EJ0226

14 hours ago, Tomdog said:

EJ you're right about a few things.

If they won't let Bruce coach the way he wants they should do him a favor and let him go.

The youth movement needs to start now.

They need to identify the players that are not part of the future and trade them to upgrade their draft position. 

They will need to be careful about leaving quality players exposed to the expansion draft. Perhaps get parise and Suter to waive their no trade clause. Who would want that contract anyway?

One thing I think you are wrong about is the no game changer/ scorer.

I think Dumba is the best thing this team has for the future.

I think he will become a Brent Burns type player.

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.

1 hour ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

Decent points Empty Shelf.  I don't disagree with any of them.  

 

I'd only suggest the Country Club is a little bigger than #20, #11, #9 (by the way the order is deliberate).  I'd toss in #40 and #12 to that mix.  While I don't think #12 demands as much as #20 and #11 or #9 do, I do think we didn't want to upset the fellow Over-30 crowd by shipping him off to be a rental even though it would've been beneficial to the team both in the long run (afterall we gave up on a chance for 1st and a player and still could've signed him back this summer).  But #12 has been dead legs most of the season.  

 

As for #40, I think he chooses when he starts.  And instead of getting your starter upset, we let him try to work through rough patches with more starts and play back to backs when its clear he's often less focused due to fatigue.  So I think that makes him a part of that Country Club that is beyond Boudreau's control.  

 

As far as the locker room goes.  You are 100% spot on.  I have a few different sources and they've confirmed to me what I've been speculating all along.  The locker room is a mess and it is known throughout the league that the team has dysfunction and its not likely to change anytime soon.  

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.

29 minutes ago, Villette/Lavaux said:

 

I exactly get it. Same feeling for me.

 

For guys in North America, the reason of being a fan of this or that team is pretty obvious: it's your origin place, the city you live in, the place with natural bonds I would say. As a former european living 4000 miles away, it's less evident. Sometimes it's just a detail, a friend who's a fan, something special, the logo you just like, a gift...

 

In my case, I became a North Star fan because former North Star defender Frantisek Musil was a friend of my mother (both came from the same city in Czech Rep. and were nearly neighbors). So I received a North Star jersey when I was a kid, and I also met Musil during the summer break back in Czech Republic. Furthermore, I liked the jersey very much, I was the only guy with a green jersey in my hockey team, that was original and kinda cool. And it all started from that (I'm a Raider fan because I received a Raider keyholder and a Raider magazine with a beautiful girl sitting on on a helmet in the front page; I'm also a Cubs fan just because I found the name "Cubs" cool...)

Anyway, after the Stars departure, I lost interest in the NHL but I was thrilled when they announced a new franchise for Minnesota (drawback point was, I had to wait like 3 more years). But when the team name was chosen, I was like: "Wild ?!?! Meh... weird..." (I was rooting for Northern Lights). The main color was green, which was essential to me (Like above, sometimes it's just as stupid as that), but the combo forest green/iron red was unfortunate and led to all jokes about X-mas. Moreover, the early 2000's was a terrible period in terms of hockey uniforms design. The Wild somehow avoided a bit horror things like the Preds'yellow mustard or the fisherman Islander, but still. During the first Stars-Wild game, I was jealous. Damn the Stars had a gorgeous jersey while the Wild had this strange color combo with the clunky Wild shoulder patch.

 

Being a original North Star fan, I always have the feeling that something is lacking, a thing that could finish a 100%-completion of this team embracement.

 

Sorry for the long personal post, I quite lose it when all this things come into my mind

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.

23 hours ago, radoran said:

 

Well, exactly.

 

I might be happier with someone who's goal is to win the Stanley Cup. Making the playoffs is obviously step one of that process. But you have teams like St. Louis that "made the playoffs" every year from 1979 through 2004 and got to the Conference Finals twice over that span, never making the Final, nor winning the Cup.

 

And, yes, there's a bit of pedantry there - Fletcher here is likely talking about his immediate goals and I get that.

 

I am just leery of the old "make the playoffs and anything can happen" Phillyosophy coming back into play. Where they "get to the playoffs" and then lose in the first round to a Cup Finalist and then it's "but we lost to a Finalist!" (Ahem, 2014).

 

You know, this:

 

What's the last "surprise" team that came away with the Cup? Sure, the Knights made the Final last year. But they lost. There are "surprise" Finalists (2010 comes to mind) but there aren't a lot of "surprise" winners. Certainly not in the Cap Era. Teams are built these days, not assembled on the fly. Every single Cup winner in the Cap Era has a solid home grown core that they added pieces to when the time was right.

 

Hextall had "philosophical differences" with Homer - and, to me, that was a good thing. Homer's "philosophy" was the embodiment of "close but no guitar." And now we have a guy who apparently Homer agrees with the "way he likes to operate" and is "a fit" with the philosophy.

 

By all accounts, we're approaching an offseason where there are significant opportunities with cap space and assets.

 

I'm waiting and seeing, but more in a Reaganesque "trust, but verify" manner.

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.

15 hours ago, rottenrefs said:

They've had a bad PP entry since before getting Tom Gilbert (2011-2013.) He was their answer that failed miserably and since then they've done nothing to rectify the situation but throw one frightened puck handling body after another at it.

 

Granlund's the only forward they have that can cross the zone without looking like a frightened weasel. Spurgeon, Dumba... Not bad but no one covers for them when they bring it in. In the preseason several times Suter looked wonderful bringing it in but now the regular season is upon us and he seems to be in conservation mode again.

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.

2 hours ago, J0e Th0rnton said:

My inbox has been exploding with Mod queue approvals, but when I click on it, another mod has beaten me to approving posts lol

RIP inbox!!!

15 hours ago, MNSOTA said:

 

Yep, we're here. LIG now goes by Crease and Assist, just like our blog.

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?

23 hours ago, rottenrefs said:

We have a user (not here yet) who thinks nearly all of us are village idiots.

 

Over there I took over the Game Prediction thread... I'm going to go out on a limb ( /sarcasm) and predict you will see a few more epic rants. Much entertainment.

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.

13 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

I've already put up a welcome post in this thread, but jeebus….with the amount of new fans that keep pouring in, it warrants another!!

 

Welcome in guys (and gals?? no? not yet??  ), make yourselves at home, and help keep this place lively as can be!!

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.

4 hours ago, WileyOz44 said:

The grass green over here? lol

 

 

Hey Wiley! Glad to see more familiar faces!