CreaseAndAssist

It is what we expected from the Granlund trade. Not sure if you heard this, but for a while I guess the offer was Granlund and something else from the Wild (a pick or a prospect) for Fiala. But that seems to be the biggest difference between Fenton and Guerin so far in the deals that have been made. Still a pretty small sample size at this point...

Addison seems to have plateaued in major junior. He's another 6-foot, right-hand shot defenseman with good but not great mobility. The Wild seem to be stockpiling players like that the last few years but he probably carries the biggest potential to be an offensive defenseman at the next level. It sucks for Carly and Jason, and their complex family situation but I think we all knew it was going to happen. Hopefully for Jason he's happier in Pittsburgh and I think he'll enjoy the far less travel of the Eastern Conference, but no doubt it will be a challenge for the family. Galchenyuk is a pretty low risk add by the Wild IMO especially with him set to be a UFA this summer. He's either more trade bait or he's going to audition for a top 6 role (I'd personally try him at center...and if he can't give us that...then let him walk this summer). It doesn't really matter who 'win''s' on this deal, the transaction makes a TON of sense for the Wild and I think its tough to argue that Guerin got excellent value in his first deal. As far as what Pittsburgh got...Jason will have a few seasons to make it look great, or not. Good on Guerin to clear some more salary, PLUS gain a valuable pick (even if its going to be in the 20's most likely) and a decent prospect for Zucker with no salary retained on our end. IMO, the exact kind of move we hoped last year from Fenton...and why we were mostly disappointed that he insisted on 'hockey trades.'

Soft Goals Undermine Wild in 3-2 Loss to Colorado Overall, the Wild battled fairly well, but some veteran passengers and slugs are making it tough to really compete. Koivu was played sparingly and can't do just about anything anymore. Staal isn't much better so by the time we get to the 3rd period the team has two serviceable centers that they can use. Fiala is great, but right now he's the only real threat the Wild have anymore. I have a full game recap, an Iowa Wild report and prospect news too. Check it out!

Eriksson Ek and Wild Strike Late in 3-2 Win Over Dallas Dubnyk played reasonably well and the Wild were fortunate their penchant for penalties didn't come back to bite them. Donato had a great game and the 3rd line of Greenway, Foligno and Eriksson Ek keep coming up with clutch plays. That late shift was fantastic and a total example of being bigger and stronger and having more want to than your opponent. Big road win; in regulation. I have a full game recap, a Hunter Jones update and Minnesota HS hockey rankings too! Enjoy!

It has been fixed. Not sure how she messed that up. Thanks for catching that Alexandron. Good to see Zucker out of the Top 5. He almost looks like a player who is simply waiting for the trade and doesn't really care right now.

Strong Start Lifts Wild to 4-2 Win Over Vancouver Another pretty good effort, but of course it didn't hurt one bit that Elias Pettersson was a very late scratch for this evening. Zucker's first fight was a total yawn-fest, I don't want to see him chirping at anyone after that. Glad to see Bruce demote him to the 4th line too. Both he and Koivu are pretty much worthless right now. On the positives, Fiala is looking like one of the most talented scorers this team has had since...maybe Marian Gaborik or Brian Rolston. The goal amount isn't there yet, but the skill to do so certainly is. I thought Hunt played very well, despite having slow as crap Pateryn as a partner. Hopefully the Wild put Bartkowski in the lineup against Dallas instead of Pateryn. I have a full game recap, an Iowa Wild report and prospect news too! Enjoy...

He was on the 4th line. But labored to move aorund the ice and didn't do much of anything. Its like having a very slow defenseman out there...he doesn't do almost anything offensively and can't skate well enough to stay with or lead any kind of attack out of the zone. So he kind of stays above the faceoff dots and floats...sort of harasses a puck carrier and then slowly makes his way back to the bench.

Soucy is sick...will be a game time decision according to Russo. I'd call up Belpedio or Menell and put them in that spot is Soucy is out. Pateryn isn't worth playing IMO.

I agree with most of this. I still would keep Brodin unless the return was at least a 1st and a top prospect (at a minimum).

Let's make this abundantly clear. I think most Wild fans, and the media don't put the team's struggles on Boudreau almost at all. We like him too and don't believe firing him would change our fortunes for the positive at all. This was a game Chicago needed as much as we did which is why it was a pretty spirited game from start to finish. Yet, the Wild giving up a point to Chicago wasn't good.

I disagree. The Wild were playing to defend their lead the entire 3rd period and were probably lucky it didn't cost them the game. Good thing they went after it in OT though, but IMO...they need to cut bait with #9; he's a disaster waiting to happen and he doesn't give the team anything right now.

Dumba Strikes in Overtime as Wild Win 3-2 Over Chicago They seemed to have a sense of urgency, which is good. But it all is way too late. Koivu...honestly, shoot the dog and find someone else. He can't do his job and is too slow to keep up with the pace of play. The penalty kill actually did their job tonight, but they still have 3 tough games this week. Zucker seems to be checked out IMO. I have a full game recap, prospect news and an extended Iowa Wild report too. Enjoy...

Wild vs. Blackhawks Game Preview Minnesota Wild (23-22-6) 52pts 7th in the Central 3.06 Goals For Per Game (15th in the NHL) 3.33 Goals Against Per Game (29th in the NHL) 20% Power Play (13th in the NHL) 73.5% Penalty Kill (30th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #12 Eric Staal ~ 17G 22A = 39pts 2. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 7G 28A = 35pts 3. #11 Zach Parise ~ 19G 13A = 32pts 4. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 14G 15A = 29pts 5. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 14G 14A = 28pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #38 Ryan Hartman ~ 54 PIM’s 2. #19 Luke Kunin ~ 48 PIM’s 3. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 39 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #32 Alex Stalock (11-8-3) 2.93GAA .903%SP 2SO 2. #40 Devan Dubnyk (9-13-2) 3.40GAA .890%SP 1SO Vs. Chicago Blackhawks (25-21-6) 56pts 4th in the Central 2.98 Goals For Per Game (18th in the NHL) 3.06 Goals Against Per Game (17th in the NHL) 15.3% Power Play (27th in the NHL) 83.1% Penalty Kill (6th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #88 Patrick Kane ~ 25G 40A = 65pts 2. #19 Jonathan Toews ~ 14G 30A = 44pts 3. #12 Alex DeBrincat ~ 12G 23A = 35pts 4. #8 Dominik Kubalik ~ 21G 11A = 32pts 5. #17 Dylan Strome ~ 10G 20A = 30pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #19 Jonathan Toews ~ 36 PIM’s 2. #88 Patrick Kane ~ 34 PIM’s 3. #56 Erik Gustafsson ~ 25 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #40 Robin Lehner (15-8-4) 2.86GAA .922%SP 2. #50 Corey Crawford (10-13-2) 2.91GAA .912%SP 1SO I wrote up the game preview and @IllaZilla will be on the post gamer folks! The Wild need to find a way to win in regulation tonight if they really want to show fans, the front office they shouldn't just conduct a firesale right now. Or, we could get blown out again...and fans will be more than happy to watch this whole thing be burned to the ground. Will Chicago play Seeler? Enjoy and discuss...

(shrugs) Fenton made a 'hockey trade' with a division rival last year...we should've made Nashville pay a premium but he was so star struck to have his 'kid' back.

Watched Boldy tonight in the Beanpot. He had an assist. Ok, but what did he REALLY do? He passed the puck to Alex Newhook, who made a nice power move and sniped a shot over the BU's goalie's shoulder. Boldy likes to cherrypick which helps him mask his lack of north / south speed by trying to get a head start on the rush. Sometimes he gets caught trying to anticipate and cheating his way out of the zone, instead of staying and making sure things are taken care of offensively. He moves ok laterally and he can dangle. I will give him credit for him being able to make some passes in tight places. However, he doesn't really have the speed or burst to get away from people. He still looked to pass more than shoot the puck which is really what the Wild needed, another slow playmaking winger. Yea...how about that.

So are we hoping the Wild get curbstomped tomorrow night against Chicago?!?! At least I won't be writing about that one! @IllaZilla

Reading Wheeler's column, it didn't seem to me like a guy who had watched Boldy play too much. He looked at his draft postion, saw his crappy production...rationalized (oh, not getting enough chances because of Jerry York likes veteran players blah blah blah) and just made him the #2 guy just because. I'll agree with his point that Boldy has reasonable lateral quickness, but no real burst or top end speed which IMO is pretty troubling for a guy picked so high. Hell, he talked more about Filip Johansson in that same column and he was outside of Wheeler's top 10 with the team. I didn't think it was that great of a column.

That's 'leadership' for ya...

I would agree. Which is why I would hope we'd opt for shorter contracts. But despite the claims of 'desirability' and 'quality of life' the Wild always seem to have to pay a premium to get anyone to want to come and ply in Minnesota. And if we don't throw NMC's to them we worry about insulting them if we don't. You're right, its flawed big time and sends a terrible message to guys like Anas, Mayhew and Menell...or anyone that kind of busts their ass and excells in the minors while other guys (drafted ahead of them) get a shot to audition for the club for a season even if they're clearly in way over their head. That's been the Wild way for a long time unfortunately.

Boston Dominates the Wild in Embarrassing 6-1 Loss Yea, that was certainly a **** show. And the worst part was, we kind of expected that was going to happen. Lots of guys with tired, dead legs and little want to. Boston got a few power plays, made the most of them and the team really stopped skating and at that point they really didn't have to do much more to win. The Wild just went through the motions. It wasn't just rust, it was laziness, it was standing around. Boston barely tried and won that one 6-1, total cakewalk for them. Full game recap, a ton of Wild prospect news and Minnesota HS hockey rankings too, enjoy.

Wild vs. Bruins Game Preview Minnesota Wild (23-21-6) 52pts 7th in the Central 3.10 Goals For Per Game (14th in the NHL) 3.28 Goals Against Per Game (26th in the NHL) 20.5% Power Play (11th in the NHL) 74.8% Penalty Kill (26th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #12 Eric Staal ~ 17G 21A = 38pts 2. #20 Ryan Suter ~ 7G 28A = 35pts 3. #11 Zach Parise ~ 19G 13A = 32pts 4. #16 Jason Zucker ~ 14G 14A = 28pts 5. #36 Mats Zuccarello ~ 13G 15A = 28pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #38 Ryan Hartman ~ 52 PIM’s 2. #19 Luke Kunin ~ 48 PIM’s 3. #18 Jordan Greenway ~ 39 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #32 Alex Stalock (11-8-3) 2.93GAA .903%SP 2SO 2. #40 Devan Dubnyk (9-12-2) 3.28GAA .893%SP 1SO Vs. Boston Bruins (30-10-2) 72pts 1st in the Atlantic 3.31 Goals For Per Game (7th in the NHL) 2.51 Goals Against Per Game (3rd in the NHL) 25.4% Power Play (3rd in the NHL) 83.1% Penalty Kill (4th in the NHL) Top 5 Scorers: 1. #88 David Pastrnak ~ 37G 35A = 72pts 2. #63 Brad Marchand ~ 21G 45A = 66pts 3. #37 Patrice Bergeron ~ 22G 20A = 42pts 4. #46 David Krecji ~ 12G 22A = 34pts 5. #47 Torey Krug ~ 5G 28A = 33pts Top 3 PIM’s: 1. #63 Brad Marchand ~ 53 PIM’s 2. #33 Zdeno Chara ~ 45 PIM’s 3. #88 David Pastrnak ~ 30 PIM’s Top Goaltenders: 1. #40 Tuukka Rask (18-4-6) 2.27GAA .925%SP 2SO 2. #41 Jaroslav Halak (12-6-6) 2.47GAA .918%SP 3SO MNSOTA wrote up the game preview, and with a little luck I should be on the post-gamer tomorrow. The Wild should have no excuses tomorrow and should well-rested going into tomorrow's game against a team that battled to a 2-1 win over Winnipeg last night. But I think we know long layoffs are probably not the best for our old club. Enjoy and discuss...

No. He's the same. The lack of goal scoring...is the same. But please, keep rationalizing.

This probably isn't far off. Sadly, for Mayhew and Anas...it doesn't matter what they do in Iowa. The organization is too full of fossils to give them a real chance and the organization is not about to deal them to get that chance because they like seeing the seats full in Des Moines. As far as Fan Boy #1 goes, he would have to be one of the few that really thinks this team still has a shot at the playoffs.

(shrugs) Not really, he's been shooting the puck now as he was when he was playing center. But I take it you didn't read the article...since you continue with the rationalization.

Because we know the team isn't going to give him a Top 6 role.