Colton Will Be Back

For today's post, click over to Pucks Gone Wild.

Richards Must Go (Not Really)

Another convincing and humiliating loss to the Blues. Todd Richards can't coach his way out of a box. He's reminding me a bit of Les Steckel. Trying to introduce his own "up-tempo" style system isn't going to work if you don't have Sid Crosby or Geno Malkin on your team. You can't make lemondade from lemons, oh wait, bad analogy. Clearly the new system isn't working, as evidenced by not one, but two losses to the St. Louis Blues in the pre-season. The players aren't buying into it so we should just cut our losses and see if we can find another trap-happy coach to turn things around. I only hope it's not too late to make a run at the post-season.

Note to readers: I don't actually believe this, but you can expect this type of reaction (from uneducated morons) if the team gets off to a slow start. Things like this are going to take time, and I don't expect the Wild to be much of a factor until around the Olympic break. For every 4-1 loss remember that it is always darkest before the dawn. There is a tomorrow, just maybe not until next week.

Tell Jason It's Just Business

Read this article in the Columbus paper.

I LOVE the first posted comment here under the article:

tom:
"don't hold your breath waiting for a suspension Chimmer. The past has told us that it is open season on Blue jackets as far as the league is concerned."

I guess I didn't know the NHL had in it for the Bluejackets. Some sort of conspiracy to keep them down, I guess. But onto "the hit":

Sure, the Belanger hit on Jason Chimera was cheap and illegal. Sure, Belanger deserved the game misconduct he received and sure, the hit might even merit a short suspension. And I can understand Jason Chimera's anger, but I think it's time to forgive and accept that it's part of the game.

Fifteen minutes after the game Belanger called Chimera and apologized. Belanger is not a cheap player, seriously. One major penalty in his entire career. This is an unfortunate incident, but at the ridiculously fast speed that the NHL is played at these things happen sometimes. Did Belanger show poor judgment in not pulling up? Absolutely, but he is not Lee Harvey Oswald.

Curmudgeon

cur-mudg-eon [ker-muhj-uhn] -noun- a bad tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.

What have I become? I attended the Wild-Bluejackets game last night with the best seats I have had the opportunity to sit in. Fourth row in the corner. I could see Derek Boogaard's pores when he went in for a hit. I could see Brent Burns give sh*t to Clayton Stoner. And the best part is that I was able to buy them for only $25.00 each, as opposed to the $75.00 sticker price. But, alas, the promise of these great seats was not meant to be.

The lower level corner seats at the X are about 8 inches wide. Well maybe not 8 inches, but they're pretty damn narrow. Once I squeezed into my seat I managed to spill my beverage that was sitting in the rickety arm rest/cup holder. Then a big dude sat next to me and dominated the shared arm rest. But I could get past these things; I was here for the hockey, right?

Well, the big dude sitting next to me wasn't at the game for the hockey. He was there for these things, in order of importance to him:

1. Beer and beer refills.
2. Scoping out the crowd for good-looking women.
3. Impressing his buddy with wisdom like "Rolston must still be injured" and the like.
4. Yelling at the ref every time a Wild player was hit.
5. Saying "dude" every third word.

After one period of this I convinced my son that we should move to some open seats somewhere else. We ended up in the corner of the upper deck. List price of these seats: $18.00. Ironic part: they were better than the $75.00 seats. From up there I got a great view of the entire ice, could see plays develop and was able to actually stretch out my legs a bit and relax. And the best part? The fans sitting around me up there knew the game of hockey. These were the real fans, the knowledgeable hockey folk that I love. Not the corporate dudes who are there because they're entertaining some pharmaceutical rep, but people who are there because they ARE HOCKEY FANS.

Maybe I'm just getting older and cranky, but I'd much rather watch the game from my lazy boy, cold beer in hand on TV rather than from the lower bowl. Then again, I'd sit in the upper deck any time and have a blast if the chance arose.

Ranking the Defensemen

Let's take a look at this season's likely list of defensemen and where I think they rank in terms of a combination of (a) defensive, shut-down ability and (b) offensive spark:

1. Brent Burns ~ poised for a big bounce back year. Was on the verge of stardom 2 seasons ago then fell back last year thanks to injuries and Jacques Lemaire. Should be an all-star.

2. Kim Johnsson ~ in the last year of his deal, Kim should step up his game this year. I'm looking for many more assists this season from him before we say goodbye.

3. Nicky Schultz ~ will never be a Top 2 defenseman, but solid nonetheless. He's the everyday Eddie Guardado of the team. Signed until 2042.

4. Marek Zidlicky ~ great puck-mover and is arguably their best power play quarterback.

5. Greg Zanon ~ by all accounts this guys is a great shot-blocker, something Lemaire-coached teams always seemed to lack.

6. Shane Hnidy ~ the Sheriff is a huge character guy and won't back down. Will become a fan favorite and the X.

Others receiving votes: John Scott, Tyler Cuma.

Guess Who's Coming

Stanley Cup winner Petr Sykora, that's who. And just what we needed, a guy who consistently scores. Word has it he's coming to St. Paul on Tuesday for a tryout. When he makes the team he's expected to sign a 1 year deal worth around $1.25m.

Whose roster spot does he take? My best guess...Colton Gilles and/or Benoit Pouliot.

Backstrom and Milbank

Line Projections

Early, yes, but if I'm Todd Richards, here's how I set up the forward lines (center-left wing-right wing):

1. Koivu-Marty-Brunette
2. Shep-Nolan-PMB
3. Belanger-Gilles-Miettinen
4. Brodziak-Boogey-Clutterbuck

While I think PMB is arguably the best playmaker, I would place Brunette on the first line with Mikko and Havlat. His large ass behind the net would come in handy with Havlat on the wing and Mikko in front. PMB would make Shep a scorer (yes, I said it, Shep a scorer) and Nolan would be the grunt mixing it up in the corners. And I just love the idea of playing Boogaard and Clutterbuck together on a checking line. Any thoughts?

Make It Official Already

Maybe they're waiting for training camp to open, but it's high time they named Mikko Koivu the permanent captain of the team. He's been their rotating captain a few times and has been their unofficial captain since the lockout. As far as alternates go, I'm guessing they'll be Andrew Brunette and Owen Nolan. I wouldn't be opposed to seeing big #8 with an "A" on his sweater either.

Wake Me Up...

...when September ends. Yes, I've used this Green Day line in previous years, but I am convinced that they are hockey fans. One more month until regular season hockey starts. One month until Nik Backstrom begins another Vezina-quality season. One month until Mikko wears the "C" on a full-time basis. One month until Shane Hnidy starts dealing swift, hard-hitting justice in the corners. One month until Canucks fans start wondering if they can ever afford a big-name free agent before 2020.


Odds are good that all these things will happen. Check out NHL hockey odds.

The Pouliot Pick

I hate to harp on this, but remember the 2005 draft?

1. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh.
2. Bobby Ryan, Anaheim.
3. Jack Johnson, Carolina.
4. Benoit Pouliot, Wild.
5. Carey Price, Montreal.
8. Devin Setoguchi, San Jose.
10. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles.
18. Ryan Parent, Nashville.
24. T.J. Oshie, St. Louis.
28. Matt Niskanen, Dallas.
51. Mason Raymond, Vancouver.

One of these players is not like the other, one of these players is not the same.