Gillies Call Up Is Good News

In the wake of a bout of illnesses that the Wild have been dealing with, Minnesota has called up Colton Gillies from the Houston Aeros as either insurance or, potentially, a replacement for an ailing player.

If you recall, last season Gillies failed to make the squad right out of camp and was assigned to the Aeros of the AHL. Gillies was disappointed about his re-assignment, but took it in stride and did everything he was asked, despite being told that there was no opportunity that he would be recalled and, indeed, despite all of the Wild’s injury troubles, Gillies was never once one of their call ups.

Gillies struggled with injuries last season and scored just 20 points in 72 games, but has a goal and an assist in two games this season and this call up seems to be as much of a reward to his dedication as to his strong play this season.

But this call up is more of a testament to the new developmental philosophy of the Minnesota Wild under Chuck Fletcher – one of the largest changes between this regime and the previous management.

Player development.

When Gillies and James Sheppard were brought in to the organization, they stuck with the squad for “developmental” purposes.

It was thought that the players would learn more from Head Coach Jacques Lemaire than they would from their junior coaches and they were too young to play in the AHL at that time.

But here’s the rub. When Sheppard and Gillies were called upon by the Wild, they weren’t getting the playing time they would have in juniors, or even in the AHL.

They were players used to playing top-line minutes that were now being asked to be checkers and, instead of playing 17-20 minutes per night were playing 7-10 minutes per night – believe me when I say that 10 minutes of ice time makes a big difference, especially when players are developing.

Players like Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin – players that can enter the NHL and make an immediate impact and have the skill level necessary to play immediately on the top lines – are very rare. Even players like Steve Stamkos and John Tavares – players expected to be top, impact players in this league – experience some sort of learning curve.

If players like Crosby and Ovechkin are rare, players like Sheppard and Gillies are the norm.

These are players that need development to succeed, and that is one of the hardest calls to make for a general manager.

For every Crosby and Ovechkin, there is a Bobby Ryan or a Jonathan Toews that are elite talents, but might not be ready for the NHL the day that they’re drafted. The difference between the Ryan’s and the Toews’s and the Sheppard’s and the Gillies’s are not necessarily the ceiling of their talents (though, admittedly Ryan and Toews may have a higher ceiling than Sheppard and Gillies) but the fact that Ryan and Toews were not thrust into the NHL spotlight immediately.

Ryan and Toews were allowed to develop in situations where they were the man. They didn’t have to fight for ice time; they didn’t have to wonder whether or not they’d even be playing on a nightly basis.

Meanwhile, Sheppard and Gillies had to struggle for ice time. They didn’t get to develop their games in game situations – instead, they were forced to develop their games in practice, playing on lines with players like Derek Boogaard or Aaron Voros; players who are good at what they do, but not necessarily the players you want to use in order to help develop your young players.

The best example of this that the Wild has, right now, is Mikko Koivu.

Koivu was drafted in 2001 when he was 17 years old. He made his NHL debut when he was 22, after playing three seasons with TPS Turku and one more with the Houston Aeros. Even in his first couple seasons he wasn’t the elite center that he has turned into, but his time spent being the go-to guy in other leagues helped mold him into the player that he is today.

Sheppard has never had that opportunity and, until last season, neither did Colton Gillies.

Gillies is 21 years old now and may not yet be the impact player that many hope he will become, but if you consider that Koivu wasn’t an NHL regular until he was 22, it’s certain that he’s not done developing yet.

But right now, he’s certainly closer to being a productive NHLer than he was at this time last season.

It’s Time for A Change

Hockey sticks beware.  The Minnesota Wild are on the prowl. 

At least, that’s what yesterday’s practice showed, according to Mike Russo of the Star-Tribune. 

At the X yesterday, the Wild underwent an extremely physical practice that caused tempers to run high.  Sticks were broken, slammed against the glass and, in the case of Mikko Koivu, airmailed to the fourth row. 

Richards told reporters afterwards that he’s decided to change his tone after a sleepless night following the team’s loss to Phoenix.  Apparently someone has finally realized that coaxing this team to be better just doesn’t work. 

Let’s be honest here.  Jacques Lemaire was ten times the coach that Richards is at this point in his career.  Lemaire couldn’t do it last year, so why would Richards be able to do it this year? 

Just as Brent Sutter awakened the Calgary Flames with a physical series of practices, Richards hopes to do the same to the Wild, and if there’s any team that needs it, it’s Minnesota. 

On paper, this team isn’t much different from the team that was mere points from making the playoffs last season.  Our lines are even looking very similar to last year’s team at this point.  The most auspicious change was supposed to be the coach, who would take the reins off. 

So far, the reins are off, but the results are much the same—only this time, the defense isn’t playing airtight like they have in the past. 

For a team that wanted to play a fast, physical style coming into this season (much like the Anaheim Ducks team that won the Stanley Cup), they have spent much of the season losing battles on a regular basis.  It has been very rare for a puck to be contested in the corner and have a Wild player come out with it. 

But this “new” Richards might spark something in the team.  To my knowledge, the team has been coddled for most of their careers.  Just look at Brent Burns and Mikko Koivu.  When anyone talks about them, all you hear is how much potential these two young superstars have. 

You always hear about how great of a leader that Koivu is, or how dynamic a talent Burns is. 

But you never hear that Koivu may not have been the best pick for the captain of the team this season, or how Burns tries to do so much on the ice that he is frequently not ready when the game starts going back towards his own end.

The Wild need a change, and the change needs to start at the coaching level right now.  The staff needs to stop coddling their golden boys. 

Just look at James Sheppard.  Is confidence is obviously very, very fragile right now.  He’s playing soft and he’s playing tentative—in other words, he’s not really playing. 

But why not drive home the point with him in practice?  Why wouldn’t you send him into a puck battle drill with a John Scott or a Derek Boogaard, or even Owen Nolan?  Why wouldn’t you send him into a puck battle and tell him that he’s not stopping until he gets the puck? 

Why wouldn’t you take a stick, tape it to Benoit Pouliot’s hands and tell him that you’re not taking it off until he starts focusing on his shot and shooting like he’s capable of?  Why wouldn’t you do that with Martin Havlat? 

All that has been talked about this season by the media is how bad this team is, but all that has been talked about by the team is how bad they’ve been playing.  There’s an obvious disconnect there.  This team doesn’t think that they’re not good and, honestly, neither do I.  

But what needs to happen on a player level is that players need to begin taking accountability for their actions on the ice. 

Yes, the coaching staff needs to give these guys a swift kick in the backside, but once that has been done the players need to step up and be accountable. 

There is no better example than that of Brent Burns. 

Mysteriously, Burns simply disappears after a poor performance.  He doesn’t talk to the media or even address them—he just disappears. 

To be quite honest, running and hiding isn’t a trait you’d want in your worst player, let alone one who is supposed to be one of your superstars. 

The team needs to stand up and be accountable for their actions.  This isn’t a mandate that needs to come from the coaching staff, however.  This is one that needs to come from within. 

Owen Nolan and Andrew Brunette.  These are the players this needs to come from.  Koivu and Havlat.  These are the players this needs to come from. 

A locker room wide mandate that, no matter what the outcome of the game is, you’re sitting at your stall after the game facing the music.  It doesn’t matter if you win 6-1 or if you lose 6-1, you’re sitting at your stall, answering questions. 

But that’s not going to happen.  At least not yet. 

For that to happen, the main offenders would have to have some modicum of mental toughness. 

But the mental toughness won’t start coming until the team begins to show some physical toughness. 

Maybe that’s what Richards wants to start stressing in his practices.  Physical, beat down, drag out wars.  I, for one, certainly hope so because I, for one, am sick of watching this team under perform on a nightly basis. 

Hopefully the Wild will eventually get to the point where they are too.

The Dreaded Season Preview

Camp is just around the corner.

I was going to get ambitious and do a full 30-team preview of this season…But that will be covered by our father site, Hockey Primetime, so I’ll leave that to them.

Meanwhile, the Wild have been linked to both Alex Tanguay and Mike Comrie in the rumor mill.  The Tanguay rumors have since been substantiated, but the Comrie rumors are still just that — rumors.  With Tanguay, if the Wild are to sign him, they will likely have to unload some salary via a trade.  Despite the fact that Tanguay will likely be looking at a pay cut from last season’s salary, the Wild still would need to make some moves to fit him under the cap.

Comrie is an entirely different animal.  He’s been spotty, at best, throughout his NHL career, but when he’s on, he’s a terrific talent.  It’s just a matter of whether or not he’s on.  He can put up numbers when he’s on, but when he’s off he can be horrible.  That said, he could be a bargain that the Wild could use.

In any event, the Wild are mostly done with their off season and moving towards the pre-season.  With that in mind, here is our season preview, here at Wild Nation.

Key Additions: RW – Martin Havlat, C – Kyle Brodziak, D – Shane Hnidy, D – Greg Zanon

Key Losses: RW – Marian Gaborik, LW – Stephane Veilleux, D – Kurtis Foster, D – Marc-Andre Bergeron, D – Martin Skoula

Overview: This off season saw the Wild receive a complete make over.  The only thing that was missing was Ty Pennington standing outside of the Xcel Energy Center, shouting “Move that bus!”  Immediately after the season ended, the only head coach in team history, Jacques Lemaire, stepped down leaving an enormous void for the team to fill.  A short time later, owner Craig Leipold decided that it was time for the team to switch directions and let General Manager Doug Risebrough go as well.  The General Manager search was punctuated by the hiring of wunderkind GM-in-training Chuck Fletcher signing on the dotted line.  The Wild got their man, now it’s time for the team to put the rubber to the road and see what they can accomplish.

Coaching: One of Fletcher’s first moves was to bring in Todd Richards as coach for the team.  Richards was, honestly, the team’s first choice and an easy hire for Fletcher to make.  The difficult part will be once the season starts.  With coaching candidates such as Peter Laviolette and Guy Carbonneau that were passed up for Richards, he will be expected to pay dividends immediately.  Having promised an aggressive, up-tempo style of play, Richards will be expected to get the most out of players like Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Benoit Pouliot and James Sheppard, who struggled mightily in Jacques Lemaire’s system.  Truthfully, I have never thought that Lemaire’s system was the problem with these players — but that will be put to the test this season.  The biggest problem for Richards is going to be experience.  He is going into the season with the prospect of facing the lion’s share of their games against their division rivals, most who have coaches that have a good amount of experience winning at the NHL level.  As Dan Bylsma and Bruce Boudreau have both proven, that isn’t necessarily worth anything more than the paper it’s printed on.  At the same time, however, a new face coming into a new team could pose problems for Richards early.  Look for him to rely heavily on the experience of Mike Ramsay behind the bench early on in the season.  Grade: C+ 

Forwards: This season is going to see the Wild look drastically different up front.  Not necessarily because of the loss of Marian Gaborik (Wild fans were plenty used to not seeing him on the ice during his tenure with the team), but because of the changes that could come with a new coach.  The undersized Bouchard may no longer be relegated to the wing and may get a chance to play his natural position once again.  James Sheppard will likely get an increased role in the team, as will resident bowling ball, Cal Clutterbuck.  The team will roll into camp with seven players on the camp roster that can legitimately play center — something that is quite odd for a team that has struggled at depth at that position.  If a second-line center is not acquired before camp, look for Bouchard to fill that role.  Either way, though, the team is lacking a sixth legitimate top-six forward.  This isn’t to say that they don’t have players that have the talent to step up into that role, but the players that they have that are capable don’t have the best track record at doing so.  Where the team really excels is in their bottom-six forwards.  Clutterbuck, Kyle Brodziak, Eric Belanger and Antti Miettinen are all experienced checking forwards and can all be part of a line that is capable of shutting the other team down.  Factor in tough guy Derek Boogaard and prospects Pouliot, Sheppard and Colton Gillies and you have a bottom-six that could be pretty imposing to play against.  Overall, the team is certainly not top heavy at forward and will likely look to their role players to again play a significant part of their scoring.  The addition of a healthy Havlat will likely help the team significantly but, unless another top-six forward is acquired, the fans of Minnesota could again be looking at a low-scoring season.  Grade: B-

Defense: This could, yet again, be the team’s strong suit.  They have defensemen that are capable of stepping up and joining the rush in Brent Burns and Marek Zidlicky, but now have four defensemen that are more than capable in a stay-at-home role, including two that will be given increased offensive responsibilities as well.  Nick Schultz is one of the most under rated defensive defensemen in the game and, under Richards’ new system, I would look for him to flourish and have a tremendous year.  Schultz has the tools to be a fantastic two-way defenseman and now will get to use his offensive tools a little more, as Fletcher has asked him to take more of an offensive responsibility as well.  Kim Johnsson is a former 40-point scorer on the blueline that will likely be given all of the tools to return to that stature.  After concussion problems sidelined him with the Flyers, the Wild took a chance on him and got one of their more reliable defensemen over the past few years.  The biggest change in the blueline, however, is the sandpaper added through Greg Zanon, Shane Hnidy and John Scott.  These three will likely share minutes as the fifth and sixth defensemen for the team and add a great deal of grit to the line up.  All three love to hit and all three are solid, stay-at-home defensemen that can be paired with either Burns or Zidlicky to give the Wild a presence behind them when they pinch in.  As for Burns and Zidlicky, a new system gives them the opportunity to showcase their offensive abilities.  Burns had a rough season last year, switching back and forth between wing and defense and struggling with injuries and fans can expect him to rebound this season.  As for Zidlicky, you can expect more of the same.  Poor decisions punctuated by fantastic offensive moments.  Zidlicky will likely find himself paired with either Johnsson or Schultz most of the time and will be looked at to contribute heavily on the powerplay.  Overall, I feel that this is still one of the strengths of the team and the addition of the grit will easily make them better.  Despite playing in a new system, expect stalwart defensemen Johnsson, Burns and Schultz to continue to practice what they learned under the tutelage of Jacques Lemaire and don’t expect this unit to give up many chances.  Grade: A-

Goaltending: Let’s get one thing out of the way right now.  Niklas Backstrom is actually this good.  The system certainly helped him but, when he’s on, he’s one of the top five goalies in the league — easily.  Last season, Backstrom was one of the biggest reasons why the Wild were even in the playoff hunt and this season it will likely be the same story if they are to be there again.  He will likely face a few more quality chances per game, but I wouldn’t expect that to change the results much.  Behind him, barring a trade will be Josh Harding.  For Wild fans, that is great news.  Harding was slated to be the Wild’s heir apparent in net before the emergence of Backstrom, and he has evolved into quite the goaltender.  This is again a case of the Wild having a 1A and 1B goaltender, as Harding can easily slide in and the Wild won’t miss a beat.  If Harding is traded, the Wild picked up New York Islanders folk hero, Wade Dubielewicz as an insurance policy.  While Dubie is nowhere near the goaltender that Harding is, he is more than a sufficient back up and has proven that he is capable of winning games at the NHL level.  Overall, goaltending will again be the strongest part of the team and will again be the backbone of any playoff push that the Wild hopes to make this season.  Grade: A+

Line Combinations: This will likely be changed throughout the season, but here is what I would expect the Wild’s line combos to look like:

Forward
Andrew Brunette/Mikko Koivu/Martin Havlat
Owen Nolan/Pierre-Marc Bouchard/Cal Clutterbuck
Antti Miettinen/James Sheppard/Colton Gillies
Derek Boogaard/Eric Belanger/Kyle Brodziak

Extras: Craig Weller, Benoit Pouliot

Defense
Brent Burns/Nick Schultz
Marek Zidlicky/Kim Johnsson
Greg Zanon/Shane Hnidy

Extra: John Scott

Goaltending
Niklas Backstrom
Josh Harding

Captain: One of the biggest question marks this season is “who will the captain be?”  The odds on favorite, most likely, is Mikko Koivu.  He captained the team for most of last season and emerged as both a leader on the ice and in the locker room.

If I’m Richards, however, I look to one person and one person only.  The man they call Cowboy — Owen Nolan.

Nolan is one of the most respected and feared veterans in the league and commands respect wherever he goes.  Giving him the ‘C’ will give legitimacy to what is, once again, a young team searching for their identity and sends a message to all of the players in the locker room:

This is the standard expected of you.

The team was abysmal without Nolan on the ice last season and his dedication to the team shone through in the way he carried himself.  He is to this team what Wes Walz was when he was playing.  He is the type of player that will lead this team regardless of whether or not he has the ‘C.’

So why not make it official?  Slap the ‘C’ on number 11’s chest and watch it all unfold.

Expected Finish: Honestly, this is my expectation.  If the team is healthy (Havlat, Burns, Nolan etc.), this team is a playoff team.  They were a few points from the playoffs last season without their top scorer — there’s no reason to think that they can’t make it this season if they’re healthy.  To go one step farther…If this team is healthy, they can win the division.  Vancouver failed to improve this off season, while Calgary got better on the back end, but worse up front.  The two powers of this division are ripe for the picking and, the Wild are the best team for the job.  Realistically, I think this team can have a shot at the division crown once again — but things will have to go their way.  On this one, though, I’ll split the difference.  2^nd in the Northwest, 6^th in the West.

The Product of Boredom: Top 5 Wild Games

Though the season is nearly here, there is still plenty of boredom to be had in the interim and even more boredom induced blogs.  I’ve already given you the top five forwards, defensemen and goalies in Wild history, so I figured it would be fitting to give you some discussion with the top five games in Wild history.  Just thinking about these games is getting me all forclempt…So talk amongst yourselves…

5)      October 11, 2000 | v. Philadelphia Flyers | Final Score: Wild 3 Flyers 3 – If you need to ask why, you’re probably not a Wild fan.  The Wild’s first ever regular season game in Minnesota was easily one of their most memorable as the team not only netted their first point in team history, but Minnesota native Darby Hendrickson notched the first ever goal on home ice.

4)      April 3, 2008 | v. Calgary Flames | Final Score: Wild 3 Flames 1 - With this victory, the Wild clinched their first ever (and only, to date) division title and notched Jacques Lemaire his 500^th career victory.  After falling behind early, the Wild battled back with three straight goals (two by Marian Gaborik) to down their division rival Flames.

3)      December 17, 2000 | v. Dallas Stars | Final Score: Wild 6 Stars 0 - If there was any game in the Wild’s first season that was the most anticipated, it was this one.  Amidst chants of “Norm Green Sucks,” the former Minnesota North Stars returned to Minnesota to the not so friendly confines of the Xcel Energy Center and the Wild made sure that they gave the fans a night they would remember.  On the strength of two-point nights by Gaborik, Hendrickson and Jeff Nielsen, and a 24 save performance by former Star Manny Fernandez, the Wild sent the raucous crowd home happy with not just a victory over the Stars, but an emphatic one at that.

2)      December 20, 2007 | v. New York Rangers| Final Score: Wild 6 Rangers 3 - Every once in a while, you see a performance that simply cannot be described.  That was this night for Marian Gaborik.  Gaborik posted the league’s first five goal game in 11 years and showed the entire NHL what he is capable of if he is fully healthy.  After notching a hat trick just 26 minutes into the game, Gaborik turned on the afterburners and helped lead the Wild to a very emphatic victory over the visiting Rangers, and a night that none will soon forget.

1)      April 22, 2003 | @ Colorado Avalanche | Final Score: Wild 3 Avalanche 2 OT – The Wild weren’t even supposed to be in the playoffs, let alone defeating the juggernaut that was the Colorado Avalanche, but the team accomplished both feats in one fell swoop in this game.  Behind what is arguably the single most memorable goal in Wild history, the team came back from behind twice in the game and Manny Fernandez was spectacular in backstopping the team to their most memorable victory in franchise history.

Eight “Wild” Predictions

The off season is winding down and teams are, for the most part, set.  Soon everyone and their mothers will be coming out with season previews (myself included), but I’d like to get a head start on some of this — not with a season preview, but with some “Wild” predictions for this upcoming season.

1) The Minnesota Wild will have home ice for the first round of the playoffs.  Let’s be honest.  The Wild were just a few points from making the show last season…Without Marian Gaborik.  This season, they’ll get a healthy (we hope) Martin Havlat, along with growth from both Mikko Koivu and Pierre-Marc Bouchard, and a full season from Brent Burns.  Throw Vezina finalist Niklas Backstrom in the mix and you have yourself the formula for a solid team.  It could honestly be stated that all four of the team’s division rivals either maintained the status quo, or got a little worse.  The Wild, meanwhile, have the looks of a team that could be poised to shoot out of the gate with a new superstar and a new, up-tempo system.  Not only that, they still have all of the key aspects from Lemaire’s system that made them so difficult to play against.  The Wild will be sitting atop the Northwest Division at the end of this season.

2) James Sheppard will have his breakout season.  It was supposed to be last season, but Lemaire’s gameplan just simply didn’t fit Shep’s style of play.  Under Todd Richards, he’ll be given the opportunity to be a little more aggressive, both on the forecheck and with the puck, and this should benefit in a large upswing in his point production.  He’ll be given second line duties, likely between Nolan and Bouchard and that should greatly help both his confidence and his numbers.

3) Owen Nolan will lead the team in goals.  If he’s healthy, Nolan is still the dynamic goal scorer he once was.  He proved that last season with 25 goals in 59 games.  If he plays a whole season (which I believe he will), Nolan will top the 40 goal mark for the third time in his career.

4) Josh Harding will finish the season with the Wild.  Let’s face it.  If he hasn’t been traded by now, he’s not going to be.  Unless Fletcher gets a killer deal for the young goalie, he’s going to stay in Iron Range Red at least through this season.  The more I think about it, the more the signing of Dubie as the team’s third string goalie was much more about an insurance plan for Backstrom’s hip and much less about giving the Wild the luxury of being able to trade Harding.  The Wild are looking to make a push towards the playoffs again this season and Harding backing Backstrom up gives them the best opportunity to do just that.

5) Benoit Pouliot will actually make a difference.  It’s do or die for Benny Poo this season.  Last season was supposed to be the season where he proved that he was a 4^th overall draft pick and, instead, he found himself set squarely in Lemaire’s doghouse.  This season, I would put his odds at making the team at about 90%, meaning that he’ll have the opportunity to show his stuff in a system that will allow him to be a little bit more creative with the puck.  My guess?  He’ll flourish under Richards’ system and show the promise that caused the Wild to draft him 4^th overall.

6) Marian Gaborik won’t play at the Xcel Energy Center this season.  Initially, your reaction might be “No **** Sherlock,” until you remember that the New York Rangers are scheduled to visit Minnesota this season.  Why do I think that Gaborik won’t be healthy for his visit to Minnesota?  Easy.  In terms of a mathematical equation, it’s as follows: League’s Weakest Groin + League’s Worst Ice = x.  I’ll let you fill in what x equals.

7) Jacques Lemaire will win in his return to Minnesota.  There is no one who knows this Wild team better than Lemaire does.  Because of that, there is no one who is better equipped to beat the Wild than Lemaire is.  He knows the players’ tendencies and he knows how to stop them.  Plain and simple…The Wild haven’t changed their identity enough for them to beat Lemaire…Yet.

The Wild will be much more fun to watch this season.  Sure, this seems at first like a gimme statement.  But, honestly, I enjoyed watching the team under Lemaire.  The reason WHY I’m saying they’ll be more fun to watch is because of two free agent signings — Greg Zanon and Shane Hnidy.  These two players give the Wild a physical element on their blueline that they haven’t had in a long, long time.  Teams are going to have to keep their heads up in the neutral zone, plain and simple.  And if they don’t?  Well…That’ll be pretty fun to watch.

Wild Schedule Released

For a complete version, click here.

The NHL has released the schedules for the upcoming season today.  Here are some of the highlights for the Wild. 

• The Wild’s season opener will be on October 3, against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
• Their home opener will be against one of Chuck Fletcher’s former teams, the Anaheim Ducks, on October 6.
• The team starts the year with a very road-heavy schedule, playing nine of their first fourteen games on the road.
• The Wild play fifteen sets of back-to-back games.  In other words, 37% of their games are back-to-back sets.
• Marian Gaborik returns to Minnesota on October 30, while Jacques Lemaire returns on January 2.
• The team will play home-and-home series against Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Carolina.
• Three of the team’s last five games are on the road against Division Rivals.
• Todd Richards will return to San Jose on October 10, Martin Havlat will return to Chicago on October 26 and Chuck Fletcher will return to Pittsburgh on October 31.
• Training camp will open on September 13 and pre-season games will be announced at a later date.

Backstrom For Vezina; Aeros Advance

First off, I’d like to thank you all for bearing with me over the last few days.  My seven month old daughter had come down with something which necessitated my being gone for a few days.  But never to fear…It’s the off season, so not a whole heck of a lot occurred over those last few days!

Niklas Backstrom
It’s been a big couple weeks for the Finnish netminder.  First, his surgery was a huge success, leading Dr. Philippon to conclude that Backstrom will be ready to go in full in about 12 weeks.  I don’t know all of the details, but apparently the cartilage damage was much less than the doctor had originally thought and the issues with Backstrom’s hip have been corrected by the surgery.  Keep in mind that this is the same surgery that Marian Gaborik underwent during the season.

In addition to a successful surgery, Niklas Backstrom also became the third member of the Wild’s organization to be named a finalist for a voted-upon NHL end of the year award.  The other two?  Jacques Lemaire and Wes Walz for the Jack Adams and Selke trophies respectively.  This is not the first hardware that Backstrom has won as a member of the Wild.  In the ’06-’07 season, his rookie season, he walked away with the Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award for the league’s best save percentage and teamed with Manny Fernandez, winning the William M. Jennings Trophy, for the team with the least goals against.

Backstrom will have a tough time winning this award, however, as he will be going up against Boston’s Tim Thomas and Columbus’s Steve Mason. 

My personal thoughts on this is that Backstrom will come in second in the voting.  Backstrom was certainly the Wild’s best player, and Josh Harding’s 3-9-1 record on the season certainly helps Backstrom’s cause, but let’s not forget that Harding posted extremely impressive stats during those 13 games as well.  The way I look at it is like this:

• Without Mason, the Jackets miss the playoffs AND are likely to have a lottery pick in the top six.
• Without Backstrom, the Wild are likely to have a lottery pick in the top ten.
• Without Thomas, the Bruins probably wouldn’t have won the conference, but still likely would have made the playoffs.

To me, what that equates to is that Mason will get the Calder-Vezina sweep this season (and, honestly, I think there’s a pretty good argument for him getting the Hart as well, but that’s neither here nor there.)  Backstrom had a phenomenal season and, let’s be honest…If the Wild make the playoffs, there’s no question that he’s up there for the frontrunner.  The bottom line is that, as important as he was this season to our team, Mason was just a touch more important in their run.

Aeros Advance to Round Two
Leave it to the farm team of a Minnesota team to take every opportunity to give their fans more hockey.  Houston won game seven against the Peoria Rivermen 5-2 on the strength of goals by Krys Kolanos, Marco Rosa and Maxim Noreau as well as empty netters by Corey Locke and Mitch Love.  Goaltender Anton Khudobin was credited with the win, saving 19 or 21 shots.

Houston advances now to play the first seeded Milwaukee Admirals in what should prove to be an intriguing match up; at least from a front office point of view.  Milwaukee is the farm team for Nashville, making it Craig Leipold’s current farm team vs. his former farm team.  In other words, two candidates for the Minnesota Wild GM position (Tom Lynn and Paul Fenton) fighting it out for GM supremacy, though I doubt this series would be the deciding factor in one or the other getting the job.

Houston has three of the top 20 scoring leaders thus far for the playoffs, with Corey Locke third in scoring (4-5-9), Matt Beaudoin sixth (2-6-8) and Krys Kolanos sixteenth (2-4-6).  Meanwhile, Khudobin is trucking along with a 4-3 record, a 2.45 GAA and a .906 Sv Pct, as well as one shutout.  The most interesting stat?  Corey Lock has 24 penalty minutes.  Anyone care to explain that one to me??

Wild Sign Carson McMillian
The Wild also have signed another of their 2007 draft picks to an entry level deal.  Carson McMillian of the Calgary Hitmen has been signed to a three-year, entry level deal.  McMillian was in his fourth season with the Hitmen this season and recorded career highs in goals (31), assists (41), points (72) and penalty minutes (93).  On top of that, he added seven game winners, five powerplay tallies and four shorties.  It will be interesting to see how McMillian fares in Houston next season, as he is certainly an intriguing player for this organization (one that has rarely seen success at drafting in the later rounds). 

Seventh Heaven
There are two game sevens on the docket tonight and, honestly, does it get ANY better than a Game Seven in the NHL Playoffs?  It’s win or go home for four teams and it’s going to be I-N-T-E-N-S-E!!!  Now I typically shy away from predictions (for those unable to pick up on sarcasm through text, I’ll note it here), but I feel inclined to share my views on these two games.

2) Washington v. 7) NY Rangers - I made the observation a few days ago that, if any team is equipped to come back from a 3-1 defecit, the Capitals were certainly one of them.  It took a few games for the Caps to realize that they can’t shoot at Lundqvist’s mattresses (and for Boudreau to realize that he can’t have Theodore in nets), but once the Caps got it figured out and started executing their gameplan, they started rolling.  Torts will be back on the bench for the Rangers after his Game 5 hissy fit and, if I were a Caps fan, I wouldn’t relish sitting behind him because he’ll likely be packing for this one.

The Rangers Win If: They score first.  If they can do that, they can tighten up around Lundqvist and clog up the neutral zone.  In their three wins, the Rangers have proven that they can give the Caps fits when they do this.  The Caps offensive stars need room to skate in order to be effective, and if the Rangers are protecting a lead, they can afford to tighten up and not give the Caps the space to skate

The Capitals Win If: They get to Lundqvist early and often.  Not necessarily score, but pepper him with shots.  He’s been pulled in two straight games and they can’t afford to let him gain any confidence.  Crash the net, get in his way, do anything and everything they can to disrupt his game.  If that means buzzing him and taking  a goalie interference penalty early on, that’s what they have to do.  Get in his head and this one’s over.

My Prediction: Washington 4 New York 2

(3) New Jersey Devils v. 6) Carolina Hurricanes – This series has been the epitome of even.  Neither team has won more than one game in a row and only two of the six games have been decided by more than one goal.  At the onset of the series, everyone expected this to come down to goaltending and, tonight, it will.  Both Ward and Brodeur will be at their best and this game will be very, very tightly played.

The Devils Win If: Their offense shows up early.  This team has an absolutely explosive offense.  The problem is that they have been extremely inconsistent this series.  One game, they’ll look like absolute world beaters; the next, they look like they couldn’t find the back of the net if it were the size of the broad side of a barn.  If they come out of the gates ready to skate hard and ready to play, they’ll gain the advantage over Carolina.  If they falter, though, Carolina will exploit this.

The ‘Canes Win If: Cam Ward plays like he did in Games 5 and 6.  Ward is the catalyst for this team.  If he’s playing well, this team gains confidence and can steamroll opponents.  This team does not have the defense to protect Ward if he’s playing poorly and that can lead to a collapse if he is.  A couple big saves early and Ward’s confidence will go through the roof.  If this happens, it gets exponentially harder for the Devils to take ahold of this game and get any sort of momentum.

My Prediction: Carolina 3 New Jersey 2 (OT)

Updated: Who Replaces Risebrough?

With Jacques Lemaire stepping down as Head Coach and Doug Risebrough now on the outs as General Manager, Owner Craig Leipold needs to put together an intensive search for the new General Manager of the team.  There are some pretty good odds that he will look both within and around the NHL for his candidates and you would have to imagine that he already has a good idea of who he’d like to approach.

That said, the man that Leipold should offer the job to is right underneath his nose.

At least…He was until a few days ago.

That’s right.  The man who would be perfect for the job is none other than former coach, Jacques Lemaire.  This may not necessarily be the popular decision for Wild fans, but the bottom line is that Lemaire is best suited for this job.

Why you ask?  Simple.  First, there is absolutely no one in the league that knows the personnel that the Wild currently have at their disposal better than Lemaire.  He knows what the team needs, he knows what will work with who the Wild currently have and he is one of the best hockey minds in the league.  Second, he is a winner through and through.  With how used to winning he is, you’ve got to think that the Wild’s mediocrity over the last few seasons (yes, they were mediocre in winning the Northwest Title) has eaten away at him like nothing else.  He wants to win and he genuinely cares about the franchise.  You can see this in his press conference, where he did not step aside because he was done coaching, but he stepped aside because “it was time.”  That, to me, speaks to someone who is acting in the franchise’s best interests. 

Lemaire spoke highly of the organization in his press conference and it was clear that it was going to be hard for him to leave.  While his tenure as coach is certainly over, I don’t believe that his tenure with the Wild has to be.  There’s no doubt that, if Leipold hasn’t already contacted him, he should.  Lemaire knows the game better than almost anyone else in the league and he certainly knows the team better than anyone else in the league.   It’s also evident that he knows what the players are looking for in a coach as well, as evidenced by his comments after announcing that he was stepping down.

Who better to provide the team with what everyone’s clamoring for than the man who got them to where they are?

I don’t know who Leipold has contacted or will contact.  But I do know that, if he’s interested, the job should be Lemaire’s.

Update: Russo has reported that Lemaire has said that he’s not interested in the position.  I don’t know who is going to replace Risebrough, but one thing is for certain; they’re going to have their work cut out for them.

Breaking News: Risebrough Fired

Per Russo,

According to two outside NHL sources, Wild GM Doug Risebrough has been fired by owner Craig Leipold. It is unconfirmed inside the organization.

Leipold was said to have agonized over the decision but decided, in the final analysis, that a change in direction was called for.

Here’s the memo from the team:

Minnesota Wild Owner, Craig Leipold, announced today that the organization will not renew the contract of President and General Manager, Doug Risebrough, beyond the 2008-2009 season.

“The entire Minnesota Wild organization is forever indebted to Doug for his substantial efforts in establishing this franchise’s solid foundation and winning tradition,” said Leipold. “The positive impact of Doug’s service will be felt for many years to come. We wish Doug the very best.”

The search for a new General Manager will begin immediately. The first order of business for the incoming General Manager will be to select the Team’s next Head Coach.

Until a replacement is found, Assistant General Manager Tom Lynn, will be acting-General Manager.

Personally, I’m sad to see Risebrough go.  I have had the pleasure of meeting with and talking to him at length, and I’ll tell you that you’re not going to find a better person in the NHL.  He’s personable, friendly and very fun to talk to.

On a business level, however, you had to see the writing on the wall with the departure of Jacques Lemaire.  It started with Craig Leipold buying the team.  At that point, the guard began to change.  Lemaire’s departure was another signal that the team was going to begin heading in a different direction, and this latest occurrance cements it.  This is a team that is going to look quite different come next season.

The question at hand is now not who will be the head coach for next season, but who will hire the head coach next season.

My guess is that Leipold already has himself a short list and, other than Jay Feaster and JFJ I’m not sure who would be available for the GM position so I won’t speculate as to who he is going to be looking at.  One thing is for sure, however.  This marks a new era for the Wild; 100%.

Risebrough has come under fire recently for not being able to land the “big fish.”  Whether that was a product of perception, with Lemaire as the coach, or a product of Risebrough not being willing to take big risks the fact remains that this was a change that needed to be made and in a sweeping manner.  I’ll have more on this as it unfolds, but there’s no doubt that it’s an extremely exciting time to be a Wild fan and this should be a very eventful off season for the team.

Season in Review: The Forwards

The season has ended and Jacques Lemaire has stepped down as the coach of the Minnesota Wild.  A big weekend in Minnesota hockey, to be sure.  So today, true to my word, I will begin my season review of the team; first, starting with the forwards.

Mikko Koivu – 9 – C | 79 GP, 20 – 47 – 67, +2:In a word, Koivu’s season was okay.  Most likely, more was expected of him both by himself and by the fans, however he showed marked improvement over his last couple seasons and looks as if he will continue to improve towards next season.  He certainly showed flashes of brilliance; however, he was mired by inconsistency late in the season, at one point going eight games without even registering a point in what could have been considered the period of the season where the Wild needed him most.  In all, Koivu had a good season, but was not what was needed by the team.  Grade: B

Andrew Brunette – 15 – L | 80 GP, 22 – 28 – 50, -5: Let’s be fair.  Bruno was exactly what Wild fans expected.  He did everything that the team expected from him and was a true leader on and off the ice.  I don’t think that anyone expected him to be a 80 point scorer, but he was expected to be steady and he was exactly that.  He munches minutes, he controls the puck and he’s solid in his own zone.  I’m sure he would have liked to be more consistent, as there were multiple long stretches where he failed to register a point, but overall he was one of the top players on the team.  Grade: A-

Pierre-Marc Bouchard – 96 – C | 71 GP, 16 – 30 – 46, -5:Fresh off of a new contract, Bouchard struggled for the first half of the season.  He struggled to find his groove in the offensive zone and was tentative for a lot of the season.  Once he hit his stride, however, he was as good as any player in the league.    After the All Star break, Bouchard turned it on and was one of the top players on the team.  As with Bruno and Koivu, however, finding any sort of consistency was a struggle for Bouchard and his season could have been much better than it was with some sort of consistency.  Grade: B-

Owen Nolan – 11 – R | 59 GP, 25 – 20 – 45, +5:I was as thrilled as anybody that the Wild had signed “Cowboy” during the off season.  Nolan has always been one of my favorite players and to see him come to the Wild was something that I absolutely loved.  While injuries slowed his season, Nolan was one of the big reasons why the loss of Marian Gaborik for the majority of the season was not an unmitigated disaster for the Wild.  He came on with a punch that I don’t think anyone expected from him and immediately became a fan favorite.  Despite playing injured for most of the season, Nolan was one of the Wild’s best players and the only thing that holds his final evaluation back is the fact that he was injured for a good chunk of the year.  Grade: B+

Antti Miettinen – 20 – R | 82 GP, 15 – 29 – 44, -1:I think if you asked any Wild fan what they expected from Antti Miettinen, they would have said something like the old Antti that the Wild had (of the Laaksonen variety).  I don’t, however, think that they would have responded by saying that the young Finn would be a 40+ point scorer.  “Mittens,” as he has so lovingly been dubbed by Wild fans, came out like gangbusters and, eventually, cooled off later in the season but his impact on the Wild’s roster was immediate.  He brought a hard-working, defensively sound presence to the team that complemented the line up that they had perfectly.  He meshed well with countryman Mikko Koivu, but also fit into other roles quite easily.  His performance was a pleasant surprise on a team that did not have many this season.  Grade: A-

Eric Belanger – 25 – C | 79GP, 13 – 23 – 36, -5: One thing can be said of Belanger.  He is certainly consistent.  What is frustrating about him, however, is that you occasionally see flashes of brilliance that make it maddening to watch him at times.  There were times this season where Belanger was a magician in the offensive zone and there were times where he was brilliant in the defensive zone.  Belanger is a checking line center that was thrust into a second line center role this season and performed admirably.  He plays with a passion for the game that is hard to miss.  The trouble is that the team didn’t need him to produce like a checking line center this season.  They needed him to step up his game and produce like a second line center; and this, he did not do.  Grade: C

James Sheppard – 51 – C | 82 GP, 5 – 19 – 24, -14: By all accounts, James Sheppard was a massive disappointment this season.  His performance towards the end of last season had Wild fans and management alike optimistic that he might step into the limelight and take over a larger role on the team.  Sheppard failed to step up to the task and was such a disappointment that he even began to see regular shifts with the fourth line or be benched in important moments.  The only thing that salvaged his season was, again, a late season push in which the youngster began to show his true potential, notching 1 goal and 7 assists for 8 points in eleven games and a +6 over this time.  Grade: D

Marian Gaborik – 10 – R | 17 GP, 13 – 10 – 23, +3:In what will likely be Gaborik’s last season with the team, fans are left wondering what could have been.  In just 17 games, Gaborik proved his worth to the team by lighting a fire under himself.  Not only did he lead the team to a 7-3-1 record down the stretch, but also gave Wild fans one of the most electrifying 11-game stretches in recent memory.  This stretch saved Gaborik’s season from being a bitter disappointment; however, 65 games missed cannot be ignored.  Grade: D+

Stephane Veilleux – 19 – L | 81GP, 13 – 10 – 23, -17:Again, in what will likely be Veilleux’s last season with the Wild, the scrappy winger put together a fairly solid campaign.  After his outburst at the end of last season, however, the team was certainly expecting more from him and he simply didn’t deliver on this early in the season.  As he approaches free agency, he may have to reevaluate his standing with the team as he will likely not be back.  Grade: C-

Cal Clutterbuck – 22 – R | 78 GP, 11 – 7 – 18, -5: Cal Clutterbuck came to Minnesota, leaving his car parked in the airport parking lot; thinking that he would be back in a few days.  A couple months later, he was told to find a place to live.  That pretty much sums up the rookie’s first full NHL season that made him a cult hero in Minnesota and even incited a grassroots Calder Trophy campaign.  In his rookie season, he broke the NHL hits record and showed some offensive flair as well, leaving Wild fans hopeful for the years to come.  Grade: A+

Dan Fritsche – 49 – L | 50 GP, 5 – 8 – 13, -5: Fritsche was a press box mainstay in New York, but quickly became a checking and fourth line mainstay for the Wild.  With many fans disappointed that the Wild simply did not claim him off waivers, Fritsche quietly came out and made an impact for the Wild and endeared himself to the fans.  A hard worker and a solid player, Fritsche will be looked towards to play a larger role on the team if he stays in Minnesota.  Grade: C+

Benoit Pouliot – 67 – L | 37 GP, 5 – 6 – 11, +1: Pouliot was another of the Wild’s young disappointments this season.  Expected to come in and help complement Marian Gaborik, Pouliot came out and showed flashes of brilliance during his stay with the Wild.  Unfortunately, these flashes of brilliance were punctuated by stretches of apathy by the youngster.  If he remains with the team, he will likely be on his last shot to make the big show.  Grade: F

Peter Olvecky – 28 – L | 31 GP, 2 – 5 – 7, +1: The young Slovak may have played his way into a short one-way contract for next season with the way that he played in his limited call up.  Solid two-way play and some solid offensive zone play even led to the youngster getting time on special teams as the season wore down.  If he stays in Minnesota, next season he will be looked at to show some more of his offensive talent.  Grade: C

Colton Gillies – 18 – L | 45 GP, 2 – 5 – 7, -2:This season was to be a learning season for young Colton, and learn he did.  A relentlessly hard worker, Gillies was among the last off every practice, even when he was playing and soaked up all he could from the Wild’s extremely experienced coaching staff.  Gillies wasn’t expected to do much this season, but next will be where the rubber meets the road.  Grade: C

Krystofer Kolanos – 39 – C | 21 GP, 3 – 3 – 6, +3: Kolanos showed flashes of why he was a first round pick this season, but was ultimately deemed to inconsistent to remain with the team.  Should he be re-signed, he will likely need to show more consistent offensive production to stick with the team.  Grade: C-

Derek Boogaard – 24 – L | 51 GP, 0 – 3 – 3, +3: Much to the surprise of many, Boogaardcame out this season and actually tried to play hockey.  In fact, the big man didn’t even break 100 PIMs or just the second time in his career.  Hampered by injuries again, this fan favorite didn’t stand out in any way; surprisingly, not even fighting.  Grade: C

Craig Weller – 12 – R | 36 GP, 1 – 2 – 3, -3:Weller was slated to be “Boogaard Lite” for this team; however, he was unable to stick with the team for any extended period of time.  Often scratched, Weller simply did not impress enough to earn consistent ice time and was regularly a mainstay on the bench next to the back up goaltender when he was dressed.  Grade: F

So there you have it.  The season review for the forwards.

Up Next: Defense and Goaltending

Also, keep it tuned here tonight for the premiere of Wild Nation, Hockey Primetime’s official Minnesota Wild radio show!

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