Well, due to technical difficulties, there will be no pre-game report as per usual. However, I’d like to share with you why I think the hiring of Wes Walz and Andrew Brunette (two of my favoirte Wild players) by the Minnesota Wild front office are both good hirings.
Walz was such a work horse. A blue collar sort of player and could skate like the wind. In the playoffs, when the Wild beat the Avalanche and the Canucks, Walz was matched up against Forsberg/Sakic and shadowed them. By everything I remember and by all accounts, Walz did a very good job. Had he not been out there doing that job, the Wild would have had no chance against a very strong and top rated Avs opponent. He brought that sort of effort night in and night out when he played for the Wild. The only thing I didn’t like was how long he took off during the season he retired before retiring. It was really an odd way to do things. But, then again, we are not privy to everything going on in the player’s life and so I will refrain from any further judgment. However, if it was merely because he couldn’t keep up with Sidney Crosby in his last game he played against the Penguins, I would have argued against his retiring for just that reason alone. On a personal level, I met and talked to Wes once at a Wild fan function where he took as much time as required for us to exchange plesantries, talk about different hockey related things and get an autograph signed by the former player. I was able to share with him the fact that I write for hockeybuzz.com and he said he was familiar with the site. Also, I am fortunate enough that he follows me on twitter (@Brad_Ratgen).
As for Brunette, while seemingly not a big fan of rumor websites (I actually asked him that during a fan forum once), he is a similar class act. I will always remember when Risebrough let him go. I was totally against it. When he landed with the Avs, of all teams, I figured this could come back to bite us on the back side. Soon after, we ended up matching up against the Avs in the first round of the playoffs, again. I attended the first home game vs the Avs and was sitting behind the Avs bench. During the national anthem, Bruno was looking around (as was I) and when I made eye contact with him from the stands, I raised by beer up as a sort of acknowledgement of him and to communicate there were no hard feelings and he nodded back as if he understood. In fact, when Brunette left Minnesota, I understand he did not sell his house. Good thing for when the Wild brought him back as a free agent and acknowledged that it was a mistake to have let him go in the first place. It could be said that Bruno’s heart never left Minnesota.
Both Walz and Brunette have, from all accounts, fallen in love with Minnesota. I believe the feeling is mutual from a fan’s perspective. Minnesotan’s are a unique breed when it comes to Minnesota hockey and/or players that play for Minnesota teams. Lou Nanne is a prime example of this. He comes down from Canada to play for the University of Minnesota and goes on to play for the North Stars and then coach the North Stars and then become the GM of the team. While an outsider to begin with, he was quickly adopted by the State of Hockey as one of their own.
Additionally, the Wild fan base has a thing for wanting their own to play for their team. I believe the additions of Parise and Suter will further this effort to bring back home top tier NHL players who were born, raised or played here. As such, not many fans would seriously object to this move and is not only a safe move for Fletcher and company, but a move most Wild fans would probably applaud.
So welcome back to Minnesota Bruno. We look forward to seeing you around the rink.
P.S. Happy Valentine's Day to everyone reading this and, especially, to my beautiful wife whom, without her support, I could not do half the things I am fortunate enough to do in my life.
Now, let's go get the Avalanche tonight!
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