CreaseAndAssist

Leipold himself seemed to indicate he really started to feel that way after the exit interviews. Which is why you really have to question his attentiveness / understanding in letting the Zuccarello deal happen?

Well now the guy who would be Fiala and Donato's biggest advocates is gone. It will be interesting to see how this organization now handles him. But the crappy thing is, whoever is the new GM. They now have to make due with Fiala because of what we gave up to get him. No matter what...they'll need to mend a lot of burnt bridges out there.

Nah. Leipold shouldn't be let off the hook for cutting the cord. He still let it go on too long. If he was there at Free Agency and just let the Zuccarello deal happen, IMO he's just as guilty for the lack of foresight by this organization.

According to Russo in an interview he gave on KFAN. He said it wasn't about the trades as bad as they were. It was more about his irritability and struggle to change and work with those within the organization. Not to mention his lack of initiative in regards to re-signing Spurgeon, he was a total failure.

Wild Fire GM Paul Fenton I give my thoughts on the move to fire Paul Fenton, as well as share media thoughts, fans thoughts too. He clearly burned all of his bridges rather quickly and when he finally angered Ryan and Zach enough they dropped the axe on him. A strange day indeed...

Iowa Wild Hire Alex Tanguay as assistant coach & '19-'20 Iowa Wild Season thoughts It might seem a tad bit premature to talk about Iowa's upcoming season. But with Tanguay's hire and a roster I think is kind of predictable I decided to comment and pose some thoughts about it all. Enjoy and discuss.

That's a fair fear. Just a mediocre club that isn't bad enough for a lottery pick but still no where really near the playoffs. Yea, that is a miserable place to be.

For me, the inability to attract a top tier forward with that cap space speaks loud and clear. This organization is irrelevant and not looking like a winner. IMO, this was sort of like an absentee intervention. Where you are intent on hosting a party and no one shows up. Hmm...how should I read into this. Maybe...(gasp) no one really wants to be here. IMO, the action you take then is to dismantle the team as much as you can. But instead, we added some more old plywood. It isn't the worst construction material but its worn and isn't what it used to be and won't make a substantial difference but it will give the appearance of having plugged a hole or two maybe. I agree with @IllaZilla's premise that it was a move Fenton felt he had to make so he had someone of note to show for. Yet at the end of the day, I think most of us realize it won't be enough. Its a shame. I'd rather give the kids the keys to the car and develop and go through the growing pains that way instead of keeping the Wild retirement community intact so they get most of the prime time.

As they should. This team will be a bottom feeder and probably for a while.

In case anyone missed it...The Hockey News' latest issue had the Wild picked as one of 3 teams to be named a LOSER in NHL Free Agency because they felt the Zuccarello signing was counterproductive and not impactful enough to justify the deal they gave him. Not that many here would disagree but I just thought I'd pile on just a little more.

Hahahaha...not that I want Aberg anymore, but he was far less counter productive than Bitetto. Bitetto helped the opposition on any shift he took.

Let us not forget that a lot of the rest of the Central Division kind of slowed down or struggled at the same time. The Wild even had a rough patch where it didn't lose ground but eventually our opponents were going to start to win games. Minnesota didn't and it fell to the bottom of the division...which is probably where they'll be...batting it out with Chicago for last place in the Central.

(shrugs) I am more with Hockey78 on this one. By the time we got most of these players listed their best days were past them. They were a step or three slower and they couldn't do what they used to do in many cases so they were relegated to Power Play specialists. Of that team I put together, only Rolston and to a lesser extent Daigle outperformed their expectations. Brian Rolston is my favorite Wild player of all time. Consistent, a leader...didn't complain and I didn't hold it against him for wanting to be paid since we got him on a bargain deal. But interestingly, that Wild team let Rolston go. This Wild team, sort of in a similar situation with Eric Staal...after having a terrible season (after a really good one the year before) we locked him up for two more years.

In full disclosure...I did have Setoguchi and Cooke in the original version. Yet as I thought and considered names from the past and since I wanted the 'best' Wild team I could make of people that fit the requirements I swapped them out. Setoguchi SHOULD have been able to make this list...but the career numbers just didn't pan out after that promising 1st season. Cullen certainly demonstrates how longevity and consistency (albeit modest totals) can help someone pile up the points.

While I've heard nothing but good things about his effort and creativity, I do question his ability to score himself. It will be interesting to see what he's like once he recovers from yet another major injury.

They Were Once Wild: The Star Talent That Passed Through Minnesota In this retrospective, I look back at the Star talent that was not drafted by the team and stayed here less than 5 seasons. Collectively its not a bad team I put together, but too bad we didn't get most of them when they were in their prime. Check it out and discuss.

While I think Berube is not the kind of guy to put up with anyone's crap, let's be honest...until Binnington arrived they had no shot because leaky Jake Allen was giving up 3+ goals per game. Once they stopped giving up soft goals, the offense started to re-ignite and build around Ryan O'Reilly who was the only Blues player having a great season prior to the firing of Mike Yeo. But after that, I agree. They are a team well-built for playoff hockey. They have a blueline that is pretty big and fairly mobile and physical where you need them to be. The rest of their team plays with a fair amount of grit and they have skill and scoring all throughout the lineup. Toss in a solid goaltender...and you can do a lot of damage with that lineup. Ryan O'Reilly is a star player who is great defensively, rarely takes penalties and can be a clutch scorer. The Wild are not even close to the St. Louis Blues in design. If they think its as easy as just having a decent goalie and excelling they're fooling themselves. St. Louis is a way more complete team. They were underachieving under Yeo. For whatever reason...his message got old quick and like what happened here...a lot of the players gave up on him. We are much older, slower and far less physical or resilient (mentally, physically maybe even emotionally) than that team IMO. The Wild don't play like a team...they play like a bunch of small cliques that will occasionally step up to help the team win on occasion. But there are plenty of nights where no one wants to step up and everyone seems to be waiting for someone to carry the load. IMO, another sign of our messed up locker room. Oh and one last thing. Before anyone says maybe Berube would be able to fix things here. Do you think Berube would have the same control with this Wild team than the Blues? I don't think so. The vets rule the roost as Richards, Yeo, Torchetti and even Boudreau has found out. I don't think Boudreau is a shrinking violet, but he also probably is smart enough to pick his battles and knows which ones he'll lose. The vets do as they please and he simply tries to work around that dynamic as much as he can because he knows its not going to change. Berube doesn't / didn't have to worry about that. Afterall, even until they hoisted a cup he was the interim coach...but I don't think the players there had the owner in their pocket the way our vets do here. Just a thought...

Thanks...I try.

Rask at this point...is a $4 million player working the James Sheppard Memorial Popcorn Machine. I honestly don't see where he fits on this team. And if you are playing him, you're not doing so because of what he may do out on the ice but because you don't want to waste money having him sitting up in the press box.

The Minnesota Wild is in Denial It is time this team took an objective look at itself. The hints have been piling up for sometime, its time they take heed from what these 'messages' are telling them.

They both should be at the Traverse City Tournament. IMO, and they better be motivated and playing hard. Or I'd just send them to Iowa right away. They need to figure out they can't take any opportunity for granted.

(shrugs) I'd agree. I'd guess Wild management was hoping Greenway would flip a switch and felt if he decided to dominate he could be a game changer in that series. Instead, he continued to go through the motions. While we know pretty well that Wild upper management was not pleased with Greenway and Donato's play, did anyone on the Iowa Wild say anything to those two about it? Did Cal O'Reilly or some of the other veteran leaders confront these players and tell them to start pulling their weight or that the team needed more from them. Hendricks and Sokolov never played together unless it was in a pre-season game. But I think they do perhaps know each other a little and Sokolov probably realizes earning Hendricks' approval is probably a chance to maybe get more opportunity next year. Lines? I hate speculating because I think the Wild still need to make a trade of some kind. I saw a proposed set of lines on the Athletic (Russo didn't write it) and he had Koivu on the 4th line and I think we all know that will never happen. We know it won't be any of the big money, but I think they need to consider moving Ek or Greenway. I'd let Rask start at 3rd line center if Koivu's not at 100%. In fact, I really wouldn't let Koivu come back unless he's at 100%. So here's how I see it. I think this group distributes the scoring, speed, and gives you a pretty reasonable shut down / checking line. Now will Koivu let himself be the 3rd line center? Greenway and Donato can play in Iowa next year. I want to see them humbled and they'll develop more by getting top minutes there and they better be dominating if they want to have a chance to get called up. Minnesota Wild lines... Parise-Staal-Zuccarello Zucker-Kunin-Fiala Eriksson Ek-Koivu-Hartman Foligno-Sturm-Mayhew Rask Suter-Spurgeon Brodin-Dumba Pateryn-Hunt Seeler Dubnyk Stalock Iowa Wild lines... Greenway-Dumont-Donato Rau-Johnson-Bitten Anas-Sokolov-Beck Liambas-Lodnia/Dewar-Duhaime Menell-Bartkowski Soucy-Belpedio Gordeev-Warner Falkovsky Kahkonen Robson

IMO, good for both teams. Chicago obviously felt deep enough with young defenseman that it could let Jokiharju go to add another young, skilled forward. The Blackhawks have a really youthful group right now and a young coach to go with it.

Nesterenko looked better than I expected. I knew he had a lot of points but in a lesser league. But I certainly see what the team sees in him. He's a skilled guy that is kind of lanky and certainly needs to fill out but he thinks the game well and seems to have some skill / instincts going for him. Beyond a few flashes, Boldy was just ok to me. I noticed other players more. Although I will give him this credit, when he does get the puck in a scoring position he needs little time to release that puck and I do like that he likes the backhand, a shot you don't see nearly as much anymore. I am still concerned about his mobility. Lodnia, Khovanov were big standouts for me. Lodnia looked mature and I was impressed by his overall play. He played well at both ends of the ice. Khovanov seemed like a player on a bit different level in terms of his offensive awareness and creativity. Its tough sometimes to watch from afar and realize if a player is dominant or just fortunate enough to be in a position to pad their stats. He looked skilled and dominant on his shifts and seemed to cause problems for defenders. He seemed quicker this year, no doubt helped by the fact he was healthy most of the season. As far as Sokolov goes. He's a terrific finisher. No doubt about it. The thing I liked about Sokolov's performance was the fact that he was dominant when he should be dominant. You looked very motivated and I liked that he was being social out there; like you'd hope to see from a player whose confident and a bit older. Its tough to say whether the team was impressed with his physical conditioning which is really the main hang up on him. Beyond that, I really did not hear any remotely negative things about him. Even as he was a healthy scratch during the playoffs, I heard he worked hard and didn't complain as a black ace which is why at the very end he got put back in the lineup as they were looking for an offensive burst.

Maybe its just me, but as soon as Zuccarello asked for that, I'd be like..."Ok Mats, we'll consider that for a while and call you back." And I wouldn't call him back. The more times I read Fenton and his stupid lizard-stick comments, I feel like we just sort of threw all of that on the table at him right at the start. He wasn't getting offers like that from other teams, and like he said himself he began to think, "Damn, I'm good." Well of course, a person just gave you a much greater offer than you were expecting and gave you the keys to the kingdom for 3 years of your contract with a full NMC. We were desperate we were going to lose him so we pushed all in. IMO, if Fenton had any brains at all. When Pavelski decided 'nah' and not fly to St. Paul our efforts should have been 100% in on signing Simmonds to a 1-year deal. The Devils IMO, are in a better place than the Wild in terms of their teams' collective age and their young talent...but 1 or 2 years with no NMC to Simmonds made a helluva lot more sense from a need stand point than Zuccarello for 5 years with an NMC. He's younger, and the 1-year deal is a no brainer. Simmonds has all of the motivation to play well if he wants to get another nice contract and if he doesn't, then he's probably easy trade bait at the deadline. I kind of feel like when Fenton fixates on someone, then he fully commits and objectivity and everything else kind of fly out the window. Like Fenton's fixation of getting Fiala. He didn't seem to even consider the possibility of anything other than a 'hockey trade' 1-for-1 for Granlund / Fiala. By the way, I am not sure who all subscribes to the Athletic, but this article by Sean McEndoe is pure genius and 100% true. 20 Stages of Watching Your Team Make a Horrible Free Agency Mistake