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.
HPT Live Trade Deadline Blog
It’s officially here folks. Christmas in March! The NHL Trade Deadline is upon us and we will be live blogging it here and on Hockey Primetime and Bourne’s Blog, as well as having a live radio broadcast hosted by Primetime Radio. Enjoy the festivities!
The Rumor Thread
We are done for the day with the rumor thread, but feel free to peruse and comment on these rumors throughout the evening. If anything big happens, we’ll be back with it otherwise we will see you bright and early tomorrow morning for our live blog!
Here at Wild Nation, we love all hockey, not just the Wild. Sooooooo, with that in mind, I’m starting up my very own rumor thread. It’s nothing much, but it will help pass the time leading up to the big day tomorrow. I do want to stress to you, the reader, however that these rumors are all ones that will be from named sources. I will not be starting any rumors myself, or citing any rumors from a certain hockey rumor website that rhymes with Jockey Fuzz.
Anywho. Here’s the first round of ‘em! Any updates will appear up top here.
*Everyone and their mother has been speculationg about Roloson to the Flyers now that Emery is out. Literally, everyone. I’m not linking anyone on this because it’s honestly everyone. My question, though, is wouldn’t someone like Harding be a better replacement option?
*Frank Seravalli’s Twitter says that Razor Ray Emery needs a bone graft and will be done for the season.
*According to Bruce “Malkin to the Kings” Garrioch on Twitter, the Blues have sent out an e-mail offering up Brad Boyes and Carlo Coliacovo.
*Kevin Allen of the USA Today chimes in on Twitter, saying that while it isn’t a given that Atlanta will trade Colby Armstrong, they likely can’t re-sign him.
*Oops…And I have some catching up to do. Pierre LeBrun joins the Twitter army, saying that nothing imminent is on the LA Kings front. Nick Kypreos says that both Kariya and Tkachuk are unwilling to waive their NTC aaaaaaaannnnnnnndddddd BD Galoff says that there’s about a 95% chance that Roloson gets moved.
*And more Mr. McKenzie. If Wolski goes to Phoenix, the asking price will likely be Mueller and more, saying that Phoenix has been shopping Mueller like whoa.
*Habs Inside Out has tweeted a quote from Jacque Martin that he expects that both goalies will help out during the stretch run. While this isn’t difinitive by any means, it certainly sounds like he’s not expecting either to be moved.
*Not a trade rumor, but interesting nonetheless. Nick Kypreos has tweeted that Ray Emery is looking for a surgeon to save his career and that his hip injury is being compared to that of Bo Jackson. Uh-oh.
*And once more from Bob McKenzie…Anaheim is not considering trading Scott Niedermayer.
*And Mr. McKenzie is back saying that Toronto’s Alex Ponikarovsky is likely to fetch a 2nd round pick and a good prospect and that LA could be the front runner in this one.
*Mr. Russo is also stating that he is no longer hearing that Owen Nolan is not available and that he believes there is a good chance that Nolan is dealt.
*According to Bob McKenzie, Wojtek Wolski is in play by the Avs and the Coyotes are showing interest.
*Some Wild news. Per Mr. Russo’s Twitter feed, the Wild have re-signed both Marek Zidlicky and Clayton Stoner. Zidlicky’s contract is as expected, 3-years $12M total with a no-trade clause for the first half of the contract. Stoner’s contract is a 2-year, $1.1M total with a one-way contract for the first year and a two-way contract for the second.
*Per Tim Panaccio’s Twitter feed, the Flyers aren’t close to any deals. Prices are high and the Flyers lack the picks at the moment.
*Frank Sevarelli from the Philadelphia Daily News says on his Twitter that the Flyers may be close to something with Nashville.
*Well, that’s what I get for taking a lunch break. Per Newsday, Andy Sutton to Ottawa for a second round pick. So, what you’re telling me is that the going rate for a fourth or fifth defenseman is a second round pick? Sounds a little steep to me.
*It’s time for lunch for me, but I’ll be back in a bit with all the updates you could ever want! (If there are any, of course.)
*Not a trade rumor, but it should warm those cynical Wild fans among us. Larry Brooks is reporting that Marian Gaborik will be sitting tonight’s Rangers game out. I’m sure that Torts is loving the fact that he’ll play in the Olympics, but not when his team is in the midst of a playoff race.
*Some Waiver wire news. According to Bob McKenzie via Twitter, Brad Lukowich (VAN), Anders Ericsson (PHX), Ryan Jones (NAS) and John Grahame (COL) have all joined Voros and Lisin on waivers. Also on the list is Chris Chelios, who must pass through waivers in order to be called up to play.
*Interesting. According to On Frozen Pond, Thomas Vokoun has been advised of a possible trade. Will he waive or no?
*Darren Dreger on Leaf’s Lunch — says that Chicago has no interest in Finger but that the rumor can’t be dismissed.
*To anyone who thought Twitter was just a passing fad? Get on the train! We’ve got another Twitter account breaking news — this one the account of Chris Vivlamore. Apparently, Chris Chelios has officially signed with the Atlanta Thrashers. No word yet on if he has already started referring to Zach Bogosian as a whippersnapper.
*Greg Brady’s Twitter has a rumor swirling about Toronto’s Jeff Finger heading to Chicago for Cristobal Huet in a swap of gross overpayments. If that’s the case, he says, expect the Hawks to go hard after Vokoun and the Leafs to try to flip Crystal Ball Huey.
*According to Larry Brooks Twitter, Enver Lisin and former Wild player Aaron Voros are on waivers.
*From Jeremy Rutherford’s Twitter account, JD says that there’s no serious talks between the Blues and other teams yet, but he has talked to a few people.
*According to Darren Dreger’s Twitter feed, no list has been given by Tomas Kaberle for his NTC and no interest has been shown in waiving it. Kaberle appears to be staying put.
*The Miami Herald suggests that the only players that could be untouchable for the Panthers are David Booth, Dmitry Kulikov and Michael Frolik.
*The Boston Herald is reporting that the Bruins are looking for a top-six forward, possibly in the form of Ray Whitney, Teemu Selanne or Nathan Horton. They also repeat the speculation that Tim Thomas could be moved and also that Michael Ryder is being shopped due to cap constraints.
*Tarik El-Bashir reports on Twitter that the Caps are interested in Isles d-man Andy Sutton. The believed asking price is a second round pick.
*The incomparable Mike Russo has reported on Twitter that the Marek Zidlicky deal is all but done and is expected to be announced by day’s end with the term of 3-years, $12 million. No word on his NTC as of yet.
*CSN Philly is reporting that the Preds have turned down three offers on Dan Hamhuis.
*The Columbus Dispatch is stating that the Lightning have been showing interest in forward Raffi Torres.
*Chip Alexander’s Twitter account is talking about Ray Whitney to Pittsburgh and Aaron Ward to Ottawa. It’s what he calls scuttlebutt.
Coming Soon: HPT Live Blogging!
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.
My Thoughts: Olympic Preliminary Round
Wow. Just wow. What a great preliminary round of hockey!
I haven’t been doing too much to keep track of the Olympics here on Wild Nation because, quite frankly, I haven’t really wanted to.
Pardon me for a second while I hide in shame.
……
Okay. Now that I’m done feeling great shame, let’s get on with it. The preliminary rounds are finished and the seeding has been established…
Sooooooooooooooo….
What better time than now to talk about my impressions thus far in the tournament by taking a look at the big seven?
#1 Seed; USA – If you would have told me when the teams were selected that the US would have a bye out of the quarter finals, I would have proceeded to laugh in your face. I would have laughed even harder when you told me that the US would be the top seed. Just like I would have laughed in your face if, two days ago you would have told me that Team Canada would get upwards of 40 shots on goal and the US would still beat them.
Hold on a second. They did?
The bottom line is this: Despite two less than average games against two less than average teams, Team USA sits atop the heap.
Why?
Well, in my personal opinion, it’s because they are more than just an all-star team.
This is a team built to play like a team. When you see some of the other big teams in this tournament, it’s a veritable buffet of talent. The US? Don’t get me wrong. These guys are good, but Team Canada, they ain’t.
The Stars and Stripes are getting everything that they needed to be competitive in this tournament, however. Good goaltending, solid team defense and, most importantly, chemistry and team play.
I won’t anoint them as the gold medal winners yet because, quite honestly, seeds two through seven still scare the hell out of me in the “we can win at any point in time” category. But a first seed still is quite a nice way to start out.
#2 Seed; Sweden – First of all, let me say that this Team Sweden might be even better than the team that won the gold four years ago. They might not be as dynamic on the offensive side of things, but holy crap are they good defensively!
I’m the first to pile on the abuse to Henrik “Mattress Pads” Lundqvist, but even I have to admit that he’s having an absolutely stellar tournament so far. Throw in the fact that the Wonder Twins and Alfie are clicking and that Nicklas Backstrom looks like a young Peter Forsberg and you’ve got one dangerous team. It’s too bad that Peter Forsberg himself is looking more like an old Peter Forsberg.
Have I mentioned yet that ol’ Mattress Pads has yet to give up a goal in this tournament?
Because it’s true.
Everyone has always said that the Olympics typically hinge on a goaltender getting and staying hot and, well, ain’t no one hotter than Hank right now.
You could have notched his first shutout up to the fact that it was against Germany, but his second? Against the hated Finns.
You’ve got to love Sweden’s chances to give themselves some more Olympic hardware this time around too, because there’s no way that players like Forsberg, Hornqvist and Zetterberg are going to stay silent forever.
#3 Seed; Russia – Seriously. I’m not even playing in this tournament and looking at this team’s top two lines scares the crap out of me.
Need a goal? Just go ahead and stick Semalchkin out there. Or what about Afinokovalsyuk?
All funny line naming aside, any team faces a significant problem when squaring off against Russia. The loss aside, both Nabokov and Bryzgalov are having a tremendous tournament and are playing great hockey.
What’s even more impressive is that the team’s third and fourth lines and defense are sharing the load, taking some of the pressure off of their big six.
Of course their big players are going to be chipping in, but when you have players like Radulov, Fedorov and Zaripov pitching in, not to mention Morozov, that makes for a dangerous, dangerous team.
Of course, what everybody is salivating over is the potential Quarter-Final matchup between Ovechkin and Crosby, and that is definitely a possibility. To have that rivalry bubble over into the Olympics would be something extremely special.
Just so long as we don’t overlook the other fantastic players in the matchup.
#4 Seed; Finland – If there’s any team that has the potential to both explode or shut down an opponent at any point in time, it’s the Finns.
First, their scoring is extremely balanced. Only two players have more than two points for them. You shut down Saku Koivu’s line and you’re looking at facing Mikko Koivu’s. Shut down them and you still have Antti Miettinen’s to deal with.
Second, they probably have the deepest goaltending of any team in the tournament, save for Team Canada. With Kipprusoff and Backstrom, right away they have two world class goaltenders and Nittymakki isn’t lagging too far behind at the moment.
The one thing that has hindered the Finns so far has been consistency. After two inspired performances, the team laid an egg against the Swedes—a goose egg.
Granted, the situation in nets looks a touch different for the Swedes than it did for Belarus and Germany, but there’s no telling how dangerous this Finnish team can be if they can get on a roll.
With their depth, they have the potential to be dangerous—much more than they’ve already exhibited. But, the cold facts so far reveal a team that might have problems scoring in a one-and-done game.
#5 Seed; Czech Republic – Many people’s bronze medal choice has just seen their road to the medal round made a touch harder with their loss to the Russian’s.
Now, after dispatching Latvia (let’s be honest…does anyone expect that they won’t?) the Czechs now need to go through a defensively tough Finnish team.
Can they do it? Absolutely. But it won’t be easy.
One thing that really stands out about the Czechs is that their defensive unit in front of Vokoun is really nothing to be scared of. Nothing against Kaberle, Kubina and Kuba, but this is not a defensive unit that is capable of playing at an extremely high level for an entire game—especially not against the likes of Canada or Russia.
Vokoun is going to need help if they Czechs want to move past Finland, and this defensive unit might very well not be up to the task.
On the other hand…Man are these guys fun to watch. This is a team built for offense, and if they can keep the tempo and direction of the game in their favor they’re going to win more often than they lose.
#6 Seed; Canada – Wow. I mean, wow. You go from the team considered to be the front runner to the sixth seed in one game?
That’s just brutal.
It is, however, the nature of the beast.
Throw in the fact that you now have the added distraction of a goalie controversy and an impending match up against the Russian juggernaut and you’ve got one tough situation.
In the impending game against Germany (and, likely, the rest of the tournament), expect to see Bobby Lou in nets. Not only has Brodeur essentially lost the job after laying an egg against Team USA, but Luongo deserves the chance to show that it’s time for a changing of the guard.
I don’t envy the Germans’ position right now, as they are facing off against a Canadian team that has just been upset on their home ice, in front of all of their countrymen.
A message is going to be sent against Germany, in a big way.
But, to be fair, it wasn’t all Brodeur’s fault against the Americans. Plain and simple, the Canadians took 45 shots and scored just three times. Their offense has got to be better at picking their spots and burying the puck.
Especially if they’re going to be successful against Russia.
#7 Seed; Slovakia – This Slovakian team is a riddle wrapped inside an enigma wrapped in a puzzle.
Gaborik, Hossa, Demitra, Chara. Some world class players.
Yet just one regulation win.
After scoring early against the Czech Republic, Gaborik has all but disappeared, only adding to the talk that he cracks under pressure. Hossa and Demitra have been two of the team’s best players, along with Michael Handzus who has continued his strong play from this season.
What’s more, is that Jaroslav Halak has looked surprisingly (in my opinion) solid in net. He has started all three games and given up just four goals.
Their defense has been fantastic. If their offense can get going, it could make for an interesting quarter final match should they get by Tore Vikingstad and the Norwegians.
So there you have it. That’s my thoughts on the “big seven.” The playoff qualifiers are tomorrow, and it should be a fun-filled day of hockey as the tension gets ratcheted up a couple notches!
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.
