Tomdog

Then yes that is a character issue.

I'm afraid I'll a is right. I was hoping Fenton would realize that the wild would be better off with Staal as the 3c, koivu as the 4c and Rask packaged with a draft pick to move up in the draft. Oh to be a dreamer.

Well let's all hope Fenton learned from Fletcher's mistake and doesn't repeat it with Seattle.

It still comes down to 2 players to protect 1. If that was the price, I would have been looking to keep Haula because the wild has always been short at center.

That was my point! Idiot flefcher thought so much of Dumba that he was willing to give up 2 players rather than put Dumba on the protected list.

So Haula was traded for what?

They probably would have been better off protecting who they could and see what happens. Instead we lose two players not one.

With the expansion draft coming up at what point do you worry about service time exposing minor Leaguers to Seattle?

IMO they can take Rask, Aberg,Bitteto, Brown, Prosser and any other dead weight on the team and package them with draft picks to move up in the draft or add draft picks for the next 2 years. Go forward with the players we can’t move. Keep Pateryn, Fehr, Foligno. Give guys like Donato, Fiala and our young draft picks quality minutes. If they can get a great deal on Spurgeon, Brodin and Zucker take it but don’t give them away. Fill in the open spots with what we have in the system.

And this is what bothers me about fenton. Familiar with Bitteto. Who would you rather see on the ice, Bitteto or Prosser? While Prosser isn’t great, I would rather see him on the ice over Bitteto. Aberg is supposed to be able to score. Well We didn’t see a whole lot of that did we. Brown as a grinder? How much grinding can 160 lbs do? Rask cashed in on 1 year of productivity? Maybe? Even though I thought they should move Nino I still think we should have gotten more for him. His talent assessment had better improve or it will be a long rebuild.

If Fenton can't see that there was a reason bitteto was on the waiver wire this team is in a lot more trouble than just being saddled with Fletcher's bad contracts. Bitteto, Aberg, Brown and even Rask just don't have it. There was a reason they were all available and all cheap. How guys like Rask and Tyler Ennis get contracts like they do is amazing.

So right now on this team we are stuck with Parise, Suter, Koivu having ntc. I believe Spurgeon and Zucker have modified nmc. With that in mind, which 6 players would you like to see move on. The reason I chose 6 is I just don't think they can turn over more than that. For me personally, if I never see a JT Brown, Bitteto, Aberg in a wild sweater that'll be ok. Other than Matt Dumba anyone and everyone are open for trade as long as we get fair trade in return. What we need are more right handed forwards and true #1C and some prospects that could become 1c

I’m going to agree with Dave on the fact that the injuries this year really exposed the lack of depth on this team. The summer signings didn’t help matters. Did Fenton really expect to get much out of JT Brown or was he just a “ one of us” signing who stuck around because of his right hand shot. When Nino couldn’t buy a goal if he wanted really exposed the lack of scoring. I do think fenton overreacted with the trades he made. Seems like he made trades the sake of making a trade, which usually never works out.

My question would be does that explain why his play never accomplished anything.

That Suter, Parise and Staal actually don't want to lead this team is part of the problem. The leadership that this team needs isn't who logs the most ice time, scores the most goals or hustles the most. It is also not about playing with an injury. It should be about sacrificing your own personal goals and playing for your linemates. Doing the ugly stuff that wins games. Helping your teammates not give up when the going gets tough. Right now I the only one I see doing any of that is Foligno. Staal used to do that but seems to have stopped and he admitted he didn't want to captain again. How they solve this mess is a Mistry.

I often wondered if the rise of Mikko didn't have an influence on wes walz resigning. I have heard "stories" of the unrest in the wild locker room, and wished I could hear from some of the players that came and went, about what went on there.

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.

I think risebourough thought every player should play defense above all else and felt it was too hard to teach defense and that offense could be created from excellent defense. But I don’t think he understood scoring is a knack that is hard to teach and hard to come by.

Are there any right handers in the system so the wild can get JT brown off the ice?

Putting someone up against true nhl talent too early can blow their confidence. It is tricky with goalies, winning with subpar fundamentals or techniques will exposed in a hurry in the nhl. It can be a crapshoot. Sometimes the test of the nhl can motivate, other times destroy. I would think the coaches in Iowa would have the best judgment.

true that

I thought there was a stipulation about years of service in there. Wasn’t that how the blackhawks kept panarin?

With another expansion draft coming up they need to be mindful of big league games so they don’t need to protect them.