EJ0226

I honestly think BB only has a part input into the lines. Something is right. BB makes his share of mistakes but the guy has always tried to put together a winning team and all of a sudden he doesn't here.

Exactly how I felt. They put a good effort out but even their good effort isn't good enough to win. I feel this team has to put out a beyond great effort to win a game. Maybe a trade or two could change things up but right now I can't see this team winning more then 22 games this season.

Personally, I think they got a big enough say. They can still run to Leipold and Leipold can enforce what they say to Guerin. I just can't shake that feeling until they are both gone. It's Guerins first year so if he wants to continue being a GM he is going to listen to the owner on everything. At least what I suspect.

I think BB has his hands pretty tied up as to who plays and the TOI. I think BB is to stubborn to quit or his ego won't let him so he just deals with the outcome and his answers are becoming more scripted as he is starting to not care. I feel for him. Look at the life and excitement he had when he first got here to what it is now. I do believe if BB could bench whoever he would. We seen him do that at other places but let's not forget it's been proven he has been forced to play players he didn't want too. But he would have to ask his two bosses Parise and Suter first so they can talk to the GM and Leipold about it. It's a chitshow

This is the nail in the coffin that this team has any talent. Literally every player needs to play at 150% of what they can play at for 60+ minutes in order to actually win. Watching how this team just shuts down with zero ability to dig deep and find the will to fight back. We don't have talent. Simply as that. So the team needs to be able to go into the next gear all the time for 60+ minutes a game. I honestly don't think they have the ability to do this either. I want to be excited about prospects but after 3 coaches and 3 GMs and not seeing any type of develop from any prospects in that time I don't have the confidence anything will change at this point. What's even more frustrating is seeing guys the WIld considered prospects or not good enough go elsewhere and shine. We also got to stop and consider that the Wild might be considered the team to skip over going too. Kessel avoid the Wild like the plague well choosing Coyotes to go play for and we all know what a mess that franchise has been. Phil is a smart guy and seen something so bad he would not come here even though this team is supposedly loaded with "talent". Think about that for a minute. I am glad that he didn't sign here but it does say something about him skipping the Wild and signing with the Coyotes when one team is suppose to be a possible Cup runner and the other is in turmoil. We might not be on any talents radar anymore. I really do believe Leipold put this franchise into a corner that is going to take a very long time to recover from. From him acting like a GM, to being BFFs with two certain players, refusing to rebuild, etc. The guy isn't a hockey guy. He's a basketball guy who couldn't afford a NBA team but wanted to be "one of the boys" and own a pro team. He ended up with hockey. Had the Preds for sometime and they were never a threat until he sold the team. It took a few years for the Preds to become that threat as they had to undue years of Leipold decisions. Now we are seeing the same thing with the Wild.

Thank you. I have thought that even with a plan on how to direct this team I don't believe it would make a difference. The roster is just bad. It really feels like there has been a toxic cloud in that locker room forever. It goes back to Yeo and Fletcher era not to long after the signing of 11 and 20. Since then there hasn't been a time where I could see and feel that this team is anything more then at best a 1st round punching bag. I wish everybody would take their homer glasses off and see Parise and Suter were nothing more then a bill of goods to get people back in the seats.

If you are talking to me I am referring to guys like Zucker, Dumba and Spurgeon along with any possible up and comer down in the AHL. I am not even worried about returns right now. I just want to see possible talent be able to flourish and get into positions to win. The Wild are not able to do that. Not until they can do a straight rebuild after the long term anchor contracts are long gone. But the franchise doesn't want to do a rebuild. Somehow they think they actually have the players with the talent, skill set, drive and thirst to win. Maybe we have one or two players with all the above but otherwise most are missing 2 of the 4 things I listed if not more. So I hate to see talent rot away like we have in other sports like Barry Sanders, Andrew Luck, etc. I wish the Wild were something else then what they are. Almost anybody with a half-witted mind could see the Parise and Suter signing were to boost interest in the team again. They quickly became a crutch that should have been taken away after a few years. It never was so everything became based around it and has lead the Wild down a rough path. It didn't take long to see that any decrease in skillset with the core would pretty much doom the team. Instead of developing players to their own skill set they were busy trying to hammer square pegs into run holes to try and fit in for the core players. It's very frustrating as a fan to see this. What really sets me over the edge is watching how the players play and react. Suter might as well just skate around the arena point at the fans and laughing well flashing his money. Parise tries but he's not a super star player. He's above average player who got paid big bucks. Can't play him for signing but he can't complain that the team is in the dumps either. Koivu is another overpaid player who does try but doesn't have the skill set to carry a team. Then we watched the Wild continue to sign shell of their former selves players to fat pay days cause they fit in with the core players again. Now watching the team it seems like every game we have maybe 1-3 guys who are trying and wanting to win well the others just go through the motions. It's not like 95% of these guys haven't played together for years now. Sadly Bruce will get the chit end of the stick on this and be fired which does nothing as it's still the same players that have shown us the same results for over 6 years now.

I love and adore hockey. It really is a amazing sport the more you think about it. And hockey players tend to be thought of the blue collar guys. Hard working but relatable guys. The Wild come off as something different. They come off as guys who expect rewards with no hard work or grinding. Who want it to revolved all around them without helping each other. Guys who are part of a country club and don't make any errors so they past it down to the next guy. Guys who want to be out there during the glory (aka PP, end of game time, PK, etc) well not putting in the effort to deserve to be out there. Maybe one day we will see the Wild in the Cup Finals but it won't be happening anytime within in the next 8 years unless we got some insane draft picks and/or free agents/trades. With that the case I would like to see some of these more talented players get moved to somewhere where they can shine. I hate to see talent get wasted and rot on the Wild.

I would say the one player I wouldn't blame is Stalock. They left him out there to dry. 3 goals were because the defense left a guy completely wide open with nobody nearby for a good 20 feet if not more. Then the other goal was a typical Dumba error goal, a direct pass into the other teams player. I feel for Bruce. He makes his mistakes for sure but he really is a good coach. These players, they just suck. They are toxic prima donnas. Sadly it seems like as soon as any of them get a new contract the effort goes to 25% and the drive to play goes. Spurgeon has looked like crap since signing. Zucker has not come close to the season before he got his new contract. Staal has completely become a Suter (which sucks as I do like Staal but do wish the Wild let him walk). Parise is diminishing pretty fast with scoring. He might be able to skate but it's pointless when he can't score or play defense. Now the typical player defense is coming up as they are being exposed for who they are so they will start distancing themselves from the coach and start calling the coach out. Apparently they think their fanbase is moronic and can't put together that the same core guys are on their third coach and third GM with the same old results. No longer a coach or GM issue but a player issue. But I am no longer frustrated with the team on the hope they can win. I am more frustrated on the wasted talent they threw away or currently have. I hope those guys with talent and want to play the game are able to escape us and go somewhere where it will be appreciated by the franchise and fan base. Leipold made the franchise known as the team to go to if you have a name that might appear big, at the end of the career and want one last big contract.

We can't forget the biggest reflection, Craig Leipold either. He needs to be a owner and back off from any decision making other then what color check to sign and if a new GM is needed.

What a hero!!! Where is that house, lol? I would love to see just 20 minutes first. Then 30, then 40, then 50. After that let's talk about 60 minutes. What we are seeing is the results of the team trying to say certain players are game changers/super stars for years instead of trying to draft one or actually acquire one. Koivu should have never been made a Captain. Parise and Suter are nothing more then a bill of goods that the team anchored to this franchise for 13 years. At this point the damage is so badly done I really can't foresee Guerin being able to do any correction for a few years unless a few miracle trades happen. Sadly it appears that toxic environment a lot of us were talking about years ago seems to have contaminated a lot of the players that weren't before. Either Staal is injured or he is pulling a Suter in where he got a fat contract and now gives a 20% effort. Spurgeon is looking like that. Zucker was never as good as he was before his contract. Players that were giving effort and trying are now doing the typical stand around and give a half hearted try. Hell, Foligno appears to be the fastest guy out there which is scary. I feel for Bruce. He makes his mistakes for sure but majority of the mess is not even close to his fault. The roster is terrible filled with toxic guys that the franchise made into their "leaders". The players trying and playing hard either get traded or eventually get sucked into the toxic sludge. The "leaders" and core guys are on their second GM and third head coach and more then likely Bruce will be gone before the end of the season. Only that changes is a new coach. Same guys with the same attitude and same power over the coach. They hang out with the owner and just completely ignore the coach and possibly the GM. And what's even more frustrating is the "true fans" just eat it up that the franchise claims it's the coach or just one player away or Parise and Suter are true game changers or super stars. The money continues to flow so Leipold couldn't care less what is going on the ice. I don't even know if I truly want the team to go into rebuilding mode. We got 6 more years of a two guys that clearly don't sync well with others and seem to have the ability to pass that along to others. I almost think the Wild will have to suffer of just being a non playoff team but not bottom 5 team until Staal, Parise, Suter and Koivu are gone unless the team just told those guys to stay home as they will no longer be using them which we know Leipold is in love with Suter and Parise so it won't happen.

I think what should happen is a win in regulation is 2 points. A win in OT or shootouts is 1 point and a lose no matter when is 0. This makes it so just trying to hold on to OT doesn't mean you get any points but instead for sure lose 1 point if not 2. A losing effort gets you 0 points no matter what. Not being able to finish in regulation loses you a point. Stop rewarding lazy effort or the inability to finish a game. Sadly, a huge part of people here say this coming from the Wild years ago. They tried to build a franchise around a career 2nd line/ 3rd line Center. When that didn't work they went after two bills of goods, Parise and Suter. Like it or not, these two were never game changing superstars. Maybe very good players but not enough to move a franchise forward but they got paid like superstars on top of getting 13 years with ntc/ nmc. Then all they did is trying to plug in people to complement those two including forcing players to become a type/style of player to complement them instead of developing the players best skill set to help the team. When it didnt' work out they were booted out where they found love with another franchise and they excelled there. Rinse and repeat. Then factor in the love of the franchise to sign players age 34+ to 3+ year contracts with NTC & NMC. After years of this players are finally saying no I don't want to go there. Kessel proved this (thank god he didn't come here). He picked the Coyotes, a team in such disarray over a supposedly ready to make a deep playoff run team. In the end I sadly see the Wild will continue to give 11, 20 and 9 the majority of minutes. The focus should be on the future and those 3 should be in the back. Their time has come and gone. Give the younger kids a chance and players showing promise. Let them develop together and don't force them with the older guys like Staal, Parise, Suter and Koivu. It would be nice for this to happen. It might not change much as far as playoffs go but if the younger kids know that they will get rewarded for playing hard and won't be forced to play a certain way maybe it will make it fun to watch the Wild. As is, it for sure seems like the Wild left off exactly where they ended last year. And the "leaders" show no leadership or the want to step it up big time.

^This. The Wilds front office shows it's complete incompetence as usual. I like Spurgeon is probably our best defenseman at playing defense but the Wild waited to long and then hit a panic button to sign him resulting in terms that are counterproductive to the franchise in the long run. If he wanted more then 4 years then it should have been a automatic no to any NTC/NMC. Money wise, due to Fenton wanting to vacation and forget about little things like hockey, is fair market. If Fenton along with Leipold had any idea on how to run a team would have gone and done the deal before average defense were getting $7.5 million plus. It's early but I am already getting nervous with Guerins decision making. Maybe it's just from bad past experiences with GMs. Spurgeon should have never got the terms he got. This is coming from a Spurgeon fan. Yea, the Wild sure love the corner of protecting old, skill declined guys to watch the young talented players leave. Seems like the cycle is going to continue. I wonder what young talent Seattle is going to grab from us.

It's really crazy to see how many times the Wild chased the "star" or very good player who was in the decline of their career in hopes they would somehow revert back to their younger self. Or chase players would come here, not produce, get traded or go elsewhere where they would be used correctly and produce. The list was really good LiG.

The Wild are getting closer and closer. I fear for this team when 11 and 20 are on the last two years of their contracts. I can see Leipold really going nuts and setting the franchise back another 10 years with getting involved in bad moves and decisions. I truly believe, just like the Nashville Predators, the Wild will become a serious contender the day Leipold sells the team. He makes the teams he owns middle of the road but nowhere good enough to get out of the first round of playoffs. I mean we were known as the retirement team for shell of their former selves vet players in the twilight of their careers to get one last over bloated contract and now those players don't even want to come here. Says a lot about the franchise.

@rottenrefs post is fantastic! Exactly how I feel and the reason I have been saying for a very long time that even the mighty Scotty Bowman couldn't fix this mess. It all starts with Leipold. A guy who knows basketball but couldn't afford to own a NBA team. He still wanted to be "one of the boys" of owning a sports team and found hockey was in his price range. Guy has no knowledge of the sport yet is making his decisions involved in all aspects of the game. Sadly, I think the only chance the Wild really do have is walking away from a ton of these guys. We have a lot of players who have been the Fletcher era which was worship the old, high paid vets and not develop the young guys. You could tell this created a atmosphere that was hostile unless you were a overpaid vet. Factor in that some of the vets would wine and dine with the owner and go over their coaches head and hire other people who come in on your coaches meetings and receive zero punishment and it paints a ugly picture. Fenton comes in and completely throws a monkey wrench into what was going on. Of course this didn't actually fix things but made it worse. Now even the overpaid vets get to feel what a toxic environment feels like and boy did they raise up a stink and cry about it. I don't know if this roster of guys who have gone through these two GMs would be able to band together and become a team like the Blues. The three guys they built their franchise around are not a year or two from retirement and have declined in a big way. And let's not forget that Parise, Koivu and Suter are now getting injured prone and have some serious injuries. I really do believe a full rebuild is going to be needed for the Wild for them to have a shot. I think they need to shed whatever toxic environment that these two GMs allowed/created which means almost everybody involved during that time is gone. Think about how bad it has to be from behind the seems when older/nearing retirement vets are refusing to come here and we have been known as the retirement home of the NHL for old vets to come and get one last huge payday before walking into the sunset.

This is the sad thing for the next GM. They start off in a very bad spot due to not one but two of the past GMs signings. Throw in the expansion draft coming up and being forced to protect a ton of guys the new GM had nothing to do with and I can't foresee the new GM getting anything started for at least 3 to 4 years (6 years for 11 & 20 to finally be flushed out of here). And this is based on if CL can pull his head from his @ss and finally agree the franchise needs to go through a rebuild. Can anybody here honestly tell me they think this team is just a tweak away from actually making a serious Cup run? Watch every other team in the playoffs. Watch how they play. Watch how they kick into next gear. Watch how they rally around each other. Now watch the Wild every playoffs since 2012-2013 season. I have been to a few playoff games in person. Not once in any of the seasons did I see the Wild roster display even one of these keys to make a run. What I fear will happen is CL goes and gets a little more serious GM that is still a good yes man and goes with the plan that the roster is pretty much set and really only need one or two changes and try to milk the dead cow dry until 11 and 20s contracts finally expire then decide they need to rebuild. I hate how our owner tries to get so involved when he had no interest in hockey until he realized he couldn't afford to own a NBA team. He might have good basketball knowledge but his hockey knowledge is at a 1st grade level.

^^ This. As long as CL wants to be GM and the GM he hires wants to be a coach while worshipping 9, 11 and 20 like they are actually stud super stars it won't matter who they hire or what they do for the next 6 years. This is what makes me bang my head on the wall. It's been happening for a long time. It's clear 11 and 20 can do whatever they want with no punishment. Like or hate Yeo but what 11 and 20 did with Oates ordeal should have been good enough to terminate their contracts. Hopefully this time CL actually realizes this and learns the only things he needs to do is hire a proven winner GM, sign the checks and only step in if the franchise is completely out of control. Cut ties with 11 and 20 and no more going out for dinners with them. Both of them are not winners and have no idea what it takes to win it all. Let the GM and his staff handle the players. Then we might have a shot.

If it's true that CL would even consider Chiarelli after everything that guy has managed to screw up then the Wild franchise is in the Bermuda Triangle in the middle of a hurricane. But like @rottenrefs said, CL is herpes of this franchise. It just won't go away and screws up the possibility of good times. Until CL learns to just be a owner by sitting down, signing the checks, tell players to go to the GM/Coach for issues and only get involved with things are on the verge of bursting open this team will be nothing more then a sinking, laughing stock ship. Good for vets with big names who are in the twilight of their careers and a shell of their former selves to get one last big money contract and retire. CL needs to spend the money and get a proven winner GM. Let the GM do everything to build the winning team. If this includes making some players, coaches, management not comfortable tell those individuals "tough chit!". I am no businessman but if CL is as good as some people claim then he should know he needs to keep out of the operations area as he has no clue what to do. When you start losing $ on said company and you, the owner, is constantly sticking your nose into operations when you have no idea how to run it and only look at a operations person who says you are correct and agree with every one of your decisions then what do you think is going to happen? Your customers still continue to want the product as it gets worse and worse well getting more expensive? Your customer base are not morons. They will simply stop buying it. Get some fresh eyes in that have the experience and knowledge to try and solve your issue even if they don't agree with what you think should happen.

Well, I am glad you asked because.......... In all honesty I just burnt out of how this team has been going for years. It frustrates me as I love hockey more then any other sport. I would love to see Suter and Parise hold that cup above their head as it means we finally won but I am also not going to wear blinders and believe they are the keys to it. The team needs a new direction badly and has to tell everybody you are either falling in line and following or you can exit now.

That makes a impact but let's be honest the single biggest impact is the roster and direction of this team. If a team is a winner people will come no matter what. When a team is a team that strides to just make the playoffs and pats themselves on the back after being swept in the first round and then says it just needs a minor tweak or two year after year, well even the biggest homers with blinders on get sick of it. I have been seeing people through various social media sites even talking about what I have been saying for years, the Parise and Suter contracts will be one of the worst in Minnesota pro sports history. People are seeing this roster is both not a cup winning roster and big parts of it don't have the will and thirst to win one. People don't want to pay to see what we have been seeing since Suter and Parise got here. I honestly hope that Leipold just becomes a owner. Get a hard nosed GM in and let them run the team. Even if it's a Hextall who could make the money leeches want to get out of here cause they want to get paid but not put in the work. Something to reset the atmosphere and break up the locker room issues. The team can not continue doing what they are doing. They can't center around old and washed vets like Koivu, Suter and Parise. They can't let players go off and do their own things without punishment. They can't continue minor tweaks. They can't continue with CL interfering with the GMs job and the GM interfering with the coaches job. They can't allow players to go past the coach and GM to complain about something to the owner they are friends with. They need a GM who is the opposite of all of this and is willing to make CL go sit in the corner and be quiet. Punish any player who doesn't follow the rules or causes locker room issues. Bench players being ineffective regardless of pay. Maybe one day we will see this happen. Hopefully Leipold is a smart enough businessman to realize his interference is not working anymore and needs a good hard nose person to run it.

The Wild are the most successful, unsuccessful team ever. They make insane, bone headed moves, seem to have a badly function management team and allow certain players to create their own rules without punishment and still somehow manage to scrape a playoff spot. Granted they will never be more then a first round punching bag (and if you think they have a shot to be more then that then you really are not watching the Wild and the rest of the hockey teams) but they still find just a smidge of success. Nothing that makes the team able to win a cup. But that success also makes it impossible for them to draft well for the future, well, at least get a high draft pick.

Great write up @CreaseAndAssist. My take on this team. It will not matter who is hired. The biggest issues are CL feeling/wanting to run the team and Parise and Suter acting as management instead of players. CL has to learn he is a owner. Sit down, shut up, sign checks and only make noise when things are completely out of control. No being friends with players. If players have issues they go to the GM or coach only. If CL wants to run a team with decisions and player management then he needs to sell the team and go be a GM. No GM or coach will have success as long as CL continues doing what he is doing. Parise and Suter need to learn they are nothing more then players. They aren't even super stars so stop running to daddy Craig when you get pushed to work a little or get yelled at. The Wild need to make CL office door behind another door that only GM and CL have a badge to get by. Give 20 and 11 a badge that allows them only access to the locker room. If these two things can happen then hire a GM that doesn't take chit from anybody. He isn't scared to make high paid players not performing well go through hell. That will create a work hard and win atmosphere. That won't accept making the playoffs as a win. That won't allow players to run the asylum. Only then can we have a shot.

Even Brandon Mileski said his first interview with Fenton did not go good and basically after 2 questions went to basic yes and no questions due to how unwelcoming/friendly Fenton was to questions. I know he is a homer but he is pretty honest. So if Fenton was that way to the media could you image what it was like behind the scenes? But even without this coming to light just how Fenton managed his first year was worst then any of Fletchers. Horrible draft picks, horrible trades and forcing players into the lineup when they shouldn't be and more screams fire him.

Sounds like he caused a lot of internal turmoil and didn't know how to talk to basically the media or people below him. Listening to radio interviews talking about this and what Russo has wrote his lack of ability to communicate and handle stuff like this was the final nail. Let's be honest here, his GM skills were pretty bad. Even with a healthy team, after all the people he ran out of here for orange pylons, this team would have missed the playoffs. Also, his draft picks.....