Perfect Storm

It's the perfect storm of bad situations for your Minnesota Wild. Not only are they playing like the worst team in the league (and have been for about a month), they are nowhere close to getting a top draft pick. Yes, because they had a ridiculous start, their current slide isn't even bad enough to get them more than a number 9 overall pick. So, to sum things up, the team stinks worse than anyone, Columbus included, but cannot land any talented Russians in June.

All this suffering for nothing. On the bright side, they made the LA Kings look like the 1984 Oilers last night.

The Nick Schultz Problem

3-2-12 Update: Thanks for reading, Mr. Fletcher, it means a lot to me.

Let me preface this entry by saying I know there is a lot more involved than looking at statistics when evaluating hockey players. Defensive ability is hard to quantify; players that rarely score are often counted on to shut down the opposing team’s best players. Having said that, over the course of a career you can get a decent handle on a player’s offensive ability by looking at the numbers.

Let’s take a look at Minnesota Wild defenseman Nick Schultz. He’s the longest-tenured player on the roster, having been with the team for 10 seasons. Here are some of his career numbers:

740 games played, 25 goals, 102 assists, 127 points, 318 PIM

When I first looked up those statistics I thought to myself "Dang, that’s really inept." But as I considered this I gave Nick the benefit of the doubt and thought he probably has comparable numbers to a lot of career defensemen in the league. Not the case.

I ran a search on hockey-reference.com and discovered there are no active NHL players with more games played and fewer points scored. None, nada, zip. A few are close:

Colin White (SJ), 781 games played, 21 goals, 107 points, 129 points
Cory Sarich (Cal), 868 games played, 20 goals, 122 points, 142 points

Here’s where things get even more frustrating. In terms of salary, White is making $1.0m this season and Sarich $3.3m. Both contracts expire after this season. Our guy, Schultz, is making $3.6m this season and is under contract for the same amount for the next 2 seasons.

All of this notwithstanding, these dizzying numbers would be a little more digestible if Schultz were a bonafide shut-down defenseman. Or even if he was a gritty, stir the pot guy ala Willie Mitchell. Sadly, he embodies neither of these qualities. Don’t get me wrong, he’s decent, maybe even average. On a playoff-caliber team he’d be a 4th or 5th defenseman, but they’re paying him like he’s a 1 or 2. This speaks volumes on the lack of Wild defensive depth and to the poor decision making of former GM Doug Risebrough.

Losing Hope

I'm getting to the point where I can't watch this team anymore. Besides losing 2 games in one week to the Columbus Blue Jackets, they lost at home yesterday to the Anaheim Ducks, scoring 1 goal. 1 flippin' goal. Between periods I switched over to the Rangers-Bruins game and rediscovered what an exciting hockey game looks like.

But as I've pointed out before, the future is brighter. Some of the players on the current roster will not be around next season; be it trade or non-renewed contracts. I think we can bank on the fact that Marek Zidlicky and Greg Zanon will both be gone, along with a few others. Here is how I envision next season's roster:

Forwards:

Heatley - Koivu - Granlund
Setoguchi - Larsson - Bulmer
Brodziak - Cullen - Johnson
Clutterbuck - Kassian - Powe

Defense:

Scandella - TBD
Schultz - TBD
Prosser - Spurgeon

Goaltenders:

Backstrom
Hackett

You'll see I'm leaving off some players that I don't think are NHL talent at this juncture. Stoner, Falk and others need some more time in Houston (or somewhere else) in order to be on a playoff-ready NHL team. I've also left Josh Harding off the roster, as it's my belief he will be dealt by the trading deadline.

You can also see the team is in need of top-end defensemen. Hopefully they can acquire one via the Harding trade and acquire another one via free agency. And while I love Zack Parise's game, I'd rather use that money towards a Number 1 blueliner like Shea Weber. (*)

(*) Yes, I'm allowed to dream.

Ode to Raul

Before watching tonight's game from the comfort of my basement I decided to stop by Chipotle to pick up some fresh mexican food for the family. My burrito crafter Raul did a fantastic job suggesting I give the brown rice a try in place of the regular white cilantro rice. Raul was 100% correct. The new brown rice worked great in my steak burrito bowl, hat's off to you, Raul.

Now if only the Wild would score a few goals the day would be perfect.

Embarrassing Loss

So the team lost to Brad Richards and the Columbus Bluejackets last night 3-1 in a game that wasn't that close. From what I saw (which was unfortunately waaaay too much), the only player on the ice putting forth a decent effort was defenseman Nate Prosser. About a week ago I thought the Wild's playoff chances stood at about 60%, but after the loss I'd bet on about 25% now. Sports Interaction is a great sportsbook for NHL betting. Learn moreabout how to use the Sports Interaction refer a friend code when opening an account.

Greenlay > Hayward

After watching most of last night's Anaheim Ducks game against the Calgary Flames, I came away with one indisputable fact: Wild TV analyst Mike Greenlay is better than Brian Hayward. I know I've been highly critical of the Minnesota Wild's TV team of Dan Terhaar and Greenlay, and in no way am I letting Terhaar off the hook here, but Brian Hayward lends nothing to the Ducks' broadcast. As a former goalie, he had many pearls of wisdom like this:

"Now if you're a goaltender, the further back in the crease you stand, the more net there is to shoot at."

Wow! Thanks for the keen insight.

Having said that, I still contend Greenlay is in the bottom 20% of NHL analyst, but sometimes it's good to be reminded that things could be worse. Terhaar, on the other hand, may be the worst in professional hockey. This summer is time to upgrade the TV talent, Mr. Wild Owner.