Wild Crush My Optimism; Drop a Pair in Helsinki
With the Helsinki games done, the Wild head back to St. Paul with a measly one point out of four available.
The Wild have looked very good, in spurts, but overall showed that they have a long, long way to go to join the ranks of the league’s elite.
I will say that today’s game had the Wild looking much, much better but still was not a consistent effort for a team that desperately needed one.
The Wild came out very, very flat in yesterday’s game and had many mental and defensive lapses. They showed many of the same weaknesses that they showed last season – leaving pucks free in front of the net, leaving the slot open and making poor outlet passes and difficulties exiting their own zone.
Today’s game was much better, in that fashion. The Wild didn’t necessarily have the mental lapses that they were prone to and their defensive zone coverage was much better. When a puck was free in front of the net, it was quickly shuffled to the perimeter – either down to the corner or to the sideboards. When a man was in the slot, he was quickly shadowed and tied up when the puck came to him. To that end, the Wild have got to be very happy with their performance today.
But a general lack of intensity was plainly clear after the first period and the Wild looked listless for long stretches during the game after coming out and dominating early. Whether it was the length of the trip wearing on them or whether it was a lack of motivation, I don’t know, but the Wild clearly have to find that intensity if they want to be successful.
Again, however, I hate to beat a dead horse but this all goes back to the coach.
The Wild came out like gangbusters early in today’s game. They had intensity and they were playing aggressive, angry hockey. They looked ready, plain and simple. But they couldn’t sustain that intensity. Just like the pre-season and last season – they had it, then they went into the locker room and left it in there.
Plain and simple, either these players aren’t buying into what Richards is preaching, or he’s not getting through to them – either way, something is lacking behind the bench.
It’s like what my fellow Hockey Primetime Colleague, Justin Bourne, said in his Puck Daddy Column today:
The first games on the schedule are more important, because positive momentum is paramount in a hockey dressing room. Once that snowball gets rolling in either direction, it’s tough to turn around.
It’s how a team like the Phoenix Coyotes can come from nowhere last year to become one of the more formidable opponents in the West.
They got a few early wins, started to believe in Coach Dave Tippett, and bought into the systems. If they start 0-3, the little behind-the-scenes pot-shots start (along with creeping doubt), and maybe the train never gets on the tracks. Instead, they had a fantastic start to 2009-10 — a 6-3 win in Los Angeles — and that makes a guy eager to get back to the rink and do it again. Winning is addictive.
Plain and simple, it happened last season and it’s happening again this season and you’ve got to wonder how much longer Fletcher will continue to let it happen before he makes a change.
But enough about that, for now. The Wild looked good on the ice today, lack of intensity aside. They showed good presence in the defensive zone, keeping players out of the slot and clearing pucks away from the front of the net and Backstrom rewarded them with a spectacular performance. Even in the post-game skills competition, Backstrom looked sharp, only getting beat on what was a spectacular move by Jeff Skinner.
Offensively, the Wild looked good in spurts and, were it not for a spectacular performance by Cam Ward, they could have easily skated away with four or five when it was all said and done.
So there are a lot of positives that can be taken from this game but, in the end, the Wild are 0-1-1 heading back to St. Paul and that is definitely not what they wanted.
Some random thoughts about tonight’s game:
- I love me some Cal Clutterbuck, but honestly I can’t understand Richards’ insistence that he play on the second line with Havlat and Cullen. For the second straight game, Clutterbuck looked out of place (in my opinion) on the second line while Latendresse looked like he was being wasted on the fourth line. Indeed, Latendresse created more chances than all but a handful of the Wild’s roster while only playing 12 minutes, while Clutterbuck was largely ineffective. Both Latendresse and Wellman played great in limited ice time and it is baffling to me how they were not used more in a game that desperately needed the Wild to generate some sort of offense.
- How great was Backstrom tonight? Other than his little brain fart on Jeff Skinner’s breakaway, Backstrom was the Wild’s best player all night long. He made 36 saves and he was the reason why the game even got to a shootout. Even in the shootout, he was solid and the lone goal that beat him was just a dandy.
- Two games down and two losses. I know a lot of people are saying that Richards has more job security than Denis Savard did a couple seasons ago, but at this point I can’t imagine that he’s got that much more – especially not with Michel Therien now on the team’s payroll. I know, I get it. Therien was brought in as a scout and I truly believe that he was. But what his presence does is give the Wild options. If they decide it’s time to make a move, they have a former NHL coach that they can just insert right in. That’s heartening for Wild fans and could be a little disheartening for Richards.
- It was nice to see Burns and Schultz have a solid game. These two should easily be the Wild’s top defensive pairing. Schultz is one of the most under-rated shutdown defensemen in the league, while Burns is looking like he’s figured out that he doesn’t have to do it all in order to be effective. Burns had a stellar game today, creating chance after chance and other than a couple penalties (one of which was a terrible call, in my opinion) Schultz did as well.
- On the topic of defensemen, Cam Barker was better today, but not great. He’s got to, got to, got to, got to move his feet better. Too often he gets caught flat footed, and that’s where he gets caught taking bad penalties. You can tell he’s got all the tools to be a really good defenseman in the NHL – he just needs to start using them.
The Cautiously Optimistic Minnesota Wild Season Preview
It’s just about time. Two more days and the season will officially be here. So now is as good a time as ever to throw together our Minnesota Wild season preview.
In the past, I’ve just done all of it together and just given a grade to the forwards and defense etc., but this year I decided to try my hand at some predictions as well. So let’s go ahead and get started. Enjoy!
Forwards
Mikko Koivu – C – #9
Koivu is coming off of a career season that saw him notch 71 points in 80 games. In addition, the Wild’s captain has recently signed a long-term extension to keep him with the team through the 2017-18 season. Most players tend to have a down year after signing a big contract, but I wouldn’t expect that with Koivu. His work ethic and his style of game don’t lend to huge up swings or down swings, which is a great thing for a franchise in flux. With the extension and his future taken care of, I’d expect him to have another career year.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 82 GP, 30 G, 53 A, +7
Andrew Brunette – LW – #15
One thing is for sure when you have Andrew Brunette as part of your roster. It’s pretty much a lock that he’ll get at least 20 goals and 50 points. Bruno had another consistently strong season last year and is poised for yet another on Koivu’s left wing. He might not be the most fleet of foot, but he’s one of the best players in the league at controlling the puck behind the net and his hockey intelligence is second to none. He’ll be in a contract year this season, so there’s no question that he’ll be at his best.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 82 GP, 23 G, 40 A, +3
Antti Miettinen – RW – #20
The Wild have had a need for a right wing to play on Koivu’s wing for a few seasons now and Miettinen has filled that need, for now. He’s not a top-line player, but he plays top-line minutes next to Koivu and Brunette because of his chemistry with the two. He had a great year scoring goals last season, hitting the 20 goal mark for the first time in his career, but with the impending return of Pierre-Marc Bouchard, there’s a question as to whether or not Miettinen will stick on the top line. If he does, it could be a good year for him, but I’m not so sure that he’ll stick.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 80 GP, 17 G, 25 A, -1
Guillaume Latendresse – LW – #48
Latendresse followed up a spectacular end of the season last year with a training camp that he would even admit is subpar. Part of that could be attributed to a hip injury that he’s been battling, but even so he has to be better. I don’t doubt that, once the season gets going, Latendresse will find the game that made him a quick fan favorite upon his arrival in Minnesota last season, but I have a feeling that he’s going to have to prove himself once again after a less than stellar camp. That being said, the chemistry that he had with Martin Havlat doesn’t just go away overnight but it might take a few weeks to re-establish itself.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 75 GP, 27 G, 20 A, -4
Matt Cullen – C – #7
It’s easy to see that Cullen has been the Wild’s best player this pre-season and he’s quickly gotten himself established as a top player on their squad. He’s shown the finish that the team needs and he seems comfortable both playing in front of his hometown fans and playing as Martin Havlat’s pivot. It’s safe to say that Cullen is set up for a career year this season in Minnesota and there’s no doubt that he could be one of the Wild’s top players.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 72 GP, 25 G, 29 A, +3
Martin Havlat – RW – #24
Last season, Havlat looked weighed down by the expectations on him and had a horrible start to the year. This season, with tempered expectations and an increased comfort level, as well as two linemates that he truly clicks with, Havlat should experience a return to form and should be one of the Wild’s top scorers. The only question is whether or not he can stay healthy once again with a tweaked groin hampering him towards the end of camp.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 70 GP, 30 G, 47 A, -2
Pierre-Marc Bouchard – LW/C – #96
After a lost season to a concussion, Bouchard is looking like he’s going to be healthy again for this season and should be back in the line-up by, hopefully, the beginning of November. If healthy, he’s one of the top players on the Wild and he’ll be a strong addition to the lineup. He’ll likely get top line and top power play time and that should be enough for him to put up good numbers.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 63 GP, 18 G, 41 A, -8
Kyle Brodziak – C – #21
Brodziak was a revelation at center last season for the Wild, providing a solid two-way center that they had sorely lacked since the retirement of Wes Walz. Brodziak didn’t necessarily light the world on fire with his scoring, but that wasn’t what he was brought in to do. If he can put up a 35-plus point season and provide a solid option on the penalty kill, it will be a successful season for the young center.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 81 GP, 12 G, 20 A, +2
Chuck Kobasew – RW – #12
One thing has become abundantly clear in Kobasew’s career. It takes him a season to get going when he gets to a new team. Last season, he was brought in to provide some grit and some offense and he did that in spurts, but nothing like the Wild’s fan base was expecting. He’ll have a rebound year this season, but I would think that anything more than a 45 point season is a stretch for the young winger.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 75 GP, 20 G, 14 A, -4
Eric Nystrom – LW – #23
Let’s get one thing straight. Nystrom wasn’t brought in to score – he was brought in to stir things up. He’s got some limited scoring ability, but he’s not going to be called on to score. He’ll be called upon to hit, to shut down teams’ top lines and to provide a gritty, character player and he’ll do exactly that.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 82 GP, 13 G, 8 A, E
John Madden – C – #11
Like Nystrom, Madden wasn’t brought in to score. He was brought in to shut teams down. He’ll provide about 10-15 goals and just as many assists, but that will be about it. He’ll likely get a chance to see some time on the powerplay every now and again, which will likely boost his numbers slightly as well.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 80 GP, 12 G, 12 A, -4
Cal Clutterbuck – RW – #22
Clutterbuck could be the most intriguing player on the Wild’s roster this season. He’s had a tremendous pre-season and has played in the top-six for much of it. The reigning NHL hit king is looking like he might be adding some offensive upside to his game as well. If he keeps showing the offensive ability that he has this pre-season, he’ll definitely see time on the powerplay and even maybe up on the top-six every once in a while.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 79 GP, 21 G, 10 A, -6
Casey Wellman – C – #17
The Wild have said that Wellman will only play with the team this season if he’s going to get high-quality minutes. That means he’ll likely be down in Houston unless the Wild have some top-line injuries to fill. I would expect that he could start on the team’s second or third line until Bouchard is healthy, but after that I would expect him to be down in Houston. That being said, he has shown some good offensive flair in the limited look he’s gotten this pre-season and could catch hold if he gets some chemistry with players.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 39 GP, 7 G, 12 A, +2
Brad Staubitz – RW – #16
Let’s be clear. Staubitz was brought in to enforce, plain and simple. He has a very limited offensive upside, but he’s able to throw down when is needed. He’ll see playing time every once in a while, but I’d be surprised if it’s an everyday thing.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 30 GP, 2 G, 4 A, E
Defensemen
Brent Burns – D – #8
It’d be easy to write Brent Burns off as a flash-in-the-pan defenseman after he’s struggled for the past two seasons, but Burnsie is healthy for the first time since his breakout season three years ago and is poised to regain the flair that had him invited to the Team Canada camp last pre-season and should be back to form. The biggest question will be whether he continues to be a liability in his own end. If he doesn’t, then his offensive talents will be much appreciated, but it’s hard to tell how much longer people will put up with his act if he continues to make poor plays in the offensive zone.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 76 GP, 15 G, 35 A, -5
Marek Zidlicky – D – #3
In the first year of his new contract, Zidlicky is going to be looked at as the puck-moving defenseman that the Wild desperately need to relieve pressure in their own zone. Kim Johnsson played that role marvelously during his time with the Wild and the team struggled greatly moving the puck out of their own end after his departure. In fact, it is still something that the team struggled with this pre-season. Look for Zidlicky to play an important role in the team’s successes this season.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 79 GP, 6 G, 36 A, -10
Cam Barker – D – #25
Barker has a big season ahead of him, with a lot to prove to both Wild management and fans. He was lauded as a physical, puck moving defenseman last season and was anything but upon his arrival in Minnesota. He lagged behind the play a lot of the time and his decision-making seemed suspect much of the time. If he’s able to find the play that made him a hot commodity in Chicago, he’ll flourish in Minnesota but I’m not so sure that his career season of a few seasons ago wasn’t a fluke.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 71 GP, 5 G, 30 A, -7
Nick Schultz – D – #55
Schultzie isn’t on the team for his offense and it appears that the team has realized that his true value isn’t in his offensive production, but the ability that he has to shut down other teams’ top players. Schultz had a rough season last year and saw his ice time slip, but he should get back to himself with the pressure taken off of him to produce offensively.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 82 GP, 2 G, 15 A, +7
Greg Zanon – D – #5
Like Schultz, Zanon’s value lies in his ability for defense, not offense. Watching Zanon compete night in and night out is truly a joy and watching his dedication and what he brings to the ice is spectacular. He leads by example and is willing to sacrifice his body each and every shift, not to mention he’s tough as nails. Expecting a lot out of him offensively is a mistake, but he’ll bring a solid defensive force to the team.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 82 GP, 1 G, 10 A, +3
Justin Falk – D – #41
Falk’s first season will likely see him split time on the blue line with Clayton Stoner, but Falk may end up winning the job outright if Stoner isn’t able to find the form that quickly endeared him to the fans and coaching staff last season. Falk brings a defensive, grinding mentality to the game and should provide some good size and grit on the back end for the Wild.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 59 GP, 2 G, 7 A, -12
Clayton Stoner – D – #4
Stoner charged onto the scene last year before getting injured and quickly endeared himself to fans and management alike by his rough and tumble style. Injuries are definitely a question mark for Stoner, but if he’s able to find his old form and stay healthy he gives the Wild a solid defensive option.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 43 GP, 1 G, 6 A, -3
Goaltenders
Niklas Backstrom – G – #32
Last season Backstrom had a horrific season that was spurred on greatly by the fact that he got little to no help in front of him. His confidence wavered and he let in uncharacteristically soft goals. I think he’ll start to get on the right track this season, again, but he’ll need much more help than he got last season in order to return to form. All to often pucks were left open in the slot and turnovers were a bane to Backstrom, as his team turned the puck over in their own zone all too often. Even a little more help will go a long way towards getting Backstrom back to the player he is capable of being.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 55 GS, 2.53 GAA, .917% Save Pct., 35 W
Jose Theodore – G – ??
The addition of Theodore came in the wake of Josh Harding’s injury and will make a suitable replacement for Harding. I wouldn’t expect Theodore to get a huge workload unless Backstrom goes down or begins playing especially poorly, but he will be called upon to play about 20-25 games and expected to win when he’s called upon.
2010-11 Season Prediction: 25 GS, 2.71 GAA, .912% Save Pct., 9 W
2010 -11 Season Prediction: Here’s the deal. This is a hugely optimistic preview right now. There are a lot of if’s with this team this season and IF everything falls into place, this team could be one that is fairly good and entertaining to watch. Thus far this pre-season, barely anything has fallen into place and we’ve seen the horrific results. If the Wild can string together some early wins, get some confidence under their wings and play team defense like they’re capable of playing, they could contend for second in the Northwest Division and be a playoff team. If they falter, however, there’s no floor to how low they could fall.
In the end, I think that the Wild could pull it together and be a bubble team for the playoffs. I think the Wild will finish…Drum roll please…
3rd in the Northwest Division and 10th in the Western Conference; 94 pts
Wild End Pre-Season With Victory; My Thoughts on Todd Richards
The Wild finally have something positive that they can take from this pre-season.
Cal Clutterbuck scored a hat trick and Marek Zidlicky and Chuck Kobasew each added goals to give the Wild a 5-1 victory over Iles Tampere on Monday.
Mike Russo of the Star Tribune said that he saw at least two Matt Cullen assists on Clutterbuck’s goals (no official stats in the game) and the Wild looked good for two of the three periods in tonight’s game which, from what I’ve seen of this pre-season, is a huge improvement over their previous games.
Now, keep in mind that a lot of this information for you is going to be coming from Russo, as he’s one of a few Wild scribes that are over in Finland right now, but I’ll do my best to put my own thoughts and spin on it.
From what Russo said, Clutterbuck was a beast tonight and was exhibiting the goal-scoring touch that many in the organization said that he had in his rookie season.
I’ll say this about Clutterbuck. I’ve long thought that he could be a goal scorer in this league. Not a 30-40 goal guy, but at least a 20-30 goal man. He’s got a wicked good wrist shot and has no problem going to the high traffic areas on the ice to get the puck. The Wild definitely has a lack of goal scoring depth, so it’s not a stretch to think that Cal could get some PP time this season and, if he can show some consistency in his goal scoring, which he’s shown flashes of in the past, he could really take some pressure off of players like Guillaume Latendresse and Martin Havlat to produce and could find himself on a scoring line of sorts with Casey Wellman.
Russo also mentioned injury news regarding Latendresse (hip flexor) and Havlat (groin), saying that both players would be available for Thursday’s opener against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Both Latendresse and Havlat are important cogs to this offense and the Wild, quite frankly, need them in the line up regardless of how good or poor their training camps werek.
Latendresse had a horrific camp and just didn’t look himself, but head coach Todd Richards did elude that he thought that a lot of Latendresse’s pre-season struggles could be attributed to the injury.
If that’s the case, it’s definitely important that Latendresse gets healthy as quickly as possible and finds the form that he had last season.
Now, I don’t want to overstate this win because, quite frankly, it’s a pre-season game against the second-worst team in the Finnish Elite League, but this is a Wild team that desperately needed to find something positive about their pre-season and this was definitely it.
Backstrom was sharp, the team found the pack of the net (without two of their top offensive players, to boot) and the defense was sharp.
All of this could combine to help the Wild find that ever elusive confidence that is so important in the NHL. If their effort and their play can transfer over to Thursday night’s game, this could be a Wild team that could be on the up tick for the NHL season and that is a good thing.
Thoughts on Richards
Many of you, my faithful readers, know that I’m not Todd Richards’ biggest fan and this pre-season has only served to strengthen my belief that Richards is the biggest problem that the Wild have right now.
For one, the team has come out flat in just about every single game this pre-season and it’s lasted for at least half the game.
Now, when a team comes out flat for the better portion of their games – especially when it’s in the pre-season when there is such a large turnover in players from game to game – that’s not an issue with the players. The coach’s main duty is to get the team ready for the game and get the team ready to play. If the team is coming out flat like this night in and night out, there is a definite issue that needs to be addressed with the coaching staff.
The next thing that really has driven home the point was his answer to a question regarding the play of Backstrom early in the pre-season.
He was asked what he thought of Backstrom’s play, to which he responded that he didn’t comment on the goalies because he didn’t really know much about the position, and that’s why they have a goalie coach.
Really? I mean…REALLY?!
He’s the head coach and he’s not able to comment on the play of one of his players because he doesn’t know about the position??
Isn’t it his job to know everything about the team and every player?
I’m sorry, but when a coach says something like that, to me it just screams of someone who is in over his head – which I truly believe that Richards is right now.
He keeps saying that it seems like the team is “waiting for something,” and he doesn’t know what they’re waiting for. Well, if that’s the case…Maybe it’s time for the Wild to turn to someone who will be able to figure out what’s going on with this team.
I don’t think that Richards is long for this team and, while I agree with Russo and don’t think that it’ll be a Denis Savard like transition unless something drastic happens, I’d be extremely surprised if Richards is behind the bench at the end of November if the Wild don’t come out strong this season.
Video: Derek Boogaard Mistakes Chris Neil’s Boys for a Puck
Well, it looks like all of my defending of Derek Boogaard for being a “noble” enforcer has gone out the window. Boogaard, for as much crap as people give him, has always been good at following “The Code” when it comes to fighting and, despite a couple errant hits because of the fact that he skates like what I imagine an ox would skate like, has always been relatively calm, cool and collected when it comes to the dirty stuff.
At least, he was while he was with the Minnesota Wild. Observe:
What you saw there was exactly what it looked like. Derek Boogaard, seemingly for no apparent reason, going after Chris Neil’s boys.
Really, Derek? I mean…REALLY??
I’ve never been one of his biggest defenders. His sole value lies in his ability to intimidate and deter. He can’t skate, the refs watch him like a hawk when he’s on the ice because of his reputation (deserved or undeserved) and I’ve seen rhinos with softer hands than he has. But one thing I’ve always done is stick up for him insofar as he plays the game honorably.
Maybe Sean Avery’s been a bad influence on him, but this is both out of character and absolutely ridiculous to boot.
There’s no way…Absolutely NO way that anyone could possibly spin this and there’s no way that he shouldn’t get a suspension worthy of a now three-time offender who intended to injure another player.
Buuuuuuuuuuuut…I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If there is one thing that can get me to laugh over and over and over again, it’s testicular trauma. So, with that being said…My GAWD did this get me when I was watching the game live.
Should he be suspended? Yes. Without a doubt and, in my mind, for no less than 10 games.
But was it really effing funny? Sorry Chris…But it got a laugh from me.
Now the only question I have is one that was posed to me by a friend: What in the world could have been said to get Boogie to do that?
Breaking News: Wild Sign G Theodore
In a not quite so unexpected move, the Minnesota Wild have found themselves their second goaltender, and one that should prove to make a formidable tandem in net in the absence of Josh Harding, who tore his ACL and MCL in a pre-season game against the St. Louis Blues.
The Wild, after a lackluster pre-season, have made the decision to fill the void left by Harding’s injury and sign free agent goaltender Jose Theodore to a one-year, $1.1 million contract.
Theodore, who won 30 games in 47 appearances last season, is a former Hart and Vezina Trophy winner and provides the Wild some more stability in net.
While there are certainly some question marks surrounding Theodore’s ability to perform at an elite level in the NHL, there is no doubt that he will provide a solid back up to Niklas Backstrom this season.
“Jose’s a veteran who’s won 245 games in the NHL,” General Manager Chuck Fletcher said while in Helsinki. “We’re fortunate he was still available. He makes us a deeper team and we have a terrific one-two punch again.”
I’ll be honest, I like this signing.
While I have the utmost faith in Niklas Backstrom returning to form this season, Theodore gives the Wild a veteran option behind him should he falter, as well as some healthy competition behind the veteran goalie. His cap hit of $1.1 million is basically the same as Harding’s, which they are now allowed to spend above the cap with Harding on the Long Term Injured Reserve.
Theodore posted a 2.81 goals against average and a .911 save percentage last season with the Washington Capitals and will start the season in the AHL to get back into shape and face some shots before swapping places with Anton Khudobin on the Wild’s roster.
Gameday Thread: Pre-Season Game 2: Minnesota @ St. Louis
One game down for the Wild this pre-season and it would be safe to say that the game was an unmitigated disaster. After a quick goal, the Wild didn’t capitalize on any of their scoring chances and the game just went downhill from there.
Mental errors, defensive lapses, turnovers – you name it, the Wild did it.
So, in tonight’s game, they will attempt to rectify the mistakes that they made on Wednesday, but this time they will have a much more prospect-oriented roster.
The Skinny
| Minnesota Wild | St. Louis Blues | |
| 0-1-0 (0 pts.) | Record | 1-1-0 (2 pts.) |
| 1 | Goals For | 6 |
| 5 | Goals Against | 4 |
| 0/4 (0%) | PP% | 3/13 (23%) |
| 4/7 (57%) | PK% | 8/8 (100%) |
Okay. It’s been one game, and a very, very poor one at that.
It’s not panic time in Minnesota. We lost a single practice game, plain and simple. But, there were some troubling trends within that game.
Niklas Backstrom looked very rusty (as he has throughout camp thus far) and the team didn’t really do much of anything to protect him. The Blues got good look after good look, most of which came from blunders in our own zone.
If the Wild can get their own zone figured out, they should be just fine but, as with last season, the deficiencies in the Wild’s defensive zone are becoming very clear.
Lineup(s)
Per Mike Russo:
The first two lines tonight will be Guillaume Latendresse-Matt Cullen-Casey Wellman and Eric Nystrom-Kyle Brodziak and Antti Miettinen.
The other two forward lines will consist of Cody Almond, Brett Bulmer, Colton Gillies, Matt Kassian, Carson McMillan and Warren Peters.
The D pairs will be Greg Zanon-Marek Zidlicky; Cam Barker-Nate Prosser; Tyler Cuma-Clayton Stoner.
Josh Harding for 2 periods; Matt Hackett for 1.
Per J.P. Rutherford:
Forward
David Perron-David Backes-Brad Boyes
Alex Steen-Jay McClement-B.J. Crombeen
Chris Porter-T.J. Hensick-Nicholas Drazenovic
Anthony Nigro-Brett Sonne-Cody Beach
Defense
Carlo Coliacovo-Tyson Strachan
Ian Cole-Roman Polak
Eric Brewer-Mark Cundari
Goalie
Ty Conklin
Ben Bishop
Key(s) to the Game
The biggest key to tonight’s game is going to be how the defense responds to their poor performance on Wednesday.
Both Cam Barker and Clayton Stoner will be in the line up again to attempt to redeem themselves from their poor performance and we’ll get our first look this season at Greg Zanon, Marek Zidlicky, Nate Prosser and Tyler Cuma.
If the Wild can limit their mistakes, especially in their own zone, they’ll be much more competitive in this one. If they can’t, it’s going to be another rough night.
The puck drops tonight at 7 p.m. Central and the game will be broadcast on Ch. 45.
Gameday Thread – Pre Season Game 1: St. Louis @ Minnesota
Wow. It’s hard to believe it’s the pre-season already.
Game one starts tonight (technically, I’m up waaaaaay too late again) and this is the first of what will be many gameday threads this season, so here we go.
The Skinny
| St. Louis Blues | Minnesota Wild | |
|
40-32-10 (90 pts.) |
Record |
38-36-8 (84 pts.) |
|
225 |
Goals For |
219 |
|
223 |
Goals Against |
246 |
|
17.21% |
Powerplay Pct |
19.09% |
|
86.84% |
Penalty Kill Pct |
82.68% |
Okay, so these are last season’s stats, but that’s what we’re going to be looking at for the pre-season games.
There’s not much analysis to put in here, since this is the pre-season, but the bottom line is this. The Wild had a hard time scoring last season while they also had a hard time stopping other teams from scoring. All that boils down to the fact that it’s going to be very interesting to see how they come out this time.
Line-Up(s)
Per Mike Russo, here’s who the Wild will be skating out in the game:
Andrew Brunette/Mikko Koivu/Antti Miettinen
Guillaume Latendresse/Matt Cullen/Martin Havlat
Chuck Kobasew/John Madden/Cal Clutterbuck
Robbie Earl/Cody Almond/Brad Staubitz
Nick Schultz/Brent Burns
Clayton Stoner/Cam Barker
Marco Scandella/Justin Falk
Niklas Backstrom (2 periods)
Anton Khudobin (1 period)
And per Mike Russo, from Jeremy Rutherford, here are some of the ones heading to Minnesota from St. Louis:
David Backes, Brad Boyes, David Perron, Eric Brewer, Alex Steen, Ty Conklin, Ben Bishop and Philip McRae.
Key(s) to the Game
The biggest key to this game is going to be chemistry.
The Wild are going to be skating as many of their regulars as they can to get ready for their trip to Finland, as well as auditioning a few players.
The biggest piece to the puzzle is going to be seeing if Cullen fits between Latendresse and Havlat. If this happens, it’s going to be a large step in the right direction for this franchise.
As far as the auditions, Scandella and Falk are going to be in competition for the seventh d-man job and Almond and Earl are gunning for roster spots as well. Both Falk and Earl have been having impressive thus far in camp and this is going to be a great chance for them to prove that they can shine in game situations.
The puck drops on this one in St. Paul at 7 pm Central.
Some Random Musings
The Minnesota Wild have many questions heading into their pre-season opener on Wednesday against the St. Louis Blues. They have depth questions up front and on the blue line, not to mention the questions surrounding their goaltenders.
That said, there is starting to be a trickle of Wild news heading from their first few days of camp.
- Players that have impressed thus far are Nate Prosser, Justin Falk and Brent Burns on the blue line and Eric Nystrom, Robbie Earl and John Madden. The latter of the blueliners (Burns) is great news for the Wild. After a couple injury-plagued seasons, Burns looks like he might be headed back to the track that saw him as an Olympic hopeful last season. Prosser and Falk, on the other hand, are hopefuls for this season’s team as the team’s seventh defenseman. From watching Prosser at the Sheehy Pro Camp, it’s plain to see that he could easily be ready for the big show, but you’ve got to wonder whether or not he’d be best served to get top pairing ice time down in Houston for the season. With the way that the teams’ development has stalled in the past, I’d be inclined to lean towards that option and give the more experienced Falk the nod to split time with Clayton Stoner.
- Great news on the Pierre-Marc Bouchard front. The shifty playmaker hopes that he’ll be given the green light for contact and will be ready for the beginning of the season. That is not only great news for Butch, but for the Wild as well. Bouchard’s last two seasons, like Burns’s, have been marred with injury. If he’s fully healthy, he’s a huge asset to the squad and possibly one of the better playmakers in the league. Having him back in the line up could go a long way towards making the Wild a contender this season.
- Much has been made about head coach Todd Richards being on the hot seat this season and I’d be inclined to agree. The team had a distinct lack of discipline last season, especially in their own zone, and Richards seemed to be at a loss for most of the season as to what to do with it. Now that’s not to say that he’s going to be on a shortened leash. It’s only his second season with the team and last season he was distinctly lacking in the personnel to run the type of system that he wanted to run. It’s that lack of adaptability, however, that may end up hurting Richards in the long run. He seemed either unwilling or unable to change strategies up on the fly and that is something that is going to need to change – especially given the fact that the Wild still don’t seem to have the full personnel to be the fully run-and-gun team that he would like them to be.
- I haven’t seen much of him, but so far Wild draft pick Mikael Granlund has been lighting the world on fire over in Finland. Granlund is, basically, the Wild’s next big hope. If he stays healthy, the Wild are going to have a very dynamic duo on their hands between he and Koivu.
- The team has still not decided how to approach the James Sheppard situation. I never addressed this but I, personally, feel somewhat bad for the kid. It sounded that Shep was working hard this off season and that the accident was one that was an unfortunate event during part of his pro training camp in Colorado. The Wild seem to be currently looking into the circumstances surrounding his injury and could be possibly considering suspension. For a team that was so giving to Kurtis Foster during his rehabilitation, I sincerely hope that they do not decide to suspend Sheppard for this unfortunate incident. If they do, they will likely have a good reason for it, but unless alcohol was involved I see no reason for him to be suspended.
- So, the Wild are having a televised pre-season game on Friday (which, incidentally coincides with my fantasy draft which you can all expect to hear about). Due to the accelerated nature of their pre-season, the Wild will be trying to form their roster as quickly as possible. That being said I would love to see some of the Wild’s younger players in the line up. Namely, Matthew Hackett, Marco Scandella and Brett Bulmer.
That’s all the random thoughts I’ve got right now, but I’ll be back more with the Pacific Division Preview later on in the week.
Wild Nation’s No Longer Ridiculously Early Season Previews: The Northwest Division
It wasn’t long ago that the Northwest Division was one of the toughest divisions in the NHL.
The 2002-03 season saw four of its five teams qualify for the playoffs and, up until the 2008-09 season, the division qualified at least three of its teams for the playoffs every season.
The last two seasons, however, have seen an interesting disparity in the division begin to arise and it’s now become a matter of the haves versus the have-nots. Last season saw two teams pick in the top-10 and would have seen one more in the top-15 had Calgary not sold its soul to Phoenix for Olli Jokinen.
The season before saw both Minnesota and Edmonton starting out in the top-15 as well; needless to say, the division’s competitiveness is waning at the moment.
So how will they match up this season?
Calgary Flames – Flames General Manager Daryl Sutter is either going to be lauded as a genius or be burnt in effigy following this season.
Sutter has been largely ineffective at running the team in a salary cap world and has found himself forced up against the cap more often than not and has seen his team go from one that was one win away from winning the Stanley Cup to one that is struggling to keep their heads above water and is no longer a shoe-in to make the playoffs.
Sutter responded to missing the playoffs by bringing in two players that were largely ineffective in their previous stints in Calgary. First, there’s Olli Jokinen, who quickly feel out of favor after a solid stint with the team after being traded there but didn’t seem suited for the new system that Brent Sutter brought with him to the team. Then there’s Alex Tanguay who returns to the team after two seasons away. Tanguay was, again, effective in his first season with the Flames as a point-per-game player under Jim Playfair, but when Mike Keenan came in Tanguay just couldn’t find his stride.
IF these two players can find their form with the Flames and Jarome Iginla can prove that last season’s 69 point performance was an aberration, this could be an effective team. But these two players have been in decline over the past few seasons leaving many to question whether or not their best days are behind them.
On defense, the Flames are anchored by Jay Bouwmeester and Robyn Regher. Bouwmeester, last season, seemed to not be able to cope with the added pressure of being in a hockey-crazed town such as Calgary but will have a big opportunity to rebound with his first full season as Calgary’s top defenseman with Dion Phaneuf now in Toronto.
Regher, meanwhile, will provide the same thing that he always has – a hard-nosed, gritty defenseman. He’s not going to put up the gaudy numbers of Mike Green, but he’s the type of heart and soul guy that can really help a team out.
Past Bouwmeester and Regher, the Flames can turn to Mark Giordano and Ian White, both of whom had terrific seasons with the Flames last season and are looking to build on their solid seasons. Giordano put up career highs in nearly every statistical category and proved that he was capable of being the defenseman that the Flames thought he could be when they signed him in 2004. White, meanwhile, was probably the best cog that the Flames received in their trade for Phaneuf. White put up 12 points in 27 games en route to a career season split between the Leafs and the Flames. If he can continue that performance in 2010, there’s no doubt the Flames could have a formidable blueline.
In net, the Flames will again rest their hopes squarely on the shoulders of Miikka Kiprusoff.
Since coming over from San Jose, Kipper has been a mainstay in net for the Flames and seemed to return to form last season after two subpar years. While Kipper may have led the league in losses last season, it certainly wasn’t for a lack of trying as his goals against average and save percentage were the best they’d been since the ’06-’07 season.
What the Flames have to manage, though, is whether or not Kipper is able to handle the amount of games that he’ll be getting in net. Behind him will be Henrik Karlsson, who the team signed in the off season. Karlsson played marvelously for Farjestad last season and the hope is that he’ll provide a better back up option than Vesa Toskala.
The pieces are all ready for the Flames this season and the hope is that they will all fall into place. If they do, they could be contending for the Division crown once again. But, if they don’t as many fear that they won’t, they’ll be a bubble team for the playoffs once again.
Colorado Avalanche – There are a lot of questions surrounding the Colorado Avalanche this season.
First and foremost is whether or not last season’s run to the playoffs was a fluke or whether this team is the real deal.
The team returns every single one of their key players from their playoff run last year and, with $18 million in cap space, has a lot of wiggle room to improve their roster throughout the season.
The forward crew will again be quite young and inexperienced, though not as inexperienced as last season. The big question marks will be whether or not their key forwards can replicate their impressive seasons that they had last year.
Chris Stewart is freshly signed and looking to build on his breakout season, which is the first extremely impressive season of his pro career. The fact that 17 of his 28 goals came in the second half of the season, however, is very promising and he’s certainly going to get his share of ice time.
In addition to Stewart, both Paul Stastny and Matt Duchene should continue to improve, though Stastny will be looked upon to set up some of the team’s goal scorers more than he’ll be expected to score himself. Look for Duchene, however, to take his next step towards being one of the league’s top superstars heading into his sophomore season. He likely won’t be as explosive as Steve Stamkos was in his second year, but Duchene will certainly get the job done for the Avs.
Peter Mueller is likely not as productive as his 20 points in 15 games last season suggests, but it does show that he is as explosive as they come. If he can carry a hot streak through a good part of the season, he could have a productive season for the Avs and give them another scoring threat.
On defense, the team has two kinds of defensemen — either ones who are extremely mobile or ones who are barely able to take the ice without the use of a walker.
All kidding aside, the Avs have a couple defensemen that are certainly either starting or in the waning of their career in Scott Hannan and Adam Foote. The good news, though, is that these two are both character players and both able to impart good leadership and good knowledge on the younger players of the team.
Past them, they have John-Michael Liles, who is good for 30-plus points and also good for a headache for any fan of the team watching. Players like Kyle Quincey and Kyle Cumiskey are still growing and are looking like they could turn into top flight defensemen for the organization.
In net, it’s pretty safe to say that Craig Anderson has answered all questions about his ability to perform. Last season was really his coming out party, as he finally had success in a full time starter’s role. That success will likely continue on into this season as the team has had barely any turnover from last season.
If Anderson can stay healthy and their young players can continue their progression and don’t have any major steps backwards, it’s safe to say that the Avs could once again be in the thick of things in the playoff race.
Edmonton Oilers – Well, there’s good news on the horizon for Edmonton fans.
The Oilers can only get better, because they certainly can’t get much worse.
To say that last season was a disaster for Edmonton would be an understatement, to say the least. The franchise had their lowest point total since the 1992-93 season and their lowest point percentage total since the 1980-81 season.
Suffice it to say, it was a bad year.
I’m sorry to say that this season probably won’t be much better, but I can say that it will be better.
Young guns Taylor Hall, Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson and Jordan Eberle will be on the roster this season and will get plenty of time to show what they can do. Will any of the there be rookie sensations the like of Crosby or Ovechkin? Probably not. But they will be upgrades over what the Oilers had last season and that is something that fans should take heart in.
In addition to their big three, the Oilers will also get a full season from Ales Hemsky, which likely would have helped them tremendously last season. Hemsky, Sam Gagner and Gilbert Brule all missed time due to injuries last season which likely would have made a serious impact on the team. With Hemsky fully healthy and playing on Gagner’s wing, and likely across from Dustin Penner, the forward unit will be a much improved unit over last season’s.
On defense the team is still looking to move the albatross contract of Sheldon Souray, but the good news is that they have a serviceable defensive unit behind him.
Ryan Whitney and newcomer (and underrated free agency signing) Kurtis Foster will find themselves manning the point on the powerplay and players like Jim Vandermeer and Tom Gilbert add a bit of character to the blueline. Ladislav Smid and Jason Strudwick also provide a bit of oomph on the back end, but the unit will have to get better at limiting opponents scoring chances, on a whole, if the team is going to climb from the cellar.
One of the biggest questions will be in net.
Namely, will Nikolai Khabibulin be healthy enough (or free enough) to reclaim his duty as starting goaltender and give the team some stability in net.
If he is it gives the team somewhat of a luxury that they haven’t had in recent years – the ability to relax and know that their goaltender will be there and, at times, be able to bail them out.
If he’s not, however, the team is back to the uncertainty of a goalie tandem of Jeff Deslauriers and Devan Dubnyk – something that I don’t imagine any fan is looking forward to.
As I said previously, this season isn’t going to be great for the Oilers. They still have a way to go to get back to the level of an elite team. But it will be a great improvement over last season – and that’s a start.
Minnesota Wild – How much longer will the State of Hockey tolerate a sub-par team on the ice?
Well, if things don’t go well this season, owner Craig Leipold may very well find out.
Last season was an unbelievable disappointment for Wild fans and the fact that the team had a point percentage of above .500% for the eighth straight season was little consolation.
But, the good news is that the old regime’s players are beginning to cycle through and be replaced by players that are more conducive to the new style of play that the team is aspiring towards.
Added to the roster are Matt Cullen, Eric Nystrom and John Madden – three players that are both talented and gritty. Cullen will be expected to fill in the ever elusive second-line center role that the team has been searching for now for years and will likely be slotted in between Guillaume Latendresse and Martin Havlat.
Now the team’s lack of success isn’t to say that they don’t have talent up front, but there are far too many question marks to be able to concretely say that they are going to be a top team.
If Latendresse can continue to perform like he did last season (25 goals in 55 games for Minnesota) and if Havlat can find the form that caused Minnesota to sign him to a lucrative free agency contract, it’s certainly going to be a welcome addition.
On top of these two, the biggest question mark up front lies on the performance of Pierre-Marc Bouchard. When healthy, Bouchard can be one of the game’s elite playmakers, but he has struggled with injuries for the last season and a quarter and his production has not been up to par because of that. Last season, he missed the entire year with a concussion, but he has been scrimmaging at pro camps leading up to training camp and he will likely play at some point this season, though it is not known when.
If he can come back and play his game, he will certainly be a difference maker on the ice.
On defense, again, the team is faced with injury questions.
Brent Burns had a breakout season three seasons ago, but the last two years he has been mired with injury and inconsistency. If he can return to the player that he is capable of being, he will be a dangerous force on Minnesota’s blueline. If he doesn’t, though, he becomes little more than a defensive liability and a player that the team is reluctant to turn to when the going gets tough.
The Wild will also be hoping that defenseman Cam Barker can find his game again after a subpar performance last season. Barker is certainly better than his 21 point season indicated, but he will have to find that offensive mind frame and physical edge if he is to make an impact.
Also up in the air is the Wild’s sixth defensive spot.
Currently, it is thought that the spot will go to a younger defenseman – Clayton Stoner, Nate Prosser and Marco Scandella are all names that have been mentioned. The biggest concern, however, is that these three only have a handful of NHL games between them and, though they have performed well at times, none have the body of work that would lead one to think that they could handle a full season.
In net, the Wild are again looking at the familiar duo of Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding, but that is not to say that there are not questions there.
Harding started slow last season, but gained his legs late and helped steady the boat when Backstrom was underperforming. Backstrom, on the other hand, struggled much of last season and a lot of that is being attributed to the fact that the team’s system is no longer as goalie friendly as it once was.
I, for one, don’t believe that Backstrom is nearly as bad as he looked last season and, with a little help I believe he could be right back where he was in seasons past. He’s a good goaltender that was, unfortunately, not given much help last season and I would look for him to rebound with a better season this year.
Overall, I don’t see the Wild contending for a playoff spot this season. While they have talent, not all of the players are in place for them to make a playoff push. That being said, they do have talent and if everything falls into place I could easily be proved wrong.
Vancouver Canucks – It may be the pre season, but the hype machine is already in full swing for the ‘Nucks.
It started with Roberto Luongo stepping down as the team’s captain and, as training camps begin, the Canucks are again one of the front runners to make a move deep into the playoffs. But will they be able to shake the monkey off their backs and make it to the Stanley Cup Finals?
At forward, the mantra will likely be maintain.
The team returns most all of their key forwards from last season, but the biggest question will be whether or not their top three can keep it going. Henrik Sedin is one year removed from a remarkable career season, and his brother Daniel would have been right there with him were it not for injury. Ryan Kesler put up career numbers last season. Now, the question that needs to be answered is was that their ceiling or are they capable of repeating.
With the Sedins, I’d be tempted to say that they are very capable of repeating. The two have long been one of the most potent duos in the league and that isn’t likely to change. Will it be another 100-plus point season for one, or both of them? Probably not. But I don’t think that another very strong performance by the two is out of the question.
Kesler, however, may have hit his peak at 75 points – a respectable number, to be sure. The team is deep in scoring, but will need Mikael Samuelsson to continue his scoring ways, as he scored more than 20 goals for just the second time in his career. On top of that, they will look at Mason Raymond to take on an increased role and continue his development.
The addition of Manny Malhotra will help the team’s checking line and their penalty kill, but won’t be much more than that. But that’s also why he was brought in. He’s a reliable checker and a solid penalty killer, which will only help the Canucks this season.
On defense, the team addressed their significant lack of grit the last couple years by bringing in Keith Ballard and Dan Hamhuis. Along with Bieksa, Salo, Edler and Ehrhoff, the ‘Nucks top-six defensemen all make over $3 million and, with the team $3 million over the cap heading into the season, will likely need to move one of them.
But, that being said, Hamhuis and Ballard are a huge upgrade over their previous defensive unit and the team certainly is looking better on the blueline than they have in previous seasons. With that being a huge concern for the Canucks, their fans should no longer be worried. This is a defensive unit, regardless of whether or not a move is made, that can handle the physical play of clubs bigger and stronger than them and will help protect Roberto Luongo much better.
Speaking of Luongo, he’s once again in net for the Cancucks in potentially the most uninteresting portion of the team to talk about.
Luongo’s in net, Schnieder’s behind him. There’s no question about the performance of either of the two and there’s no uncertainty about anything that is going on here. The only thing that could derail them in net is injuries, but that isn’t typically a concern of Bobby Lou.
Overall, this is the easiest to call. The Canucks will be back in the playoffs, just like they will win the division again. There aren’t any questions about any of these things.
Predictions
Alright. Here we go. This is how I think the Northwest will shape up:
1) Vancouver Canucks
2) Calgary Flames
3) Colorado Avalanche
4) Minnesota Wild
5) Edmonton Oilers
To be honest, the only for sure playoff team in this division is the Canucks. Both the Flames and Avs are bubble teams, though I could see both making the playoffs if everything aligns.
Up Next: The Pacific Division
Thank the Hockey Gods It’s Over; My Thoughts on Kovalchuk and the CBA
It’s finally happened! Pigs are flying! Hell has frozen over!
Ilya Kovalchuk’s contract with the New Jersey Devils has FINALLY been approved by the NHL. (Did anyone really think that it wouldn’t be after he started dropping hints that the KHL was becoming an option?)
The final details for the contract is 15-years for $100 million as opposed to 17-years for $102 million. It’s now a cap hit of $6.67 million per year as opposed to $6 million per year and, well, yeah. If you’re thinking that the difference is pretty absurd, you’d probably be right.
When you compare the two deals, it looks like this.
Old Deal
2010-11: $6 million
2011-12: $6 million
2012-13: $11.5 million
2013-14: $11.5 million
2014-15: $11.5 million
2015-16: $11.5 million
2016-17: $11.5 million
2017-18: $10.5 million
2018-19: $8.5 million
2019-20: $6.5 million
2020-21: $3.5 million
2021-22: $750,000
2022-23: $550,000
2023-24: $550,000
2024-25: $550,000
2025-26: $550,000
2026-27: $550,000
New Deal
2010-11: $6 million
2011-12: $6 million
2012-13: $11 million
2013-14: $11.3 million
2014-15: $11.3 million
2015-16: $11.6 million
2016-17: $11.8 million
2017-18: $10 million
2018-19: $7 million
2019-20: $4 million
2020-21: $1 million
2021-22: $1 million
2022-23: $1 million
2023-24: $3 million
2024-25: $4 million
So, when you compare the two, there really isn’t that much difference other than a higher high salary ($11.8M in the 2016-17 season as opposed to $11.5M in the 2012-2017 season), a higher low salary ($1M as opposed to $550k) and two years at the tail end of the contract that really make you go, “Huh?”
So the league accepted this, grandfathering it in before the new CBA amendment (don’t worry, that discussion is coming) and the Devils now find themselves in a Chicago-style pickle – they need to shed salary before the season starts.
Without Kovalchuk’s contract, Cap Geek had the Devils sitting exactly $3,698,334 under the salary cap of $59.4 million. With the Kovie Kontrakt, the Devils cap number goes up to $63,108,333 or $3,708,333 over the salary cap.
Now, it’s important to realize that the Devils’ cap number prior to the Kovalchuk signing was also with just 20 roster players. 11 forwards, 7 defensemen and 2 goalies. A typical “full” roster is 23. So, basically they need to shed enough salary to both fit Kovalchuk under the cap and field a full roster.
Soooooooo…Who do you drop?
Jamie Langenbrunner, likely won’t be a casualty. In addition to being the team’s captain and a heart and soul type player, he only has one year left on his contract with a no-trade clause.
The player that most Devils fans would LOVE to see on the chopping block, Brian Rolston, likely won’t be either. Rolston’s stats have declined in a large way since he left Minnesota and, while his talent may not have, he’s certainly not the same player that scored 30-plus goals in 3 seasons with the Wild. On top of that, he has two seasons left on a $5.06M contract AND is over-37. Oh yeah. He’s got that pesky no-trade clause as well.
The candidates most likely to be traded are Dainius Zubrus, who is coming off of a solid playoff performance and a solid performance in a season filled with injuries (27 points in 51 games). He’s got some value, but the question would be would the team be willing to trade him? If I’m making the decision, I’m not so sure unless there’s no other way.
You’ve also got defensemen Colin White and Bryce Salvador. While White has a no-trade clause, both players make either $3 million or just under and there is no shortage of teams looking for defense. With young players like Matt Corrente and Tyler Eckford waiting in the wings, it may make sense for the Devils to make a move that involves one or both of these two d-men.
Finally, you’ve got the player that I’m sure no one in Newark really wants to admit could be on the block – Patrik Elias. Of every single player on their roster, Elias probably has the most value other than Travis Zajac and Zach Parise (and rest assured, they’re not going anywhere). At 34, he’s still got some tread left on the tires and he’s still a productive player. Again, there’s a no-trade clause much like the rest of their likely tradable players, but Elias is the player that would likely bring the most interest.
Either way, Lamoriello has a lot of thinking ahead of him to figure out how he’s going to shape his roster and he’s going to have to make some hard decisions in order to do so. Do you ask a player to wave his NTC? Do you part with your captain? Do you trade a recently signed player?
There are a lot of questions and the team is going to need answers very soon.
*****
Now, onto the CBA.
I’ll admit, this is probably one of the things I understand the least about the NHL. Here is the text from the press release:
NEW YORK/TORONTO (September 4, 2010) – The National Hockey League Players’ Association and National Hockey League today announced an agreement that will implement new rules governing the parameters of long-term contracts and how they are valued within the NHL Salary Cap System.
As part of the agreement, the NHL will register the contract between the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk that was filed with the League on August 27, 2010. The NHL also will terminate its circumvention investigations into the contracts signed in 2009 by Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks, Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks, Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins and Chris Pronger of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Under the terms of the agreement, the new rules will apply only to long-term contracts, defined as those with terms of five years or longer, and only to contracts executed after September 4, 2010. The new rules apply to contracts signed between now and the end of the CBA, as well as all contracts signed that begin in the 2012-13 season. The parties have agreed that the new rules do not automatically carry over into a new CBA.
For the purpose of Salary Cap calculations, any long-term contract that extends past a player’s 41st birthday will be valued and accounted for in two ways: The compensation for all seasons that do not include or succeed the player’s 41st birthday will be totaled and divided by the number of those seasons to determine the annual average value (AAV) charged against the team’s Cap for those seasons. In all subsequent seasons, the team’s Cap charge will be the actual compensation paid to the player in that season (or seasons, as appropriate).
Additionally, in any long-term contract that averages more than $5.75 million for the three highest-compensation seasons, the following rule shall apply: Solely to determine its value for purposes of the Salary Cap, a player’s compensation for any season in which he is age 36, 37, 38, 39 and/or 40 shall be valued at a minimum of $1 million.
“We’re pleased to be able to establish clearly-defined rules for these types of contracts going forward and just as happy we can turn the page on uncertainties relating to several other existing contracts,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said. “From start to finish of this multi-week process we were able to work closely and cooperatively with representatives of the Players’ Association, who shared our belief that the creation of definitive rules and guidelines in this area would be beneficial to everyone – Clubs and players alike.”
“We are pleased to finalize an agreement which ends the League’s circumvention investigations and also establishes rules on long-term contracts that will provide players, their certified agents and general managers clarity for the negotiation of new contracts,” said Roland Lee, Director of Salary Cap/Marketplace & Associate Counsel for the NHLPA. “Turning the page on this process is something that will benefit all parties involved.”
So, basically it boils down to the fact that the cap hit will be divided into two parts. The Pre-41 and post-41 hits. In addition, the minimum salary for a player over 35 in these long-term contracts is $1 million, but only in the purposes of calculating the cap hit.
So, what this would do to these new “lifetime” contracts is small, but still interesting. Roberto Luongo’s cap hit would be raised from $5.33M to about $6.2M while Marian Hossa’s would be raised from $5.275M to $6.13M.
In the end, this is not necessarily going to stop these contracts altogether (which I believe would be in the best interest of the league), but this will help stop the circumvention to an extent.
General Managers are going to find ways to work the cap in their favor. As long as the cap hit is an average and not what the player is getting paid that particular season, GMs are still going to find ways to bring their cap hit down. But this could be at least a step in the right direction.
As Greg Wyshynski posted on Puck Daddy, it’s a little hard for me to accept that the NHL put up a fight over these type of contracts only to “grandfather” these contracts in, but I guess you take what you can get and it does, effectively, take these types of contracts away going forward.
