EJ0226

3 minutes ago, bbgarnett said:

Maybe he wanted to be fired after he got here and found out how bad the organization was, so he purposely did things to to try and get him fired.  

Honestly I would believe this if he didn't have a connection with Leipold. I think with the warming house losing people and season ticket holders not renewing and mixing in very bad trades that did nothing for the franchise but lose key players for at least this franchise, a big impact move had to be done. I suspect Modano will be announced as the new GM.

Give the guy credit. He worked hard to be worse then Fletcher.

So what was your favorite Fenton moment?

On ‎7‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 3:40 PM, IllaZilla said:

 

This next season will certainly be interesting. Are the Wild going to commit to giving the young guys the ice time to improve, or are they going to continue to try and ride the vets to a playoff spot?

 

And I know all the cheerleaders are going to point at the Blues and say “See? You just need to get in to the Playoffs and anything can happen!”

 

In my opinion, the Blues caught lightening in a bottle. They were one of the worst teams in the NHL in December. Several things happened to turn their season around, including a young goal tender bursting onto the scene and the coaching change. 

On ‎7‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 5:24 PM, Tomdog said:

If the cheerleaders think St. Louis’s success was a “get in and see what happens “ moment , they’re nuts. 

St. Louis was built for platoff hockey. Their smallest regular player weighs in at 190 lbs. 

players not timid about taking the body. A coach who got them to by in on solid defense. Balanced scoring. 

All that requires patience and a plan. 

Something the wild lack. 

The biggest difference between the Wild and the Blues? One team has a group of guys who want to win it all, are willing to sacrifice to make it happen, work as a unit and support each other while another works in small cliques, only have a handful of guys willing to do whatever it takes to win it all, only a handful willing to sacrifice and overall don't work that well with each other.

We can talk size tell we are blue in the face but what's the point when the Wild will only run Parise and Suter with their friends in the first 2 lines and in all key moments. It's frustrating. Thank god we signed another big, young, scoring machine in Mats Zuccarello.    At least he plays 80 games every year..... o... wait....

So where is this determination and willing to fight so hard on the ice?! Why in the world does he care to be out there? He's getting paid no matter what? Is his ego so big and controlling he needs to be out there so he can "coach", "direct" and "GM" the other players and coaches? Only thing he causes on the ice is for his linemate (mainly Spurgeon) to have to do double the work. The effort of standing in one spot and only making a half hearted attempt to stop a play when they come into your bubble is not missed.

And if everything that was said did happen the fact he is ignoring professionals in the health field is a huge eye opener. There is a difference between working extremely hard to get back and ignoring medical advice from professionals and doing what you want to do. The fact he can't seem to register his injury has ended careers points to a blind and possibly dumb human being. I know this is bad and I hate thinking it but part of me wants him to get hurt enough to end his career but not affect his life outside of hockey if he continues to ignore and not acknowledge what he needs to do to ensure a safe comeback that won't hurt him or the team. I hate saying that as I have only wanted 3 players to get hurt, Cooke, Bertuzzi and Wilson. Those players are dirty as hell and shouldn't be allowed on the ice. I hated having Cooke on the Wild. I felt dirty cheering for the Wild and he went out and showed why I hate him throws dirty hits and knee on knee shots and even gets a 7 game suspension.

On ‎7‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 7:39 AM, IllaZilla said:

 

Fun with Numbers:

 

When Stalock was in nets, the Wild scored 39 goals, for an average of 2.16 goals for.

When Stalock won, the Wild scored 27 goals, for an average of 4.5 goals for.

When Stalock lost, the Wild scored 12 goals, for an average of 1.0 goals for.

The Wild scored 2 goals or less 11 times when Stalock was in nets.

Stalocks record was 0-11 when the Wild scored 2 goals or less (Seven losses had 1 goal or less).

The Wild scored 3+ goals 7 times when Stalock was in nets.

Stalocks record was 6-1 when the Wild scored 3+ goals (Zero wins had 1 goal or less)

 

When Dubnyk was in nets, the Wild scored 177 goals, for an average of 2.76 goals for.

When Dubnyk won, the Wild scored 112 goals, for an average of 3.61 goals for.

When Dubnyk lost, the Wild scored 56 goals, for an average of 1.75 goals for.

The Wild scored 2 goals or less 30 times when Dubnyk was in nets.

Dubnyks record was 5-24 when the Wild scored 2 goals or less (Sixteen losses had 1 goal or less).

The Wild scored 3+ goals 36 times when Dubnyk was in nets.

Dubnyks record was 26-10 when the Wild scored 3+ goals (Three wins had 1 goal or less).

 

With these two goalies, the Wild need to score 3 or more goals per game to win. Last season the Wild averaged 2.57 goals for per game, which was 28th in the league (league average was 2.89 goals for per game). They averaged 2.89 goals against per game, which was 13th in the league (oddly enough, that was the league average).

Think you @IllaZilla. Fantastic number crunching there! Just goes to show it doesn't matter who is in net. If the Wild aren't scoring at least 3 goals they are pretty much screwed. And we have the offense power of a sparkler when we need a roman candle.

On ‎7‎/‎6‎/‎2019 at 9:40 AM, CreaseAndAssist said:

 

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

I haven't seen one thing so far that gives me any confidence in Fenton. I am actually worried we somehow took a step down firing Fletcher and hiring Fenton.

It does feel like Fenton will fixate on one player and do anything to either get him or get rid of him. And he wants his safety blankets for sure in players like Fiala. Giving zuccarello the NMC is mind boggling. The last 3 seasons Zuckers and Mats stats are very similar. Nothing that really stands out. Also, what is wrong with Fenton telling a player you are trying to sign that the player reminds him of a lizard?! Also what is wrong with Mats for him to not go WTF?!?! and run away? If a potential employer said that to me I would seeing red flags.

43 minutes ago, IllaZilla said:

I agree that Dubnyk needs to be rested, but the only way he gets rested is if Stalock starts winning more. But he's been barely a .500 goalie since joining the Wild:17-19, 2.84 GAA, .909 Sv%. For the team to give him more starts, he needs to start winning more, otherwise the team will continue to ride Dubnyk into the ground in order to make the Playoffs.

I would be curious to know how many of these loses came from the team not scoring or only scoring 1 goal. I would also be curious to know how what the average of goals scored with Stalock on the ice vs Dubnyk on the ice. Looking at their GAA they only differ by 0.45. I always suspect this team tends to  give more of a effort on the offense side with Dubnyk in net.

22 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

 

Can’t wait to see which young player the Wild loses to Seattle because every player over 30 on the Wild gets a NMC...

With Fenton I am really worried we will see Kaprizov to Seattle to protect Staal or Fiala. Nothing Fenton has done has given me any confidence. At this point I have no problem saying he is worse then Fletcher. His trades make zero sense unless his goal was to improve the other teams he is trading with. Saying younger and faster well continuing to shop a younger guy who is the fastest for older and slower players shows no real true game plan. Trading or signing players just because isn't a sign of a good GM.

51 minutes ago, sweetshot said:

Zuccarello is not actually on the decline--his points per game has been consistent since his 3rd year or so. Nothing wrong with him as a player IMO, I like him a lot actually.

The problem is that the Wild signed him for too many years considering his age and the almost inevitable decline in production that for most players begins at about 30 or so.. To the Wilds defense he hasn't shone that decline yet, and he's got less than 10 years in the NHL, so he may be one of those guys that continues to produce at an advanced age. Even so...

The real killers are the NMC and partial no-trade in years 4-5. You just can't keep giving these clauses to older players. If it was necessary to do in order to sign him--then DON'T sign him.

I still see a slight decline since his 61 point season but nothing red flag wise. I for sure agree on the contract. It drives me up the wall. Why do the Wild feel the need to give these contracts to older players with the No Move/No Trade clauses? Haven't they been burnt enough already? At this point they have put their hand in the fire so many times it's been burnt down to the bone.

I think this might the most frustrating pro sports team we have. Clearly Wild management is ignoring the clear issues. They made some game plan that they want to be younger and faster but continue to go after older and slower and lock those guys down so they can't move them. Rinse and repeat for the last 6 years and you have the Wild. They continue their slow decent to the bottom while everybody else continues to build correctly and pass the Wild. The Wild have to let go of the pipe dream that Parise, Suter and Koivu are key or corner pieces to winning a championship because they are not. They are now overpaid second string guys. The Wild have to focus on the youth and develop them including getting top TOI, PP, PK and other key moments to the youth well 11, 20 and 9 ride the pine and learn to be cheerleaders. If they become to toxic, it might suck but then healthy scratch them so they don't spread it to the youth.

56 minutes ago, Fargocase said:

To answer the thread title/Question - Yes, I am sure Fenton is a train wreck after the Zuccarrello UFA signing.    To even consider Kessell for Zucker blows my mind.  Now he signs a very small, soft, no defense aging Euro to a big, long term contract.   Just what the club needs!        We could have had Brock Nelson for what Fenton is paying this guy!

I wish we could have gone for Brock instead but like @CreaseAndAssist said, he looked at this roster, just like Kessel and said hell no. I seen a few twitter messages about that a while ago. Can't remember who it was as I have so many that I follow. I believe Russo.

That Zuccarello signing.....sigh. Mats has been on a decline since the 2015-16 season. He is basically a Zucker in the points department. Around the same points but scores goals less. Wild need a goal scorer. So it's like they traded a set up guy, Granlund, to end up signing another set up guy around the same price except we don't know if this guy will work out. At least with Granlund we knew what we had.

On ‎6‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 12:45 PM, IllaZilla said:

 

I don't begrudge Parise or Suter for taking that contract. Anyone here would have done the same. But don't whine now about how you don't want to be part of a rebuild. If you don't want to be part of a rebuild, then call your agent up and get him to start shopping you around. Maybe there is an up and coming team that can fit you in under the cap. There are always teams looking to sign dead contracts or overpaid players to just reach the salary floor...

 

And while the contracts are almost impossible to get out of, the team could still rebuild. They'd have to marginalize Parise and Suter, but they could do it. Stop giving Parise top line minutes. Stop giving Suter 30+ minutes a game. Give that time to young guys. As far as the others, don't extend Koivu this season. Give him a gold watch and a one-way ticket to Finland. Trade Staal if possible. Same with Dubnyk.

 

They certainly could rebuild even with those two albatrosses. But they don't want to do it because it might mean the team misses the Playoffs for a season or two. And the owner wants to be in the Playoffs to get all that money.  That's why Fenton traded for NHL-ready players, not picks and prospects. Picks and prospects weren't going to help the team make the playoffs this season or next season... 

This. I don't 100% blame Suter and Parise  for signing those contracts but they do get part of the blame cause they damn well knew eating a huge hunk of the cap room is going to impact the team big time. If they didn't then they are truly very low IQ people.

But my biggest frustration is with CL and his GMs handing out these contracts. If they did their homework you could clearly see that Parise would never be able to carry the offense on his shoulders and provide the scoring when the team needs it. He wasn't a game changer or franchise changer. Same with Suter on the defense side. You don't hand out the biggest contracts at the time to guys that are not game/franchise changer super stars. Then throw in 13 years with No trade/no move clauses. I know people with associate making the playoffs as franchise changer but it isn't. Being a fringe team that if they do make it are a first round punching bag is not what 99% of owners/GMs would consider a franchise changer.

Idk, maybe I have lost most of my faith with the franchise. We know only way we ever move the contracts is if both players agree to waive their clauses and we find another insane owner/GM to pick them up. We can still start a rebuild process now. It will be a six rebuild process now instead of having another miserable 6 years just to then start a rebuild. Put Parise and Suter to 4th line minutes. Give the other guys we have now the chance to shine and see where we need to fill. But the only thing Leipold cares about is making that playoff money. Make the playoffs at any cost. So we will once again sign another 1 or 2 guys in their 30s that are not superstars or game changers but give them a bloated contract that will be hard to move and bite the Wild in the @ss when it doesn't pan out. They will be right back at drafting at number 14 +. Rinse and repeat. We have seen this cycle for so long now it's almost insulting that there is fans who can't see this issue. You can still cheer them on but you can't overlook some huge issues holding this team back.

I am in a odd spot this season. I honestly don't feel like I have any want to watch this team. There is still a part of me that is curious. But there is more of a part of me that would miss not hearing from a ton of this people on the board. But I don't want to be on the board and part of any discussion without watching the team play to have knowledge when talking on here. Hopefully there is a move or signing that might stir my interest so I will want to watch otherwise this season will be a I will catch game when I have nothing going on and there is nothing else on kind of deal.

19 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

Suter / Parise Video

 

EJ, someone made this a while ago...about that very subject.  

I will watch later when I get home. Thank you.

Trust me, I still go back to that day the Wild sign those two and then their contracts came out. These two never did anything to warrant those contracts. They weren't superstars. They were good to very good players but those contracts were a joke. Sadly I think only one of those guys might have a slight desire to win a cup but not at the cost of giving up their contract.

I am not one to believe in stuff like conspiracy theories, crazy life forms like Mothman, Jersey Devil, etc but as a Minnesota sports fan I do now believe in curses and boy does Minnesota have the motherload of curses of pro male sport teams!

On ‎6‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 9:26 PM, EmptyShelf said:

I would be happy to fill you in with more offline or at a bar.  The GM hire just dumped gunpowder into an non-contained fire.....It was time for me to cease donating to a $hit$how with no end in sight

I would love to hear what was said.  I figured this team has so many ego problems from the top down. A owner who has a severe lack of hockey IQ and thinking he should also be a GM. A GM who is flying from the seat of his pants with zero direction but thinks every player he trades for is pure gold. A GM who has his son as a scout who thinks every one of his picks is nothing but gold. A GM who's ego makes him think he is also a coach and forcing the coach to play players he doesn't want too. And then two guys who are "stars" and "leaders" showing their ego and power by doing such things as hiring a outside guy during the season to "train" them (by the way didn't do chit for them as far as improving them) and bringing him to practice when it wasn't welcomed by the coaching staff, eating dinner with the owner outside of business, making sure their friends are brought in and running with them, etc.

I feel for any coach on this team. What a crap shoot to be put into. Even some players have more power and say then you do. I am glad big name players are saying they don't want to come here. It's a trend that needs to continue until the drain the cesspool. Hopefully we can do this before 6 years as that means 11 and 20 are finally gone and the Wild stop pretending these guys actually make a impact. Before they got here the Wild averaged 85.9 points a season. Since they got here they averaged 90 points per season. So for $15 million a year they gave the Wild a whole 4.1 points (2 wins) more a season. That is a bad investment. Otherwise we have some very LOOOOOOONNNNNGGGG 6 seasons coming.

On ‎6‎/‎14‎/‎2019 at 9:45 AM, CreaseAndAssist said:

 

As I said on Twitter...the Minnesota Wild are going to have their 'reckoning' this summer.  Listening to Russo's podcast (the one I attended) I totally missed that Brock Nelson apparently wanted to come back...but instead took the Islanders' extension instead.  Not that we have to have every single Minnesota player but its more proof that the outside view of this club is pretty ugly.  Despite what the Kool Aid drinkers want people to believe.  

 

Reading Fenton talk glowingly about his son, and his whopping 2 years of NHL scouting experience and now he and another guy are leading our draft this year.  Yikes.  Its clear this organization isn't about winning, its about making a few individuals comfortable and they simply hope there are enough suckers out there that believe their crap.  

 

This team should save its money, because its going to be losing a lot of it this year with the attendance problem they're going to start to have.  

This team has the big "O NO!!!!" label all over it. I honestly wish they would just be honest with themselves and fans and say the Parise and Suter project was a failure. We are going to start working on a full rebuild. We will have some rough seasons but will improve with drafting and developing so in 4 years down the road we can make a serious run at the Cup.

Sadly, as the seasons have continued I find myself losing interest in this team more and more and find myself watching and cheering on others. This wouldn't be happening if the team came out and said we are doing a rebuild. I will stick with them during a rebuild. But to completely ignore the problems but saying we only need a minor tweak which causes more problems makes even a diehard fan not care to watch. I am jealous of the Blues and not just for winning the cup. They were the worst team at one point this past season. That locker room united and worked hard and look what it got them. The Wild, we all know there is venom in the locker room with most 100% sure it's from 11 and 20, could never achieve a united locker room and hard work from 100% of the roster.

It's depressing. I have been saying for a while now. Parise and Suter signing will go down as the worst pro signings in Minnesota history. They took a team that should have been looking into rebuilding and made the owner think this two are the second coming of Crosby and Ovchekin and completely skip over the rebuild. All it did was take a team from missing the playoffs to a team that is eliminated in 6 games in the first round. So any impact draft picks are out of the picture. We have 15 million locked to two players that are not super star game changers which prevents the Wild from actually signing some. It just eats me to know we have 6 more years unless we can get both to waive their clauses and find a team to take them.

11 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

 

That's true, I was listening to it as I was driving back to Wisconsin today.  It was nauseating.  What a Kool Aid drinker.  So sad.  

If what I am hearing and the warming house is a lot more emptier then it's ever been then my guess is we are going to see the cheerleaders go cringe worthy cheerleading. As Kirk Lazarus said, "Everybody knows you never go full retard". Get ready for the already kool aid drinkers to do this.

58 minutes ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

Beyond the Pod: Tom Kurvers & Scott Sandelin

 

Listen to Kurvers and Micheletti...we are so close yada yada yada.  

I met Micheletti, he's a nice man but really has become a big cheerleader for the Wild. Funny thing he was on Paul Allen, I believe, this morning and they were talking about Wild and when Pat said the Wild are very close, you could hear the hesitation in his voice like even he didn't believe what he said, lol.

I agree with most people for the most part except Tim on saying Fenton has "wisely avoided making changes just for the sake of change". Fenton, has in fact, made changes for the sake of change. The trades show this. Donato was a complete fluke that nobody say coming but even he died down at the end of the season. The trades didn't make sense for the most part. It ended up being instant upgrades for the other teams well the Wild got beans in exchange. The money saved wasn't much. The constant try to trade Zucker for anything at this point reeks of making a move to make a move. We want to get younger and faster by trading a younger and fastest player we have for guys older and slower?! What?!

Overall, I honestly don't know what the Wild can really do here. We have a owner who wants to be involved with hockey decisions when he has very low hockey IQ. He hires yes men GMs who are more then happy to do everything the owner says. Then they decide together to bring in two "big name" players who they center everything around. These players get real friendly with the owner who is worried about being their friend instead of their boss. This allows these two to do what they want and not face consequences of their actions. Example, Adam Oates ordeal. They hire somebody else, go off by themselves with him, ignore the coach and teammates, bring a person out of the organization to the practice, watch coach get fired and suffer no consequences. Now imagine somebody like Spurgeon, Zucker, etc doing this. There would have been huge consequences.

We know the locker room is toxic. What hurts more is watching the Blues win the cup is we seen a team who was at one point this season the worst team, come together and become one unit and fight and grind to do what they did. Never once have we seen this team do this since basically the 02-03 season that we made the conference finals with a bunch of "nobodies". I would argue our "leaders" on this team are way more content with making money then ever winning a cup. Honestly, Parise and Suter were in it for the money. They probably thought maybe we could have a shot of winning a cup but money had to be first, second and third with them. There is no way those two could have not realized that eating that much salary from a team wouldn't limit what they could do. And players wanting to win cups are not going to sit on a 13 year contract in case the team they signed too isn't good enough. Now we are starting to see players who are big names and have one it all avoid this team and not want to come here.

What should the Wild do? Honestly, a rebuild should happen with the vets having to take the back seat.

What will Fenton and Leipold do? Probably continue to believe Suter and Parise are the center piece and super stars like Kane, Crosby, Malkin, etc and "try" to build around them. This includes saying we want to get younger and faster yet trade said younger and faster players for older and slower players. Continue to try to ignore the toxic locker room. Continue to not develop players. Continue to think a tweak or two is all that is needed. Continue to allow 11, 20 and their friends eat the key moments ice team even though they have shown no reason why they should. They will continue to do whatever it takes to get 11 and 20 going which includes breaking up hot lines to get these hot players to try and pass their fire to them. I think Fenton will continue to try to make moves for the sake of making moves. I think he will continue to trade players that have proven for unknown, unproven players. I think he will once again draft guys way higher then they should ever go and pass up other good players. I think they will continue the trend of making the franchise a safe haven for a player who is looking to retire with one last big pay check who doesn't care if they win a Cup or not.

This might be the most frustrating Minnesota sports team we have. At least the Vikings, T-Wolves and Twins are trying to improve and they are showing going about the correct way is how you do. The Wild continue to ignore the iceberg the size of Australia in front of them well they go full speed ahead. The culture of the Wild has to change for anything to happen. The fans also have to get over that making the playoffs so many times in a row doesn't mean you are a good team especially if in 6 playoff appearances you have only tallied 12 wins in the first round. This does not make you a good team. First round punching bag for another team is no different then not making the playoffs. Yes it's true the playoffs are a "new season" but the difference between the Wild and the rest of the teams is the rest of the teams become more of a unit, tighten their game and turn up the gears well the Wild have been redlining just to make it to the playoffs and there is no other gears to go too. They don't tighten their game and the roster looks no more of a unit then a group of guys playing in a beer league.

I would love to be wrong on this and we do win it all. Nothing would be greater. But I don't think we will see a big culture change until 11 and 20 are gone. This will force the franchise to reset and have to build correctly. You just can't buy a championship anymore. Teams like the Blues are proving this. Teams like Boston have been pretty much the same forever too. As a Wild fan it's frustrating to see teams below us get so much better then us but as a hockey fan it's exciting to see the top dog teams getting knocked down and seeing the bottom feeders beat them.

Fletcher needed to go. No doubt on that. Fletcher was trying to improve the team but just kept striking out.

Normally I say give a new GM or coach some time to figure stuff out. As long as they have a game plan and stick to it I am willing to give a shot. Fenton, is a whole different beast. He says faster and younger. Goes to sign Staal (who I love) to a multiyear MTC contract when he is old and slower. What pisses me off more on this is Boston was willing to trade a 1st round for him. I don't care if Staal cries about being traded just trade him. He only has 1 to 3 years left anyways. Is looking to trade our fastest player who is still on the younger side and almost got a old and slow player in exchange. He drafts a guy that everybody said for sure is a 7th rounder in the 1st round. He trades as 1 for 1 deal instead of trying to maximize. And lets be honest here, who would have ever seen this coming from Donato. It's also very possible it was a fluke and Donato goes back to the player that Boston traded which would make ever trade a turd rolled in turds.

I guess this draft will seal the deal on Fenton. Personally I would be fine of letting Fenton go and maybe talk to Modano about taking that spot.

Also @CreaseAndAssist your write ups and articles really give Russos a run for his money. I find I enjoy yours so much more. You are willing to point out the flaws and not sugar coat it but yet still can give praise in areas that deserve. Bravo!

14 hours ago, Jimtown guy said:

In the seven seasons preceding the Parise and Suter acquisitions, the Wild averaged 89.4 points per season.

In the seven seasons since acquiring Parise and Suter, the Wild averaged 90.0 points per season.

Conclusion: The acquisition of Parise and Suter has added NOTHING to the points column.

Incorrect on that they haven't added anything. They actually added a huge anchor the team can't cut in the salary cap. So, technically  they did add to this team just in the wrong spots

Kessel is basically Parise when comparing stats with the exception that the last 3 years Phil has gotten better well Parise continues his tumble down the mountain. With that said I am glad Kessel voided the trade.

At this point I feel horrible for Zucker. Twice now he was going to be traded to only be voided at the last second. What makes it worse is this is happening to a player who could be argued is a pretty good player who just had a down year last year who the GM is hellbent on trading. I can't imagine what that is doing to Zucker mentally but also what players are thinking when they look at this team. I know if I was a player I would look at this team like Kessel did. I would also question why they are trading away their younger core guys that actually provided for this team. Honestly, the guys they need to trade either have crazy contracts with NTC/MTC and give production that is towards the bottom or just have crazy NTC/MTC that even if they could trade what team would pick them up?

I think the Kessel ordeal might be the best for this franchise. Hopefully this opens the door for more big name players to say the same thing. This franchise needs a rebuild. They need to know that they are no where near just a tweak or two away. They need to see the roster is a failure and hanging their hats on the likes of Parise, Suter and Koivu has done nothing for this franchise.The scouts need to go and get new guys in. The GM needs to go as it's clear as the blue skies that he has no idea what he really is doing. I keep hearing we want the team younger and faster so your solution is trade your fastest guy who is younger for a older player who is way slower? Trade guys like Nino for a Rask? It didn't even take Fenton a year to look bad. I didn't like Fletcher but at least he tried to make trades that made sense to try and improve the team. Fenton looks like he is making trades cause he can tie his shoes. No rhyme or reason for them. Just trade. Also get hellbent on dropping one player for no particular reason.

What do I think needs to be done? Fire Fenton first. He has no direction and to have a captain with no direction lead a already lost ship just spells disaster. Second, talk to Bruce and tell him that we are going to go to a rebuild. Ask him if he would be on board with a main focus of developing the young guys. Let him know you will be burying the vets to 4th line minutes and give the young guys the prime minutes and key situation minutes and see how they handle it. Three go talk to Kaprizov and tell him you would like to build the franchise around him. Butter him up and make him want to come to this team during a rebuild. Fourth, explain to the fans that a rebuild is needed and going to happen but we have a game plan in place and know the pieces we will build around and know what pieces to get to complete this process. Fifth, if you get any vets it's guys that have been proven to be a big positive locker room presence that have shown in the past that will take guys under their wing to help develop them. 

We just can't doing the band aid on the bone sticking through the skin ordeal. that has been going on since the day they signed Parise and Suter.  It needs to change. If they continue for another 6 years the way they are doing it now the Wild are going to be in some extremely serious trouble.

4 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

 

I get Parise not wanting to go through a rebuild at his age. He's getting up there, has been injury prone and may not have that many years left in the NHL. But Parise wanted his cake and eat it too. He wanted the cash AND the security of a long term deal. He didn't need to demand a ten year deal. He could have taken a five year deal and seen how the team developed. If the team is making progress towards the Cup, then go after an extension. If not, cut bait and hook up with a team that looks promising. But he put all his eggs in the Wild basket and now isn't happy...

 

I'm not too hopeful that Kunin, Donato, Fiala and the rest of the youngsters are going to develop any better than Coyle, Niedereitter and Granlund did. Maybe they will. But the locker room was known to be a mess last season. This season Fenton shipped out Niedereitter, Coyle, Granlund (and almost Zucker), and the locker room is still a mess. 

 

And you are 100% correct. The only way things will change with the Wild is when people stop buying tickets and merchandise. People can write letters to Craig, make snappy posts in the StarTribune comment section and complain on these boards all they want. But as long as they continue to buy season tickets and merchandise, nothing will change... 

 

 

Just a quick edit but Parise and Suter were 13 years.

On ‎4‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 12:30 PM, Gnarkill said:

Via Russo's twitter:

 

"Fenton says he’s trying to fix this on the fly without a rebuild"

 

 

... here we f'n go again. 

You want to know something even better and leans more towards the Parise and Suter have say on this team over coaches and GMs? Russo quoted Parise saying Parise does not want to go through a rebuild at his age and stage of his career. Funny how Parise says that and now Fenton and comes out and says this. They are the cancer cells and the Wild are busy injecting chemo into the good healthy cells.

16 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

 

Fenton has a different definition of “rebuild” than most people do. The same way he has a different definition of “game breaker” than most people do...

 

Would not surprise me if Brown is buried in Iowa next year or even bought out. Rask  is going nowhere for at least a year, because if Fenton buys him out or trades him it means he made a mistake, and he’s not going to admit to that. 

Depends on who Suter and Parise like the most. Let's not fool ourselves, it's pretty clear that those two have more impact then any coach or GM.

Funny, I am listening to Paul Allen and he is talking to Bruce and asked Bruce about watching the games last night and how much it stings. Bruce just said what stings is watching the teams play with intensity and excitement. And listening to him you could hear you wanted to say more but stopped himself. This team is in extreme danger for the next 6 years unless 4 things happen:

1- Craig Leipold just signs the checks and tells players to talk only to the coaches and GM.

2- Fenton learns to be a GM and ask his coach what he needs and goes out and tries to fill that void. No forcing players into a line up or making coaching decisions.

3- The coach being allowed to coach the way he needs too and bring the players he wants into the line ups.

4- The players shut up, sit down and learn they are just players and nothing else. Shut up, play 100%, listen to your coach, do what your coach says and check your ego at the door. Any disobedience should be punished and announced. And in Parise and Suters case a act like that with Adam Oates could be pushed to void the contract with the SPC and should. Doesn't matter how good you are, if you are a cancer you need to go.

In reality I can only see 1 of these happening. As much as it sucks but if the team looks like this next year from the get go people need to stop watching and going to the games. it's the only way to force Leipold to listen.

5 hours ago, Fighting_Saint said:

Minnesota North Stars 1967-1993   = 26 seasons

Minnesota Wild   2000-2019+   = 18 seasons

 

Considering the popularity and growth of a franchise you would have to compare the current Wild to the 1984-1985 Minnesota North Stars.

 

If the Wild can make more significant push into the playoffs or even win a stanley cup sometime in the future, the feelings of fans may change more positively for this franchise.

 

I personally have fond memories of North Stars Hockey because of the arena, where it was located, the tailgating at the games, the atmosphere at Met Center,  It just was all different.  Less stale/commercial and more real.  The North Stars had bad teams yes but it was an experience going to those games.  Maybe its the difference between old time hockey and the newer product they are showcasing. Or maybe its my love for old hockey arenas vs the new ones.   I have to admit that I really liked watching gopher games at the old barn...

I think the biggest difference is attitude. The North Stars even with really bad teams still played with pride and left it all out on the ice. The Wild, seem to be filling up more with Prima Donnas who lack pride and have no problem not even giving any effort on the ice.

But you are correct the atmosphere was so different with being able to tailgate, just inside the Met and even the rivials. It honestly feels now like the Wild really don't have any. And now that you mentioned it, you are correct in that the Wild feel very commercial and stale.

1 hour ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

 

Some of the players can talk to the owner and get what they wish.  As long as that stays as it has...no coach or GM can succeed.  Same is true for Culture.  You can't change the culture if the main part that sets the tone for that culture still does its own thing with ZERO accountability.  The coach can try, but he knows he'll be fired if he does.  The GM can try, but he knows he'll be fired if he does.  

 

As far as the scouts go.  FIRE THEM ALL.  Honestly, its painful how many years they've been given considering how many failed picks we have.  Russo pointed this out rather correctly in his last podcast.  We can't even develop players for our 3rd and 4th lines on a consistent basis.  We often end up signing older vets at usually over a million or two-million per season to fill those spots.  Why?  

 

But back to the scouts.  Their last 1st round pick was so f%%ing awful, not even the Swedish National Team GM (Johan Garpenlov) even had heard of him.  He seriously had no freakin' clue who he was and then seem baffled we even drafted him let alone in the 1st round.  

 

But no one on this scouting staff should be retained.  Not one, especially if the goal is to get fresh eyes on this organization.  

 

#20 dictates his ice time, his partner and all of his opportunities.  Hell, #20 was not even listening to his freakin' doctors and trainers.  He did what the hell he wanted.  He comes off the ice when he feels like it.  He probably almost hops over the boards when he feels like it.  

 

I don't really care how much they want to be on the Wild.  So, by that...the Wild were correct in sinking more money and limited no-trade clause into Staal just because he said he really wanted to be here?  C'mon...we really have to be what can you do for me now.  Not...what have you done for me in the past.  Otherwise we're doubling down on the same culture / work ethic / sense of entitlement you claim to want to diminish.  Sorry...its too easy to just say that, get the money you want and then kind of take up space.  Which is what we're mostly going to get out of #12 for the next two seasons.  

 

Take the freakin' homer glasses off.  This team is still hot trash...with a big opportunity to improve its situation or make it worse.  Based on the Bitetto addition and the demands to play that POS, the Rask / Nino trade, the Staal re-signing and the incredibly short-sighted 1-for-1 deal with a team in our own division in the Granlund / Fiala shame...I'm going to guess its going to be the latter.  

When Russo talked about how the Swedish GM never even heard of our # 1 pick I cracked up laughing. How the hell any of those scouts kept their job as soon as Fenton stepped in points to a very bad picture.

What really pissed me off is number 20 started off so good with us. But after a few years you got to see the decline in effort and care. Now it's just comical. If this was any other player they would have been cut. Instead Suter smiles after being asking how disappointing it is to miss the playoffs as he still chooses his TOI, being out in key moments and PP and basically who has to cover his ass after the other team comes into our zone every time. Could you imagine Spurgeon paired with a actually stud defenseman.

1 hour ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

As for Bruce Boudreau, rumor now is he may not be back?

 

That probably is for the best. I have nothing against him as a coach, but personally, never felt he was a "fit" for this team based on the personnel..... and unless the Wild are going to make drastic changes to suit Boudreau's coaching and playing style, he never will be a fit.

BB's teams in Washington were large, aggressive, offensive minded teams....and he had lots of star players to manage as well.
None of that really applies to Minnesota, and the Wild don't seem set on giving him the type of team he needs to fully implement any playstyle he may want to use.

Furthermore, if the Wild are going into a rebuild, then again, BB is not the guy for that. 

He is already 64, has coached some real good teams, and probably took the Minnesota job thinking, "This team is ready to win NOW....something I have yet to do as a coach".

I bet thoughts of rebuilds were the farthest thing from his mind.

This man likely will not have the patience for a rebuild....not at his age, not after the years he has poured into contending teams that never quite got the job done.

 

In that regard, I can't blame the guy if he wants out or if the organization just decides not to retain him.
Much easier to replace the coach than it is to turn over an entire roster in short order.

 

But long term, the Wild need a guy who is willing to be around for a roster turnover.
Still though, none of it will matter if the owner insists on playing GM and coach as well.

Honestly, even the great Scotty Bowman could never coach this team to even the Stanley Cup Finals. As long as CL keeps being a fanboy of certain players and trying to be their best friend while also trying to make some GM decisions well our GM is trying to make some coaching decisions this team will never work. Never.

I wish with all of my heart they could chalk up Parise and Suters contracts as a very costly mistake(s) and move on. Hell even buy them out and get the team young and focus completely on them. We know that 11 and 20 are not good for the locker room or other players. We also know they can't lift the team up on their shoulders and carry them through a rough patch but they are going to eat up majority of TOI and always have to be out there during key situations but continue to fall flat doing so. It's just time to have CL get smacked in the back of the head and knock some sense in him.

4 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

I think a lot of people are going to be disappointed with what the Wild do this off-season...

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.

11 minutes ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

 

I wish I could share more.  I will simply say that its through multiple sources.  

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.