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Av-merican
Un-Tenured Professor of Hockey
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 1429
Location: Denver
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 Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:47 am Post subject: What now? |
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http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/17959489.html
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| Wounds will heal in time for next year, but some key players — along with the coach and GM — might not be in the mix. |
| Quote: |
| The Wild will look vastly different on the ice next season, and maybe off it, too. There are 10 unrestricted free agents, including veterans Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra. After Saturday’s loss, Jacques Lemaire said he would “think about” returning as coach. And there’s a good chance the Toronto Maple Leafs will seek permission to speak to General Manager Doug Risebrough about their vacant GM position. |
It might be time for Risebrough to go, Lemaire too. It just seems like this team can't take that next step with those two at the helm IMO.
With Leipold in charge now, who knows what'll happen?
I agree w/the article though, you simply MUST keep Rolston. Lose him and this team won't make the playoffs, let alone an impact once they get there. He's too integral to lose now.
An upgrade at center is necessary too. Minny is finding out what Carolina and Atlanta found out too late--Eric Belanger has no business playing anywhere other than your fourth line. |
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saskhab
Morally Bankrupt Scum
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 2445
Location: Saskatoon!
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:21 am Post subject: |
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Trade Gaborik and get full value while you still can...
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It's backwards time. |
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Av-merican
Un-Tenured Professor of Hockey
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 1429
Location: Denver
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:32 am Post subject: |
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| saskhab wrote: |
| Trade Gaborik and get full value while you still can... |
You really think he won't sign an extension before his contract is up? |
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saskhab
Morally Bankrupt Scum
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 2445
Location: Saskatoon!
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:41 am Post subject: |
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| Av-merican wrote: |
| saskhab wrote: |
| Trade Gaborik and get full value while you still can... |
You really think he won't sign an extension before his contract is up? |
I thought he would be a one team guy, but I honestly think he's just waiting to get out. The Wild should let Demitra walk, and after he's gone there's no chance of Gaborik staying on. It's been a struggle post-lockout and there's just no way to end it amicably. The team hasn't taken the next step with Lemaire/Risebrough, but you can add Gaborik to that mix as well. And his no show in the playoffs just makes you wonder if they really should be building around the guy still.
The Wild has never known how to handle Gaborik. They thought he just wanted fellow countrymen... didn't work. They thought they could humiliate him by proclaiming him an awful defensive player and belittle his offensive talents as a result... didn't work. They have alienated him so much... and the last contract discussion was horrendously handled. He's as good as gone, even with new guys running the show.
No team in the NHL confuses the hell out of me more than the Wild. They never fire on all cylinders and I think it's a real problem.
And fucking do away with the retarded rotating captain thing. If it really was Gaborik's team he'd be captain full time. Give the 'C' to somebody and have someone to hold the players accountable outside the coach. This rotating captain thing is just another excuse for Lemaire to crack the whip on everybody.
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It's backwards time. |
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Bosc Ulrich II
OTP Resident Historian
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 2441
Location: Your own blue line!
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:57 am Post subject: |
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| saskhab wrote: |
| Av-merican wrote: |
| saskhab wrote: |
| Trade Gaborik and get full value while you still can... |
You really think he won't sign an extension before his contract is up? |
I thought he would be a one team guy, but I honestly think he's just waiting to get out. The Wild should let Demitra walk, and after he's gone there's no chance of Gaborik staying on. It's been a struggle post-lockout and there's just no way to end it amicably. The team hasn't taken the next step with Lemaire/Risebrough, but you can add Gaborik to that mix as well. And his no show in the playoffs just makes you wonder if they really should be building around the guy still.
The Wild has never known how to handle Gaborik. They thought he just wanted fellow countrymen... didn't work. They thought they could humiliate him by proclaiming him an awful defensive player and belittle his offensive talents as a result... didn't work. They have alienated him so much... and the last contract discussion was horrendously handled. He's as good as gone, even with new guys running the show.
No team in the NHL confuses the hell out of me more than the Wild. They never fire on all cylinders and I think it's a real problem.
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I dunno, I think I heard on the radio that despite his lack of points, Gaborik played well. Did anyone see some of this series to confirm this or the opposite?
Could we see a Heatley-Hossa-style swap with Florida? I don't really know what Florida's plans are with Jokinen...
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Bring back the old OTP!
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saskhab
Morally Bankrupt Scum
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 2445
Location: Saskatoon!
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:01 am Post subject: |
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From what I saw of the series (which admittedly wasn't a ton, but there was some watching), I don't remember Gaborik at all. Foote totally dominated him.
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Av-merican
Un-Tenured Professor of Hockey
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 1429
Location: Denver
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:09 am Post subject: |
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| Bosc Ulrich II wrote: |
| I dunno, I think I heard on the radio that despite his lack of points, Gaborik played well. Did anyone see some of this series to confirm this or the opposite? |
I did, and the only game where he was positively invisible was game 1. Just skated down the boards every time and let the Avs D contain him along the wall. He turned his effort way up in the following games, shooting from practically everywhere and making some very nice passes. He was pressing hard and controlling the play down low a lot of the time.
That being said though, he's a player who gets judged on how many goals he scores. And bottom line is, even with Adam Foote (and I think Ruslan Salei) doing a masterful job of containing him and Theo playing quite possibly his best hockey ever he needed to put the puck in the net at least once. In the end there simply isn't any excuse, especially when you consider that Todd frickin' Fedoruk outscored him. |
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E.L.
Morally Bankrupt Scum
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1114
Location: Go Giants!
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:11 am Post subject: |
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This team wasn't built for the playoffs.
Koivu-Burns-Veilleux-PMB-Schultz-goalie tandem stick, everyone else needs to be re-assessed as their contracts come up.
Mikko's going to be a star. He'll be winning Selke's and getting 70 points a season.
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Beat my drum down in Mexico! To Tijuana, Tijuana here we go!
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saskhab
Morally Bankrupt Scum
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 2445
Location: Saskatoon!
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:15 am Post subject: |
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I don't think this team was well built for the regular season... or at least vastly underperformed over the past 2-3 years during the 82 game schedule as well.
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Av-merican
Un-Tenured Professor of Hockey
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 1429
Location: Denver
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 11:41 am Post subject: |
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| Admittedly something needs to be said when Brent Burns is rushing past the opposition's D more often than Gaborik. I can count at least two occasions Burns was practically all alone on Theo during the series. Can't remember a single time Gabby did the same. |
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saskhab
Morally Bankrupt Scum
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 2445
Location: Saskatoon!
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:04 pm Post subject: |
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Something that isn't being mentioned here is that the Wild have a lot of d-men that are unrestricted this offseason, and I really think they could use another quality one for the long term. They don't really have a guarantee in the system, though Shawn Belle and Clayton Stoner are decent enough to warrant consideration. Belle is 23 and a former first rounder so it's now or never for him. Stoner is also 23 so he's got to make a move as well.
Here's the UFA d-man crew:
http://www.nhlnumbers.com/freeagents.php?team=none&pos=D&status=ufa&type=salary0708
Foster could return at some point mid-season, but who knows how effective he'll be. They plan on tendering him a qualifying offer. At training camp, there will be two to three spots open on the blueline after Burns, Johnsson, Schultz and Skoula.
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Nick in New York
Joined: 27 Nov 2007
Posts: 58
Location: New York
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 1:07 pm Post subject: |
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| saskhab wrote: |
Something that isn't being mentioned here is that the Wild have a lot of d-men that are unrestricted this offseason, and I really think they could use another quality one for the long term. They don't really have a guarantee in the system, though Shawn Belle and Clayton Stoner are decent enough to warrant consideration. Belle is 23 and a former first rounder so it's now or never for him. Stoner is also 23 so he's got to make a move as well.
Here's the UFA d-man crew:
http://www.nhlnumbers.com/freeagents.php?team=none&pos=D&status=ufa&type=salary0708
Foster could return at some point mid-season, but who knows how effective he'll be. They plan on tendering him a qualifying offer. At training camp, there will be two to three spots open on the blueline after Burns, Johnsson, Schultz and Skoula. |
The word is that Belle has done NOTHING to move up the depth chart. I don't see him making a meaningful impact in St. Paul (and Daigle was a first rounder too). Stoner apparently has some promise, and Reitz played the last couple of games against the Avs and didn't take a dump on the ice. Foster will be given a contract - which is a great move by Risebrough, to take his mind off it as he rehabs - but he somehow became a much better defenseman after he got hurt. What I mean is that his eulogies have overstated his worth. At best, he was a third pairing guy and a PP specialist with his big shot (that almost never hits the net). I wouldn't be crushed if he doesn't come back.
The Wild is pretty thin at the AHL level. Wasting the entire 2004 draft class has really hurt (Meszaros, Fistric and Green were all defensemen taken AFTER Thelen in the first round, for example).
The consensus seems to be that Carney and Hill are definitely gone, and Foster's on IR. If they decide to try to improve from this year, they have to dip into free agency/trade to shore up/improve the defense. If not, then expect a lot of Reitz and Stoner - and a lot of crossed fingers in Wild land. |
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Bosc Ulrich II
OTP Resident Historian
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 2441
Location: Your own blue line!
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Nick in New York wrote: |
The Wild is pretty thin at the AHL level. Wasting the entire 2004 draft class has really hurt (Meszaros, Fistric and Green were all defensemen taken AFTER Thelen in the first round, for example).
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Ouch, that does hurt from that perspective.
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E.L.
Morally Bankrupt Scum
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1114
Location: Go Giants!
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 1:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Bosc Ulrich II wrote: |
| Nick in New York wrote: |
The Wild is pretty thin at the AHL level. Wasting the entire 2004 draft class has really hurt (Meszaros, Fistric and Green were all defensemen taken AFTER Thelen in the first round, for example).
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Ouch, that does hurt from that perspective. |
And that's why you never draft the hometown boy.
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Beat my drum down in Mexico! To Tijuana, Tijuana here we go!
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Nick in New York
Joined: 27 Nov 2007
Posts: 58
Location: New York
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| Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 1:56 pm Post subject: |
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| E.L.12 more wrote: |
And that's why you never draft the hometown boy. |
Exactly...especially if said hometown boy might have some, shall we say, "social adjustment issues".  |
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the New Cunning Linguist
Failed Bandwagon Opportunist
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1215
Location: I'm here, aren't I?
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