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Minnesota Wild Blogger •
Friday night, the Wild won the battle, but lost the war. Despite putting the final nail in the coffin for the Preds and their season, just a mere 2 hours after an 8-4 offensive shalacking of Nashville, the Ducks put the final nail in the coffin for the Wild by beating the Dallas Stars in overtime. Season over for the Wild.
The final home game in Minnesota was about as much fun as Wild fans have had all season. High scoring. Up and down action. Success on the power play. Definitely not a Lemaire-like game for the Wild. That said, Jacques let it be known that he has made his decision on whether or not to return for the last year of his contract as the coach of the Wild. Many media members on hand surmise that he has decided to hang up the coach's whistle. I for one, however, am not so sure. That said, we will just have to wait until he confirms his intentions one way or another.
In the end, Lemaire praised players like Johnsson, Clutterbuck, Backstrom, Koivu and Brunette to name just a few. As he spoke about his players this year, it appeared to me as if tears welled up in his eyes. In response to my question as to whether he was satisfied with the personell he had been given to coach, he replied that he was definitely satisfied with who he had but that the story of the year was injuries that led to points that got away. Lemaire intimated that his team was good enough to have made the playoffs this year, except for the rash of injuries that befell his guys throughout the season. And it was that way to the very end for the Wild with a who's who of Wild players watching the last home game of the season from the press box including Burns, Schultz, Bouchard and Boogaard.
of all the players interviewed in the Wild locker room after the game, the most interesting one for me was Stephane Veilleux. Veilleux is one of only two forwards that are unrestricted free agents this summer and he talked about hockey being a funny business and that he realized that this last summer when he was put on waivers just before his arbitration hearing. It was at that point that he realized that anything could happen in the business of hockey. As you may recall, the Wild sort of took advantage of his going without an agent and got a deal that favored the team more so than the player and Veilleux got the short end of the stick, so to speak. However, when asked by me, he indicated that there were no hard feelings and it is his hope that he returns as a member of the Minnesota Wild.
The other unrestricted free agents for the Wild include Gaborik, Foster, Scott, Skoula and Bergeron. The Wild need to resign Gaborik or replace his goal production. They also need another center. On defense, the Wild need a big shut down defenseman who can clear the front of the net for Backstrom and another puck moving defenseman like Johnsson. Given all that, I would guess that Gaborik and Veilleux are both gone, as are Foster and Skoula. My guess is that Bergeron will be re-signed, especially after his two goal game against the Preds and his bomb of a shot from the blue line ala Brian Rolston. I would also expect Harding to either be traded or tendered an offer sheet as a restricted free agent. In Houston, on the minor leage farm club, Kolanos and Mojzis are both unrestricted free agents. I say they re-sign Kolanos, but let Mojzis go, unless they cannot find suitable replacements for Foster or Skoula.
So, that's a wrap on this season, save and except for one last meaningless game in Columbus on Saturday. Then it's on to enjoying watching playoff hockey from the comforts of home to see which other team will lift the holy grail of hockey, the Stanley Cup. Then, it's on to the draft in June and evaluating the young talent and watching for draft day trades that may occur. Then, in July, it's free agency frenzy as all 30 teams look to sign players within or acquire players from outside the organization. And then it's on to the longest part of the year, summer.
It has been a pleasure to have been given the privilege of covering the Wild for Eklund and hockeybuzz.com. It has been a wonderful experience as a member of the media with full press privileges in covering the Minnesota Wild and their home games. A special thank you to Ek for allowing me to be his Wild blogger for hockeybuzz.com and a special thanks to the Minnesota Wild for having me in the Al Shaver Press Box and for making me feel welcome. Last, but not least, I thank my family for allowing me to indulge in my passion for hockey and the Minnesota Wild. Without their understanding and support, I could not do what I do.
Wild fans, it's been a tough year. Fun. But tough. In the end though, the fun always outweighs the tough.
Congratulations to the Minnesota Wild on another year of entertaining the Team of 18,000, "the greatest hockey fans in the world!"
Good luck to the 16 teams that have made the playoffs and their fans. We will be watching and cheering along with you from the State of Hockey.
As always, Go Wild!
The final home game in Minnesota was about as much fun as Wild fans have had all season. High scoring. Up and down action. Success on the power play. Definitely not a Lemaire-like game for the Wild. That said, Jacques let it be known that he has made his decision on whether or not to return for the last year of his contract as the coach of the Wild. Many media members on hand surmise that he has decided to hang up the coach's whistle. I for one, however, am not so sure. That said, we will just have to wait until he confirms his intentions one way or another.
In the end, Lemaire praised players like Johnsson, Clutterbuck, Backstrom, Koivu and Brunette to name just a few. As he spoke about his players this year, it appeared to me as if tears welled up in his eyes. In response to my question as to whether he was satisfied with the personell he had been given to coach, he replied that he was definitely satisfied with who he had but that the story of the year was injuries that led to points that got away. Lemaire intimated that his team was good enough to have made the playoffs this year, except for the rash of injuries that befell his guys throughout the season. And it was that way to the very end for the Wild with a who's who of Wild players watching the last home game of the season from the press box including Burns, Schultz, Bouchard and Boogaard.
of all the players interviewed in the Wild locker room after the game, the most interesting one for me was Stephane Veilleux. Veilleux is one of only two forwards that are unrestricted free agents this summer and he talked about hockey being a funny business and that he realized that this last summer when he was put on waivers just before his arbitration hearing. It was at that point that he realized that anything could happen in the business of hockey. As you may recall, the Wild sort of took advantage of his going without an agent and got a deal that favored the team more so than the player and Veilleux got the short end of the stick, so to speak. However, when asked by me, he indicated that there were no hard feelings and it is his hope that he returns as a member of the Minnesota Wild.
The other unrestricted free agents for the Wild include Gaborik, Foster, Scott, Skoula and Bergeron. The Wild need to resign Gaborik or replace his goal production. They also need another center. On defense, the Wild need a big shut down defenseman who can clear the front of the net for Backstrom and another puck moving defenseman like Johnsson. Given all that, I would guess that Gaborik and Veilleux are both gone, as are Foster and Skoula. My guess is that Bergeron will be re-signed, especially after his two goal game against the Preds and his bomb of a shot from the blue line ala Brian Rolston. I would also expect Harding to either be traded or tendered an offer sheet as a restricted free agent. In Houston, on the minor leage farm club, Kolanos and Mojzis are both unrestricted free agents. I say they re-sign Kolanos, but let Mojzis go, unless they cannot find suitable replacements for Foster or Skoula.
So, that's a wrap on this season, save and except for one last meaningless game in Columbus on Saturday. Then it's on to enjoying watching playoff hockey from the comforts of home to see which other team will lift the holy grail of hockey, the Stanley Cup. Then, it's on to the draft in June and evaluating the young talent and watching for draft day trades that may occur. Then, in July, it's free agency frenzy as all 30 teams look to sign players within or acquire players from outside the organization. And then it's on to the longest part of the year, summer.
It has been a pleasure to have been given the privilege of covering the Wild for Eklund and hockeybuzz.com. It has been a wonderful experience as a member of the media with full press privileges in covering the Minnesota Wild and their home games. A special thank you to Ek for allowing me to be his Wild blogger for hockeybuzz.com and a special thanks to the Minnesota Wild for having me in the Al Shaver Press Box and for making me feel welcome. Last, but not least, I thank my family for allowing me to indulge in my passion for hockey and the Minnesota Wild. Without their understanding and support, I could not do what I do.
Wild fans, it's been a tough year. Fun. But tough. In the end though, the fun always outweighs the tough.
Congratulations to the Minnesota Wild on another year of entertaining the Team of 18,000, "the greatest hockey fans in the world!"
Good luck to the 16 teams that have made the playoffs and their fans. We will be watching and cheering along with you from the State of Hockey.
As always, Go Wild!
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