And now it's time for the pipe dreams to come out. I am going to be very positive in what I think the Wild can do under BB and his system. Here is what I am projecting for a lineup that takes us all to the Cup.

LW-Parise (34G, 35A - 69pts)
C-Staal (31G, 41A - 72pts)
RW-Coyle (25G, 38A - 63pts)

LW-Zucker (27G, 21A - 48pts)
C-Haula (20G, 24A - 44pts)
RW-Niederreiter (27G, 23A - 50pts)

LW-Granlund (21G, 43A, 64pts)
C-Koivu (18G, 41A - 59pts)
RW-Pominville (24G, 37A - 61pts)

So far only Stewart on the 4th line netting a line of 11G, 13A for 24pts. I know that most of this is probably unrealistic, but I am trying to look positively at what has been assembled. The #s for guys like Parise, Staal, Koivu...they are based off of selective avgs over their careers. Same goes for guys like Coyle, Nino, Haula...but with the expectations that they all vastly improve, getting more ice time, leading to more ice time, ergo more scoring....chances. Then the old guys play a little less to keep them fresh, leafing to more energy to score.

Before every season starts, whether it is the Wild, the Twins, Vikes or even T-Pups, I have to have hope that this will be the year. Let's see come Nov-Dec if I should have followed the puff, puff, pass formula, or did I pull a little Nostradamus out of the air.
- Gusrichards

Pipe dream?! More like herom of virgins wet dream!

Overly optimistic, yes. Probable, not really. But there are underlying tones that a lot of that could come true. Like I said, I expect the younger guys to take the next step in become leaders on this team. Let's use guys like Coyle, Niederreiter and Haula as examples. All 3 are hitting the beginning of "prime years" for NHL players, that is the 24-29 age bracket. BB is known for an up-tempo offense. Coyle was really not that far off from these numbers last season, and hopefully this year, he is camped at RW for the entire season. El Nino was very close to these numbers last year, and playing with Haula seems to have opened up his game even more. And when it comes to Haula, he has seemed to be in the proverbial doghouse until Torch unleashed him and we got to see what he can actually do.

I will give you the totals for Parise, Staal and Pominville are inflated beyond what should be expected. But remember, the Wild's PP has been downright UGLY the last couple of years. Any major improvement in that regard should add 18-24 more goals...and who is scoring those? Koivu was 3 pts short of what I am suggesting last year. Maybe he reaches those heights again with Granlund on his wing (remember Mittens?) and that opens up Pominville a little more.

I will say the wildcard goal scorer is Zucker. The guy HAS scored 21 goals in 51 games, all the while not being a favorite of his coach. He probably has something to prove to BB, and I am hoping it translates into more goals. Yes, I know these numbers are not really expected...but getting somewhat close would be a major improvement and should be enough for people to get excited about the upcoming season.

As for the comparison to the Stars and the goals they scored, 50% of that total came from 4 guys....Benn, Spezza, Seguin and Sharp. So not that I expect the Wild to score at will like a few of those just mentioned....if the system that BB puts in place gives them better chances to score, this could be a possibility.

It's fine to be optimistic. But it's not typical for all players to improve in the same season that dramatically. Someone usually regresses somewhere in their numbers.

For example, if you look at shooting percentages, those guys who are above 10% are usually candidates to come back more toward the average which I believe is around 9-10% in the NHL. On the Wild, the regulars whose shooting percentage was above 10% last year were Coyle(15%), Haula(14.1%), Niederreiter(12.6%), and Koivu(12.1%). It's not unreasonable to expect them to get near or more than last season's point totals but it really isn't as likely unless they get a lot more shots.

For Coyle, maybe that is very realistic because if he does play the wing all season, he may be in a better position to shoot more.

For a guy like Pominville, whose percentage was pretty low(5.9%), we may see a nice rebound.

Maybe we can expect more shots from everyone as a product of Boudreau's system. But who knows. I've watched these particular players for multiple seasons pass up perfectly good shooting opportunities and do it consistently. It is the most maddening thing about the team.

The other thing to consider is something I've heard Russo mention several times - this team could start out pretty slow offensively. Koivu, Granlund, Haula, Niederreiter, Parise, and Suter are all going to miss at least half of training camp due to the World Cup. So Boudreau is not going to have the whole team available to him to work through the new system. We may not see this team at their best for a few months.

It's fine to be optimistic. But it's not typical for all players to improve in the same season that dramatically. Someone usually regresses somewhere in their numbers.

For example, if you look at shooting percentages, those guys who are above 10% are usually candidates to come back more toward the average which I believe is around 9-10% in the NHL. On the Wild, the regulars whose shooting percentage was above 10% last year were Coyle(15%), Haula(14.1%), Niederreiter(12.6%), and Koivu(12.1%). It's not unreasonable to expect them to get near or more than last season's point totals but it really isn't as likely unless they get a lot more shots.

For Coyle, maybe that is very realistic because if he does play the wing all season, he may be in a better position to shoot more.

For a guy like Pominville, whose percentage was pretty low(5.9%), we may see a nice rebound.

Maybe we can expect more shots from everyone as a product of Boudreau's system. But who knows. I've watched these particular players for multiple seasons pass up perfectly good shooting opportunities and do it consistently. It is the most maddening thing about the team.

The other thing to consider is something I've heard Russo mention several times - this team could start out pretty slow offensively. Koivu, Granlund, Haula, Niederreiter, Parise, and Suter are all going to miss at least half of training camp due to the World Cup. So Boudreau is not going to have the whole team available to him to work through the new system. We may not see this team at their best for a few months.
- Chinaski

Excellent post.

It's fine to be optimistic. But it's not typical for all players to improve in the same season that dramatically. Someone usually regresses somewhere in their numbers.

For example, if you look at shooting percentages, those guys who are above 10% are usually candidates to come back more toward the average which I believe is around 9-10% in the NHL. On the Wild, the regulars whose shooting percentage was above 10% last year were Coyle(15%), Haula(14.1%), Niederreiter(12.6%), and Koivu(12.1%). It's not unreasonable to expect them to get near or more than last season's point totals but it really isn't as likely unless they get a lot more shots.

For Coyle, maybe that is very realistic because if he does play the wing all season, he may be in a better position to shoot more.

For a guy like Pominville, whose percentage was pretty low(5.9%), we may see a nice rebound.

Maybe we can expect more shots from everyone as a product of Boudreau's system. But who knows. I've watched these particular players for multiple seasons pass up perfectly good shooting opportunities and do it consistently. It is the most maddening thing about the team.

The other thing to consider is something I've heard Russo mention several times - this team could start out pretty slow offensively. Koivu, Granlund, Haula, Niederreiter, Parise, and Suter are all going to miss at least half of training camp due to the World Cup. So Boudreau is not going to have the whole team available to him to work through the new system. We may not see this team at their best for a few months.
- Chinaski

I agree, excellent post. I have missed on Russo talking about all those guys missing time. The does put a BIG dent into forming the team. What I am hopeful for is that in the previous defensive systems, maybe players were thinking too much about "if I shoot this, where do I go defensively" and not just reacting to taking the shot. And I know this is a VERY BIG if.

But I based my numbers on the younger guys improving and the older guys playing to their career averages (skewed to not include injury seasons, lockouts, etc). I should have done them with some true regression in their stats...but again, like I stated, it's a pipe dream. Although, as a fan, I DO expect improvement from my team in all aspects.

I agree, excellent post. I have missed on Russo talking about all those guys missing time. The does put a BIG dent into forming the team. What I am hopeful for is that in the previous defensive systems, maybe players were thinking too much about "if I shoot this, where do I go defensively" and not just reacting to taking the shot. And I know this is a VERY BIG if.

But I based my numbers on the younger guys improving and the older guys playing to their career averages (skewed to not include injury seasons, lockouts, etc). I should have done them with some true regression in their stats...but again, like I stated, it's a pipe dream. Although, as a fan, I DO expect improvement from my team in all aspects.
- Gusrichards

I expect improvement from the forwards as well, but I think the best chance for improvement in the offense comes from the defense. This group is very mobile and most of these guys have pretty good shots. They just need to feel comfortable jumping into the play and that's where I think Boudreau/Stevens may have a very definite positive impact. But it's going to take some help from the forwards to allow the defensemen enough latitude to jump into the play. They have to know there is someone covering for them.

And you're right about the PP - there's huge room for improvement there. I'd actually like to see regular forward lines kept together and play two defensemen on the point. Sometimes it seems like they spend so much time juggling lines after power play opportunities they just can't get in sync in 5-on-5 play for a long stretch.

Chi is always the voice of reason in the Wild blogs!

Chi is always the voice of reason in the Wild blogs!
- MnGump

God help us!