Wild Playoff Chances

At this point all hope is lost with regards to the Minnesota Wild's playoff chances. That being said, they haven't been mathematically elimated yet. I'd put their chances at about 0.072 percent. Sports betting has never seen a more ridiculous wager.

Yes, paying the bills my friends.

Moving East?

Rumors and innuendo, that's our specialty. Let's see what could happen this off-season if you believe plugged-in hockey guys like Ken Campbell:

1. The Phoenix Coyotes return to Winnipeg and become the Jets, Part Deux.

2. The Atlanta Thrashers are sold and moved anywhere west of the Mississippi, like Seattle or even Kansas City.

If #1 and #2 happen there is a good chance the Minnesota Wild would leave the travel-intensive Northwest Division and become part of the Central Division, along with the Blues, Bluejackets, Predators and Blackhawks.

Here's why: Detroit has been whining for years about playing in the competitive Western Conference. They say they're more suited for the East from a TV time zone standpoint. So, if the Atlanta franchise moves West, Detroit would get first dibs at taking their spot in the Eastern Conference. This leaves an opening in the Central Division, something the Wild covet. They'd be reunited with old Norris Division foes Chicago and St. Louis and also have most of their away games on in the same time zone. Winnipeg would take Minnesota's spot in the Northwest Division and rekindle old rivalries with Calgary and Edmonton.

It's a dream scenario for the Wild, but not completely far-fetched.

Conventional Wisdom Hogwash

Lately I’ve heard plenty of talk about the Detroit Red Wings. Yes, the 8th place Detroit Red Wings. Most of the talk has been centered around the Wings being a “sleeping giant” and “the team no one wants to play” in the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs. To this I say “Hogwash” with a capital H.

First off, Detroit may not even make the postseason. They’re currently in 8th place, only ahead of the 9th place Calgary Flames by one point. Sure, chances are good, but they’re not a lock. A bad bounce here, or a poor Jimmy Howard game there and they’re watching the playoffs.

Secondly, IF they make the playoffs they’re the 8th seed. Why wouldn’t Chicago or San Jose want to play the 8th seed as opposed to the 5th, 6th or even 7th seed? The Red Wings are the 8th seed because they are the 8th best team in the Western Conference. Sure, the national media will tell you that the Blackhawks would rather face 7th place Nashville than the Wings, but this is silly. You should always want to play the lowest-seeded team, regardless of mystique. Regardless of Hockeytown. Regardless of overrated Red Wing speculation.

And yes, before people start up with the “Well, the Wild aren’t even in the playoffs” talk, I agree. The Wild are in rebulding mode and won’t make a serious playoff run for 2-3 seasons.

WCHA Road Trip

On a whim I attended last night's opening round WCHA playoffs in Duluth, Minnesota. It was the 5 v. 6 match up, Colorado College and Minnesota-Duluth. What follows is a running commentary of events before and after the game:

1:30pm ~ decided to try and find tickets for game. Purchased 3 on the glass seats on the blueline for $20.00 apiece on Ticketmaster. Must not be hard tickets to get.

3:00pm ~ left for Duluth. My boys (ages 14 and 10) are in backseat watching Season 1 of something called "The Amanda Show".

4:02pm ~ stop in Pine City, Minnesota for dinner at local Pizza Hut. Cheese pizza and bread sticks all around. Crabby waitress doesn't appear to be a hockey fan and doesn't bring us a box for leftovers until prodded multiple times.

5:39pm ~ arrival at the Holiday Inn parking ramp in downtown Duluth. For some reason they've set up the ramp so cars must drive on the left-hand side. Designer must have been from Britain.

5:42pm ~ on the glass elevator with what I assume to be a skateboarder. Pants on the ground.

5:53pm ~ on the way to the DECC we stop off and watch some curling action at the Duluth Curling Club. Olympic fever seems to be rampant up here, all curling lanes are full and bar is full.

6:30pm ~ sitting down in our seats we realize that there is no one else in the arena, well at least only about 100 people. We'd have a great opportunity to upgrade our seats had we not been on the glass.

7:02pm ~ last line of the National Anthem: "...and the home of the BULLDOGS!" Classic.

9:01pm ~ Twittered to @bruceciskie, voice of the bulldogs, "Wave!". Ciskie reluctantly agrees and gives a weak wave from press box.

9:47pm ~ Bulldogs win in overtime. Crowd of 3,461 goes nuts.

10:14pm ~ back at parking ramp, car not vandalized. It IS downtown Duluth.

10:30pm ~ kids fire up "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" on DVD player in backseat. Love the movie, especially the part when Pee Wee tells Dottie "there's things about me you wouldn't understand, things you shouldn't understand." True words indeed, Mr. Herman.

12:29am ~ made great time on the highway despite fog that was thicker than Rosie O'Donnell's back hair. Home at last.

Mailing It In

If only the NHL regular season were like a Netflix DVD. That way the Minnesota Wild could just press the stop button, put the poor season in the return envelope and send it back to Netflix, only to get a new, fresh season in the mail a few days later. After last night's lethargic 5-1 loss in the Motor City, it is clear that with 15 games remaining the team has given up.

And with only 15 games left, it's time to say goodbye to James "The future power forward of 2007" Sheppard. Shep's a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the season and I can guess with amazing clarity that he won't be back. And it's not like he wasn't given playing time to figure this game out, either. Sure, he did get rushed to the NHL by former GM Doug Risebrough, but he's had plenty of time to overcome that.

Team MVP?

For my thoughts on who this team's MVP is, check out our sister site, Pucks Gone Wild.

Free Derek Boogaard

Ok, so it was a knee on knee hit, but Derek Boogaard really didn't mean it. Two game suspension? There goes that 12 minutes of ice time for #24. Kidding aside, I do agree with the suspension. Derek's a repeat offender and it was a bad hit, intentions be damned.

My gut tells me these are the last 20 games he'll be in a Wild sweater anyways. He is a UFA after this season and I'm sure some other team will offer him a multi-year deal for around $750k per year, something the Wild can't afford to do for a player that hasn't scored since Mr. Ecko was still alive on Lost. John Scott can handle the fighting responsibilities next season while logging some important ice time for less money.

Contract the Oilers

There's been a lot of talk lately about relocating some NHL franchises from Southern US markets to Canada. Rumors have circulated about the Atlanta Thrashers moving to Winnipeg, the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton and even the New Jersey Devils to Toronto. What has escaped some NHL pundits is that there is a team struggling in the Great White North that no one ever talks about: The Edmonton Oilers.

It's hockey blasphemy to suggest that a canadian city can't adequately support an NHL team. After all, Canada is the birthplace of hockey. Kids come skating out of their mother's uteruses at birth for crying out loud. But the legend of hockey in Canada has blinded most to the fact that even some cities in Canada don't merit an NHL franchise. Edmonton is one of those cities.

It's a city of roughly 700,000 people, a little bit less than Indianapolis, Indiana. The economy up there is in such poor shape that people are no longer going to the games. They prefer to spend their money on life's necessities like food, clothing and Molsons. Sure, they're still averaging 16,000 people per game, but if they lost their team these fans could just hop in the car and drive down to Calgary, which leads me to my second point.

Why does Alberta deserve 2 franchises? It'd be like St. Paul and Duluth getting NHL teams. Does Duluth need a team? No, because they can come down and watch the Wild. Calgary and Edmonton are too close to each other, simple geography.

And don't even get me started on the team's performance. No playoffs in 3 seasons and this season is more of the same. Oh sure, they won some Stanley Cups in the 1980's, but that was only because they had the extreme good fortune of drafting #99. The team is inept and only a complete teardown and rebuild in another city can fix it.

So where should they move the Oilers? I don't really care, maybe Winnipeg, maybe Oklahoma City. My only point here is that Edmonton has lost the ability to maintain and care for an NHL team.

Extending Zidlicky

Today's post title sounds like the name of a Tarantino film, but in this case it's what Chuck Fletcher aims to get done in the next 24 hours. Star-Tribune beat writer and hockey wonk Michael "I used to cover the Florida Panthers and I hate early morning flights" Russo is reporting that it will end up being for $12.0 million over 3 years. The sticking point appears to be Marek Zidlicky's desire for a no-trade clause, something Fletcher dislikes. Zidlicky is 33 years old and there is no way he should be given a no-trade.

I like the deal; Zidlicky has brought offense to the blue line and is very capable of running the PP. Having said that, if he insists on the no-trade, I'd say goodbye and look for his replacement via free agency this summer.

Oh, one more quick thing. I heard Kevin Gorg on KFAN this morning raving about Pittsburgh's acquisition of Jordan Leopold for only a 2nd round pick. Note to Gorg: there's a reason Leopold's been traded several times throughout his career...he's not that good. He's decent on the PP, but a complete defensive liability. If he was the great d-man you liken him to, he'd still be in Calgary. No wait, Colorado. Errr, Florida.

Peter Mueller Available?

Word is leaking out that the Phoenix Coyotes are not happy with the development of forward Peter Mueller and are shopping him around prior to the upcoming trade deadline. This being the case, the Wild should make an effort to see how much Phoenix is looking for in return. Mueller, 21, would appear to be regressing after his rookie campaign.

2007-08 ~ 22 goals, 32 assists in 82 games (0.66 ppg)

2008-09 ~ 13 goals, 23 assists in 72 games (0.50 ppg)

2009-10 ~ 4 goals, 12 assists in 53 games (0.30 ppg)

Often times a young, promising player just needs a change of scenery in order to rediscover the path to hockey greatness. Mueller, an upcoming RFA, was the 8th overall pick in the 2006 Entry Draft and clearly has talent. If I were Wild GM Chuck Fletcher I'd offer the Coyotes someone like Kyle Brodziak and a 2nd round pick to see if they'd bite. Give up a first rounder for Mueller? Probably not, without getting more in return.