lynxrattle

2 hours ago, sweetshot said:

I'm very concerned for the Wild right now as they are at a crossroads, this is probably the most important decision this franchise has ever had to make to this point. 

You're probably right. They can't make a habit out of firing GM's this quickly, so they are going to have to live with the new GM for quite awhile, no matter how he succeeds in sorting this mess out.

And the mess is really a mess. It's so bad that it's hard to bring good players in, and the best players we have seem quite open about considering playing elsewhere. If it goes on like this, it becomes a forced, uncontrolled rebuild as proven players won't come here, and the ones we have leave as soon as they can. Then we would be forced to play with the unproven players in the prospect pool, and any outcast desperate enough to take the Wild as his last chance to make it in the NHL. And we don't even have McDavid, so we wouldn't have that consolation to take us through the mayhem.

Which makes me think that the next GM must be someone with a lot of respect. The name must counteract the deserved disrespect we currently suffer from.

I can not believe what a soap opera the Wild has turned into. We really need a very good GM now. Someone who's at home co-operating with people, who doesn't feel threatened by the fact people will have differing opinions. Hextall sounds risky in that way, too introverted or paranoid, or what is it, but why the need to have a small inner circle? Chiarelli has been a disaster for the oilers. The others sound ok. But is any of them a really exceptional GM?

I wonder if we have the same situation with GM's as with free agents. No Pavelskis or Kessels, only a Zuccarello is ready to join the Wild - and even he with a really sweet offer, NMC's and all. Are the potentially good GM's ready to consider the Wild, or do we have to end up with the likes of Chiarelli?

36 minutes ago, sweetshot said:

He had to have okayed the Zucarello deal, didn't he?

Likely so. I see that kind of okaying as micromanagement, though. CL should just tell his minions what the end result should be and leave the ends to the minions.

I like the firing of course, but I'm guessing Fenton was fired for the wrong reasons. CL (and possibly Parise, Spurgeon) might be thinking the Wild is a contender, and Fenton was in fact rebuilding the team. I would have fired Fenton for his bad trades and bad management, not for understanding the Wild is going nowhere.

That party comparison sums it up perfectly.

1 hour ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

In case anyone missed it...The Hockey News' latest issue had the Wild picked as one of 3 teams to be named a LOSER in NHL Free Agency because they felt the Zuccarello signing was counterproductive and not impactful enough to justify the deal they gave him.  Not that many here would disagree but I just thought I'd pile on just a little more.  

I think Sportsnet or TSN made the same conclusion.

I agree on Berube not being a key that would change the Wild. The missing key is accountability and the reasons the Wild is not held accountable probably go way up to Leipold.

When Berube succeeded Yeo he demanded accountability. It's the same thing Boudreau promised when he became the Wild's head coach. The other promise was kept, the other was not, and the results are clear.

The GM's are shooting themselves in the foot with the NMC's. That doesn't change the fact that Fenton should not go that way - if the player in case is not McDavid and the term reasonable.

I just watched the 3-3 Youtube clip. Get those Russians in major offensive roles. They seem to be able to score and have the hunger to shoot when they get the chance. I was impressed by them. Otherwise pretty meh.

Horrible

May he enjoy his large orange drink, double cheeseburger and onion rings in the warmth of Arizona:

The good thing about the state of the team is that the leftovers of other teams are not interested in the Wild. So far no Kessel, and no Pavelski

A nice signing! Hunt ok for that kind of money. I'm still wondering if some of the d-men in Iowa couldn't replace him. 

Another left wing, dictating another (probably bad) trade in the near future...

They should just make a decision. Either pay for the scouting and analytics and do your own drafting, or just make the picks according to Bob McKenzie's list. It's pretty much a crapshoot anyways. Of course they will not have the gall to do the latter. They'll just keep on pretending they have decent scouting and decide to make a bold pick along the lines of no-name, no-future Johansson - just to make it appear like the scouting organisation is efficient enough for its tasks.

Leipold squandering his wife's money and the team getting nowhere fast brought this song to my mind:

"You're not looking forward and you are not looking back
You've lost the warranty, you'll never get your money back
My baby's buying me another life, getting nowhere fast"

In hindsight the fact that Scott Stevens only did one year for us is probably an indication of a rotten culture in the whole organisation. The ones who won't take it leave and the ones who submit to the crap stay - and it's a vicious circle ad infinitum.

Over in the IIHF championships things have looked good for the Wild. Fiala with very good stats, Kunin motivated, Kaprizov playing in a line with the Russian big boys. It's only the IIHF, but hopefully that is some indication  of good things to come. I still think Fenton was wrong with Fiala, but hope for the best anyways.

3 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

Cross your fingers, apparently the Wild are on Kessel's NO TRADE list and he doesn't sound like he is willing to waive it...there may be hope yet...

Fingers crossed... our faith is in Kessel's hands. Heatley - Vanek - Kessel... does not that sound so familiar. What is it that the organisation wants to be a retirement home, not a hockey team. Is it the fact that Leopold should retire, but doesn't...

It is going to be great to see how Kaprizov compares to all those Russian NHL stars

This is a must read article! If Russo ever quits his job the Athletic should be interested

Just that one fact that Fenton does not trust the media (Russo and Souhan talked about this as well in their podcast) tells it all. How can a manager not recognize the necessity and value of free press!? He should try to co-operate with the media instead of beginning witch hunts. The media will reveal the emperor has no clothes - and after the shame of it the organisation can start again from a realistic basis.

He does not trust people, hires his son who he thinks he trusts, and I bet that the people working in the Wild organisation don't trust him either.

I don't like the idea Kaprizov might be ready to play in the NHL without first playing in the AHL. I sure hope that is the case but I think it's more like with Kapanen in the Leafs. Kapanen was definitely not hurt one bit by having to learn his new role in the AHL, and my guess is that Kaprizov needs to do a lot of learning as well.

Very nice to read about Iowa! I especially liked Tim Army's approach:

1. Speed of play

2. Four lines rolling

3. Blue collar ethics to counter the lack of exceptional skills

Sounds promising both for Iowa and the big team in a few years from now I wish I could see Iowa's games now and then.