie Earl down to Houston, recalling Cody Almond. This is Almond’s first call up to the big show and, as Brian Stensaas said over at Russo’s Rants, there’s a chance that he cracks the lineup tomorrow against the Atlanta TrashOurYoungGuys (in all seriousness, the Thrashers are my favorite team not named the Minnesota Wild…I just thought that the name given by Razor was funny).
Almond is having a decent season with Houston, despite having struggled after an early injury. He has four goals and ten points in his last nine games with Houston and has been one of the team’s more intriguing prospects over the last year or two.
As for Earl, Richards said that he “has slipped a little.”
It will probably be determined tomorrow whether or not Almond debuts, but I’d say there’s a good chance.
Gameday Thread – Game 59 – ‘Yotes @ Wild
It seems like forever since I’ve written one of these, so I may be a bit rusty, but bear with me — this could be a game that you’re going to want to watch if you’re a Wild fan.
Over the last couple years the Wild have, to use a Mike Milbury-ism, been the Coyotes’ daddy. Prior to this season, the Wild were a stunning 9-1-0 against the Glendale Canines, and were firmly in control of the match up.
Funny how an off season can change things.
With new coaches, the two teams began to take on different styles of play and the Coyotes were no longer the doormat that the Wild were used to.
Long story short, this season has been a largely different story in the series, with the Coyotes taking the first three games of the season series by a combined score of 11-6.
Soooooooo, what does this mean exactly?
Well, this means one of two things. Either the Coyotes will continue their dominance of the boys in Iron Range Red tonight or, gosh darnit, the Wild are due.
The Wild come into this game five points out of playoff contention with 24 games to play. Not insurmountable odds, but a harrowing task indeed. They also come into this game having gotten 42 of their 62 points at the Xcel Energy Center—where tonight’s game is being played.
A look in the infirmary shows that the Wild are slowly but surely starting to get healthy again. Niklas Backstrom could return to action tonight and Andrew Brunette, who has sat out the team’s last two practices for maintenance issues, will be a go tonight. “Sherriff” Shane Hnidy is going to be a game time decision tonight, as he missed practice yesterday with an illness, and Anton Khudobin will likely be the second goaltender in place of Josh Harding.
Lineup(s)
With the M*A*S*H unit that has been the Wild’s lineup this season, it’s hard to tell who might be in, but after last game’s physical tone I would expect Richards to counter with a physical lineup tonight.
Brunette-Koivu-Miettinen
Latendresse-Brodziak-Havlat
Nolan-Belanger-Clutterbuck
Boogaard-Ebbett-Earl
The physical lineup means that James Sheppard will again be sitting up in the press box, observing.
Now I don’t like to speculate too often, but one has got to wonder if Sheppard will be shopped around much like Benoit Pouliot was. Contrary to his stats, Sheppard is a talented player—he just seems to need a fresh start. I doubt that the return for Shep would be all that great right now, but he could be a useful piece to add on to a deal.
On defense, I’m guessing that Hnidy will be ready to go, as he’s what is commonly referred to as a warrior, so our defense shouldn’t change.
Zanon-Zidlicky
Johnsson-Schultz
Burns-Hnidy
And finally, the six-million dollar question. Who starts in net?
I’m gonna go with my gut on this one and say that Khudobin starts with Backstrom backing up. I say this for two reasons. One, Backstrom has sit out the last six games and should get a little more than just a few practices before he is tossed to the wolves and two, why not ride the hot hand? Khudobin has two wins (one in relief) in his NHL career and has given up just one goal. That could earn him another shot.
What to Watch For
The last meeting between these two teams ended with some fairly heated exchanges and what looked to be some bad blood.
Now, with Minnesota on the outside looking in and Phoenix playing extremely good hockey right now, I’d look for this to carry over. The Wild will need a spark at the start of this game and will look to come out with energy and with physical play and, let’s be honest, in terms of this stuff a lot of hockey player have long memories.
As far as Phoenix is concerned, keep an eye on Matthew Lombardi.
Lombardi had his first career five-point game on Monday night and is riding high after being moved from center to wing. Playing with Robert Lang and Shane Doan, look for him to continue to be an integral part of their offense.
For Minnesota, they need to find a way to get to Ilya Bryzgalov. Bryz has historically not had a whole lot of success against Minnesota, but this season has played lights out against the Wild.
Minnesota needs to figure out how to recapture their success against Bryz and against the Coyotes to gain any sort of momentum. These last three games of their homestand are incredibly crucial to the direction of the team after the Olympic break, as they will have exactly two days to decide which direction they will take in regards to the trade deadline.
Minnesota has not seriously flirted with the playoffs yet this season, but a strong last three games could put them in the position to do so and influence general manager Chuck Fletcher’s moves going forward.
Key(s) to the Game
Honestly? Open the scoring before the second period. If Minnesota can do that, they’re already part-way towards success against Phoenix.
Getting on the board early and getting their confidence will be key against a Phoenix team that has not given them much to be confident about this season.
Past that, just coming out and playing a solid, physical game.
Minnesota is proving this season that they have a team that is capable of throwing their bodies around and are starting to turn into a very difficult team to play against.
They’re playing against a Coyotes team that is riding high, and they need to be that difficult team to play against. Play physical, send a message to Phoenix that they won’t be pushed around.
It’s that simple. If they can dictate the tempo by playing physical, they can come away with a victory in this one.
The puck drops at 7pm CST and is broadcast on Fox Sports North.
On My Soapbox: Post-Hit Fights
Here’s the deal. It’s not like I think that Steve Ott is a horrible human being…
Well, okay. Let me rephrase that. While I may think that he’s a horrible human being, I’m sure that he’s actually a really nice guy.
Wait, let me rephrase that again. I’m not sure, but he probably is actually a really nice guy—just a nice guy who enjoys annoying the hell out of anyone and everyone on the ice.
But I’m going to be flat out honest here. What he did not once, but twice last night might not have been wrong, but it was certainly was dishonorable, as Puck Daddy made mention of.
Here’s the deal. I am a Wild fan. I make no bones about it. While I try my hardest to remain objective, there are many times that I view plays during Wild games through Iron Range Red tinted lenses.
But what Steve Ott did last night is a growing epidemic in the NHL in general, as Bob McKenzie pointed out at TSN.ca.
I’m all for fighting in the game, and I’m all for spontaneous fighting at that. But there’s one thing that gets me on both of the fights that Ott started.
Each one followed a 100% good, clean check by Cal Clutterbuck.
Why, pray tell, should Clutterbuck be expected to defend himself against someone other than the man that he just embarrassed by knocking his brain about ten rows up into the seats?
A couple seasons ago, Wild defenseman Brent Burns jumped in on something that was much similar to this when he set up forward Stephane Veilleux to get Phaneufed, so to speak.
My response then was the same as it is now. Why in the world should the hitter have to defend themselves against anyone but the recipient of the hit for a good, clean hit?
Don’t get me wrong. I love seeing players skate with such raw emotion. But this is now bordering on ridiculous.
In his post-game comments, Ott brought up the 60’s and 70’s bench clearing brawls saying that a hit like that on a star player simply can’t go without a response.
Yeah. He may be right, and you at least have to respect his sentiment. But at what point did we start saying that this response has to be in the way of a fight? Or even that the star players can’t respond, themselves?
McKenzie brings up a great list of what he believes would constitute as “appropriate responses” in his column, and I happen to agree 200% with him:
I suppose I’m old fashioned but for me the appropriate response to the Stuart hit would have come from a menu that includes the following: a) Kopitar gets up and exacts revenge by scoring a goal against Boston; b) If Kopitar was really incensed by the hit, he drops the gloves himself with Stuart (don’t laugh, the point is the game had more honor when players fought their own battles); c) the Kings take Stuart’s number and the first time he’s in a position to get hit, he gets creamed; d) the Kings begin laying more hits and physical abuse on Boston’s best offensive players Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron, and believe me Wayne Simmonds would be excellent at this; e) all of the above.
Why does the response have to involve a player now having to drop his gloves with someone nowhere near the play, just because he cleaned the clock of a star player? My guess, in both situations, is that the star player got to his feet thinking to himself: “Damn, I should have kept my head up.”
But, if he were really upset over it, he should fight his own battles like McKenzie suggested. To Ott’s comment, I’m certain that’s what would have happened in the 60’s and 70’s.
What’s more, the NHL instituted the “instigator” penalty to prevent just this. As Mike Russo mentioned in his postgame blog, the instigator rule at hand (and, make no mistake, Ott was the instigator in both fights), would punish Ott with a 2-5-and-10 laundry list of penalty minutes for his role in starting the fight.
As Russo said:
Tonight, for some reason Ott didn’t get an instigator (2-5-and-10) for going after Clutterbuck after he lay a clean check on Brad Richards. I don’t know why. The league has publicly said that if you start a fight after a clean hit,. it should be a 2, 5 and 10. The refs tonight gave him 2 for roughing.
I’m sure I’m not alone in this sentiment, but I don’t want to get rid of hitting in the NHL—especially not the open ice kind, nor do I want to get rid of fighting. Both aspects of the game are absolutely electric and can energize a crowd and a team and both aspects are as much of a part as the game’s fabric as scoring goals or making saves.
But, for the life of me, I just can’t understand why a player would have to defend himself for a clean hit—especially when he’s not defending himself against the player that he hit, and I can’t, for the life of me, understand why the NHL would institute such a rule as the instigator penalty if they refuse to enforce it to the letter of the law.
Owen Nolan is Too Important for the Wild to Trade
The trade deadline is looming, and with the moves made in the past couple days by the Maple Leafs and the Rangers, it looks like everyone’s trying to get an early jump on the trading.
The trades that have been made would likely be considered blockbusters, but it is rarely the blockbuster trade that wins one a Stanley Cup. The trades that win the cup are the ones for crafty veterans that have been there before. Players like Doug Weight and Mark Recchi, or Billy Guerin, or Owen Nolan.
That’s right, Wild fans. Our very own Cowboy has the potential to be a trade deadline move, and why shouldn’t he?
Throughout his career, this crafty veteran has been a 20+ goal scorer ten, count them, ten times and is on pace for that mark yet again this season.
He’s proven with the Wild over these last two seasons that, while he may not be the player he was in his prime, he still has plenty of tread left on the tires.
So, if they’re out of contention, why shouldn’t the Wild trade him? He’ll likely be one of the more valuable rentals that this team has to offer, and his cap hit will be very palatable for just about any team looking for some veteran scoring punch.
He’s been to the playoffs before and has shown that he can still bring the grit that made him one of the game’s most feared power forwards.
So, again, why shouldn’t General Manager Chuck Fletcher look at trading him?
Because he is arguably the most important player to the Minnesota Wild.
Say what you will about this, but trading Owen Nolan would be akin to ripping the heart out of this young, inexperienced Wild roster.
Nolan brings to this team something that they simply don’t have a whole lot of. Winning experience.
Even if the team is out of contention, trading Nolan sends one message to every single young player in the Wild’s locker room: “We don’t believe that you can win.”
Meanwhile, Nolan continues to lead this team on and off the ice, regardless of whether or not he has the C on his chest. With all due respect to Mikko Koivu, it is Nolan that is the captain of this team.
This is no more apparent than in his comments to the Star-Tribune regarding the trade deadline.
“We’re in a battle here. We’re in a good race. If we stick to our guns, we’ll be in,” Nolan said. “I can’t worry about [being traded] at all. This is my team. This is who I play hard for. We’re right there. There’s no reason why we can’t make the playoffs and I can stay.”
Sure, it’s the right thing to say. Sure, every other player in the locker room would likely say the same thing. But with Nolan? There’s something about his attitude, his words that lets you know that he really means it.
“This is my team.”
That says it all. There’s no extra words, no extra justification. Just the simple statement that this is his team.
Last season, the signing of Nolan was looked at by many as a move made by a desperate general manager who was unable to sign anyone of value, and maybe that’s what it was, but when Marian Gaborik went down for the majority of the season, it was Nolan who picked up the slack.
The Wild’s poor December last season?
In Nolan’s absence.
Their record this season when the grumpy old man doesn’t suit up?
2-3-0, averaging just two goals for per game.
Quite honestly, the team needs Nolan not only for his on-ice presence, but for what he brings to the locker room and, in the end, that is why the team needs to keep him.
Not for any on-ice boost that he might give them, but for the leadership and mentoring ability that he has and is able to impart on the youngsters on this team.
That is why the Wild should not and, in my opinion, cannot trade Nolan.
That is why Nolan should have a spot on this roster as long as he wants to play.
Gameday Thread – Game 53 – Wings @ Wild
UPDATE: So the blogosphere is flip-flopping as much as John Kerry on tonight’s starting goalie. First it was Backstrom, then it was Harding, then it was Backstrom again, now it might be Harding. I’m just going to go ahead and say that no one but the coach has any stinking idea who will start tonight (but, between the two, my guess will be Backstrom). Also, the Wild assigned Petr Sykora to Houston and have reportedly reached an agreement with his agent to mutually terminate his contract, pending league approval.
There’s no doubt that the Wild this season have been about as consistent as a schizophrenic on speed and have left many of their loyal fanbase in desperate need of some sort of emotional therapy.
Bearing that in mind, consider this blog right here your own personal “truth zone.” I promise that I won’t try to sugarcoat things for you and I promise that I’ll try to remain optimistic about the Wild’s chances this season.
Realistically, there’s a lot to be optimistic about.
Martin Havlat has finally caught fire and is playing like the player we thought we were getting at the season’s onset. Mikko Koivu is on pace for yet another career season. Guillaume Latendresse is playing like a man possessed for the Wild, having scored 13 goals and 19 points in just 27 games with the team.
Have I mentioned that we’ve gotten Brent Burns back, and he’s actually playing Brent Burns hockey? Or that Robbie Earl is scoring a goal in about every third game and truly looking like he belongs? Or that this could quite possibly be the most closely knit Wild team that I’ve seen in quite some time?
There is, indeed, light on the horizon for the boys in Iron Range Red.
The problem is that we’re not on the horizon yet. We’re in the here and now.
It would be easy to go into some long rant about how this game is a must win, how it would do wonders for the team’s confidence, how a solid game from Backstrom would be great for his confidence.
All of the above holds true.
But we’ll just put it this way.
We’re sitting in 12th place in the Western Conference, just five points from the final playoff spot. Just five points behind the very team that we play tonight.
A regulation win tonight puts us three points behind them (for those who, like myself, are mathematically challenged).
Right now, Hockey Reference has the Wild listed as having a 14% chance of making the playoffs. Hardly a foregone conclusion, but also there is hope.
The problem, for the Wild, lies behind the fact that they are having to play catch up.
The teams that they’re chasing?
Well, the Sharks have won five straight, the Avs six, the Kings three – you get the point.
The good news is that the teams that they are most likely to catch are either struggling or in a flat-out free fall.
The team tonight gets lumped in with the former.
While everyone in Detroit is remaining optimistic that this is a team that could do damage in the playoffs, if healthy (and let’s be honest, they really could), the fact is that they are currently decimated by injuries – something that the Wild need to take advantage of tonight.
Lineup(s)
To be honest, I’m not quite sure how the lines will roll out for the Wild past the top two, but here’s my best guess, otherwise known what I would do were I the one making the lineups:
Brunette-Koivu-Miettinen
Latendresse-Brodziak-Havlat
Nolan-Belanger-Earl
Sheppard-Ebbett-Clutterbuck
Now, I know what you’re asking. Clutterbuck on the fourth line? You’re demoting Cal for Robbie Earl? WTF mate!?
Am I crazy? There’s a good chance. But here’s my thoughts. Robbie Earl has five goals this season. Hardly Ovechkin-esque numbers, right? But his shooting percentage? 41.7%. He has five goals on 12 shots. To me, that deserves a shot at playing with the big boys.
Meanwhile, Clutterbuck has not been playing his best over the last few games. By no means do I think he deserves a demotion to the eight minutes a game that Earl has been averaging, but I do think that Earl deserves a promotion to more than eight minutes per-game, to see what he can do.
On defense, it’s likely going to be more of the same:
Zidlicky-Zanon
Johnsson-Schultz
Burns-Hnidy
Look for Burns’s icetime to start increasing, however. He’s going to start getting more and more icetime as his level of conditioning continues to improve and the Wild need him to do just that, especially in a game like tonight’s against an extremely tough opponent.
In net, we’ll get Backstrom despite him getting his “maintenance” day yesterday. Don’t kid yourselves. He’s struggling, but he’s still our number one and he needs to play his way out of this slump, no matter how painful it is to watch.
What to Watch For
Seriously. Robbie Earl.
Why? The Wild is 10-3-2 with him in the lineup and 9-0-1 in his last ten.
Whatever it is that Robbie brings to this team when he’s suited up, it’s infectious. The team has, on a whole, played better with him in the lineup. His speed and grit help this team a great deal and he’s just the type of sparkplug that the Wild need in their lineup.
Also, keep an eye on Guillaume Latendresse.
After his hot streak got him named the third star of the week a couple weeks ago, he has been silent in his last three games.
The good news with G-Lat is twofold.
First, he usually comes out of his shell quite nicely after a scoreless streak. (Six game scoreless streak, followed by four goals in four games. Four game scoreless streak, followed by seven goals and 12 points in seven games.)
Second, even when he’s not scoring he can be an energizer and a difference maker. How? He’s averaging 2.5 shots per game since joining the Wild and 3.5 in his last ten games, and he has turned into a forechecking and checking machine since joining the Wild.
Finally, Niklas Backstrom.
Namely, which Nik will we get? Will we get the one who stoned Columbus for 59:30? Or will we get the one that saw a bad bounce break his shutout and get flustered into giving up one more.
My guess is that he will come out like a man possessed as he did against Columbus. He knows that the hasn’t been playing his best and he knows that the team needs him desperately. Backs will be ready tonight.
But will the Wild?
Key(s) to the Game
The Wild need to come out strong early.
They simply cannot afford to fall into another hole against a good team.
Jimmy Howard is proving that he is the man in net for Detroit and the Wild need to get to him early, as much for their confidence as his.
The Wild tend to score in bunches, so if they can get an early goal, there’s a good chance that their jump will continue and they might be able to extend their lead.
But they cannot afford to fall behind. If they fall behind to Detroit, especially by more than one goal, they will be in deep, deep trouble.
The Wild also NEED to limit the Wings’ scoring chances.
Detroit likes to shoot. Scratch that. They LOVE to shoot.
The Wild have got to protect Backstrom and get in shooting lanes. If they can prevent the Wings from getting a dearth of solid scoring opportunities, they will be able to stay in the game. But another shooting gallery, like happened in the teams’ last meeting?
It could be a long game.
Finally, the Wild need to, need to, need to stop the Wings’ top line. Let Dan Cleary beat you. Let Drew Miller beat you. Let Ville Leino beat you. But, for the love of God, do NOT let Bertuzzi or Datsyuk or Zetterberg beat you. The three of them account for 28% of Detroit’s points and 30% of Detroit’s goal production.
This isn’t saying that the three players I mentioned, or any of the Wings’ other players can’t beat you. But shutting down the Berzettersyuk line gives you a much better chance.
The puck drops tonight at 7pm and it is televised on FSN! For those following me on Twitter, I’ll hopefully be posting updates on there as we go (though they will definitely not rival those of Mike Russo). You can follow me on Twitter at @WildNation!
