Evaluations at the Break

At the All-Star Break, how should we evaluate the Minnesota Wild's season. If you just ignored the manner in which the season progressed and looked at the current result only you'd have to be pleased. The team is 8th in the Western Conference and would qualify for a playoff spot if the season ended today.

Unfortunately we know how they got here, though. The started off the season great and played an exceptional November, zooming their way to first in the entire league. Then mid-December came along and they played like the worst team in the league for about a month. Now it appears they're playing a little better and go into the break on a 2 game winning streak.

What is the cause for this inconsistent play? Injuries, for one. Youth and inexperience also. And add the fact that Dany Heatley is continuing his fast descent down the goal-scoring mountain and you have the season in a nutshell.

As long as I'm evaluating the team, it's probably fair to evaluate my blog. Like the team, my blogging has been inconsistent at best. I mean, only 18 posts since the season began, how is this possible? My only explanation has to do with (a) complacency and (b) HBO. The terrific start for the Wild got me pining for the playoffs to start and it turns out they were still months away. In addition to that I started subscribing to HBO and watching a lot of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "The Wire". In fact, I often think Larry David would be an interesting character on "The Wire". He'd be pretty good.

Like the Wild, I will plan to be at my very best when the season resumes on Tuesday. But unlike the team, I can't trade myself to a contender if my blogging lags.

Please Don't Panic, Chuck

One month ago the Minnesota Wild were riding high, things were going great. They were on top of the Western Conference, the Houston call-ups were all producing and Mike Yeo looked like a genius. Fast-forward to today, the team is struggling badly, the rookies look over matched and their captain is out for at least a month. What should be done?

Wild GM Chuck Fletcher is at a crossroads here. He can make some moves to help the Wild maintain their playoff spot or he can be patient. The easy thing to do would be to trade some of their young players and prospects for quick fixes. Deal Charlie Coyle and Josh Harding for Zach Parise, or how about Marco Scandella for Ryan Malone? If the Wild made a few moves they'd have a good shot to make the playoffs this season and the fan base would be happy.

But I wouldn't do that. This team is built for the future, not for the present. Sure, they played out of their skulls good hockey in November, but that was an anomaly. This team as it's presently constructed isn't a top-tier team. This squad's brightest days are ahead with such players as Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker, Johan Larsson and the aforementioned Coyle. Scandella will come back from Houston and be a better player.

Two seasons from now this team will be a Cup-contending team with the current roster plus the prospects coming of age. Why trade one or more of them now so the team can get into the playoffs as an 8 seed? I'm not saying Granlund is as talented as Evgeni Malkin, but can you imagine if the Penguins had dealt the rights to #71 just to make the playoffs before Sidney Crosby arrived?

Patience is hard here, especially with our recent playoff drought. But listen to me now and believe me later when I say this team will reach a Cup Final within 3 years if they don't trade any of their top young guns.

Captain Obvious

To state that "Wild forward Dany Heatley needs to score more" is akin to the following statements:

1. The Sun needs to come up tomorrow morning if we're going to be able to sustain life on Earth.
2. Boy, I sure hope gravity works tomorrow when I'm driving to work.
3. A cold beer would taste good right now.

And while I do like the fact that the local newspapers are covering hockey, I'd like it so much more if anyone outside of Mike Russo would tackle a real hockey topic. For example, what Lou Nanne thought Brian Lawton had that Steve Yzerman didn't.(*) That still bothers me.

(*) Someday I'll post my argument here that Lou Nanne, by way of poor drafting, was responsible for the North Stars leaving.

Struggling for Eighth

Yep, it's been a while since I've put up a Wild-related post on this site. I've been busy breaking down the new season of ABC's "The Bachelor" and believe me, I have plenty of thoughts in that area. But since this isn't a Bachelor Blog, I'll write for a bit about my favorite National Hockey League Team.

They were first place in the Western Conference a few weeks ago and are now struggling to maintain the 8th seed. What has gone wrong? I really don't know. Were they the best team in the West? Obviously not. Are they one of the worst? No, not that either. I suspect they'll pull out of this tailspin soon and spend the rest of the regular season fighting for a playoff spot.

Clearly they are a better team and Columbus, Anaheim and Edmonton. This much I know. Are they better than Dallas, Colorado, Calgary and the Quebec Coyotes? Some nights they are, other nights not so much.

Chapter 1

In an attempt to explore the uncharted waters of my creative mind, I have decided to write a short fictional story about Jacques Lemaire, Abraham Lincoln and a 1974 Ford Pinto. Here is the first installment:

Maybe it was something I ate. I should learn from my reckless eating habits, but it appears that I had finally gone too far. It was late in the evening, I had just finished watching two periods of West Coast hockey and I was hungry. Walking into my kitchen I realized I hadn't been grocery shopping in weeks and there was nothing to satisfy my cravings.

There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just put it out there. I drove to Taco Hell and ate three chili cheese burritos. I'm not proud of myself, but it is what it is. After I got home I went straight to bed. I guess I can blame it on the burritos, or the late night, but I've really got no one to blame besides myself for having the dream that changed my life.

I didn't realize it was a dream, so you can throw out your "Roy just watched 'Inception' again and is now trying to rip it off" theories. It all seemed very real; not once did I question its zany circumstances. I was parked outside a small cafe in downtown Duluth, sitting in my blue and white Ford Pinto in the pouring rain.

I wasn't hungry in the dream (I guess burritos carry over to dreamland), but sitting there in the Pinto I felt the urge to walk out into the rain and enter the diner. Why, I don't know, but just go with me here for a bit. I opened my door and stood up in the blinding rainstorm. No one was on the street and it appeared to be the middle of the night. All was dark except the lights coming from the cafe.

As I opened the door and entered the diner, the smell of bacon enveloped my nose. I could hear some Johnny Cash playing in the background and only 2 people were seated in the entire restaurant. They were sitting on the same side of a booth, sharing a sandwich. Then it donned on me who they were...Abraham Lincoln and Jacques Lemaire were eating a BLT. Lemaire stood up and said in his French-Canadian accent "Come on over, Roy, we've been expecting you."

A Glimpse of Future Glory

As I sat at my computer yesterday afternoon reading the injury news about Devin Setoguchi, Cal Clutterbuck and Josh Harding I came to the very realistic viewpoint that the Minnesota Wild were primed for a poor performance in Los Angeles. The team was riding high, but they were near the end of a West coast road trip and missing several key players. I told myself a 5-1 loss wouldn't be unexpected.

But they went ahead and destroyed the Kings 4-2. Things are going sooo well for our team it seems it doesn't really matter who they suit up; everyone contributes.

I know this isn't going to last. Sooner or later the Wild are going to start losing again, but I don't expect them to fall too far. Are they the best team in hockey? Obviously not, but they are clearly a playoff team. They are better than I thought they'd be at this point, but that doesn't change my thinking that they're a 5-8 seed in the Western Conference.

Having said all that, I'd like to reiterate that this team's best days are in front of them. Fans of the team know that within 2-3 years the roster will bear the names of Mikael Granlund (who will be this team's first superstar), Jason Zucker, Brett Bulmer, Charlie Coyle and Johan Larsson. And keep in mind I haven't even brought up the possibility of Zach Parise.

Enjoy this season, Wild fans, for it portends to be a glimpse of future glory.

At the Rinks: The CRIC

It isn't too often that I add new features to the site, but I think this will be a successful one. Each week I will attend a local high school hockey game and submit a review of the rink. This week: The Coon Rapids Ice Arena, or more affectionately dubbed "The CRIC".

Last Saturday I attended the first boy's high school game at The CRIC, a contest between Coon Rapids and Robbinsdale Armstrong. While the game itself was a fairly exciting 3-3 tie, I was more concerned with the surroundings.

While anything's an improvement over their previous home, Cook Memorial Arena, I felt The CRIC did a number of things well. First off, it was very bright inside, almost to the point of needing sunglasses. The ice sheet was very well illuminated and the arena had a nice set of windows along the top of the wall for plenty of natural sunlight. And although their are only bleachers on one side of the rink, they were marginally comfortable.

Concession-wise they leave much to be desired. After learning from an inside source that the hot dogs were puny, I opted for a personal pizza. What I got was a small microwaved Red Baron. I don't know if I'd expect more, but it just wasn't very tasty. Outside of the usual nachos and pretzel offerings I didn't see much variety.

The atmosphere also lagged a bit. The crowd wasn't into the game and the music played between puck stoppages reminded me of the selection played across the street at the roller rink. I did enjoy, however, the intermission music they played during a team timeout...it was straight from the Common Man's progrum; presumably a shout out to Coach Mileski.

Overall, I give the place a B-. Great, well-lit building with a poor crowd and bad pizza.

Next up: The St. Louis Park Rec. Center.

A Look at the New Rivals

With NHL Realignment a done deal, it is time to say goodbye to our Northwest Division rivals and hello to a new bunch in the unnamed Central Conference. While I'll miss watching Roberto Luongo skate to the bench mid-period after being pulled, I have a hunch I'll like getting to bed a bit earlier and not having to watch many away games starting at 9:00 Central Time.

With that in mind, who in the the new Conference will become the Wild's biggest rival? Here is a quick look at the contenders using a 5 star rating system:

(1) Chicago Blackhawks (****) ~ I wouldn't mind seeing a rekindling of the old North Stars-Blackhawks rivalry, but Steve Larmer and Al Secord are no longer active. Can I grow to hate Jonathan Toews and Company? To quote Jeff Dubay, "Yeah, I think so!"

(2) St. Louis Blues (***) ~ another good past rival, but they've fallen a bit. Having said that, it'll be nice to pencil in 12 points at the beginning of the season.

(3) Columbus Bluejackets (1/2 *) ~ assuming they'll still be around next season, I have some trouble getting excited about playing a hockey team from Ohio, Miami excluded.

(4) Nashville Predators (**) ~ a competitive team with a neckless coach. Something tells me I could muster some hatred towards Jordan Tootoo also.

(5) Dallas Stars (****) ~ the natural pick with the Norm Green history and all. We'll see what develops.

(6) Detroit Red Wings (***) ~ who knows. The way they're whining about not being in the Eastern Conference they may end up there sooner rather than later. That, and the fact that their roster is aging faster than Giada's provolone, makes me shy away from them as a legit rival.

(7) Winnipeg Jets (**) ~ again, we'll have to see what develops. One thing to look forward to is more Wild appearances on early HNIC games. We'll also get to see Dustin Byfuglien shatter the magical 300 lb. number.

Great Teams of NHL History

On this Thanksgiving it's time to give thanks for the Greatest Teams in National Hockey League history:

(1) 1984-85 Edmonton Oilers ~ finished first in the NHL with a 49-20-11 record on their way to winning a 2nd straight Stanley Cup. The team, led by Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri and Mark Messier were just beginning their dominance. Could score at will.

(2) 1967-68 Montreal Canadiens ~ finished with a 42-22-10 record and dominated the Stanley Cup playoffs. This team was stacked with several future hall-of-famers.

(3) 1925-26 Montreal Maroons ~ the great team of the first half of the 20th Century. Led by superstar Nels Stewart, this team was solid, top to bottom and revolutionized the game by deivising the 2-2-1 "Coolidge Trap".

(4) 2011-12 Minnesota Wild ~ it's not a stretch to assume this 13-5-3 team will be parading the Cup down Kellogg Boulevard come next June. With it's unique blend of veteran scoring savants (Heatley, Koivu and Setoguchi) and promising young defensemen (Spurgeon and Scandella) this squad may rise in my rankings. Stay tuned.

(5) 1981-82 New York Islanders ~ nice team. Finished 54-16-10 and won the Cup.

Possible Playoff Matchups

The Minnesota Wild are 1st in the Western Conference, so we thought it'd be a good time to look at some first round playoff match ups against possible #8 seeds:

(1) Wild v. Red Wings ~ as of today I'd say Wild in 4 games because the Wings are getting older and would be completely tired out by the time the playoffs roll around. This series match up is very unlikely, however, because the Wings probably won't qualify for the post-season.

(2) Wild v. St. Louis ~ I'd pick the Wild in a sweep. The Blues don't have the goaltending to match up to the Backstrom-Harding double punch.

(3) Wild v. Edmonton ~ Probably the Wild in 4. The Oilers have some talented younger players, but they lack post-season experience.

(4) Wild v. Los Angeles ~ Wild in 4. I don't yet trust the Kings on the blue line. Doughty and Jack Johnsen are overrated and overpaid. Give me Spurgeon and Prosser any day.

Good Things Come in Threes

The Minnesota Wild are currently in 2nd place in the Western Conference. I got an extra Spicy Chilito in my bag from Zantigo on Monday. And now today I found out I can watch classic episodes of Good Times online at TVland.com. Dynomite!