Wild Down Blues 3-1
Like I said yesterday, can you imagine if these two teams got together in a playoff series?
Three fights, including one bloody one where Clayton Stoner established himself as one tough hombre, taking down the infamous David Backes at the end of the game, a butt load of hits and some pretty nice goals to boot were the story in this one as the Wild skated away with a 3-1 victory, looking very, very impressive in the process.
Minnesota has won nine of their last 11 games, 13 games since Jan. 2 and has outscored their opponents 34-18 during that time. If you’re not starting to get at least a little excited about the way this team is playing lately, you don’t have a pulse.
Tonight, Minnesota came out and dominated the game in every facet with the exception of maybe five or six minutes in the second period, and even then they weathered the storm quite well.
Cal Clutterbuck opened up the scoring in the first period with a change up that snuck through Jaroslav Halak’s five hole just as the Wild’s power play was expiring. Next up was Antti Miettinen in the second, flipping the puck past Halak on the power play off of a beautiful pass from Andrew Brunette. Next was Brodziak on a four-on-four that was the last shot that Halak faced on the night. Finally, Patrik Berglund scored a beautiful goal on the power play for the Blues to round out the scoring.
The Wild truly were dominant in this one and, in a playoff atmosphere, they were something to behold. With Vancouver coming up on Tuesday, they’ve got a great deal of momentum and look like they’ve finally figured this out.
Here are some of my thoughts from tonight’s game:
- Cal Clutterbuck had probably one of his best games of the year. He threw his body around (as always) and was a force in every zone and he continues to grow offensively. His hits were the most impressive thing about his game, however. He threw his body around tonight like I haven’t seen from him in a long time. It left even T.J. Oshie impressed after an especially thunderous hit in the corner that even left Oshie commenting on how much the hit hurt on the bench, if you could read his lips that is.
- Clayton Stoner and Greg Zanon continue to be one of the better defensive pairings the Wild has had in quite some time. The two compliment each other surprisingly well and Zanon’s experience has really started to rub off on young Mr. Stoner. Stoner was physical, he was smart with the puck and he even made some plays offensively as well. If he keeps going this way, he and Jared Spurgeon are going to make Fletcher make some hard decisions here over the next few months.
- Koivu was probably about as dominant as he could be without scoring a single point. He controlled the puck and forechecked like a mad man and, again, was physical. There’s a reason this guy is the captain of the team and games like this just prove it even more.
- If the Wild make the post season, it’s going to be on Niklas Backstrom’s back. Regardless of how good this team is playing, Backstrom is the end-all be-all in terms of whether or not they win and he’s on one of the more dominating stretches I’ve ever seen him be on, let alone a Wild goalie. Since returning from injury, Backs has given up just ten goals in his last seven games, including two shutouts. He’s got to be the man if the Wild want the make the playoffs and he was just that again tonight.
Minnesota Downs St. Louis in Shootout
I just can’t help it. I just can’t help shaking this feeling that we’re witness to something special right now.
Tonight, the Wild won yet another game that they really had no place winning. They never had a lead, up until the fourth round of the shootout, but they just didn’t give up – something that is a trait the team is going to need going forward.
Where to start with this one. Other than Jose Theodore not looking his best (especially in the shootout – I’ve got some opinions on that one, but they’re a bit too strong to share on this forum), the Wild looked good once again. Once again, Martin Havlat looked good. Brent Burns was solid, Brodziak is looking better and better (I can’t imagine what he’s going to look like when he gets someone on his line that can actually bury the puck) and Andrew Brunette continues to look like he could be the team MVP. Oh yeah, and Cal Clutterbuck continues to score.
Here are some of my thoughts on the game:
- Pierre-Marc Bouchard keeps looking better and better. He didn’t make it on the score sheet tonight, but he’s looking more comfortable out on the ice with and without the puck. It might not be this season, but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that next season he’s going to take off.
- Brodziak has three points in his last four games. Seriously, can you imagine what he would be doing if he had players on his line that could score? Don’t give me any answers about Havlat leading the team in goals either. If Guillaume Latendresse can come back with anywhere close to the form he showed at the beginning of the season, the Wild might have a 1A and 1B situation with their top two lines.
- Jose Theodore continues to drive me absolutely insane between the pipes. There are times he looks really dialed in and there are times when he looks absolutely listless and these times can come within ten seconds of one another. I understand that Richards thinks that the Wild need two goalies playing in order to succeed and, in some regards, that’s correct. But the Wild won’t be able to go far at all if they have to keep playing games like this, which is why they need to roll with Backstrom as much as possible.
- I loved the Wild’s tenacity tonight. Four times they fell behind tonight and all but the final time they tied the game back up in less than six minutes. This isn’t the old Wild team that would fall behind and pack it in. This is a team that is confident in itself – confident enough that they re-double their efforts after falling behind.
- Tomorrow night’s game is just going to be flat out nasty. 29 hits to 26 in favor of Minnesota tonight and neither team is going to have the time to forget this tilt. I wouldn’t go so far as to predict 350 penalty minutes, but it could be an exciting one to watch.
That’s all for this one, but check back tomorrow for our thoughts on tomorrow night’s game.
Wild Stomp Flames; Backs Gets Shutout in Return
Well, as they say about the best laid plans, I had plans to have a nice write up about the game tonight…Buuuuuuuuuut…Yeah. We’ll just say that I just decided to give you my game notes instead. Enjoy and feel free to leave your comments on tonight’s game!
- Great effort by Brodziak on Havlat’s first period goal. No one but Havlat expected that puck to be coming to him and he just picked his spot and buried the puck past Kipper.
- How in the world was Brunette able to just camp in front of Kipper? There wasn’t a defenseman within a stick’s reach of him. You can’t have that, especially not short handed.
- Jared Spurgeon has been great in the last couple games. He’s making smart plays and he’s coming out of tough areas on the ice with the puck. He’s also got a great first pass out of the zone – something the Wild have sorely missed about not having Kim Johnsson in the line up.
- 200 games played for Cal Clutterbuck and 869 hits. Really? That’s absolutely ridiculous, especially for a player who isn’t the biggest player on the ice. It’s no wonder why he’s such a popular player.
- 471 straight games by Jay Bouwmeester. I wonder what Michael Peca would have to say about that?
- Unbelievably dangerous hit by Curtis Glencross on Clayton Stoner. Glencross got five for it and, honestly, Stoner’s lucky that he was able to turn his head to the side. Bush league hit by Glencross that, honestly, should be looked at by the league. You shouldn’t need any sort of reminder not to hit a player in the back in that sort of position.
- Maybe it’s a little cynical of me, but it isn’t really heartening that our second power-play unit has Kyle Brodziak and Cal Clutterbuck on it.
- The Wild had a five-minute power play that had a lot of pressure in the Calgary zone, but just couldn’t get anything going. That could easily be a shift in the momentum for the game.
- How much confidence does Richards have in Stoner and Zanon right now? They were matched up against Hall’s line in Edmonton and now they’re matched up against Iginla in Calgary. Great play by these two.
- Minnesota’s penalty kill looks good so far. We’re keeping players to the perimeter and, when we’re not able to, we’re clearing the puck away to the corner or down the ice.
- Cam Barker looks like he’s making the most of being inserted back into the line up. He’s not making stupid plays and his footwork is a lot better than it has looked in the past. He’s playing physical, he’s playing well positionally. Everything the Wild wanted from him.
- Great play by Jared Spurgeon to start the play that ultimately had Madden score. He won’t get an assist on that one, but his rush was what opened up the ice to give Madden the opening to score.
- It’s a nice luxury when you have two defensive pairings that you can count on to play big minutes against teams’ top lines. Both Stoner and Zanon and Schultz and Burns have been called on to play against the Flames’ top line and both pairings have done a great job of it.
- I don’t even know that Clutterbuck could believe that he scored his goal. He beat Kipper short side, over his blocker from the boards. So, yeah, it’s safe to say that he’s got a bit of an accurate shot.
- Flames pressuring in the third and the Wild look like they’re scrambling a bit. Half the period is over, but the Wild need to be careful not to sit back on their heels and watch their 4-0 lead.
- What an effort by Chuck Kobasew, diving backwards to slap the puck past Kipper as he sprawled to stop it. Yet another strong effort by a player on the Wild – something that’s really been emblematic of this team in this game.
- Havlat is just a master at stick handling in traffic. It’s absolutely ridiculous what he can do with the puck with players around, going over, under, through – everything he can to get the puck to the net.
- Great passing on Havlat’s second goal of the night. A beautiful tic-tac-toe play with a no-look pass from Cal Clutterbuck to Martin Havlat for Havlat’s 200th career goal and you’ve got to admire the way this line is meshing, especially in the absence of Havlat’s normal partner in crime, Guillaume Latendresse.
- There looks to be absolutely no pride by the Flames in this one. They just look like they’ve given up and packed it in after a pretty terrible performance by the team in the last half of the game.
- Great game by Niklas Backstrom, who gets a shutout in his first game back from injury. Absolutely terrific, doing exactly what Niklas Backstrom is expected to do – be a nice, stabilizing, calming factor in net.
- Havlat and Brodziak both had three point nights and that entire line looked great. It’s going to be hard to break them up when Latendresse gets healthy again.
- Minnesota has scored at least four in its last three games, out scoring their opponents 14-1 during that time. Not too shabby. There might be some hope for this team yet.
Gameday Thread: Game 43 – Wild @ Predators
Ask, and you shall receive. I’ve received e-mails asking for the Gameday Threads to return, so here you go – albeit in a slightly different format.
Instead of giving you the stats, line ups, etc, what I’ll be doing instead is giving you some “required reading” for the game and a little insight to boot.
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NHL.com Game Preview
Russo’s Pre-game Blog
PredsOnTheGlass’s Game Preview
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The Wild comes into tonight’s game after a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of the Dallas Stars that was, quite honestly, disappointing yet expected.
The Wild, on the short-end of a back-to-back stretch, looked flat and tired for most of the game; basically leaving this blogger to consider the game a throw-away game – one that would have been a huge momentum boost if they had won, but not one that should sap their confidence or their momentum having lost it.
The bad news is that the Wild come into tonight’s game facing a Nashville Predators team that has been very, very, good in their last five games (starting with their New Year’s Eve win over the Wild) and are facing a goalie that is averaging a goal-per-game in his last four starts. Not good news for a Wild team that struggles to score.
The good news, though, is that the Wild will be getting one of their best offensive threats back in Antti Miettinen after “Mittens” missed the last four games first with a charley horse, then with a stomach bug.
That means that Chuck Kobasew (who I think has been one of the Wild’s best players over the last handful of games) will be slotted down, likely onto Matt Cullen’s wing on the third line. This, in my opinion, is a huge bummer for Kobasew, who has been playing his best hockey in a Wild sweater. With four goals and five points in his last eight games, Kobasew looks like he’s started to find the touch that caused the Wild to trade for him last season and that confidence transferred over to the rest of his game.
But, such is life.
Miettinen is comfortable on Koivu’s right wing and Koivu is comfortable with Miettinen on his right wing, so that’s all she wrote.
The line to watch tonight, though, is going to be the trio of Martin Havlat, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Kyle Brodziak. Havlat, one of the more notable all star snubs in my opinion (I’ll get into that later tonight), has been one of, if not the best player on the team all season long and Bouchard has started to find his game after a nine-game stretch that saw him tally just two assists (he has a goal and three assists in his last six games). The line has been meshing very, very well, so it’s only a matter of time before they start to take off. But, I digress.
This game is as close to a must-win for the Wild as they could get right now. They’re just two points out of seventh and three out of fourth in the West and they’ve started to look like they’re getting it together on the ice. They played spectacular hockey against some great teams over the past few games and have won five of their last seven – they certainly have confidence and momentum. But this pivotal game could easily see them lose both if they come out flat and get behind.
With the way they’re playing right now, it’s not hard to picture the Wild playing in the playoffs this season – but, at the same time, it’s just as easy to picture inconsistency biting them in the rear end again. They have to find that consistency and stop losing streaks before they happen. If they can do that tonight, after a stinker of a game on Saturday, I’ll tell you this – they might be on to something.
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Congratulations to Brent Burns on his first career All Star Game selection. Check back later tonight for my thoughts on his selection, as well as the rest of the selections.
Wild Set Franchise Record; Down Edmonton
Don’t fret. If you didn’t catch last night’s game, it wasn’t any franchise record you’d like to see. The team took ten minor penalties last night, tying a record set back in the early years of the organization.
To take five penalties in a single game is considered to be a fairly bad game, but to take ten? Absolutely ridiculous.
Yet that’s exactly what the Wild did last night, facing off against the Edmonton Oilers.
Time and time and time again was the team’s parade to the penalty box; a lot of which were for penalties of the lazy kind.
Thank God for a strong first period, otherwise this game could have been looking much different by the end of the night.
Kyle Brodziak had two early goals and Guillaume Latendresse capped off the scoring to give the Wild a 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission and it was a lead that they would be glad to have by the time it was all said and done.
What was heartening, though, was the play of Niklas Backstrom in nets. Of the 36 shots that he saw, Backstrom had to face 27 of them in the final two periods as the Wild was drastically out played and out hustled by the hungry Oilers.
Backs stood on his head, though, and provided not only exactly what the Wild needed, but exactly what he needed as well – a win in Edmonton.
Random Thoughts
- I’ll be honest, I was surprised that the Wild held on to win last night. It was a very poor performance by the team, yet still they came out on top. These are the types of games that the Wild are going to need to gut out a win during on the road, and that’s exactly what they did. If they want to continue to have success on the road, though, they need to have a better effort than last night.
- The ice time in last night’s game tells the story of it all. 11 minutes for Andrew Brunette? 13 for Guillaume Latendresse? Both are players who don’t play on the penalty kill. The Wild took lazy and stupid penalties and, despite the disparity (yes, there could have been one or two more called on Edmonton) the Wild deserved every penalty they got. The worst part was that most of the penalties were due to the fact that the Wild just simply weren’t moving their feet. They were playing lazy and getting caught using their sticks more often than they should have.
- How good has Latendresse been in these last few games? Since being re-united with Martin Havlat and playing on the team’s second line, Latendresse has been one of the Wild’s best players, getting a goal and an assist in both last night’s game and Tuesday’s tilt against Vancouver. This is good news, indeed, for a Wild team that desperately needs him to be the same player that he was last season. So far, he seems to be returning to form quite nicely.
- Theo Peckham is quickly working his way up my sport-hate list. I’m sure that’s his role on the team, but I continue to be unimpressed with the way he plays the game. It’s much too close to Matt Cooke for me. He plays with a reckless edge that doesn’t show any respect for the players he plays against and, oftentimes, this leads to dangerous hits and situations on the ice. I’ll say this – at some point this season, we’ll be talking about Peckham in the same vain as Matt Cooke.
- Man, did Taylor Hall look good or what last night? I don’t know if it was hi demotion to the third line that lit a fire under him or what, but he came out like gangbusters. He only had two shots on goal last night, but he fired a total of 11 Backstrom’s way. Six that missed the net and three that were blocked.
- I’m guessing there was a reason why Ryan Jones, Zack Stortini and Colin Fraser didn’t see a whole lot of ice time last night. Fraser? Minus-two in 3:40 of ice time. Jones? Minus-two in 1:03. Stortini? Minus-two in 58 seconds. Something tells me that there’s going to be a special place in practice for these there today.
- Burnsie continues his resurgence this season with another two-point night. He now has five points in six games and three of these are goals. Granted, last night’s was an empty-netter, but it proved one thing to me – I wouldn’t dare play pool against the guy.
Wild and NHL Musings
Well, a lot has happened since last we met, so I figured I’d better just tackle the slew of it in one fell swoop. I’ll be looking at some NHL news too, but mostly Wild news.
Before we get into my Wild musings, let’s take a look at the big story to hit in the NHL today.
Arbitrator Voids Kovalchuk’s Contract
This is going to be a very contentious topic, methinks, so I’ll just dive headfirst into it.
Arbitrator Richard Bloch has ruled against the NHLPA’s grievance and upheld the NHL’s decision to reject Ilya Kovlachuk’s 17-year, $102 million contract with the New Jersey Devils.
One reason for the rejection that Bloch cited was Kovalchuk’s age at the end of the contract:
“Kovalchuk is 27 years old, and the agreement contemplates his playing until just short of his 44th birthday. … Currently, only one player in the league has played past 43 and, over the past 20 years only 6 of some 3400 players have played to 42.”
Bloch also stated that this could be grounds for rejection of such contracts as Roberto Luongo, Marc Savard and Chris Pronger. Also mentioned was the contract of Marian Hossa though, as Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy blog states, it seems unlikely that the league would target Hossa’s contract for rejection as he has already played a season under the new contract.
Now, I first need to say that I don’t believe that there is any precedent for this decision. The notion that Kovalchuk is any less likely to be playing the game at the age of 44 as Hossa is at the age of 42 is, in my mind, absurd.
Yes, only one player has played past the age of 43, but citing that Hossa is more likely to play until 42 because six out of 3,400 players have done so is ridiculous.
That being said, I think that the arbitrator made the absolute right decision in this case, siding with the NHL.
Yes, there was no precedent to do so but the NHL had to stand up and make a stand on this issue at some point. They didn’t have guts to do it with Hossa or Pronger or Luongo, but finally found it in themselves to do so and it’s long past time that they did.
Teams are going to continue to try and exploit this loophole in the CBA, but at least this gives the NHL some basis for when to say when on future contracts.
Madden Signs With Minnesota
Don’t worry. He’s not going to try to sell you any tough actin’ Tinactin. He won’t say Boom! (at least not all the time) and he won’t give you some overly complicated explanation about some overly simple football concept.
Congratulations! You are number one million to make that joke about John Madden!
Alright. All kidding aside, I love the signing of Madden. He’s a strong two-way player and the type of player that the Wild has been sorely missing since the retirement of Wes Walz.
Look. Madden’s not going to score 20 goals (he’s done so just twice in his 11 season career), nor is he going to star on our top two lines. What he will do, however, is give the Wild another reliable penalty killer, a checking-line forward capable of shutting down teams’ top lines and a leader on and off the ice.
What this also does is create competition at the center position.
Here is our depth chart at center, as it stands (and, to one Ryan Lambert of Puck Daddy and Two-Line Pass, this is off the top of my head and without looking at a roster). Those in bold and italics are the ones guaranteed a roster spot:
Mikko Koivu
Matt Cullen
John Madden
Kyle Brodziak
James Sheppard
Casey Wellman
Colton Gillies
So, what you can see here are seven centers for four full-time positions. It’s not out of the realm of reason that one of the four (most likely Brodziak) would be moved to the wing, so you essentially have three players vying for one position.
In my opinion, the player for the job is Colton Gillies.
Gillies is fleet of foot, he’s big, he’s physical and he has demonstrated a limited offensive upside. This would allow Wellman a year of development in the AHL and Sheppard one to get his confidence about him as well.
After the way Gillies performed in camp last season, I thought he would be a shoo-in for the big squad, but he instead struggled through a season in the AHL. It may be time for him to show what he can do.
What About Butch?
I had a friend ask me a question the other day about whether or not I thought Bouchard would play this season and, if he did, would he even be effective.
I thought it a good enough question to stick it into here.
First question, will Butch play this season?
My answer to that is most definitely yes.
It might not be at the beginning of the season, but he will play. He’s started exercising, he’s lifting weights and he’s feeling better, so whether it’s in October or in December, he will play this season.
The next part of the question, however, is the most important. Will he be effective?
My personal opinion is that he will.
One of the biggest hindrances in returning from a concussion is getting used to the contact once again. There’s trepidation when going into the corners, when going to the tough areas on the ice.
That’s also the biggest problem I’ve always had with Bouchard, as well.
He’s rarely gone into the corners and rarely gone into the tough areas on the ice. Bouchard is, primarily, a perimeter player. He is at his best when creating plays on the outside for players going to the net and a concussion shouldn’t change this.
This isn’t to say that Bouchard won’t have a readjustment period of some sort when he returns, but I think he will largely come back as the same player that he was before which is both a blessing and a curse for Wild fans.
The Minnesota Wild Season in Review Part 4 of 5: The Management
Well, we’re just about there. The NHL Draft.
On Friday, the front offices from all 30 NHL teams will be together in one place for two straight days, drafting and wheeling and dealing.
They’ll be looking for the best fits for their organizations and, suffice it to say, this is as good a time as any for us to talk about the coaching and front office of the Wild this season.
Granted, this season wasn’t the easiest for either the management or the fans. The management (namely Todd Richards and Chuck Fletcher) had to deal with players that weren’t necessarily the right fit for their system while the fans had to suffer through a team that wasn’t necessarily playing at the top of their game because of this.
That being said, I have some strong opinions about this, so let’s get started.
Head Coach
If you’ve read anything I’ve written over this past season, you know that I was very underwhelmed with the first NHL season of Todd Richards.
Richards came to the Wild with a winning pedigree and a reputation of being a “winner.” He hadn’t missed the playoffs in his career and he was sold to fans as a coach that would make the team competitive right away.
What ended up happening, though, is that Richards just couldn’t get through to the team.
While it was expected that Richards would push the team hard during training camp and that pushing would allow the team to pick up his new, up-tempo system quicker, it was very apparent that the team was not comfortable with this system, even heading into the Olympic break.
Now, whether this is an indictment of Richards’ ability to get through to the team or just a matter of the conditioning of Jacques Lemaire not wearing off as quickly as they had hoped is a matter that is up for debate. My personal opinion, however, is that it was the former.
Richards often looked lost on the bench, especially early on in the season. He didn’t look like a man who had control of his players early on—he looked like a man who was searching for answers and finding none.
Maybe it’s because I was used to the demeanor of Lemaire, who typically wore his emotions on his sleeve, behind the bench but Richards’ cool and calm demeanor oftentimes came off as aloofness and confusion rather than someone who knew what to expect from his team.
To Richards’ credit, the team suffered through a rash of injuries this season that was fairly spectacular (to the tune of 300+ man games lost to injury) and he had to work with what he had, but I never got the feeling that he was quite in control of the team the way that a coach should be.
That being said, as the season progressed, Richards seemed to control the bench much better and get much more comfortable both being vocal with his players on the bench as well as with the referees.
As the team progressed and got more comfortable with Richards and his system, Richards got more comfortable behind the bench and it showed.
The biggest moment that, in my opinion, defined the beginning of his season was the Petr Sykora debacle.
Sykora came to Minnesota on the hopes that he would provide both goal scoring and a player to mix with newly acquired Martin Havlat but, for whatever reason, Sykora never really got that chance.
Now, to be fair to Richards, I don’t know the behind the scenes goings on of the team. Sykora could have been dragging down the locker room with his attitude or he could have not been putting forth the effort—I just don’t know. But, from my view point, Sykora was never given an ample chance to succeed with the Wild and it ended up costing the team a player that could have been a valuable goal scorer.
In all, Richards season was a fair representation of the Wild’s—a maddeningly inconsistent one. He improved as the season went on, which gives me hope for his future with the team, but he certainly needed to be better this season for the Wild to both understand and execute his system to the fullest.
Grade: C+
General Manager
The opposite of Richards, if you’ve read anything I’ve written this season you’ll know my opinion of Fletcher.
In short, he did a marvelous job with not a whole lot of assets to work with.
It started at the 2009 Entry Draft, where he wheeled and dealed, picking up more picks and also center Kyle Brodziak, who would turn into one of the team’s most reliable checkers and players this season.
Fletcher has been derided by many Wild fans for some of his moves (trading down to pick Nick Leddy, giving up too much for Chuck Kobasew) and, to their credit, the moves are moves that could easily be classified as questionable. Overall, however, Fletcher did a fantastic job.
While I won’t look at all of his moves this season, let’s look at a few.
Alexander Fallstrom, Craig Weller and a 2nd Round Choice in the 2011 NHL Draft for Chuck Kobasew
This is one of the more questionable trades that Fletcher made this season and the biggest thing that stands out in this one was the inclusion of either the 2nd round pick or Fallstrom.
Many thought that the inclusion of one or the other would have been enough, but the Wild were not dealing from a position of strength and were desperate to find another NHL-level player.
It remains to be seen what Fallstrom will develop into, or who the draft pick will turn into, but for what the team needed at that point in time it was a calculated risk, though not one I necessarily agree with.
Benoit Pouliot for Guillaume Latendresse
This trade could easily be one of the best trades of the season for both squads.
Both Pouliot and Latendresse were supremely talented players that desperately needed a change of scenery. Both were being knocked for having the same downfalls and both went to their new teams for a fresh start.
While I won’t speak of what Pouliot brought to Montreal, I will say that Latendresse flourished under his fresh start to the tune of 25 goals in 55 games.
While Latendresse’s season with Minnesota was far from perfect, he turned into an instant fan favorite and became the hard-hitting power forward that Minnesota had always lacked.
In other words, this trade was a tremendous coup for Fletcher and the Wild.
Kim Johnsson and Nick Leddy for Cam Barker
This trade is one that many people were concerned about, especially given that Leddy was just selected in this past draft in the first round.
Many thought that the trade of Leddy stunk of hypocrisy because of the high value that Fletcher placed both on draft picks as well as developing from within their own system, but the reality of the situation is that you have to give in order to get.
While the Blackhawks were able to shed Barker’s salary by taking on the expiring contract of Johnsson, they weren’t willing to just give Barker up for just that.
The reality of this, however, is the same as with the Kobasew trade. Fletcher gave up a valuable asset, Leddy, who is at least two or three years away from being a potential contributor on the team for one who is ready now.
On top of that, Barker’s youth is something that will be extremely useful for the Wild. At 23, he still has his best years ahead of him. He’s big, he’s physical and he has offensive tools and, while he isn’t the best skater, that can be taught.
The bottom line is that Fletcher gave up a player who is still three years away from being an NHL player for one who can help the team immediately.
The bottom line for Fletcher here is that his first season as a General Manager was a bit of a mixed bag.
He made some good trades and signings and he made some that might not have panned out as he would have liked.
In the end, however, his season was one that should give Wild fans a lot of hope. Unlike his predecessor, he is not content to sit around and maintain the status quo. He is going to do whatever he has to do to try to improve the team and that in and of itself is a welcome change for those used to the mindset of Doug Risebrough.
Grade: A-
Up Next: A look to the future
Sheppard’s Inspired Performance Too Little to Late?
I remember quite clearly the message that was being sent to Minnesota Wild fans about James Sheppard following the 2006 Entry Draft.
“He’s going to be the next Joe Thornton.”
“He’s going to be a carbon copy of Ryan Getzlaf.”
“This kid’s going to be good.”
Now hindsight is always 20-20 (and if it’s not, you need to get your hindsight checked), but through 211 games in his NHL career, Sheppard has been none of these things. Call it a mismanagement of assets by Wild management, call it caving under the pressure, call it a bust—call it whatever you want. The fact is that Sheppard has not lived up to his billing.
Last night’s tilt against the Edmonton Oilers saw an inspired Sheppard. He forechecked with a purpose, he was stronger on the puck than I ever remember seeing him before and he created opportunities for he and his linemates and he was rewarded with the most time on the ice he’s seen since the game coming out of the Olympic break.
But with the signing of young Casey Wellman, might this be too little to late?
The truth is that, yes, Sheppard played a great game last night. He was aggressive, he was on the puck and he was physical. The problem is, the Wild’s other two centers (Kyle Brodziak and Andrew Ebbett) both played better.
Sheppard has been a healthy scratch for more than his fair share of games this season but, with no other options at center after the trade of Eric Belanger, he has been inserted into the lineup regularly as the team’s third or fourth line center (depending on the situation and his play).
He’s responded well, especially over the last handful of games, but has nothing to show for it. Not a single, solitary assist. Not even a plus rating. In fact, in the eight games since the trade deadline, he is a minus-two, with just five shots on goal.
For comparison’s sake, here are the stat lines of the three centers not named Mikko Koivu since the deadline:
James Sheppard: 0 G, 0 A, -2, 4 PIM, 5 SOG
Andrew Ebbett: 3 G, 2 A, E, 2 PIM, 18 SOG
Kyle Brodziak: 1 G, 1 A, E, 2 PIM, 11 SOG
Now, given the decision, which one would you scratch? Take your time. There’s no rush.
Did you say Sheppard?
I thought so.
Now, as hockey fans we all know that goals and assists aren’t always indicative of the quality of their play, which is why I included the shots-on-goal number. For a forward, especially a center, creating plays and creating scoring chances has a lot to do with getting shots on net. The more shots you can get towards the net, the more scoring chances your team is likely to have.
Even though Brodziak and Ebbett aren’t necessarily the biggest offensive powerhouses on the team, they’re getting shots on goal—they’re creating.
Sheppard, on the other hand, is not.
I’ll break it down further for you. Let’s look at their shift breakdown:
James Sheppard: 8 GP, 110 shifts, 10:12 TOI
Andrew Ebbett, 8 GP, 200 shifts, 18:10 TOI
Kyle Brodziak: 8 GP, 178 shifts, 15:05 TOI
Looking at the breakdown, Sheppard is averaging roughly 14 shifts per game, Ebbett is averaging 25 and Brodziak about 22. In otherwords, Sheppard’s average shift length is about 44 seconds, as is Ebbett’s and Brodziak’s average shift length is about 49 seconds.
To make it simpler, it boils down to this. Ebbett and Brodziak are averaging a shot once every 11 shifts and every 16 shifts respectively, while Sheppard is averaging a shot once every 22 shifts.
Now, this may not seem like a huge disparity, but when you’re averaging just 14 shifts per game, it’s not the best way to endear yourself to anyone involved when you’re supposed to be an offensive threat. It gets even worse when you take the average shift time into account. He’s averaging just one shot every 16:08 of playing time.
Now if he were getting 16 minutes of playing time per game, we might not say boo about it. But he’s not. He’s in a situation where he needs to earn his ice time and, quite frankly, he isn’t.
This long statistical diatribe is leading me to one conclusion and one conclusion only.
James Sheppard’s “inspired” effort last night was not enough to save his season and to save his job. He will get another chance, to be sure. The Wild are too thin at the forward position to think that his good game against Edmonton won’t be rewarded with another shot against Nashville, and he may make good on that reward and build on his performance.
But the bottom line is that Sheppard is a restricted free agent. In order to stay on the Wild, he will require a qualifying offer of ten percent more than he currently makes (roughly $935K).
He has had all season to prove that he is capable of being the player that the Wild needs him to be and, to me, a handful of games down the stretch with a player behind him breathing down his neck for a chance to do his job better is not worth a second chance at his current pay, let alone with a raise.
This is the exact reason why I believe that James Sheppard will not and should not be wearing a Minnesota Wild sweater when the Wild open up next fall in training camp.
Gameday Thread – Game 51 – Red Wings @ Wild
Well, here we are. The first game of a three-game homestand – possibly the most important homestand of the season…Or, at least, since the last one.
I’ve got a few housekeeping matters to talk about before I get to the preview…But I promise, its coming.
First off, thanks to everyone who sent mailbag questions in. It got a pretty good response for a first time and I swear the answers are forthcoming. I’m still working on the responses, but it will be up early next week for sure and my Early Off Season preview of the defensemen will be as well.
Now…On to the shameless plugging (then I swear, to the preview.)
Shameless Plug #1: Check out my article on what I think the Wild’s trade deadline strategy should be, leading up to March 3. It’s on Bleacher Report and I think you’ll like it, or at least appreciate the commentary.
Shameless Plug #2: As always, Hockey Primetime will be offering Trade Deadline coverage on the day of. We’ll be starting our coverage at about 8:30 am CST, and hope to have our regulars (J.P. Hoornstra, Sam P. Woo and Justin Bourne), as well as a guest or two. It will be on Hockey Primetime, but you will also be able to see feeds of it here and at Bourne’s Blog, most likely.
Shameless Plug #3: Finally, check out one of the new Friends of Wild Nation, Stadium Journey. Along with it being a website reviewing sports stadiums and their surrounding areas, it will feature my review of the Xcel Energy Center (SPOILER ALERT: I really like it) soon.
Alright. Now that we’ve got all that out of the way, it’s down to business.
I’ve got good news and bad news.
First, the good news. The Wild’s Great Eight will be hitting the ice tonight for the first time since Nov. 18.
That’s right folks. Burnsie is back.
Mike Russo reported that, in his first practice back with the team, he could be heard just about everywhere in the arena and let me tell you, that’s a good sign.
Burns has struggled this season and struggled in a large, large way. In 21 games, he had just two goals and ten points and was a staggering minus-11.
But, during that time, Burnsie just didn’t look like himself. Most notably, he just didn’t look like he was having any fun. (Thanks to Wild Nationite Rick for that insight, which I completely agree with.)
I know what you’re thinking right now. Brent Burns? Not having fun? Get out of town!
The fact is, though, that it was true and it was very evident in his play. The question tonight, however, is which Brent Burns do we get back? The Brent Burns that tried to do absolutely everything on the ice and, as such, was one of our worst players? Or the Brent Burns that caught the eye of Team Canada over the last two seasons?
Based off of the accounts of his practices back, I’m betting on the latter.
Now, onto the bad news. I don’t want to alarm anyone, but we’re playing the Detroit Red Wings tonight.
Sure, they’re riddled with injuries. But they’re still the Red Wings. You remember them. The team that sports a 21-5-5 record against our Minnesota Wild all time.
But, there is good news in the bad news. This is a wholly different Wild team than the Wings have ever faced. A different system, a different tempo…Different everything. Also, the Wings are struggling through injuries. Not to say that I’m glad these players are injured (I’d never wish harm to any player not named Matt Cooke), just to say that this is a Red Wings team that isn’t at full strength.
Oh yeah. And both teams are looking to break three-game losing streaks.
Lineup(s)
Well, you all heard the news over the last few days. We said bye-bye to Sykora and Earl has remained with the team thus far, so we’ll likely see the same lineup that we’ve seen over the past few games. (Unless Fletcher decides to make a trade with Detroit. Sykora for Zetterberg? I like it!)
I would expect that Derek Boogaard will be a casualty, though, against a not-so-pugilistic, quick Detroit squad.
Brunette-Koivu-Miettinen
Latendresse-Brodziak-Havlat
Nolan-Belanger-Clutterbuck
Earl-Ebbett-Sheppard
On defense, he’s back, he’s back, Lord Almighty he’s back! The return of Brent Burns essentially means that John Scott is back sitting next to Pierre-Marc Bouchard in the press box and Clayton Stoner will likely be moved to the IR.
Schultz-Johnsson
Zanon-Zidlicky
Burns-Hnidy
And, drumroll please, between the pipes for the Wild will be Josh Harding. Whether it’s a message being sent to Niklas Backstrom that he needs to play better or it’s giving him a rest or even rewarding Harding for his solid play, the youngster will get the nod in the crease tonight.
What to Watch For
Let’s just put it this way. Whenever the Wild play the Red Wings, I’m not optimistic about our chances.
Bearing that in mind, the Wild are now running a system that is strikingly similar to Detroit’s and, if they’re going to win tonight, need to beat the Wings at their own game – namely, shoot, shoot, shoot.
The Red Wings pepper goalies. They are averaging almost 33 shots per game, almost five shots more than the Wild, and even put up a 40-spot on the Capitals in their last game, despite losing 3-2.
With Minnesota’s defensive struggles of late, it seems to me that the best defense would be a good offense.
The key to that good offense will start with the team’s top two lines. There is no doubt that the offensive catalyst for this team has been the line of Latendresse, Brodziak and Havlat. The three-headed beast of HavLatziak (Cut me some slack. It’s easier than typing all three names.) has been one of the team’s top lines over the last handful of games.
The line that really needs to get into the game early, however, is the AMA line of Koivu, Brunette and Miettinen. These three have struggled together of late, and it took moving Mittens to the third line to spark him into action.
The biggest problem with this line, however, is that they are as defensively proficient as they are offensively. This means that, essentially, they will likely draw the brunt of the matchup against Detroit’s top line of Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Bertuzzi. (Rest assured, you will know when Big Bert is on the ice. We Minnesotans may move on, but we never forget. The boo birds will be out in force.)
Also, keep an eye on Brent Burns. Since his injury, the Wild’s powerplay has been absolutely dreadful. While Burns likely won’t log a great deal of minutes tonight, (I’d wager between 15-17), you can bet your sweet bippy that he’ll be at the point of every single one of the Wild’s powerplay.
Key(s) to the Game
First and foremost, defense.
Josh Harding is going to get peppered tonight. He’s going to see a black piece of vulcanized rubber tossed at him so much that he might have nightmares about it.
The key to this, however, is the quality of these shots. The Wild did a great job of limiting the quality shots against the Blues and Harding rewarded them with a spectacular performance. Conversely, the Wild did a terrible job of limiting the quality shots against the Coyotes and Stars and Backstrom was hung out to dry more often than a fifteen-year-old dress shirt.
If the Wild can limit the quality shots that the Red Wings get, they’ll have a very good chance at stopping a struggling Red Wing team. If they can’t, however, it’s going to be a long, long night for Harding and a long, long night for the fans in attendance.
Also, for the love of God…Can we please score first? Is that really too much to ask?
I would almost sacrifice a win just to see the Wild ahead 1-0 at some point during this game. Almost.
The fact is that the Wild have come out flat more times than not. In their past three games, they have not scored a single goal before the five minute mark of the second period.
That simply is not the hallmark of winning hockey.
Heck. I’d even settle for not falling into a two-goal deficit.
We’ve proven that we can finish the game with energy. Now it’s time to prove that we can start the game with energy.
The puck drops tonight at 7pm CST and is televised on KSTC, Channel 45.
Also, if you’re going to the Wild’s skills competition on Sunday, keep an eye out for me. I’ll be the bearded guy wearing the white Wild jersey autographed by Doc Emerick and possibly an Atlanta Thrashers hat. (No…I haven’t planned my wardrobe out that far in advance. I swear.)
In any event, feel free to stop and say hi if you see me.
Gameday Thread – Game 43 – Wild @ ‘Hawks
If anyone needed a break, it was the Minnesota Wild.
After a hot December that saw them tally ten victories (a team record for the month), the team proceeded to lose three games in five days, looking like a very tired team for the majority of those games.
But a two-day break in the Windy City and the presence of their fathers has the team rejuvenated and ready for action against the team that is arguably the best in the league—the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Wild have an extremely daunting task in front of them, as their loss on Saturday to the New Jersey Devils kicked off a month of January in which nine of the team’s 14 games are against teams that are currently in playoff contention and three more are against teams currently ahead of them in the standings.
In other words, January will be a good measuring stick for just how good this Wild team actually is.
The good news for the Wild is that Brent Burns has made this trip with the team and, though he didn’t practice, he is getting closer and closer every day to returning.
What’s more is that, by all accounts, the Wild held one of their hardest working practices of the season yesterday—in large part because of the presence of their fathers. The speculation following practice was that the Wild would have heard it afterwards if they didn’t, and I suspect the same will go for tonight’s game.
As for tonight’s game, the Wild will be facing a Blackhawks team that has won three straight and eight of their last ten. In fact, there’s not much that has not been going right for the ‘Hawks this season.
Lineup(s)
I haven’t heard of what the lines might or might not be for the Wild but; the injuries have been talked about. While Burns travelled, he is still out with a concussion. In addition, the Wild might be down one of their more important players and team leaders in Owen Nolan, who is questionable for tonight’s game. Assuming that Nolan doesn’t go, here’s my attempt at the forward lines:
Brunette-Koivu-Miettinen
Latendresse-Ebbett-Havlat
Clutterbuck-Belanger-Sykora
Boogaard-Brodziak-Sheppard
I think that, in the case of these lines, you could easily see James Sheppard and Cal Clutterbuck switch spots. First, because Clutterbuck and Kyle Brodziak have some absolutely sick chemistry with one another and second, because Sheppard is more of a playmaking-type player—something that could be important to getting sniper Petr Sykora rolling after returning from his concussion.
In addition, don’t be surprised if Sykora gets some shifts on Martin Havlat’s opposite wing, with Belanger in between them. The three were showing some fantastic chemistry before Sykora went down and it took the Wild a while to find some other players that fit with Havlat. That said, Havlat is riding a four-game points streak and has five goals and 15 points in his last 15 games, most of which has come playing with Andrew Ebbett and Guillaume Latendresse.
On the other hand, if Nolan is able to go tonight, I’d expect the casualty to be Derek Boogaard due, in large part, to his lack of mobility.
As for defense, I doubt you’ll see much of a change there. Clayton Stoner has recovered from his tweaked groin and continues to gain the confidence of the coaching staff. While he’s cooled off from his “call up” hot streak, Stoner has continued to play solid, physical defense—something that has endeared him to the coaching staff and the fans.
In addition, against the ‘Hawks quick forward group, I’d be surprised if the Wild rolled out John Scott who, as with Boogaard, isn’t the most mobile member of the team.
Zanon-Zidlicky
Schultz-Johnsson
Stoner-Hnidy
In nets, expect to see Josh Harding who will give Niklas Backstrom a much needed break following performances that have seen him give up three goals in six of his last seven games.
Especially in his last few games, Backstrom simply looked tired and, because of this, I would expect Harding to be in the cage tonight regardless of the score—especially with an ever-important divisional match up coming tomorrow night.
What to Watch For
Keep an eye on the Wild’s defense tonight. Against both Los Angeles and New Jersey, they didn’t give their goaltenders much help and that will need to change in a big way against Chicago’s high octane offense.
As was mentioned earlier, the Wild’s fathers are on this trip and I would expect the team (and the defense especially) to play a solid, blue collared, hockey game—lots of hitting, lots of good positioning and lots of hard work.
For the Wild, keep an eye on the usual suspects—Havlat, Mikko Koivu and Andrew Brunette.
These three players have been three of the Wild’s hottest players of late, with Koivu picking up the Wild on his shoulders and shouldering much of their offensive load.
The dark horse for the Wild, however, is defenseman Marek Zidlicky.
While ‘Z’ has driven Wild fans crazy with his play in his own zone, he has certainly come into his own this season and is playing much better defense than he did last season. His pairing with Greg Zanon has turned into the Wild’s top defensive unit and he is showing that he is a true asset moving the puck.
In his last five games, Zidlicky has six assists and is a plus-one. He has had the hot passing hand and his ability to break the puck out will be crucial to the Wild’s transition game.
Key(s) to the Game
Which leads me into the first key to the game.
The Wild need to, need to, need to get their transition game going early. They are simply not going to get a whole lot of quality chances against the Blackhawks team and are going to be pressured early and often.
The Blackhawks give up just over 24 shots per game, while taking around 33. For the Wild to win, they are going to need to take advantage of the ‘Hawks aggressiveness and catch them pinching. If they can do that, they can get quality chances against this team. If they can’t, though, they might not be seeing too many of their pucks hitting the net.
Anyone who watched the Winter Classic can tell you that a solid transition game can change the tempo and the momentum of the game and that a solid transition game can win the game.
My second key to the game is discipline.
The Wild need to a) hope that Chicago remains disciplined and b) remain disciplined themselves.
The reason I say this is twofold. The Wild’s powerplay, of late, has largely been a momentum killer for the team. Much of this likely has to do with the loss of Brent Burns on the blueline but, on a whole, the Wild’s powerplay has been ineffective.
For the ‘Hawks, however, their powerplay has been buzzing of late, having converted at least one opportunity in each of its last seven games. The team is 8-for-25 during that time—an impressive 32% clip.
Finally, it is paramount in this game that the Wild get out to a good start. This is a very potent offensive team that they are playing and stumbling out of the gates could very well lose the game for them.
Minnesota has not started well for most of the season and it is very important that they get their legs under them early. They need to slow down Chicago with physical play and they need to grind it out with them, plain and simple.
The puck drops tonight at 7pm CST on Versus.
Reminder: I’ll be answering my first Wild Nation mailbag here next week. If you have any questions or comments, be sure to send them to blake.benzel@hockeyprimetime.com. So far, I’ve gotten just one response, but I’m confident that I have more than one reader, so be sure to send in your questions.
