The Injury Bug Strikes Again

This has become a common theme. 

The injury bug has hit the Wild yet again.  This time, with three of the anointed top-six forwards of the team going down. 

First, there was Pierre-Marc Bouchard.  Anyone who saw Columbus’s game could have told you that he just wasn’t himself.  Turns out, Butch has a concussion and, based off of what happened to Brent Burns last season, management is going to take it nice and slow. 

Then, there was Derek Boogaard.  Not a top-six forward by any means, Boogaard was sidelined with, wait for it, a concussion.  Boogaard has since been cleared to play and may yet play on this road trip.  While it certainly helps the depth of the squad, it doesn’t give them the top-six scoring threat that they desperately need. 

Coming next, there was freshly signed Petr Sykora with the dreaded sore Gaborik. {Author’s Note: For those new readers, we here at Wild Nation describe groin as Gaborik…And no, we’re not bitter.}  Sykora was a new signing that was supposed to infuse a secondary scoring threat to this offense.  Instead, he’ll be infusing a secondary scoring threat to the press box — at least for the next game or two. 

Finally, there is the cult hero — the indestructible Cal Clutterbuck.  The reigning hit champion’s title defense took a hit (no pun intended) on Saturday night when he suffered an ankle sprain.  He’s been contained to a walking boot and crutches since the game and has since flown back to Minnesota, pending an MRI.  The hope is that it is no a high ankle sprain — an injury that typically takes 6-8 weeks to recover from. 

What this boils down to is that the team now has significant gaps on their top two lines to fill.

The Wild will have to rely upon the enigmatic James Sheppard and Benoit Pouliot to step up and fill the void left by Sykora, Clutterbuck and Bouchard.  A very scary proposition. 

Or… 

A golden opportunity. 

While I am slowly giving up on Pouliot again, I am still dead set that James Sheppard can be a top-six forward.  He has again shown flashes of what he is capable of.  He has driven to the net, he has forechecked his backside off, he has been a somewhat reliable center.  But none of this has translated over to the scoresheet — something that is vitally important if he is to have any sort of future with the team. 

Meanwhile, while Pouliot and Sheppard try desperately to elevate their game, General Manager Cliff Fletcher is left looking at a roster that is severely depleted from the roster that he felt could be successful this season. 

Certainly, he is exploring the team’s trade options.  Unfortunately, those options are very slim pickings.  He could part with some draft picks for a player from a cap strapped team, or find a team to pawn off a prospect or two on.  

But therein lies the rub.  

Our cupboard is bare.  Barer than most.  

We start trading away prospects and draft picks now, we shoot Fletcher’s strategy of restocking our system in the foot. 

But, if we’re unwilling to part with any draft picks, we now have a strategy for the season that sees inexperienced or ineffective players having to fill in for players like Clutterbuck, Sykora and Bouchard. 

Who’s to say which is better?  I, myself, prefer the idea of restocking our system. 

We all knew it was going to be a rebuilding year, and most of us were hopeful that we could win while rebuilding.  

The more injuries strike us, however, the more desperate the situation becomes, and we all know that desperation can be the downfall of many an organization. 

Just ask Toronto.