Gameday Thread – Game 2 – Ducks @ Wild

Just three seasons ago, the Minnesota Wild were unceremoniously bounced from the playoffs by the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the rough and tumble Anaheim Ducks. 

Just three seasons later, both teams are attempting to rebound from what could be considered disappointing seasons and opening day losses. 

The Ducks saw themselves booed by their hometown crowd in the first period of their tilt against the San Jose Sharks, while the Wild put up a valiant effort against a strong Columbus Blue Jackets team, only to come up short.

Lineups
The lineup looks to be much the same for the Wild as it was against Columbus.  While Benoit Pouliot has been given the green light, I think that Richards keeps Scott in the line up against a Ducks team that likes to throw their weight around. 

Brunette-Koivu-Havlat
Nolan-Bouchard-Sykora
Clutterbuck-Sheppard-Miettinen
Scott-Belanger-Brodziak

Burns-Zidlicky
Schultz-Johnsson
Zanon-Hnidy

Backstrom
Harding 

As far as the Ducks are concerned, I’m trying to track down what their lineup might be, but have been unsuccessful as of yet.  I’ll post an update as soon as I know, but I do know that Petteri Nokelainen is day-to-day with an abdominal injury and likely won’t go tonight. 

For the Wild, Derek Boogaard is still out indefinitely with a concussion. 

What to Watch For
There are a few big storylines coming into this one. 

First, these two teams just flat out don’t like each other.  It started in the playoffs three years back and has continued to grow from there.  From pre-game skirmishes to mid-game scraps, one thing is for sure.  When these two teams get together, it’s going to get physical and it’s going to get physical quick. 

I’d list a fight card for this, but honestly it’s a crapshoot.  This rivalry has seen the likes of Derek Boogaard and Todd Fedoruk square off, but at the same time has seen Nick Schultz and Ryan Getzlaf drop the mitts. 

But, if I had to put money on it, I’d say John Scott and George Parros would be a good bet. 

Next, watch for Pierre-Marc Bouchard to have a short, short leash.  He got benched late in the game on Saturday and saw just four shifts in the final period.  Head Coach Todd Richards said that he is looking for Bouchard to be more aggressive at the center position; something that Bouchard has not excelled at in his career.  

Playing with veteran goal scorers Owen Nolan and Petr Sykora on his wings, Bouchard is in a perfect position for the breakout season that everyone has been looking for from him, but he needs to prove himself capable. 

Finally, you’ve got to wonder how long it will take Richards to resume the experiment of getting Pouliot to actually play hockey.  Richards put Pouliot between Havlat and Sykora during the preseason and it paid immediate dividends.  The Wild had their fair share of offensive woes against Columbus, only filling the net once, and Richards will be under the gun to get the team producing more offense. 

Keys to the Game
The physical play will be a big part of this game.

Both teams are capable of getting down and dirty and really grinding it out and both teams have some heavy hitters on them.  This game is going to be won by the team that wins the physical battles.  This means that the Wild will need to not only match the Ducks’ physicality, but also remain disciplined.  When the game gets physical, it is all too easy to start a parade to the penalty box.  If the Wild can play physical, but remain disciplined, the parade could be towards the opposing penalty box.

Just like in Zombieland, one of the keys to winning in the NHL is to enjoy the little things. 

The Wild need to do just this. 

They need to win the battles that involve the “little things” that can lead to victory.  Winning faceoffs, forechecking, and Richards’ personal favorite buzzword, competing.  If the Wild can win the little battles, it will go a long way towards winning the game.

Opening Day Eve — What’s Under the Tree?

It’s Opening Night Eve for the Wild, and it’s looking a lot like Christmas Eve.  We’ve got the presents sitting underneath the tree, wrapped up beautifully with a bow on the top, and we’re left spending all day anticipating what they’re going to turn into. 

I’m going to be brutally honest here.  I’m a Minnesota sports fan.  I’m bitterly used to disappointment. 

But this season, for whatever reason, I’m cautiously optimistic.

For whatever reason, I’m cautiously optimistic that the small box sitting to the side of the tree might be keys to a new car as opposed to a set of cuff links.  I’m cautiously optimistic that the shirt-sized box might just be a couple new video games as opposed to a dress shirt. 

There is a lot of cause for both optimism and trepidation this season with the Wild.  The team’s average age is roughly 28 years old.  Consider, though, that they have gray beards Andrew Brunette and Owen Nolan on the roster, and you start to see the picture.  We have an exceedingly young team.  Seven of our players are 25 or younger and all of those seven players will play a large role as to whether or not our team succeeds.  

That said, here are some of my predictions for the Wild this season. 

Breakout Player: James Sheppard.  Shep is finally in a role where he will get to play the type of game he’s comfortable with.  He has no more excuses and he has had a very impressive pre-season.  Playing on a line with Antti Miettinen and Cal Clutterbuck, they have found a little chemistry and Sheppard finally looks like he’s comfortable in his role with the team.  He is definitely capable of putting up big numbers, but I would say that anything less than a 20-goal, 50-point season would be considered a disappointment for this youngster this season. 

Biggest Surprise: Benoit Pouliot.  A few weeks back, I posted an article ragging on Benny Poo, saying that it was time for the team to cut bait.  I’ve reconsidered my stance since then, and I think that Pouliot could thrive for us under the right circumstances.  He still takes shifts off every once in a while and he still has a lot that he needs to work on and to learn to be an effective, every day player in this league, but the flashes he has shown this pre-season have been far bigger flashes than in previous years.  He could be poised to try to make an impact on the team, especially knowing that it is likely do-or-die time for him. 

Best Addition(s): Greg Zanon and Shane Hnidy.  I know what you’re thinking.  “But Blake, what about Martin Havlat?  What about Petr Sykora?”  Don’t get me wrong.  Havlat and Sykora are going to do great things with this team this season.  They’re huge additions and they’re going to help us in many different ways.  But Zanon and Hnidy give us a blueline that is distinctly different than it was last season.  Last season, our blueline was a point machine.  Behind Marek Zidlicky and Marc-Andre Bergeron, our blueline could put up points like nothing else.  But our defensemen lacked grit and in a big way.  Adding Zanon and Hnidy, along with keeping Scott and Sifers on the roster, should give us some much needed grit on our blueline and help protect Niklas Backstrom a bit more. 

Key to Success: Staying healthy.  This may sound like a no-brainer, but the injury bug has hit Minnesota hard over the last few years.  This pre season was no different.  This is definitely a team that can make some noise if they stay healthy.  If they don’t, however, we could be looking at a frustrating season much like last year.  A healthy Martin Havlat and Petry Sykora should easily replace the void (or lack thereof) left by Marian Gaborik’s departure.  Our full line up is certainly capable of beating any team in the league — it’s just a matter of staying healthy now. 

Mike Russo of the Star-Tribune has predicted that the Wild will miss the playoffs this season, finishing much as they did last season, and it’s hard to fault him on that.  The top five spots in the West are fairly easy to predict — it’s the bottom three in the playoff picture that will cause problems.  Anyone in the bottom of the conference (yes, even Phoenix) is capable of making a push for the playoffs.  I’m not going to waver with my prediction that the Wild will make the playoffs this season and, while I think that the Northwest will be a close division again, I think that the Wild are going to be firmly entrenched in second in our division. 

But it’s almost time to drop the puck on this season for the Wild.  Christmas Day for Wild fans is almost here!

Fringe: Wild Nation Style

Camp is winding down and, as such, the roster is starting to take shape. 

The team has just made seven cuts today, sending 2008 first round pick Tyler Cuma back to his junior team, the Ottawa 67s, and reassigning Anton Khudobin, Wade Dubielewicz, Justin Falk, Petr Kalus, Jon Disalvatore and Duncan Milroy to Houston. 

With that announcement, we’re closer to having our opening day roster.  So we’re going to take a look at the roster as it stands now. 

First, the locks: 

Center
Mikko Koivu
James Sheppard
Eric Belanger
Kyle Brodziak 

Wing
Martin Havlat
Petr Sykora
Owen Nolan
Antti Miettinen
Andrew Brunette
Cal Clutterbuck
Pierre-Marc Bouchard
Derek Boogaard 

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

Goalie
Niklas Backstrom
Josh Harding 

No big surprises there, right?  We pretty much knew, as of the Sykora signing, that the 20 regulars were set.  The big question, though, is going to be who the three players sitting in the press box will be.

This is…The Fringe Division. 

Colton Gillies - Gillies has impressed in spurts this pre-season, but it is clear that he is still a very raw talent.  He’s going to be one hell of a player for the Wild, but the team has quite the conundrum with young Colton.  Do they let him develop at the NHL level, where he’ll get third line minutes at best, or do they send him to Houston, where he’ll immediately be the leader of the Houston Aeros on and off the ice. 

Danny Irmen - Irmen is one of the fringe player that I think makes the squad.  First, his contract isn’t hefty so it allows the team some wiggle room.  Second, he has done absolutely everything the team has asked of him, to the T, this pre-season.  He is 100% pure energy and has spent the last few years developing in Houston.  It’s make or break time for the young buck and I think it’s time he makes it. 

Benoit Pouliot – I think you’ll see Benny Poo rounding out the Wild line up.  While he still has areas to improve in, it appears as if he was a bit mismanaged by the Wild last season, as he has shown some pretty good flashes getting first and second line minutes.  He’s a work in progress, but this season is a work in progress.  In the right situation, I think that he is capable of elevating his game and will get a chance to do so. 

John Scott - Yesterday, I wrote a little blurb about how Scott hasn’t really done himself any favors in making the squad this pre-season.  After I spoke to a friend about the way he played against Chicago, I am going to have to respectfully withdraw my previous comments.  He said Scott’s skating was much improved over last season and went even further to say that he looked pretty quick to the puck as well.  He also said that his shot looked much better and that, of the six shots he took from the point, all were through screens and five found the net before anything else. 

Jaime Sifers – Sifers could be the wild card for Minnesota.  He’s impressed this pre-season and was impressive in his limited call up with Toronto last season.  Sifers is a solid player and could be beneficial to the Wild in a seventh or eighth defenseman role.  The biggest thing that Sifers can bring to the table is his grit, but his lack of size may keep him off the roster for the time being. 

Marco Scandella - A long shot, at best, Scandella has been turning heads at camp this season.  He’s got a great first pass out of the zone and is slowly but surely getting better at making decisions on the fly and at his defensive zone play.  Scandella is a few years off still, but he’s steadily getting better.

Wild Quick Hits for your Morning

I apologize for the lack of a gameday thread and a game recap for the Chicago game.  Quite honestly, it’s my daughter’s birthday today and it’s been a very hectic weekend. 

I didn’t even know there was a game until one of my buddies texted me a picture of the ticket, then one of the empty seat that would have been mine. 

Jerk.

Anyway…Here are some quick hits for your Wild morning! 

• Have I professed my undying love for Martin Havlat yet?  Two goals in his first game in a Wild sweater and one goal that I heard from numerous people that it was the single best goal they have ever seen.  Havlat will be playing first line minutes for the first time in his career and will be playing with a top-flight playmaker for the first time in his career.  Yeah.  He’ll have a good season.
• How can a player have a goal and an assist in three games and still be said to not be “engaged” in the game?  I’m not sure.  Maybe someone should ask Benoit Pouliot.  Can you imagine what he’d do if he was engaged?
• There’s starting to be a log jam at the number 7 defensive spot.  Scott, Sifers and Cuma.  Let’s just put it this way.  Cuma’s going to have to do something very, very special to stay with the squad this season.  You can’t tell me that getting seventh defenseman minutes in the NHL is better for a player’s development than getting first pairing minutes in juniors.  That leaves Sifers and Scott.  While I have a soft spot for Mr. Scott, I just don’t foresee him making the squad unless Fletcher deems they need extra toughness on the blueline.  Richards’ new system puts a premium on being able to skate well and that is one thing that Scott really has a hard time with.
• Koivu and Bruno both have lower body injuries.  Richards maintains that neither is serious.  Hopefully they didn’t contract Marian-itis at the end of last season…
• Backstrom has yet to let in a goal this pre-season.  Yeah…I know…It’s just the pre-season.  But is there anyone who is thinking that his stats MIGHT not have been because of the system and he just MIGHT be this good? 

That’s all for now.  But look for a new fantasy blog or two coming.  I believe my Bourne’s Blog league drafted on Saturday and my Beaver League drafts on Tuesday.

Game Recap: Wild Fall to St. Louis 3-1

Despite outshooting the St. Louis Blues by a margin of 34-21 the Minnesota Wild were unable to skate away with a victory on Tuesday night, falling by a score of 3-1.

The Wild, skating just nine skaters with any significant NHL experience, were outmatched by the Blues for most of the night despite the shots margin.

The Blues made the most of their scoring opportunities, however, with Paul Kariya and Chris Porter notching goals 29 seconds apart to lead them to victory.

“We didn’t have the players that they had, the experience that they had in certain positions, but we competed,” Coach Todd Richards told reporters after the game.  “I’m real proud of that.”

Richards also admitted that it was an exhibition game for the coaches as well, needing to work off a little rust behind the bench.  He had high praise for veteran defensemen Greg Zanon and Shane Hnidy, as well as the game of Wild holdover John Scott.

He had some pointed words for Benoit Pouliot, however.

“Pouliot has flashes that really excite you as a coach and there’s still some things that we need to fix to make him better.”

The difference, however, seems to be that Richards is willing to work with Pouliot to fix those deficiencies in his game, while former coach Jacques Lemaire was not.

In all, the game went much as it was expected to go, with the Wild only having a handful of players with any experience at the NHL level at all.  The players that are expected to be regulars did show some flashes, however, as Kyle Brodziak won 13 of 16 draws (an area in which the Wild desperately need help) and had six shots.

The Wild’s next game is this Friday, at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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 Depth Chart and Other Randomness

Depth Chart
Earlier today, Mike Russo of the Star-Tribune posted what will be the Wild’s depth chart if it starts the season with the way the roster is now:

Goalie
Niklas Backstrom
Josh Harding
Barry Brust
Anton Khudobin

LD-RD
Kim Johnsson-Brent Burns
Nick Schultz-Marek Zidlicky
Greg Zanon-Shane Hnidy
John Scott-Jaime Sifers
Tyler Cuma-Justin Falk
Clayton Stoner-Jamie Fraser
Marco Scandella-Maxim Noreau

LW-C-RW
Andrew Brunette-Mikko Koivu-Martin Havlat
Owen Nolan-James Sheppard-Pierre-Marc Bouchard (RW until training camp)
Antti Miettinen-Eric Belanger-Cal Clutterbuck
Colton Gillies-Kyle Brodziak-Derek Boogaard
Petr Kalus-Benoit Pouliot-Craig Weller
Robbie Earl-Morten Madsen-Danny Irmen
Matt Kassian-Cody Almond-Carson McMillan

First of all, if you haven’t checked out Mike Russo’s blog and you’re a Wild fan, shame on you.  It’s one of the best resources for all things Wild out there.  Click here to go there.  Bookmark it, scour it daily and above all thank him for his amazing coverage of the Wild!

Anyway, off my soapbox for the moment.

Looking at this depth chart, the thing that immediately jumps out at me is not the center position.  A lot has been made of our depth (or lack thereof) down the middle.  In looking at the team, however, we’ve got five potential pivots on our roster, and that’s not including Colton Gillies, Owen Nolan or Benoit Pouliot.  Throw those two into the mix and we could have as many as eight players on the opening day that could be capable of anchoring a line in the middle.

The thing that really jumps out at me is our lack of depth at left wing.  After Nolan, Andrew Brunette and Antti Miettinen, the talent level really drops off.  This isn’t a knock on Gillies; however, we have a serious lack of skill and depth on the left side and, honestly, on the wing in general.

To no one’s surprise, I’m sure, is our talent on defense and in nets.  Our top-six defensemen could be the best top-six that the team has had.  The additions of Zanon and Hnidy give the team two reliable, physical anchors on the blueline and will force opposing teams to keep their heads up.  Meanwhile, expect Scott and Sifers to compete for the seventh spot in camp, most likely with Scott winning the battle.  That’s not to say, however, that our youth could not come in and surprise.  With Cuma, Falk, Stoner and Scandella in the wings, there is a good chance that Scott and Sifers may not be foregone conclusions at the 7 and 8 slot.  It will take a lot for any of these four to make the squad, however.  Of the four, Stoner probably has the best shot as this could be his make it or break it year, but make no mistake — the Wild’s top 7 are pretty much set.

Olvecky Signs in Nashville
Joel Ward, Ryan Jones and now Olvecky?  Those Tennessee boys sure do like Wild prospects.

In all honesty, I think that Olvecky has a fantastic chance to make the Nashville squad next season right out of camp.  Olvecky is a big body with a lot of untapped talent to boot, and he performed admirably for the Wild in a limited role with the team in the handful of games he played for us last season.

He really started to come into his own last season and seems like he could be the type of player that Barry Trotz will really love.  For $600K and a two-way contract, I’d take Olvecky any day of the week.  A good depth pick up by the Preds.

Qualifying Offers Signed
The Wild had a few players of their own signed as well.

Restricted free agents Benoit Pouliot, Clayton Stoner, Danny Irmen and Robbie Earl all signed their qualifying offers and it seems as if the lot of them (with the exception of Pouliot) could see another year playing in the minors.  Earl and Irmen both have too many players in front of them to have a shot at making the squad (that is, barring a spectacular camp from either) and Stoner will have to do some serious damage in camp to work his way up the depth chart.

Injuries do happen, though, and we could very easily see one of them get a cup of coffee in the NHL and do what Cal Clutterbuck did last season and not let go.

In addition, Russo reports that the Wild could be close to signing Duncan Milroy and Joe DiSalvatore to plug some holes in their minor league system.

Fletcher Working Trade Market
There are a lot of people who are getting scared by the Wild’s seeming lack of movement this off season.

Those fans are the Chicken Littles of the fanbase.

While there are some quality players out there, there really aren’t any players that would meet any immediate needs for us.  I mentioned Mats Sundin, Robert Lang and Mike Comrie previously, but Sundin likely doesn’t have much more tread on his tires, Lang is rumored (or already has) to jump ship to the KHL and Comrie, well, let’s just say I don’t want to sign a player for his girlfriend.  In addition to those players, there are players such as Alex Tanguay and Petr Sykora left over.  Undoubtedly, these players could make an impact on the Wild roster, but would they really fit?

In the case of Tanguay, he’s a tremendous talent, but he’s also been pigeonholed as a playmaker — of which, the Wild have many.  Sykora would be a cheap, effective sniper, but do the Wild want to sink the money it would take to get him on an aging player?

Bottom line is that the best route for the team to improve, at this point, is the route that Fletcher is taking — trades.

There are many top flight forwards that have been presumed available via trade.  Phil Kessel of the Boston Bruins, Dany Heatley of the Ottawa Senators, Jonathan Cheechoo of the San Jose Sharks, even Chicago’s Patrick Sharp, Dustin Byfuglien and Patrick Kane have always been rumored to be available.

To be honest, the names remaining in free agency don’t even hold a candle to a lot of these names.  I’d much rather have a Kessel, Heatley, Sharp or Kane over any of those available — regardless of the assets we have to give up for them.

The bottom line is that the Wild are far from done, in my opinion.  But Fletcher has said all along that he’s not afraid to go late into the summer with a less than full roster to give himself the flexibility that he needs to get the players it takes to make this a winning team.

So…

Fear not Chicken Little.  The sky is not falling.  With a little patience, we could have a playoff team yet.

Wild Sign Zanon

So I’ve returned, after a very long hiatus.  Believe me when I say, it was a much needed one too.  Nothing like a little distance to clear your mind, but there’s no time for waxing poetic…It’s free agent time!

The Wild kicked off their free agency day with a whisper, rather than a bang.

They have shown a propensity over the last couple weeks to bring in players that are familiar with new coach Todd Richards (who I am very optimistic about, by the way) and this is no different.

The Wild used their first signing of the day, bringing in defenseman Greg Zanon, previously of Nashville.  Zanon, 29, is a defensive defenseman through and through.  Zanon played all 82 games for Nashville last season and had 237 blocked shots and 153 hits.  In other words, he’ll be manning the fifth/sixth defensive slot and spending a lot of time on the penalty kill for Minnesota.

I like this signing for the simple reason that I like the way that Zanon plays the game.  He is definitely not a signing that we would have seen in the Risebrough/Lemaire era, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Zanon is a rough and tumble d-man, of which we already have John Scott, but Zanon also is a much better skater than Scott.

Like any signing, time will tell how good this really is, but right now I think it’s an optimistic first signing for the Chuck Fletcher-era team.

Season in Review: Defensemen and Goaltenders

A few days prior, I outlined the season in review for the Wild’s forwards.

Now, it’s time for the back end of the team.  Defense and goaltending.  By all accounts, this was a Wild team whose defense had to be bailed out by their goaltender far, far too often.  But this was also the first time that the Wild had multiple defensemen capable of putting points up on the board, so here we go with the review.

Marek Zidlicky – 3 – D | 76 GP, 12 – 30 – 42, -12: There are a couple things that are telling about Zidlicky’s first season in Minnesota.  First, the man is a powerplay machine.  Ten of his twelve goals game with the man advantage and, for the first time, gave the Wild a real, genuine threat with his shot from the point.  The second, however, is that Zidlicky is also not known for his defense.  He showed flashes of what he could do in the defensive end, but he is primarily known and kept for his abilities moving the puck and in the offensive zone.  Zidlicky’s lack of size and his propensity to turnovers aggrivated Wild fans to no end, but there’s no denying the fact that he provided the Wild with a fantastic threat from the point.  Grade: B

Marc-Andre Bergeron – 47 – D | 73 GP, 14 – 18 – 32, +5: When I look at Bergeron’s season, there’s one thing that pops to mind that really sums it all up.  He was a plus?!?  Look, Bergeron has a lot of skills that can be/are useful to an NHL team.  It’s just that his defensive prowess is certainly not chief among them.  While a force on the powerplay, Bergeron’s play in his own zone was inconsistent at best.  He was often the victim of poor decision making and mistakes with the puck that caused the coaching staff and the fans to get a bit more grey hair on their heads.  Overall, though, his offensive skill was something that we definitely needed from the blueline and he was one of the big reasons why our powerplay was as good as it was this season.  Grade: B-

Brent Burns – 8 – D | 59 GP, 8 – 19 – 27, -7: It’s very hard to categorize Burns’s season, especially due to the fact that he was bounced around so much and because of the most recent news that he played his last six weeks of the season with a concussion.  That said, Burns regressed a bit this season and the Wild management is largely the reason why.  Everyone came into the season expecting a Mike Green-esque outburst from the young defenseman, but the flip flopping between forward and defense early in the season led to what could be called a mediocre season at best for the youngster.  Grade: C

Kim Johnsson – 5 – D | 81 GP, 2 – 22 – 24, -3: Johnsson has his share of detractors in Minnesota, largely due to his contract and lack of offensive production.  But looking at the current landscape for defensemen, his contract is not so outrageous in comparison to what other defensive defensemen are making; especially considering the fact that Johnsson has the ability to skate his way out of trouble and can provide some solid puck movement.  Johnsson played in all situations for the Wild and was oftentimes matched up against teams’ top lines which makes his season all the more impressive.  Grade: B+

Martin Skoula – 41 – D | 81 GP, 4 – 12 – 16, -12: Let’s just get the shocker out of the way right now.  Martin Skoula was the Wild’s most dependable and most consistend defenseman all year.  I know, I know what you’re thinking.  “Human Sacrifice, dogs and cats living together…Mass hysteria!”  (Author’s Note: A shiny penny for anyone who can name that movie.)  Anyway, the bottom line is that Skoula had a very un-Skoula-like season on defense.  He did not make the catastrophic mistakes that he had previously been known for and he made sound decisions with the puck and actually used his size.  Grade: A-

Nick Schultz – 55 – D | 79 GP, 2 – 9 – 11, -4: Let’s get one thing out of the way here first.  Nick Schultz will never be known for his offensive output.  He’s never going to be a powerplay specialist.  But what he does do is play against teams’ top lines night in and night out and shut them down more often than not.  He’s not flashy, but he rarely makes mistakes and has become a staple on the Wild’s blueline.  One area where I think he could excel a bit more, however, is his physical play.  He’s not a small guy by any means, but he relies predominantly on his positioning to take players out of the play.  While this is extremely effective, the Wild’s blueline has been severely lacking in its physicality in recent seasons.  Schultz is one of those players that I would love to see step up that part of his game.  Grade: B

Kurtis Foster – 26 – D | 10 GP, 1 – 5 – 6, +7: Okay.  I’m going to be honest here.  I was going to give Foster a “passing” grade, simply because he was out for the vast majority of the season and came back from a pretty harrowing injury.  But that was before I actually looked at his stats.  6 points and plus-7 in 10 games is pretty darn impressive, let alone for someone returning from a serious injury.  Let’s clear one thing up right away.  Foster is never going to be a top-pairing, or even second-pairing defenseman.  Quite simply, he’s a solid d-man who can play 15-17 minutes a night and contribute offensively.  But that stat line at least gives him a little bump in his grade.  Grade: B-

John Scott – 36 – D | 20 GP, 0 – 1 – 1, -1: Scott was recently rewarded for his solid play for the team with a one-year contract and, quite honestly, he deserved it.  He came in and provided a physical presence on our blueline that we have never had and played quite admirably for us.  His skating needs to improve for next season if he’s going to have a shot of playing any sort of regular minutes and he may be looked at to be Boogaard-Lite for us next season.  Grade: C

Niklas Backstrom – 32 – G | 71 GP, 37-24-8, 2.33 GAA, .923 Sv %: Quite simply, on most nights Backstrom was the reason that we either a) won the game or b) were in the game.  He was spectacular this season and played his way into a handsome contract extension.  He also proved that he was one of the elite goalies in the league and should likely be in the running for the Vezina trophy.  There’s not much more that you can say about his season apart from this, as he was the reason we were as close to the playoffs as we were.  Grade: A

Josh Harding – 29 – G | 19 GP, 3-9-1, 2.21 GAA, .929 Sv %: You’ve got to feel for Harding.  On any other team he’d likely be starting by now, but he just happens to be stuck behind Backstrom.  Harding performed marvelously as the back up to Backstrom, though his wins and losses don’t necessarily reflect it.  He is still growing in his game, but looks as if he could easily step up and be a starting goaltender if need be.  Grade: B

So there you have it.  The season grades for the defense and goaltenders.  Check back here as I will have a season recap and my thoughts on this season in coming days!

Wild Re-Signs John Scott

Per Russo,

The Wild has re-signed one of its unrestricted free agents.

In his first move as the acting general manager, Tom Lynn — who negotiated every contract anyway in his previous role as assistant GM — signed defenseman John Scott to a one-year, $550,000 contract.

The 6-foot-8 Scott had one assist in 20 games this season, providing a physical presence on a non-physical blue line.

The Wild’s other notable unsigned unrestricted free agents are Marian Gaborik, Martin Skoula, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Kurtis Foster and Stephane Veilleux.

A few days ago, this signing would have meant that the Wild have made a decision on one of their 5th or 6th d-men.  Today, I’m not so sure.  Assistant GM Tom Lynn has made this signing and it has been confirmed by Russo that this is a one-way contract.  One thing that we do know is that Lynn might be on his way out in Minnesota and the team’s new GM may have a different opinion ofScott’s abilities.  One thing is for sure, though.  Scott is a physical presence on the team’s blueline; something that they desperately need.

Now don’t get me wrong; I love the big guy.  He brought something to our team that we have never had before and he actually made forwards skate through the neutral zone with their heads up.  Keeping that in mind, however, Scott is not the world’s greatest skater nor is he very fleet of foot.  All of this adds up to the fact that he might be the odd man out if the team begins playing a more up tempo style of hockey.  Although he’s never going to be more than a third-pairing defenseman,  Ithink that Scott can contribute a lot to this team in the way of a physical presence and I think that he could find himself logging regular minutes next season in the right system.

With this signing in mind, here is our current line up without any of our free agents:

Brunette/Koivu/Miettinen
Nolan/Belanger/Bouchard
Vacant/Sheppard/Clutterbuck
Boogaard/Gillies/Weller

Johnsson/Schultz
Burns/Zidlicky
Scott/Vacant

Backstrom
Vacant

I will continue to provide updated rosters as the Wild sign and trade players.

« Previous Page — Next Page »