CreaseAndAssist

I just don't see the firepower necessary to win this tournament. And the defense is made up almost entirely of invitees.

Just saw this on Tom Chorske's Twitter feed. Enjoy the perspective. KSTP Interview on former teammates talking about Bill Guerin

Thanks...I tried!

I think we'll be fortunate if they don't finish in last. Yet you are right, its more about the experience than what place you are battling for at the end.

Paul Fenton was a former NHL'er though. He wasn't a star player, but I don't think that matters as much these days. Can you work with people, manage contracts and the salary cap, and can you instill a culture of accountability, respect and responsiveness from the front office on down? Fenton couldn't and that's why he got the axe.

I agree...at the very least shaken.

Wild Announce Traverse City Tournament roster & schedule, tourney thoughts... I give a quick overview of the tournament and have links to the other teams (other than Detroit which hasn't released a roster yet as far as I could find) rosters. Not real hopeful for this group to win it all. Enjoy and discuss...

Wild Hire Bill Guerin as GM, some thoughts... I share my thoughts on the hire. Hopefully the bromance isn't the Modano / Guerin version this time around...

Either way, it was just leverage for Waddell to get a deal from Carolina. I'm fine with it. I still agree with @IllaZilla as its all irrelevant if Leipold keeps acting like Jerry Jones.

This...is 100% correct. I don't think the fans will stay away in droves. Do I think season ticket sales will be far tougher to sell, you bet. Yet, I have a simple solution to that. The team didn't have to spend the money it did this summer on Zuccarello. It will be inconsequential. It could've just saved the money, given the kids more ice time and let them develop with more quality opportunities. Instead, we're going to relegate the youngsters to lesser / bit roles...because we have to justify all that $$$ we spent on players over 30-years old. The new GM, whoever he is...is going to walk into a team that has even more money tied up to more 32 & older guys than did Fenton. And most of the decent move-able assets we had, we mostly dealt away for little to nothing in return. We have a $4 million a season center that has no spot to play and he's signed for 3 seasons including this one. We have NMC's to geezers meaning we'll have to risk losing the 'gamebreakers' we got in return in those previously mentioned deals. The truth is, this team was a laughingstock BEFORE we fired Fenton.

Yea, the 6 franchises he just doesn't understand? Yea, kind of figured we'd be on that list. The Wild are arguably the most irrelevant franchise in the NHL right now.

Check out this franchise confidence survey   This isn't surprising...and its damning as it should be.

Mandrycky has been hired for the new Seattle franchise and the Thomas guy is going to work for a new company that is still NHL-affiliated by what I've heard. As a movie once said...don't try to confuse me with the facts.

(shrugs) While Fenton was paranoid about leaks, I'm not sure he was a micromanager. I think if anything, he was sort of hands on / hands off manager. When he felt he done what was needed he'd give himself a break. I think they need a full GM. They need someone to be working to re-sign Spurgeon. I agree with you, I don't get why he decided to wait that extra month and half if the exit interviews really eroded Leipold's confidence in Fenton's ability to do the job. But there is nothing that can be done about that now.

He's mentioned in my GM draft search article...and I said as much on Page 3 of the thread.

Good post...lots of mixed messages from this organization. Double standards galore...and outsiders wonder why we're so frustrated with this team.

Those are names I thought about briefly, but I couldn't use Andy Sutton because we got him in the expansion draft. Zbynek Michalek, that reasonable serviceable defenseman we spent the time to develop and then just tossed him away for Erik Westrum and some other minor league defenseman?!?! Yea, I thought about him but since I somewhat based my decision on points he didn't quite make the cut. But he would've fit the parameters since like Dupuis, we didn't draft him and signed him as a free agent out of major junior. Joel Ward is another good find. We didn't keep him long enough, but he had some good years. Not too shabby for a guy who took the super rare Canadian college route to the NHL. Points-wise he still gets edged out. Leddy and Tuch are disqualified from this list because we drafted them. But you're right...they are certainly players whom the team will look back after their careers are done and wished we hadn't let them get away. Heck even now...both of them could've helped fix some holes on this team. The Leddy deal...our best defenseman at the time AND Leddy for Cam Barker. I can understand maybe one-for-one in that kind of a deal...but why were we giving two players away when IMO were the club that was selling in that one.

I simply tried to create the best Wild team I could with the parameters I set. The defense for this team is nothing to get excited about and calling any of them stars is a gross overstatement. Yet if I want anyone to read it...star talent sounds better than the average to above average talent that passed through the Minnesota Wild. I could've stuck to just forwards and its a more respectable team, but since I drafted a full team with my obscurity team...i thought might as well draft a full squad again.

Well I wouldn't think they'd sign a GM they didn't feel was on board with their vision. While Fenton turned out to be a jackpipe to those in the Wild front office and media..he was trying to fulfill the owner's vision. He wasn't just straight up rebuild. It was an attempt to reconstruct the team on the fly. While I wouldn't mind Hextall, he may not fit with what Leipold wants, especially if he plans to run things the same way he did with the Flyers. Don't get me wrong...a lot of us would have been less critical of Fenton if he stuck with the "younger and faster" mantra he claimed to want to establish. The problem was he made moves that contradicted it and it was clear there was no real vision. It was just random things and by the sounds of it...he'd make a move or two and then go on vacation.

Wild GM Search Begins in Earnest...who is out there? I wrote some quick summaries on some of the candidates available. Mellanby seems like an interesting choice, although his role seems to have been similar to what Fenton had with the Predators before he came here. Lots of options and so far it seems like the team is not going to rush it which is (probably) a good thing. Enjoy and discuss....

No, he isn't. He said as much on Barriero the day it was announced Fenton was fired. Also, Russo said Kurvers isn't in the mix mostly because of his health concerns. It amazing how many different people, not just Minnesota media but national media that either tweeted or wrote parts of articles saying how the Wild should not hire Chiarelli. Even though he may fit the experience requirement, but given his mistakes and with the talent he's squandered in his tenures in Boston and Edmonton...they know fans will riot and credibility will be damaged further by hiring Chiarelli.

Not sure where you put Rask other than either 3rd or 4th lines. @IllaZilla's comment about Russo's revealing the Wild did just about no homework on Rask is about as damning as it gets. The sad but funny thing is, what actually happened was worse and more pathetic than we even speculated here.

Its obviously relative to what our team is. But these are the most statistically significant players that fit the parameters I set.

Chiarelli can go to hell. Its either going to be Hextall or Don Waddell by what I've heard. Not sure why any of us need an Oilers fan trying to convince us that Chiarelli is anything other than a massive mistake machine.

Great point. Although isn't that due to the fact the team isn't really that entertaining and companies are hoping to schmooze clients elsewhere? Especially with a team that was such a buzzkill at home last year.