Well another Wild trip gets off to a slow start. The Wild dropped the 4-1 contest in Chicago last night and the alarming penalty trend continued in the process.

Over the weekend the Wild gave up 12 powerplay opportunities to their opponents while they themselves only had 6 man advantage opportunities.

Yes the Wild killed all 12 powerplays, but the fact of the matter is that is taxing to the players that play the PK as well as disrupting any real flow the team can establish 5 on 5.

So why are the Wild getting so many penalties and why are they not able to draw nearly the same number as their opponents?

It comes down to discipline as well as I believe the age factor is catching up with this current Wild team. There are too many players on the wrong side of 30 years of age, that are getting far too much ice time.

The Wild quite frankly are not one of the faster teams in the league any longer, they have fallen dramatically in that department which has caused them to be a step behind more of the time and thus they are put in position where they are using their sticks to defend and not their legs.

This is a makeup flaw, not an effort flaw any longer. Chuck Fletcher needs to be working those phone lines prior to tomorrow's trade freeze deadline. The Wild have had a decent run record-wise, but the underlying facts show that this team is more likely to experience their share of setbacks in the coming weeks.

Last night we finally saw Joel Eriksson Ek play with Mikael Granlund and Eric Staal, and the result was 4shots on goal from the young Swede and the best he has looked all season. The time is now for youth to take over, and JEE must continue to get top 6 minutes along with powerplay time.

Alex Stalock and Matt Dumba have been bright spots for the Wild, who are not terrible by any means. But they are not as good as their recent win/loss record would indicate either and that is the worry as the calendar will soon change to 2018 and the games will become that much more meaningful and contested with another level of vigor.

Stalock has proven that he is capable of handling the Wild net on any night, and dare I say it, has become a qualified 1A to Devan Dubnyk.

Matt Dumba has scored the Wild last three goals, but even more than that is his overall game and confidence level that he has displayed playing alongside of Ryan Suter. If you recall in training camp that was the original plan but for some reason as camp broke Boudreau scrapped that idea and went back to his original pairings of Suter/Spurgeon and Brodin/Dumba.

This could be another reason for the Wild being a lethargic bunch on many nights as Boudreau seems to have more confidence in his steady hands and less likely to experiment to turn the reigns over to the next generation of Wild players.

This is no longer Koivu, Parise, and Suter's team. This is Granlund, Zucker, Niederreiter, Coyle, Spurgeon, Brodin, and Dumba's team, period. And until that is acknowledged by Boudreau and players are slotted in their respective order this current Wild team will continue to frustrate themselves, the coaching staff, the management team, Owner, Craig Leipold, and most of all the fans who ride the constant wave up and down.

The press conferences are all the same, and the games appear to be mere continuations of the previous contest with only a player or two different, whoever has drawn the short straw to sit one out.

Bruce Boudreau is a better coach than this, and the Wild front office is a whole lot smarter than many fans give them credit for. They all must see that the issues are fixable but action must be taken by all parties involved in order to infuse renewed life into a stale team.

I have said it here for three seasons now, that Mikko Koivu needs to have his role greatly reduced. In the end it will be a blessing to his career. He still has tremendous value to the team and the organization, but taking the "C" away and moving him down the lineup should in the end give #9 a better chance to have a positive impact night in and night out.

Many teams have taken the "C" off of a long time player without having to move the player via trade. Just look at Joe Thornton in San Jose as exhibit A, his game has not suffered in the least since the letter was removed from his sweater and some will surely say that it has actually helped prolong the great career of Jumbo Joe at a high level.

So before the train spirals out of control, the Wild need change from all parties involved.

Follow me on Twitter @dwallace17

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