Dan Wallace: Wild Look to Build Off 1st Win

Last night ...a game between two heavyweights battling for the best lottery odds lol

7-1 Toronto tonight

7-1 Toronto tonight

Lots of lopsided loses early is what I want....break this team's spirit so that ownership has to accept the rebuild.

I'd like to see the wild win tonight. My hockey team is full of Leaf fans. It's funny to see them lose their poop when they lose

Thank you Mr. Obviuos. As I said last weekend Boudreau will be gone by Thanksgiving and the Wild will start the fire sale at the trade deadline.

As a life long Minnesota sports fan, including the North Stars as still my favorite Minnesota sports team, I love the Wild, but it's time to clean the slate. I have enjoyed the Parise and Suter signings from the git go, even though i firmly believe Chuck sold his soul on their contracts which in turn is hurting this organization for the next several years....

With that said, it's simply time as an organization to start the rebuild. I like Zucker, i like Dumba(finally)... but this squad CANNOT win enough or be competitive enough to make any kind of serious run with the current and immediate future roster. Leopold needs to come to that realization ASAP... Yes, he may lose a lot of revenue over the next few years, but i think what he's failing to comprehend is that the revenue lost over the long haul will be much greater should he fail to realize that continuing on this course will likely cause a 5 to 7 year drout for playoff hockey.

Not to mention leaving young key players careers out to dry should he stay the course. Players like Zucker, Dumba, Fiala, Kunin and Greenway will be far past their primes by the time this team is able to contend again...

Why not start moving some of those "tradeable" pieces now(while they still have high value) to really start restocking young talent that will be ready in 3 or 4 years to really build a roster that can compete?!

....long season, it's gonna be a long, long season.

....long season, it's gonna be a long, long season.
- Gusrichards

agreed Gus... I'll still watch, but with little vested interest. This squad is not good. Watching last night hearkened back to the days when Mikko was the top player when they fought tooth and nail to win or lose close scoring games.. Just boring, unsatisfying hockey. I mean how ironic that the game winning goal of the Wilds first win of the season is off the stick of Victor freaking Rask?!!!

Wow

Hey Dan, when the Wild get thoroughly destroyed tonight, will you title your next blog "It's Time"?... Thanks

I've always thought the worst thing for the Wild's long term development was beating the Avs in that playoff series. I think it gave the mgmt of the Wild organization (and maybe the players) an unrealistic understanding of where the team was. On paper, the Wild 'upsetting' the division winners looked like a much bigger accomplishment than it really was. In the seasons immediately following that playoff series win, the Wild GM (Fletcher?) consistently gave up high draft picks for what was considered that missing piece as the Wild headed into the playoffs.

I've always thought the worst thing for the Wild's long term development was beating the Avs in that playoff series. I think it gave the mgmt of the Wild organization (and maybe the players) an unrealistic understanding of where the team was. On paper, the Wild 'upsetting' the division winners looked like a much bigger accomplishment than it really was. In the seasons immediately following that playoff series win, the Wild GM (Fletcher?) consistently gave up high draft picks for what was considered that missing piece as the Wild headed into the playoffs.
- manchester33

Oh no doubt that Fletcher destroyed the current era of this organization. Gave up the farm on several occasions to bring in those "missing pieces"... Obviously hind sight being what it is, it's easy to criticize now, but pretty sure most of us Wild fans were criticizing during the Fletcher regime.

as far as that playoff series goes, i think it was a great look at what could have been a long term competitive roster, but it needed to keep evolving and Chuck took that possibility away with his insistence on giving up young talent/picks for that "last piece"...

Chicago, Nashville and Philadelphia all figured out Ryan Hartman. When Philly got him I was pissed being a Flyer fan first, I told them all there is a reason why he won't be here long. Well that holding call he just took probably has me watching my last Wild game for some time despite owning several Wild. BB should send that f'er a strong message. Actually BG needs to address this problem now and possibly avoid a train wreck. Hartman's team mates must be totally pissed. I am.

As a life long Minnesota sports fan, including the North Stars as still my favorite Minnesota sports team, I love the Wild, but it's time to clean the slate. I have enjoyed the Parise and Suter signings from the git go, even though i firmly believe Chuck sold his soul on their contracts which in turn is hurting this organization for the next several years....

With that said, it's simply time as an organization to start the rebuild. I like Zucker, i like Dumba(finally)... but this squad CANNOT win enough or be competitive enough to make any kind of serious run with the current and immediate future roster. Leopold needs to come to that realization ASAP... Yes, he may lose a lot of revenue over the next few years, but i think what he's failing to comprehend is that the revenue lost over the long haul will be much greater should he fail to realize that continuing on this course will likely cause a 5 to 7 year drout for playoff hockey.

Not to mention leaving young key players careers out to dry should he stay the course. Players like Zucker, Dumba, Fiala, Kunin and Greenway will be far past their primes by the time this team is able to contend again...

Why not start moving some of those "tradeable" pieces now(while they still have high value) to really start restocking young talent that will be ready in 3 or 4 years to really build a roster that can compete?!
- MnGump

Agreed and throw in Hartman for a bag of pucks or an old jock, anything that mother is brain dead.

You bring up a very interesting point Gump. The business decision to clean the slate now where you could lose revenue which we all now is important in business however the trade off could be a contending team in a few years. Or keep the current roster than can be competitive and see what happens.

Chicago, Nashville and Philadelphia all figured out Ryan Hartman. When Philly got him I was pissed being a Flyer fan first, I told them all there is a reason why he won't be here long. Well that holding call he just took probably has me watching my last Wild game for some time despite owning several Wild. BB should send that f'er a strong message. Actually BG needs to address this problem now and possibly avoid a train wreck. Hartman's team mates must be totally pissed. I am.
- joegreif17

Yep, i dont 'think there was anyone more pissed than Donato. I mean what a dippoop, Donato was free and clear of everyone for a clean breakaway... no guarantee he scores but what a dumb dumb dumb move.

You bring up a very interesting point Gump. The business decision to clean the slate now where you could lose revenue which we all now is important in business however the trade off could be a contending team in a few years. Or keep the current roster than can be competitive and see what happens.
- MNHawksfan

I think many Wild fans are just sick of having a roster just good enough to stay competitive... This team just doesn't look like they have the right make up to even say that anymore. Staal should have been traded last season at the trade deadline when he still had some value. So far the Zuccarello acquisition looks to be a huge bust, he's been relatively unproductive so far. It's fairly clear now why Ryan Hartman was a free agent, what a doosh.

Whatever way you want to look at it, this sqaud appears to be going nowhere fast. Parise is really starting to show his age and IMO, so is Suter. Staal has no speed left in him and so far this season seems to be stripped of the puck quite easily. The veteran big guns on this roster have lost their youth and lost their mojo.

If the Wild want to be competitive this season then the only recourse GMBG has is to trade Dumba. He's our only valuable piece that could fetch a top end forward. He and Suter were getting caved in defensively and he's been moved down next to Brodin. Yes he's offensively talented, but defensively not so much. I'd try Florida or Tampa as a trading partner. Especially if the Panthers stay hovering around 500 they might be more inclined to change it up after years of futility. I don't think the Wild will miss Dumba as much as some think either. Belpidio looks like he's going to be a player.

If the Wild want to be competitive this season then the only recourse GMBG has is to trade Dumba. He's our only valuable piece that could fetch a top end forward. He and Suter were getting caved in defensively and he's been moved down next to Brodin. Yes he's offensively talented, but defensively not so much. I'd try Florida or Tampa as a trading partner. Especially if the Panthers stay hovering around 500 they might be more inclined to change it up after years of futility. I don't think the Wild will miss Dumba as much as some think either. Belpidio looks like he's going to be a player.
- mnhockeyguy

IMO, Dumba is only as good as the offense. If the Wild can't get offensive zone time, Dumba is useless. Watching last nights game was about as frustrating as it gets... It was a joke watching this team trying to set up offensive zone time... Terrible on the puck, terrible passing and rarely did they see any high percentage shooting lanes even when they did manage to control the puck. Granted Dumba did hit 2 pipes, but i believe those were both on the PP which could be the worst PP in the league...

Defensively this squad should be tops in the West with all the veteran D men on it, but they have looked terrible in every game so far this season. Dumba is not a good defensive D man which is why I have not been a proponent of him or his play until he started scoring goals at will last season. But this was a better offensive squad up until he got hurt and up until Fenton single handedly started dismantling the core of the offense.

With that said, that fat contract Spurgeon got is already looking to be yet another long term hindrance to the Cap for years to come... This D overall is not good. Brodin is good on the puck and along the boards, but he offers little in the way of offense. Suter is a good puck mover but his skills as a stay at home d man look to have diminished quite a bit. I like Soucy and Hunt, they are the 3rd pairing and look to be the most visible out there which is really sad. They are a rock solid 3rd pairing for any team, but cannot make up for the veterans in the first 2 pairings.

It's clear to me that removing players like Coyle, Granlund and Nino and putting smallish offensive one way players in their places has really hurt the overall team defense. Granlund and Coyles gritty style of play and play making abilities are sorely missed now. Fiala is soft on the puck and is a turn over machine. Rask offers little in any aspect of the game offensive or defensive. Donato is a nice offensive player but needs bigger bodies and more skill around him in order for him to be more effective, he just gets manhandled and easily separated from the puck.

For the love of everything holy, somehow, some way, find a young talented center!

That was really, really demoralizing last night. I can honestly say I had the game on, but decided to do other things and just kept it as background noise...except, luckily, I just happened to pay close attention to the game as Mayhew scored. So that was the silver lining for last night.

Some things that have been pointed out during broadcasts that are starting to drive me a little crazy. The talk of how they can't move JEE up because his FO skills are terrible. Let's look at that...

Koivu - 57.69%
Eriksson Ek - 46.88%
Staal - 44.44%
Rask - 42.11%

Looks to me that he's been better than most on the team, except for Koivu. even Kunin was at 45.65%. I do understand that JEE generally doesn't have to take many hard FOs, but he has had a couple. Announcers, quit using this as an excuse to keep him on the 3rd or 4th line. And as for centers, does anyone else only see Rask as trying to do some figure skater instead of power skating out there?

I noticed Gump said above that he is likes the Hunt/Soucy pairing and I have to agree with him. BB does try to keep them off against most of the top forwards as much as they can. But it seems as those 2 have just simplified their own games and really work well together. And when your 3 leading scores are all Dman...something tells me there is a problem. Yes, Staal looks slow and old now. Yes, Parise appears to have lost a step. Zuccarello is hurt and hasn't shown much at all. At least Koivu is winning a majority of FOs. He appears to be a perfect 3rd line C right now. And after seeing some of the hustle, skating and shooting of Kunin so far, I can't wait to see him on a line with Kaprizov next year. It would be nice if the Wild could find a true C to put between those 2 for next year.

Now Dmen...Dumba is reminding me of the problems that the Twins have with Miguel Sano. He thinks he needs to put the team on his back and tries to do too much. I don't think he should be traded away, he is a perfect piece to build around. I'm wondering aloud if Spurgeon is trying to hard as well, to justify his new contract? Suter is the player that I would like to see traded away. Is there a possible contender that could take on Suter? Do they have a possible young C that could be a true #1?

Brodin is Brodin. I think by now, we should all know what the Wild are going to get from him. He will score 3-4 goals, get about 10-12 assists and play steady D and move the puck. There are no all-star games in his future, but he at least will be steady. Hunt/Soucy...I'm good with them.

As for goaltending, is Dubnyk tired already? He makes 4-5 incredible saves and then becomes a shell because of a bad bounce...in every game! It must be killing Gump to see that Stalock is the only winning goalie right now, and even has a shutout.

Is RNH a UFA next season or has Edmonton already extended?


Aside from the aging Backstrom, not sure who else is available next season at the Center position...

oh wait.. Coyle? Granny? Haula will be available next year i believe...


What if you could get Brayden Point for Dumba and a pick or prospect?

And yes, Stalock is one lucky SOB Gus....

Is RNH a UFA next season or has Edmonton already extended?


Aside from the aging Backstrom, not sure who else is available next season at the Center position...

oh wait.. Coyle? Granny? Haula will be available next year i believe...


What if you could get Brayden Point for Dumba and a pick or prospect?

And yes, Stalock is one lucky SOB Gus....
- MnGump

Gump, I fell outta my chair laughing so hard after reading that last line. I don't think previous Wild players, and yes I include Granlund in this group, are going to do it. And I would rather trade Spurgeon instead of Dumba. Although I am not really sure on Point either. But it is an idea.

Gump, I fell outta my chair laughing so hard after reading that last line. I don't think previous Wild players, and yes I include Granlund in this group, are going to do it. And I would rather trade Spurgeon instead of Dumba. Although I am not really sure on Point either. But it is an idea.
- Gusrichards

I just don't think we can move on here with the "status quo"... which is the idea that holding on to arguably our most attractive trade piece is going to help garner enough change to make this team a winner in the now or the distant future for that matter...

With that said, i don't take lightly the idea of trading Dumba, but if not, whats the point of hanging on to a guy that is going languish on a mediocre squad for ultimately the rest of his prime?

This line up needs whole sale change, not penny for penny or tit for tat. Serious thought needs to go into moving Suter and/or Parise. This organization is never going to be a winner until Leopold realizes that window has closed. It was a nice run, but those 2 players can no longer be in the long term plans of this team. So in order to get that done, they are going to have to use some key players and prospects to entice teams to take on those contracts.

It's just time for change, and why not just get started. The writing is on the wall, this team is going to continue to slide and I for one do not just want to sit by and prolong the inevitable...