For those of you who pay the annual subscription fee and have access to the highly anticipated rumor chart, perhaps your reaction was like mine. While I wasn't blown away by the names attached to the Wild or the number of rumors involving the Wild, I was pleasantly surprised as most years it is less than this year.
Out of respect to Ek, I will not get in to discussing the names on the rumor chart and would encourage those of you who are paying members not to discuss the names in the comments section of this blog. But, suffice it to say that the Wild find themselves currently as buyers with 57 points and in 8th place in the Western Conference with the Coyotes in 9th place and in striking distance, followed by Dallas in 10th place, but not quite within striking distance given the number of games in hand they have.
That said, tomorrow night's game against the Stars is HUGE for the Wild. Perhaps Dallas needs this game more than the Wild do, but if the Wild can pull out a victory in regulation, it further distances them from Dallas in the standings. As most people know, Dallas has struggled a great deal in January having only won one game this month.
Upcoming games for Phoenix include New Jersey, Toronto, at Calgary, at Edmonton, at Vancouver, Los Angeles and Buffalo.
Upcoming games for Dallas include at Minnesota, at Nashville, Minnesota, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Colorado and New Jersey.
Upcoming games for Minnesota include Dallas, at Dallas, Chicago, at San Jose, at Anaheim and at Colorado.
Phoenix seems to have the easiest slate of games coming up, while the Wild seem to have the toughest. Minnesota has finally shown good depth with 3 of their star players out of the lineup (Parise, Koivu and Harding). I, for one, am pleasantly surprised that the rest of the team has stepped up and, while not perfect, are at least out there competing hard on most nights. It seems like the beginning of this month is all but a distant memory when head coach Mike Yeo's job was at risk. And, while he still may be under scrutiny, he is no longer on the proverbial hotseat. Much of the creit is due not only to coach Yeo, but also to GM Chuck Fletcher and his front office for restocking the AHL cupboard which is now coming to fruition with capable young NHL players.
So as to not be overly positive, I do think that Phoenix will find themselves in playoff position by the Olympic break. The only question for me is will it be at the expense of the Wild or the struggling Vancouver Canucks.
Upcoming Games for Vancouver include Calgary, at Edmonton, Nashville, Phoenix, Edmonton, Chicago and at Winnipeg.
Seems to me that Vancouver will be able to break out of their funk with such an easy schedule.
So, by the Olympic break, I see the Wild on the outside-looking in as the top 8 teams in the West are concerned.
Thoughts?
Also, kind of players and/or positions would GM Chuck Fletcher be wise to look at coming up to not only the Olympic trade freeze, but also the ever nearing trade deadline?