If I Were Jacques Lemaire Part V

...I would've suggested to General Manager Doug Risebrough that the team make a serious trade offer for Jack Johnson. Johnson will be a star in the NHL in 3 years and is now a LA King. Sure, it would have cost the Wild a Defenseman (presumably someone like Brent Burns and someone else) and we would have had to make some type of other move so we could take on Tverdosky's salary, but a player like Jack Johnson doesn't come along every year(*). I'd also start a fantasy hockey league team and take Jaroslav Balastik with my 19th round pick. Wait, done that.

(*) Well, maybe not. See Erik Johnson.

TV Bottleneck

After months and months of boredom it all comes to a crashing halt next Wednesday night. I've been stuck watching such re-runs of "Good Times" waiting for the season to begin. Last month I even started to read a book, but I digress. Fast forward to next Wednesday, October 4th. OLN starts us off with their HD Game of the Week, Carolina v. Buffalo, followed by Colorado and Dallas. But, my friends, that's not all. Also appearing on Wednesday is the season premiere of "Lost," one of the very few non-puck shows I watch on a regular basis. But that's not all. It's looking like Wednesday night will see Game 2 of the ALDS, Twins at Yankees. What's a Minnesota sports fan to do?

Answer: No brainer. Go to Chipotle, order the Steak burrito to go, watch the hockey, TIVO "Lost" and skip the baseball until the conclusion of Avs-Stars. After all, they'll just be getting into the 6th inning at 11PM.

Side note: Check out Hockey Rants for a Minnesota Wild Preview. While I don't quite agree on his Todd White opinion, he's probably pretty accurate.

The Bad Side of Jacques

Among others, last year's first round pick (4th overall) Benoit Pouliot was sent down to AHL Houston yesterday. During training camp Benoit showed some flashes of what made him such a high pick, but seemed to get on Jacques' bad side by not playing adequate defense. Pouliot played only 9 minutes in the last pre-season game against Chicago and Lemaire had this to say -- "It's the first time I liked what he did." Hardly words of praise from the big guy. Jason "Captain" Morgan, Peter Olvecky, Erik Reitz and Roman Voloshenko were also sent down.

A Defenseman Named Kim

Pavol Demitra aside, the biggest off-season acquisition by the Wild may be the free agent signing of Kim Johnsson. Assuming he stays healthy (a BIG if) Johnsson will provide the team with a defenseman who can carry the puck intelligently into the offensive zone, something the Wild have never had. Let me repeat that: the Wild have never had a defenseman capable of carrying the puck into the attacking zone. Filip Kuba who? Johnsson will quarterback the powerplay on most nights and should see his share of assists on Gaborik PP goals. Overpaid at $4M per? Probably, but we had the money to spend.

On a side note, welcome to those visiting the site for the first time. While this blog is not intended to be an analytical game-by-game breakdown of the team, it is one fan’s view of the Wild with some commentary thrown in on guacamole and other tasty snacks.

Marian Scores

With apologies to Bat-Girl, I now present a Wild Puck Banter re-creation of Gaborik's 1st goal against the Red Wings from Tuesday:

Pascual Dupuis took a pass from Brent Burns in the corner and quickly scanned the rink surface. He then fed a streaking Marian Gaborik in the slot.

Marian took the pass, looked up at some 5th string Red Wing goalie, and rifled the the puck into the lower blocker side. Goal at 0:32 of the first period.

Wake me up when the regular season begins please.

Gump Would Be Outraged

Times have changed. I just received word that I'll have to wear a helmet while standing on the bench, helping coach my son's Mites. I'm thinking of going with an Stan Mikita bubble helmet.

Side note: I'm going to Morton's Steakhouse tonight for my wedding anniversary and I'm planning on bringing a camera so I can post a picture of the enormous steak I will order. I've been fasting since 7:30 AM in anticipation and have made arrangements to take out a 2nd mortgage to cover the bill.

Update 9/24/06: Forgot the camera. Had a New York Strip the size of Luxumberg.

Stop, Harding Time!

Again, forgive me for the cheesey title to this post; for some reason I think each post needs a flashy title to it. Anyways, Josh Harding has won the battle (if there was one) for backing up Manny Fernandez. Lemaire has indicated so, and Harding played the entire game last night against the Blues. Expect Harding to start around 20 games this year, mainly in games that are needed to give Manny a rest. I've only seen Josh play in 3 games, all from late last season, but he appears to be a very technically-sound goaltender who wore old brown leg pads. Word has it he has scrapped those old pads (which he wore in homage to the great goaltenders of the past) for a set of newer, lighter ones.

Preseason Game 2 Preview

Ingmar W. Bergman's St. Louis Blues are in town for a match-up with the Wild. Typically the teams arrive the night before the game, so I thought it may be a good idea to stop by some of the local watering holes to see if I could spot Ingmar downing a cold one. I stopped by all of the Twin Cities' Swedish pubs and didn't see Bergman anywhere.

Look for Lemaire to start Harding in net tonight and rest Gaborik and Demitra a bit more than he did on Tuesday night. Number 1 overall pick Erik Johnson is expected to be in attendance and take a look at the club that selected him.

32 Seconds

Marian didn’t take long to get going. He scored 32 seconds into last night’s game against the Red Wings (or a vague representation thereof) and then later scored the game-winner in the third period. Here’s what I take from last night’s game:

• it means nothing.
• Marian can flat out score (breaking news).
• Justin Morneau is your American League MVP. Jeter Schmeeter.

If I Were Jacques Lemaire Part IV

...I'd take a long, long look at putting Mikko Koivu on the scoring line with Gaborik and Demitra. This is going to be Mikko's breakout year, I can feel it. Koivu has all the tools (size, determination, offensive flare and a strong finnish sense of humor) to make him a 75 point player in this league. I'd also grow those bitchin' sideburns back.

First preseason game tonight against the Red Wings, but I was unable to attend due to a 1st grade soccer game. No word if Hasek played, or even made the trip.

Bill Gates I'm Not

This isn’t exactly a news flash, but it’s getting expensive to be a hockey fan. Wild single game tickets went on sale Saturday and most were snapped up immediately. I hopped online at 11:00 AM and was only able to find a handful of tickets for each game, and to my chagrin, those were for the expensive $75.00 seats. Sure, they have affordable $36.00 and $15.00 seats in a great upper deck, but those are all filled by season ticket holders. So, my only choice for now is to (a) buy a few games at $75.00 a seat (b) get on the season ticket waiting list or (c) watch the games from my barcolounger in the basement.

Let’s examine option A for a moment. $150.00 for me and a guest to get in the door. Parking, a beer and a dog later and we’re up to $200.00. 1 game, $200.00, not in my budget.

Option B sounds a little more attractive. I could get on the season ticket waiting list and someday land some season tickets in the upper deck. This is the best scenario, but unfortunately the waiting list is about 5 years out at this point, and on top of that it costs a $100.00 per seat deposit to be put on the list. I think I’ll do this so I won’t have this problem 5 years from now.

Which leaves me with Option C. I can spend $149.00 for the NHL Center Ice cable package and get 40 games each week for the entire season. Let’s see: $200.00 to see 1 Wild game in person or $149.00 for nearly every game played in the NHL. I’m not the brightest bulb in the ocean, but this sounds like the best option. While I’ll miss the excitement of being at the best rink in the NHL, I’ll be only 5 steps away from a refrigerator full of Guinness.

Slovaks in the Big City

Until they close on their respective new homes in the Minneapolis area, teammates Pavol Demitra and Branko Radivojevic have been living in Marian Gaborik's giant downtown condominium. Michael Russo had a good article in the Star-Tribune a few days ago about Marian's expectations for the upcoming season, and also a cribs-like tour of his abode:

Turn the corner, you pass a magnificent room with a centered brown-felted pool table. Across is the movie room, which is outfitted with black leather couches, a 60-inch plasma flat screen and posters of "Scarface,"Gone in 60 Seconds,"The Matrix" and "The Sopranos."

While I liked "Scarface" and loved "The Matrix", I can't understand the 60 Seconds poster. I know Gaborik is a fan of fast cars, but a Vin Diesel movie?

If I Were Jacques Lemaire Part III

...I'd call Gary Bettman and insist that they go back to having the teams wear white at home. It's ridiculous to see the Flyers in black and the Leafs in Blue on their home ice. Tradition is more important than selling dark jerseys. After that I'd call Donald Rumsfeld and recommend the military employ a neutral zone trap to finish the war on terror.

WCHA Projection

With only a few days until Wild pre-season action commences, I thought this would be a good time to unveil my WCHA predictions. Here goes:

1. Minnesota-Duluth (27-0-1).
2. Wisconsin (17-6-5).
3. North Dakota (15-8-5).
4. Denver (13-8-7).
5. Alaska-Anchorage (12-12-4).
6. Colorado College (10-12-6).
7. Mankato (10-16-2).
8. Michigan Tech (9-16-3).
9. St. Cloud State (7-20-1).
10. minnesota-minneapolis (1-27-0).

I have the UMD tying a pesky Alaska club in Anchorage 2-2 on a late Saturday night disputed goal by Junior Merit Waldrop (gotta love the name). The Golden Gophers only victory comes against a confused Denver team when Coach Gwozdecky played with 2 goaltenders by accident and they both suck.

The Hockey Bar Post

A common theme lately among the hockey blogs concerns good hockey bars. While St. Paul has a number of nice pubs located around the Xcel Energy Center, none really strike me as a "hockey bar" except for Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub. Tom Reid played for the North Stars for a number of years and later went on to do some TV for the Stars as well as some radio for the Wild and now he likes to eat buffalo wings. The bartenders there know how to pour a Guinness and the food is the typical hockey-watching fare of wings, burgers and nachos.

Before the Wild had begun play about 7 years ago I went there to watch a Stanley Cup playoff game and ended up sitting a table away from John Davidson and Reid, who were in an intense discussion of Andy Van Hellemond. After the night was over it was clear to me that (1) Davidson wasn't the referee's biggest fan and (2) he could win a wing-eating contest easily if he applied himself.

If I Were Jacques Lemaire Part II

...I'd start Manny Fernandez in at least 60 games this coming season. Manny is clearly ready to take his game to the next level and no longer has to split time with the likes of Jamie McClennan or Dwayne Roloson. If I were a betting man (*) I'd predict the over/under on Fernandez wins would be 38 and I'd bet the OVER. He will win at least 40 times and be a Vezina finalist in the process. I'd also buy me some new suits and slick my hair back ala Pat Riley.

(*) A good friend gave me some gambling advice last January. He said instead of betting the Trojans would cover against the Longhorns, I should give him my fifty bucks, have him kick me in the nuts and call it a day. I should've listened.

The Boogeyman Chronicles

Derek Boogaard's in trouble. From the Star-Tribune:

REGINA, Saskatchewan — Minnesota Wild winger Derek Boogaard was charged with assault causing bodily harm in connection with a nightclub fight. A 20-year-old man was injured as a result of the fight outside downtown early on Aug. 12, Regina Police spokeswoman Elizabeth Popowich said Friday. The 24-year-old Boogaard was arrested Aug. 24. He's to appear in court Sept. 20. "Derek denies the allegation and will defend himself in any legal proceeding that may take place as a result of the allegation," the Wild said. The Wild signed Boogaard to a $525,000 one-year deal this summer. The 6-foot-7, 250-pounder appeared in 65 games for the Wild last season, collecting 158 penalty minutes along with two goals and four assists. Boogaard lives in Regina, where he spent part of his junior career in the Western Hockey League.

The obvious question here is what was Evgeny Malkin doing in Regina?