HD Hockey

Last week I watched the show "Three Sheets" on a network called INHD. It's basically a show about a guy who travels around the world, learning about various country's drinking habits. For example, on one show he visited France's Champagne region. Anyways, the show I saw last week had this dude in Jamaica, and what were they drinking there? No, not Red Stripe, my friends, but Guinness was all the rage down there. Guinness in Jamaica. My opinion of all Jamaicans has been elevated greatly as a result of this show.

I digress. The only reason I bring this up is because (by and large) INHD is a worthless network that merely showcases high definition programming, with little or nothing good on it to watch, save the OLN HD games they simulcast. This leads me to my point...at long last. I hope with all my might that there is much more HD hockey available this year. Short of being at the game, there is nothing like watching hockey in high definition. With good comes bad, of course -- I really don't care for seeing Doc Emrick's ear hair.

Boogeyman

Happy Friday!

Caribbean Jacques

I wonder what Jacques Lemaire does in the off-season. Does he spend the summer months on the golf course shouting French insults at his pitching wedge or does he spend it on a beach in Mexico, trying to explain the neutral zone trap to his waiter? These are the questions I ask myself when I find there is nothing else to post about.

Pitching wedge or not, Lemaire needs to find a way for this team to score more goals. Even with the additions of Demitra and Parrish he needs to adapt his system and become a bit more offensive-minded. The Wild now have the talent to score, they just need to implement it in a manner that does just that.

I can see him now, lying in a lounge chair on the beach with a fruity drink..."and then the left wing pinches in, Marcos, can't you see that?"

The Scott Sandelin Quagmire

The thrust of this blog is to be two-fold -- one, for the Minnesota Wild and two, for the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. So far most of my entries have been concerned with the Wild, so I guess it's time for a quick UMD post.

Scott Sandelin recently signed a contract extension, and to be honest with you, I'm not sure how I feel about this. Sandelin clearly brought the program back from the depths of hell and deserves credit for this. He also brought a team to the Frozen Four and has brought in several great players, including a Hobey winner. On the flip side, the team that he brought to the Frozen Four should have won the darn thing and were up 3-1 after two periods against Denver in the sem-finals. They should have won it all that year. 3-1 after 2. It still gives me nausea. The prevailing thought after that game was "what a great run, and with all of our returning seniors we're going to dominate next year." Not the case. Dreadful next year, then all the seniors graduate leaving a class of a dozen freshmen last year who played well early on, went into the mother of all slides, and then upset Denver in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

So I guess what I'm saying is is that his tenure has been streaky, and I suppose I can't think of anyone else who deserves a shot at coaching this team, so it was probably a good idea to extend him. How's that for definitive?

Bicardi Reversal

I had too much to drink last night when I posted that last entry. Who knew Strawberry Banana Daiquaris packed that much of a punch? Anyways, I've decided against doing a preview of the Northwest Division teams; such an inane project would only show the limitations on my knowledge of the other teams in the division. If you're looking for news about the Canucks or any other team I suggest you click on one of the links on the right.

These do seem to be the quiet days of the year for a hockey fan. What makes them more bearable is travelling the hockey blog world and seeing what other teams are up to. There are several interesting sites to visit and I haven't even been to half of them. Maybe I should take advantage of this time off and read a book or do some work around the house. On second thought I think I'll take a nap and then take another nap.

Daiquari Night

Sorry, I don't have much to post about tonight. We took out the blender and started making Strawberry Daiquaris with the neighbors. Tomorrow I intend to start my preview of the Northwest Division with a look in on the Vancouver Canucks.

Mixed Emotions

One of the headlines on TSN today was "Wild Sign Minnesotan Wyatt Smith". This would seem to be a chance for fans of Minnesota hockey to rejoice, afterall, one of our own had come to play for the Wild. Well, my friends, this signing has created a quandry for me. While I cheer for the Wild and most Minnesotans who have achieved success in the NHL, I despise the southern campus of the University of Minnesota. So, when I found out ex-Gopher Smith was now a member of the Wild I had mixed emotions. I am happy to report, however, that I have moved on and now I'm trying to only think of Wyatt as a Minnesotan, not a gopher. Still, look at the smug smile...he's still a gopher somewhere deep inside and I'm sure when he goes after a puck in the corner he can still hear the Wooger telling him to get his elbows up.

Mikko!

Mikko Koivu's coming back and he's fighting mad. Koivu and the Wild agreed on Tuesday to a 1 year contract. Quick prediction: Mikko will have a breakout year and take more sticks to the head.

Calling Mr. Bettman

I know there are bigger things than this for the Commissioner to handle, but I think they need to have teams go back to wearing their white jerseys at home. It's obvious it's all about jersey sales and statistically-speaking the darker jerseys sell better than the white ones, but I like to see my home team in white. Tradition, pure and simple. It just isn't right for the Flyers and Bruins to wear black at home, and the Avs to wear blue. Hear me now but listen to me later, Gary. Change the uniform policy soon please.

And while you're at it, stop the nonsense with those ridiculous third jerseys.

Top 5 Free Agents in Wild History

Well, I said it wouldn't be much, but here's a list of the Top 5 Minnesota Wild Free Agent Signees prior to this year's activity:

1. Brian Rolston -- was clearly their best player last year and had the best season ever by a member of the Wild.
2. Brian Rolston -- see No. 1.
3. Brian Rolston -- see No. 1 .
4. Brian Rolston -- see No. 1.
5. Brian Rolston -- get the point yet?

Gopher Broke

Being a hockey fan in the state of Minnesota it would seem natural that I'd be a big fan of the University of Minnesota hockey team, when in fact the opposite is true. Growing up in Duluth, watching the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, I came to hate the southern campus with a passion. They got all the top-notch in-state recruits, they had the best facility and they got all the TV time on FSN. In recent years the Gophers have landed most of the top recruits in the Country, namely Erik Johnson (pictured above), Peter Mueller and Phil "no pass" Kessel.

The Gophers are now the Yankees of college hockey. Unfortunately this will bite them in the ass in the years to come. Johnson and Mueller will be "one and done" players and Kessel may, and I stress MAY, come back for a second year. Shuttling different skaters in and out of the lineup year after year will prove to be a detriment for Coach Don Lucia and they will not be able to develop as a unit. Players that don't play together for more than a year have no chance to develop into a team. Watch in the coming years as teams such as Holy Cross upset the Gophers and their team of all stars. I know I'll be watching with a big smile on my face.

Mikko Can You Hear Me?

With the Wild signing Matt Foy and Erik Reitz yesterday to 1 year contracts, the only significant remaining unsigned player is Mikko Koivu. Having Finnish blood coarsing through my veins I have come to pay close attention to Mikko over the years because (outside of the Antti Laaksonen years) he was the only Finn on the Minnesota roster. Mikko is a very good two way player that will never score more than 20 goals in a season, but will always backcheck and finish every season with a plus rating. Mikko needs to come aboard and sign a long term contract today. Kylliksi Mikko!

Pascal Dupuis Signs

Hardly exciting news, but I'm glad Dupuis is back. He showed great promise a few seasons back, held out for a new contract at the same time Marian held out, and then came back to have two lackluster seasons. He's still young and will still get better.

NHL Career Stats:

Year GP G-A-PTS
2000-01 4 1-0-1
2001-02 76 15-12-27
2002-03 80 20-28-48
2003-04 59 11-15-26 (Holdout year)
2005-06 67 10-16-26

Anson Carter

Rumors are circling that the Wild are in the hunt for Anson Carter. While I'm not one to perpetuate anything I don't know to be correct, I found this refreshing. Over the last six years I've watched many rumors come and go, either close to the trading deadline or in the off-season, and I have never seen the Wild mentioned as a possible destination for a legitimate free agent. It was always "he's deciding between Toronto, Detroit and Colorado" or something close to that.

I'm not sure what has spawned this new found aggressiveness over at XCel, but it certainly is welcome. Anson Carter may or may not be joining the Wild soon, but it's just nice to be invited to the party that is the free agent period.

Coming up later this week: A list of the biggest free agent signings in Wild history. (It will be a really, really short list)

Schedule Released

The NHL released the regular season schedule today, and while I'm not going to break down the Wild schedule game-by-game, I did have these quick thoughts:

1. They open the season with 5 straight home games. It's a chance to get off to a very fast start, or did yourself a big hole early on.

2. In mid-December they play the Red Wings three times in a four game stretch.

3. They get road games at great Canadian venues (Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal) and get home games against some very entertaining Southeast division teams. Ovechkin's Caps, Kovalchuk's Thrashers and the Cup Champ Hurricanes all make appearances this season in St. Paul.

And it all begins October 5th.

Marc Chouinard Experiment Over

The Marc Chouinard era ended yesterday when he a signed a two year contract with the Vancouver Canucks. Marc was a decent two-way player for the Wild, but by the end of last season it was clear he was in Lemaire's doghouse. Marc started off the year on fire with a 3 goals in Game 1 against the Flames, but then was only able to tally 11 goals for the remainder of the season. He'll make a decent 3rd or 4th line center for the Evil Empire.

The Evil Empire

The Wild hasn't had a very long history, but a history none the less, and during that time I've come to see the Vancouver Canucks as a team to hate. To me they've been the Oakland Raiders of hockey...a bunch of talented players who get under your skin. Things have changed this offseason, however, and I'm having a hard time hating them as much as I did even a few months ago. First, Bertuzzi went to Florida. While I can respect and appreciate his talent, I never really cared for his attitude. Great player to hate. Now he's gone and they get a great goaltender in his place. How can I hate Luongo? I cannot. Secondly, and probably more importantly, Jarkko Ruutu leaves for Pittsburgh. How can I get fired up when we play the Canucks without Ruutu? It's hard to dislike Naslund and even harder to hate the Sedin Twins. And, on top of all this, they sign one of my favorite players in Willie Mitchell. What's a Wild fan to do? At least Matt Cooke is still a Canuck.

Brent Burns Back

Brent Burns and the Wild agreed a two year, $1.65m contract with the Wild yesterday. Burns has primarily played forward during his career, but halfway through last season Lemaire converted him to defense. The former first round pick played forward with a reckless abandon that Lemaire never really cared for, but when he switched to defense his play progressed, and by the end of the season he was arguably their best defenseman. The only restricted free agents to be addressed now are Pascal Dupuis, Mikko Koivu, Matt Foy and Erik Reitz.

Welcome

Welcome to the site! It seemed like the majority of posts on my personal blog were about hockey, and more specifically about the Minnesota Wild, so I've decided to create a site devoted to just that. Here you'll find commentary on the State of the Wild and on hockey in general. I hope you like it and voice your opinions frequently. Enough of the introductions, let's get on to business.

In what continues to be a stunning "it's about damn time" change of direction the Wild have re-upped with Marian Gaborik for three years at $19 million. When the season ended I had anticipated a long, contentious negociation with the end result being Marian headed elsewhere. I was wrong. Marian chose to stay because (1) the money was right and (2) he was pleased with the off season acquisitions of Demitra, Parrish and Johnsson. Doug Risebrough insists he's still sticking to "the plan", but who knew "the plan" meant being a tightwad cheap-ass for 5 years and then opening up the coffers in year 6? Kudos to you, Doug, kudos to you.