New Sponsor on the Horizon?

I received an email from a lady in the United Kingdom last night who was interested in placing an advertisement on this site for a product she sells. I'm not going to go into specifics here, but let's just say she sells items that go on your feet, are bigger than shoes and Minnesotans wear them in the winter. It rhymes with smoots, except starting with a "b". Anyhow, talks seem to have broken off.

First and foremost I am not a businessman; I don't know much about negotiations. She threw out a number, I countered with my own and now we're at a standstill. I'd like to go back and accept the original offer, but I fear I have scared her off. Greedy Americans, she's probably thinking.

I started this web site as a hobby. It let me voice my opinions about the greatest sport and gave me a forum to do so. Along the way I've added a few sponsors for ridiculously small amounts of money and I will continue to do so in the future. But rest assured, dear readers, this site is not going to become a boot prostitute if I do come to terms with this British boot conglomerate. I pledge to remain neutral to all issues concerning furry footwear.

Hopefully I'll have more on this when we reach an agreement.

Hockey Road Trips: The Ralph

For those who live in the Twin Cities area I highly recommend taking a hockey road trip to Grand Forks, North Dakota to take in a game at Ralph Englestad Arena, or more affectionately called "The Ralph". Mariucci included, I don't think there is a finer college hockey venue in the land. Marble floors in the bathrooms, a diverse menu including the best taco-in-a-bag I've eaten and great sight lines are found here.

The atmosphere is top-notch as well. I saw a UMD-UND game there and it was fantastic. The crowd was loud, lewd and organized. The chants coming from the student section were easy to understand and came at appropriate times.

But they were civilized. I wore my home Brett Hull #29 Bulldog jersey and only received some minor savagery. No beers were spilled upon me and I made it out to my car unharmed.

Next up for this season, I plan on taking the trip to Mankato, but something tells me it isn't going to measure up to The Ralph.

Backstrom or the System?

Perhaps the biggest key to the upcoming season for the Minnesota Wild lies between the pipes with Nik Backstrom. While everyone agrees that Backstrom had a superb season last year, this question should be asked: Was it Backstrom or the system?

As we all know, Coach Lemaire’s system is a defensive one. He won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils and Martin Brodeur . Since he started in Minny, most of his starting goaltenders have had very, very good seasons. Here is a list of leading Wild goaltenders by season:

2000-01 ~ Fernandez (2.24 GAA)
2001-02 ~ Roloson (2.68 GAA)
2002-03 ~ Roloson (2.00 GAA)
2003-04 ~ Roloson (1.88 GAA)
2005-06 ~ Fernandez (2.29 GAA)
2006-07 ~ Fernandez (2.55 GAA) / Backstrom (1.97 GAA)
2007-08 ~ Backstrom (2.31 GAA)
2008-09 ~ Backstrom (2.33 GAA)

Is it simply a coincidence that every starting netminder for the team has had under a 2.70 GAA? Take away Roloson’s 2001-02 season (which was one year out of expansion) and you’re looking at the leading GAA team in the Western Conference over that time span. Have Fernandez and Roloson gone on to have success elsewhere? This is debatable, but I think the answer is yes, although their numbers haven’t been near what they posted for the Wild.

The jury is clearly out on Backstrom. He may be a great goalie, in fact I truly believe he is, but I’m just saying we don’t know yet. Take him out of the Lemaire-designed system and we’ll have a much better idea.

It's Tough Being a Cynic

The last few seasons were the glory days for Minnesota Wild bloggers. There were multiple topics we could opine on, make fun of and ridicule the squad about. Shoddy defense? I’d write a long post about the odd-man rushes caused by the inept Martin Skoula. Questionable line switching by the head coach? Thank you, Jacques, I think I will savage you in another blog. No big talent added at the trading deadline? I can’t thank Doug Risebrough enough for all of the material he’s given me over the last 4 years.

But now things have changed. We’ve apparently got a general manager who appears competent and is remaking the team. We’ve got a coach who has no track record, and more importantly, has done nothing for me to rip at this point. It’s tough being a Wild cynic in an off season when we know next to nothing about the team outside of the fact we’ve got some good players (The Captain, Havlat, Burns and Backstrom), some underachieving ones (PMB and Schultz) and some that better start showing some potential (Shep and Gilles).

Hockey > Baseball

10 Reasons Why Hockey is Better Than Baseball ~ Pucks Gone Wild.

The Pavol Burger

A few days ago I went to Fuddruckers for lunch. If you’ve been there you’ll know they make a mighty fine cheeseburger. The fries aren’t bad either, but I digress. Anyways, when I finished telling the cashier my order they asked for my name. I was feeling adventurous that day, so I told them I was none other than hockey superstar Pavol Demitra. “Ok, sir, we’ll call your name when your burger is ready.”

I sat down with eager anticipation for my pseudo name to be called. Wondered how many people in the crowded restaurant would look in my direction as I walked up to retrieve my burger and fries. Minutes seemed like hours until at last they called it. “Pavol Demitra your order is ready. Pavol your order is ready” over the speakers.

No one batted an eye. I walked up and grabbed my order, added some condiments to the burger and sat back down. Not one person in the entire establishment came over. Not one.
Granted, I probably look very little like the Slovakian winger, but there’s a little similarity. You’d think in a hockey-mad state such as this at least one person would’ve approached me, but no one did. I ate my burger in silence and walked out without being bothered. Maybe if I had said I was Blake Wheeler or even Dave Spehar; surely I would’ve been accosted then.

An Open Letter to Martin Havlat

Dear Mr. Havlat:

Let me first start off that we are absolutely thrilled about having you play for the Minnesota Wild. You are an electrifying player who will bring the Wild faithful to their feet several times in the upcoming season. You probably left money on the table from other offers and we salute you for choosing to play here. But having said all that, we really think it’s time you forgot about all that Chicago shenanigans.

Sure, I understand that you feel wronged by certain members of the Blackhawks management and ownership teams. Sure, things there were handled poorly and at times unethically. And yes, I know you have close friends in the organization that you feel were treated unfairly. It’s certainly your right to be heard on this, but from our perspective we think it’s time you moved on.

Focus on the future, Martin. Focus on turning Pierre-Marc Bouchard into a legitimate threat again. On helping the Captain win a Selke. Focus on reviving a dead power-play unit. You are here to help us return to the playoffs. And I’m sure you are capable of all this and more.

But just say your peace and leave it behind. Looking forward to the season.

Sincerely,

The Wild Puck Banter Staff

Guess Who's Next?

With today’s announcement that Jacques Lemaire is going to coach the New Jersey Devils, one only has to wonder how long it’ll be before Lemaire-favorite Martin Skoula signs with Jersey. Martin is solely responsible for (a) causing a record number of odd-man rushes last season and (b) my dramatic increase in beer consumption while watching Wild games. But despite this he remained a favorite of the old man. Maybe he saw something in him 18,602 of us didn’t.

Anyhow, I actually do think Lemaire’s hiring in Jersey is a good move for them. He’ll get the most out of Parise, Elias, Rolston and Paul Martin. He’ll help Marty win another Vezina or two and who knows, maybe he’s got another long playoff run in him. And don’t discount the fact that those Rangers-Devils games are going to be more interesting now that Marian’s in Ranger blue.

I Got Nothing

I’m not even going to pretend I’ve got some Wild news for you. We all know that they just signed Tyler Cuma to a contract, but other than that there’s nothing new. These are the dead news days for NHL franchises; the playoffs are done, draft complete and the free agency contest is almost complete. The roster’s pretty well complete and coaching staff has been filled.

On a personal note, I’m thinking about ordering some chinese food for dinner. Maybe some Kung Pao Chicken and a few potstickers. If you would have asked me a year ago if I’d eat a potsticker, I would have laughed in your face. Those slimy little dumplings had no appeal to me, but I broke down and tried one this last winter. Result: delicious! Now I get them almost every time I get chinese.

One other note about chinese food: no matter what we order it always takes 15 minutes. I can order the simplest dish or have 8 different, uniquely-prepared meals and the lady always says “OK. BE HERE FIFTEEN MINUTES.” Just an observation, and yes, it’s a slow Wild news day.

I Feel Violated

It’s clear the Wild are going to have a much different roster than last season. Gaborik, Skoula, Bergeron, Veilleux, Fritsche and Harding(?) all gone. But the one that hurt me the most? Kurtis Foster.

I feel like I’ve had a hand in Foster’s development as a player. Watched him come into the league a few years back as a big defenseman with a cannon of a shot, saw him earn more and more playing time from Jacques and rooted for him to succeed. Then came that cold, late winter night in San Jose when he shattered his femur. We all suffered with him that night. I cheered when Risebrough signed him to a 1 year contract so he wouldn’t rush his recovery. I followed him during his long and agonizing rehabilitation and stood and appaluded when he returned to the lineup last season. I may have even raised my beer in his direction to salute his return.

Then he played in a handful of games, showed some flashes of the past and the season ended too soon. I knew he was a UFA, but I assumed that he’d be back. After all, he had a cheap pricetag and plenty of upside. But alas, the Wild wasn’t interested and he signed with the Lightning. Good luck, Kurtis, and watch your back on the icings.

Khan!

Slow news day for the team except for the expected departure of #19, Stephane Veilleux via free agency. Steph played many games for the Wild, always as a hard-nosed pest. He’ll be missed.

There’s no real good transition here, so here goes. Within the last week I’ve watched the new Star Trek and Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan. While I enjoyed the new take on the series, ST2 is a much better film. Outside of Youngblood’s Racki and maybe Hannibal Lechter, has there ever been a better screen villian? Ricardo is awesome in this movie, and who can argue with his pects? If you haven’t seen it in a while I wholeheartedly recommend getting the dvd.

Guess that Wild Volume 1

Today we begin a new segment here entitled “Guess that Wild.” Your job: name the current or former member of the Minnesota Wild based up three clues. For this initial contest, I’ll make it a bit easy.

1. Lousy defenseman who turns the puck over at the worst possible times.

2. In the ultimate of all ironies, has his name on the Stanley Cup as a member of the Avalanche.

3. His name rhymes with “Barton Boula”.

Good luck to all!

Farewell Saku

Saku Koivu and the hated Ducks are not a good fit. Anaheim is stocked with players I despise; players like Corey Perry and Ryan Getlaaf. Past hated Ducks include Todd May, Chris Kunitz, Rob Neidermayer, the list goes on and on... Why would one of the "good guys" in the league want to play there? Does he simply want to hang out with BFF Teemu Selanne? Because if that's the case, he's making a mistake. Teemu's done after this upcoming season and Saku will be all alone.

I really hate it when teams I dislike acquire players I admire. But then again, I managed when Pavol signed with the Evil Empire. I'll make do.

Havlat in the Hizzy

In less than 2 months on the job, Wild GM Chuck Fletcher did something Dougie Risebrough couldn’t get himself to do in 10 years: sign a top free agent. After being spruned by Marian Gaborik, the Wild went to the next best available forward and signed Martin Havlat to a 6 year contract. How refreshing is this? Risebrough would’ve lost out on Gaborik and just called it a day, saying “they gave it their best shot.” Instead, Fletch gets agressive and signs Havlat. Nice work indeed.

Next up: hopefully sign a good defenseman along the lines of Rob Scuderi or Ruslan Fedotenko and get the deal with Saku done.