MNWild: Wild Ideas & Observations By: Tony Dean @TonyDean1204
I am going to fire off some of my current ideas and observations with regard to the Minnesota Wild ahead of this brutal stretch of road games beginning tomorrow night in Anaheim. This 8 games on the road of the next 9 games stretch has a huge negativity cloud looming large given the Wild’s performance on the road this year and overall performance against teams with winning records. There will be a lot to pay attention to between now and the 1st of the year.
I am glad that someone in the Wild organization pressed the issue on having Jason Zucker return from Iowa. It was labeled in the fish-wrap blogs as a need to improve the performance of the 2nd line which is definitely an issue, but the ELEPHANT in the room is obviously eliminating any temptation or requirement to have Dany Heatley play anything other than 4th line minutes and an extremely specialized role on the 2nd power play unit. Zucker has proven last season and again this season that his ability to score in the AHL should only solidify his opportunities at the NHL level.
Heatley is an easy target for negativity and a lightning rod in victory or defeat but the STRAIGHT UP REALITY is the Wild is in a no-win scenario with Heatley with no resolution in sight. Heatley if he remains healthy is without a suitor because of many reasons but mostly a $7.5Mil cap hit. Heatley can be seen floating around near the blue line in the defensive end uninterested a great majority of the time. Heatley offers so little with his play at this point it is unbelievable.
Mike Rupp was said to be a glue type of guy when he was acquired last season in a trade that saw Darroll Powe headed to the Rangers in exchange. In all honesty giving up on Powe and adding a player Wild Head Coach Mike Yeo had experience with seem to be a low risk move at the time and one that made sense. Now though the truth is although Powe was not successful here in a Wild jersey, he was a more relevant productive player than Rupp. Unfortunately for the Wild, Rupp has been unable to skate well enough to make a positive impact since his arrival and far too often he can be seen arriving to the puck a stride or two late. Rupp at this point is doing nothing more than blocking a younger player from a shot at contributing in the lineup each night and on the NHL roster in general.
Niklas Backstrom returning on a 3 year deal for $3.5Mil per year looked to be a savvy move by Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher after he was unable to swing a deal with the Kings for Jonathan Bernier. Through 32 games this season though Backstrom’s play and health has created more doubt than confidence in his abilities this year let alone for two more seasons. Backstrom’s poor performance thus far has been attributed to a bad string of health related issues but I don’t think it is wise to dismiss the idea that maybe Backstrom has time catching up to him.
Marco Scandella may never fully get the praise or credit he deserves because of his propensity to regress as he has done in each of the past 2 seasons but this kid is playing his tail off in both ends right now. Scandella in each of the previous 2 seasons strung together nice stretches of game where he was one of the Wild’s best defenders and players on the ice. Scandella seemed to have confidence and concentration issues derail his seasons with the Wild in 2011-12 and 2012-13. I don’t have the same feeling about Scandella this year as I am no longer waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Charlie Coyle looked so confident out of the gates this season, he worked to improve his skating this past off season and it showed. Coyle injured his knee which was a setback and has been just okay in my opinion since. Another factor has been injuries to other players and how that changed Coyle’s role for the Wild. I think Coyle has proven to do his best work on the wing playing top line minutes with Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise. Hopefully once Mikael Granlund returns to the lineup, the top line can remain intact long enough to allow Coyle to get it going at a high level again.
Kyle Brodziak is a player that drives me out of my mind because of how many premium opportunities to put the puck in the net he has squandered in the past 2 seasons. It is clear that Matt Cooke with Brodziak and anyone other than Heatley or Rupp on the 3rd line makes that line an advantage over their opponent for the Wild. I believe Yeo realizes how good Cooke and Brodziak are for each other and how good that line is when Justin Fontaine, Nino Niedrreiter, Jason Zucker, or Torrey Mitchell completes it.
Just looking at the salary cap scenario and current roster situation, honestly the best thing that could happen to the Wild is being able to either move Heatley in a trade to someone willing or have him go on the Long Term Injury list which would free up his roster spot and provide cap flexibility. Obviously absent an injury the LITR is not an option and I would never wish anything but health for any player but I am just saying that the Wild is currently without many options. I don’t see many trade options on the current roster either. The best I can see for freeing up rosters spots is putting Rupp on waivers and Mathew Dumba returning to Canadian Juniors after the World Juniors Classic.
Just My Take, Tony Dean @TonyDean1204