CreaseAndAssist

It was like a train going off the rails into a tornado that simply tosses it into a volcano. It was that bad. No one is happy to be there.

Iowa earned a nice two-game sweep of Tucson this weekend. Tucson had beaten Iowa twice down in Arizona a few weeks before. Will Butcher has helped a lot; especially on the power play where his ability to move the puck and put shots on goal has helped Iowa generate more offense. Sammy Walker seems to be finding his stride again too, although he's a notoriously streaky player. Still, the Wild are in 6th place in the Central Division. And making matters worse...they have played 3 more games than most of the rest of the division too.

I certainly didn't support retiring his #. He was one of the most overrated players in franchise history. But it was their attempt to create some history when it felt it didn't have any to draw on. But I agree...it was embarrassing and it got even worse when people found out he had cheated on his wife and was trying to stiff his ex on the child support $$$.

For an organization that has been around as long as Minnesota has, it's embarrassing it has taken this long for someone to achieve this record. It just shows you how low the bar is already. I saw another record he's close to; most multi-point games which is currently held by Zach Parise after he was here for 9 seasons compared to Kaprizov's 4. Honestly, people are going to think we were crazy for retiring Koivu's #.

Episode #34: Into the Looking Glass (Part2) In this episode, @MNSOTA, Kalisha and myself look at the Minnesota Wild prospect pool and which prospect Wild fans are most excited about. We also answer a ton of listener questions too and Theresa gives her two cents on what she feels Minnesota's PWHL team ought to be called. Give it a listen!

I was thinking the exact same thing as soon as I saw the news.

Kemell has looked impressive by what I've seen. He looks like he could be a pretty good scorer in the future for that club. L'Hereaux is a decent pest player the Predators have always been good at utilizing going back to the Jordin Tootoo days.

Maybe it's time people start booing this team when it wins...

Firstov started out real hot but he's cooled down quite a bit from that pace. He gets the odd goal every now and then but I still think it's mostly unlikely he comes back. I think the organization would've liked to have seen him be a go-to offensive element in Iowa; but he didn't want to ride the bus. Like it or not, I think Guerin and the other management feel that's part of earning your stripes so to speak. Mason Shaw is looking a bit faster; in his last game he showed some wheels on a breakaway. I am not sure I'd call him up to play with the big club just yet but I feel he'd fit in helluva lot better as a 4th liner than Adam Beckman will. Just my 2 cents.

Adam Beckman being called up. Meh at this point. He hasn't been as good this year as he was last year for Iowa. I can't imagine him having a big impact in Minnesota. In other (sigh) worthy Wild news, I guess Russo reported the team says it's going to come back and push hard for the playoffs when they return to action on Wednesday against Chicago. This team can't even fail right...

Khusnutdinov's KHL season is going to end on Feb. 25th. Russo has speculated the team will probably sign him, burn a year of his entry level contract to see what he can do. And for anyone not watching at home. Metallurg Magnitogorsk gave Yurov kind of a cheap offer $330k for next season so the #mnwild might as well jump in and offer him the standard rookie deal and see if he comes over sooner. Either way it's intriguing that we may see them a bit sooner than what was generally expected (at the earliest, next year). Won't make a difference this season...but might as well have the kids here now than wait until they are 23-24.

We never said any of those things. It is why we invite a tear down as do a growing number of Wild fans. It was fairly evident on Michael Russo / Joe Smith's latest mailbag too. Most folks see it as a flawed team that should probably be gutted and in the more immediate sense not worth making any moves to 'save' its playoff hopes.

It will be an awfully expensive 4th line.

Wild pick up defenseman Declan Chisholm off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets. He's a 6'1" defenseman who put up ok points with the Manitoba Moose but he hasn't been given much of a shot at the NHL yet. (sigh) Sounds like a lot of other defenseman we have.

It's also hard to give the kids some high pressure games to compete (i.e. develop) in if the farm can't make the playoffs. I can't imagine the organization is real thrilled about how things are going down in Iowa.

Thanks for listening. I don't think we suggested we trade everyone. But I'd be fine with a tear down, and I don't mind the idea of being bad for a few seasons to then build ourselves into a contender. I don't mind much when they lose either, for the same reason you said; better draft position. Another thing that our poll didn't determine; was how many of the "They won't do it ever" group really wishes the team would tear it down. But even as is...a growing portion seem to be in favor of that instead of the 'Tweak, Rinse and Repeat' insanity this fanbase has endured for the better part of a decade. I'd rather tear down that than desperately trade futures (prospects and/or picks) for some old rental. Or just tear it down to the following pieces: Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, Faber, Rossi, Wallstedt...the rest can go.

C'mon @IllaZilla, New York is an expensive place...give him a break.

Crease And Assist: Episode #33 Oh Captain, My Captain In this episode, @MNSOTA and I discuss what Wild GM Bill Guerin will likely do with Jared Spurgeon being out for the season as well as discussing whether this fanbase is willing to be bad in order to be good for the long-term. Check it out!

Here is Iowa's latest loss. The two empty netters make the game look more lopsided than it really was but this team has just two wins in January. TWO.

The deal is meant to help Iowa who now is without Andy Welinski. And with Mermis already promoted to the big club, they need a veteran defenseman presence. Cajokovic had been a good soldier with the Iowa Heartlanders. If anyone really loses in this deal its the Iowa Heartlanders who are enjoying their best season ever this year. Butcher will likely be Iowa's veteran leader on the blueline as its mostly made of Wild prospects. As @Fargocase used to call these deals, a Tony Tuzzolini trade...

I think his name was put on the trophy before the season started...figuratively. But I agree with your sentiment.

I have no doubt confidence is a part of this. At one point he had a collision near the boards after checking an opposing skater. He was on one knee and thanks to a stoppage he just kind of stayed there on one knee. I'm sure he had a lot on his mind as he took his time before getting back up on his skates and making his way back to the Iowa bench.

I see Kaapo Kahkonen was mentioned in that article...he's playing for the West Wild, aka the San Jose Sharks.

Yea, those teams might not see those players for a while. I don't feel bad for them one bit either.

I got asked yesterday what I saw from Mason Shaw. He played again on Monday; played better but you could tell it was either his struggle to be at 'game shape' or perhaps he's playing through a lot of pain...but its not quite the same. He's trying, zero doubt about it, giving all that he can but the burst doesn't seem to be there. Not what he had before his last injury. Will it emerge again...hard to say. But I have little doubt he's going to work his ass off trying to get there...even if it never happens. On another positive note; Adam Beckman is playing better. And Daemon Hunt is playing with confidence and a lot of initiative.