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Not The Start The Wild Expected

October 8, 2018, 4:08 PM ET [6 Comments]
Dan Wallace
Minnesota Wild Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Happy Thanksgiving to our friends to the North of our border!!!

Two games in, no wins, and not much offense.

Alarming or No?

For a team that is expecting to be a playoff team and extend their consecutive playoff streak to seven seasons, yes it is.

We knew that the roster needs adjusting, but at the same time the most tradable assets came off down years in 2017-18 making things that much more difficult for new GM, Paul Fenton.

That said, the free agent signings of July 1, were a but more head scratching though.

Yes, the primary addition of Greg Pateryn made perfect sense and addressed a real need. Full marks on that signing. After that is where we have to question the thought process.

Adding Eric Fehr and Matt Hendricks to replace Matt Cullen and Daniel Winnik makes little to no sense. Fehr and Hendricks are 13th forwards at this stage of their careers, yet they are brought in as former Boudreau guys and counted on to play regular minutes on the fourth line for what is expected, at least by the organization, to be a playoff contender.

We know that the NHL is a young man's game and speed is an element that cannot be overlooked.

Through the first two games we have seen the Wild get outsmarted badly at times with not much answer for that. We all knew that after last season's disappointing end that changes were necessary, and even given the light trade market free agency was an avenue where some impact could be made even on the lower end of the payroll scale.

Speed should have been the top priority on Fenton's radar not Boudreau guys from yesteryear.

It is only October and no time to panic, but hearing Boudreau after the game Saturday saying that his team was not skating and tried to make too many plays standing still should be a wakeup call to BB himself as well as to Fenton that the lineup that was used the first two games will not cut it.

Three days of practice before the Blackhawks come to town. Let's see how the team and the coaching staff respond.

Follow me on Twitter @dwallace17
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