EJ0226

Honestly, if they just cut the core 3 TOI and not put them out there in Key situations well keeping them in check it would go a long ways. We need to focus on the youth and put them in the drivers seat. We can put the core 3 up on the roof rack with the luggage. I was impressed with Sturm and his drive and passion. It was so fresh and actually got me excited to see the Wild one last time this season. I hope on Saturday he can snag a sharp looking goal. My dream would be for the Wild to start most of the younger guys and they go out there and light it up and give the Wild their most impressive win of the season. We don't need to sign a ton of players or huge names if we can do what I said above. At this point @CreaseAndAssist has said with his sources that locker room is a huge mess. Before 11 & 20 showed up we really didn't have that problem but every since them came in there has always seem to be a locker room problem. Then factor in the Parise, Suter and Oates ordeal and it doesn't take out much to figure out where it starts. Of course 11 & 20 are best of friends with CL. Hell Suter has said about him going out to supper with CL. It's very unprofessional both by the owner and player. How could that locker room not be a mess. You got two guys who do what they want and go hang out with the owner well the rest never get that treatment.

Completely understand. And I 100% trust you on this information. You always do a great job. I both glad and sad that my thoughts and predictions on this are coming true. At least something is coming to light.

Thank you. I am still on the side that we really don't have a game changer/ franchise changer. I would need to see Dumba have two full season like the one he was having this season to change my mind on him. I think he has a very high upside now and I was one who was very worried about him. I would love to hear more on this. I know you can't give out your sources but you probably recall from the old boards I was and still am certain this was true. I always see some groups and individuals on this team and not a whole unit. And what my instincts say is the cancer starts at 11 and 20. I don't think 9 was originally like that but got tainted. 9 never seem to appear selfish or had locker room issues until 11 and 20 showed up. I think 40 is probably a good guy in the locker room but wants to hang with the cool kids and stays around them but doesn't say much. I think 12 was fine when he first got here but then seen you are either with the cool kids who have the say on the team or you are one of the outcasts that the team will get rid of.

Nice write up! I will start with I feel for Bruce. The old saying of you can lead a horse to water but you can't force it to drink stands true for his coaching. Too many players appeared to quit or just not put in the full effort to help the Wild win. Then it comes out from Russo that he was being forced to play at least one player when he wanted others to play really makes you wonder how much say Bruce has overall. I mean we seen him bench/cut TOI big time to even star players that were struggling but never appeared to do that here. Suter should have been having that happen. I think Bruce doesn't have the final say. I hate to see it but Bruce now compared to Bruce when he was first hired is two different people. That fire and life seems to be sucked out and he almost talks in a perspective of like a assistant coach instead of head coach. Fenton seems to appear to want somebody else. My guess is Bruce is gone at the end of the season either by his choice or Fenton lets him go. I feel for him as he is a good coach. He just ran into a group of players that didn't have the same love, passion and drive to want to win it all. I will be sad to see Bruce go. Things I want to see change: - The focus on and developing prospects. - Cutting vets TOI down and dramatically cutting their time out there during key moments. We need the younger generation to get use to those moments. - Having our owner back away from GM decisions and our GM backing away from coaching decisions. Leipold appears to be a fan boy and wants to be in there when it comes to picking players. He just needs to sign the checks and back away. Fenton needs to back away from coaching decisions and actually ask his coach what he needs and try to go out there and get that. Not go out and get players he likes and has a past with. - Have Leipold not get involved with the players. Tell the players if they have any issues bring it up to the coach and GM. - We need a game changer/franchise changer. A natural goal scorer. We don't have that and it's killing us. - I wouldn't be shy looking into goalies either. Dubnyk can really be a flip of the coin. He can have games where you start to think he is top tier goalie and then have games where the game is out of control in the first 3 minutes. The soft goals that go in are frustrating to say the least. - We are going to need to shed some contracts if possible. Hate it or like it, Zucker is one I would be looking to ship. Way to much for what he brings. Rask is another. We got a bunch of UFA and RFA we need to make decisions on and they are going to demand more money. - Get better scouts. - Develop a identity of the team. - No more of these player only meetings. Listen to your coach. Play to keep your job. And most of all play and win for your fan base that allows you to have a job like you have instead of like the rest of 99% of us. - Please request a change of almost all the guys on the FSN team. They are terrible and sound like the biggest cheerleaders/suck ups to the Wild ever! I got more but I hope to see some of these happen especially the first two I listed.

Don't be sorry. Fantastic write up! Don't get me wrong, I love the Wild and having Pro Hockey back in Minnesota but... best way to describe it is that there is something missing that will never be 100% like before. Maybe that is why I am able to look at the Wild more from a third person view instead of a fan with blinders one. I love them but also know this team and the situation they are in are no way near being serious on a Cup run. And I want some bigger picture into what they are doing instead of what Fenton is doing. But I miss the Stars sweaters. Man they were perfect. Beautiful colors and a strong yet simple design and logo. Dallas should have had to rename their team something completely different as it's just salt in the wound.

Thanks @CreaseAndAssist! Fantastic write up even way back then. I forgot about the Gund deal that pretty much stripped the Stars of any talent. The team was screwed from there on and never had a chance. But like it was pointed out, it was never 100% Norms fault. The team had been terrible for some time. Poor drafting, lack of actually high end talent and just a faulty product on the ice takes a toll on any fan base. Norm still sucks though. He was hot to trot about relocating. I do recall when the team was bad the prices did increase. At least I swear to god I am not imagining this. This whole ordeal created a weird issue with the fanbase of the Wild now. Some of us, like me, will always be a North Star fan first and the Wild feel like some weird "second string" team. Don't get me wrong, I am so happy we have pro hockey here but I also feel like I don't owe this team anything and have no problem nitpicking the glaring issues. They are our team but they aren't, if you know what I mean. We also have fans that were here and aware of the North Stars before the Wild. They worry about losing another team and will defend everything and paint a rosy picture no matter the situation. Both fan base are neither right or wrong. We all enjoy hockey. Hell a lot of us love it! I know the sting of the North Stars suck because we lived through such a bad teams forever and when they finally showed signs of improving were moved. What is crazy is if you look at how the Stars were, a stagnant team with bad drafting, no high end talent and directionless, that would describe the Wild and Gophers right now. Sort of feels like we are seeing a very similar path right this second.

I wasn't talking about a surprise story. I mean Fletcher made the Wild a consistent playoff team so we never got good draft picks but the team was no where good enough to make a serious run much less get out of the 1st round. Chuck had the Wild have 2 series wins in 6 playoff appearances. The last 3 playoffs the Wild got enough wins combined to win a series. Fletcher relies on over the hill vets that are a shell of their selves to run the team. What's worst is he gives them big contracts with NMC/NTC. Fletcher drafting history is terrible too. With him and his staffing he struggled to develop any talent from the draft picks. He has no problem throwing away draft picks for rentals that literally disappear out of the NHL as soon as their contract is up with the Wild. The Suter/Parise contracts don't end until the end of the 24-25 season and might go down as one of the worst contracts of all time. Suter can be argued he was in the top 5 for defensemen but Parise was never a top tier player. He hit top 20 2 or 3 times in his career but otherwise struggles to make even in the top 50. That money could have been spent elsewhere to make the Wild better. My point is that Fletcher was cheered when it was announced he was finally fired. He was a big improvement from Dumpster Doug before but that's like saying going from a skateboard to a bike is a big improvement well everybody else is driving a car. You are still behind. Fans got sick of his bad decisions and panic moves. He literally made the franchise stuck. Not good enough to make a playoff push beyond the 2nd round but not bad enough to draft a possible franchise changer either.

From a Wild fan I feel bad for you Flyer fans unless you happen to have a kink for getting players that had names but are in the very late twilight of their careers and just a shell of their former selves. O and also fans of overpaying for these players with NTC/NMC on these because that is what is going to happen. CF will get the team just good enough to never be able to get a top pick but no where good enough to make a serious playoff run.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Granlund but I have come to really like him. And it's so true that him, Spurgeon and Dumba are pretty much the only players willing to bring the puck in the zone without dumping. Two of your smallest guys are willing to risk being hit while big body guys like Koivu do everything to avoid a opposite player looking at them. Dump and Chase on PP should be rewarded with a huge cut into your TOI.

With this current roster it's hard to pinpoint a complete fix. I guess the first would be to have more players carry the puck in instead of dump and chase and fight for it around the boards for a good 20 seconds plus. To much wasted time. Another is I would spread the players out more. Nothing drives me more nuts then seeing the puck carry have about a 5 foot radius of his linemates around him. First you bunch up and have little room for the carrier to move. Second you have pretty much all the defenders right next to the puck carrier. It's like the Wild want the shot to come from the blue line only. Another thing I would do switch up the players on the ice. Koivu wouldn't be out there anymore. A faceoff win means jack if the puck is dumped in anyways and Koivu refuses to use his big frame to cause chaos in front of the net. I would look for the guys that are thirsty to score and want to play 100% and are willing to do the dirty work. There is lots of little things too but I think the above stuff is truly needed in order to improve it.

RIP inbox!!!

Awesome! Excited to find both of your write ups easily again!!!

Sorry folks, internet freaked out and it tripled posted. I can't seem to find a way to delte so could a mod delete 2 of the duplicate posts?

Ahhh, yes, good old FC! If you don't love and worship every move the Wild do and every player on the team you are a idiot and hater. Thank you and trust us, it will be lively!!! You will find a lot of us will call out the team decisions and players often. We aren't hating but we are seeing problems and know these need to be corrected or can see what's holding us back without wearing homer blinders to ignore the issues. We all want nothing but the Cup here. Dammit, this state deserves it! But we like to get in discussions about how to fix issues and there is some good hockey knowledge people in the group that come up with ideas how to fix the team. Quick question, Anybody know if LemaireisGod and MNsota are here too? I love their write ups and hope to see it here.

Hey Wiley! Glad to see more familiar faces!

EJ checking in from the wild.com. Glad to see familiar faces around here!