Hope for Better Coffee

Warning: this is another bad analogy post. You accept all responsibilities by continuing to read.

I have worked for the same company for nearly 20 years now and the only consistent thing about it is the awful coffee I drink every day. It tastes terrible and seems to have no discernable effect on making more alert. But yet I continue to drink it, morning after morning in hopes that someday it will change. Complaints have led to changes. Management has tried switching coffee providers, used new coffee machines and even introduced filtered water to see if it would make the product taste any better. No difference. Hopes are raised and then dashed. No matter what we do, the coffee still sucks. You can probably see where I am going with this.

For nearly 15 years, the Minnesota Wild has struggled to score goals. Coaches, owners, general managers and players have come and gone, yet the team cannot score goals on a regular basis. Sure, Marian Gaborik was a dynamic player, but even here he had issues. Players who cannot score here go on to other teams and become offensive threats. They bring in the mighty Zach Parise and despite his unrelenting efforts, his line is failing.

What exactly is the issue? I wish I knew. Is there something in the water in St. Paul that makes good players allergic to putting the puck in the net? All I know is that after decades of drinking piss-like coffee at work, I continue to drink it. Why? Because tomorrow it might be good.

Bring Back Ralph!

When the North Stars left in 1993 the hockey fans in the area lost more than a professional hockey team.  We lost our presence in the NHL and the great players like Mike Modano that went along with it.  Some people had the vision to realize the NHL would return to Minnesota someday; we were too big of a hockey-mad market to go without a team for too long.  And so it was that the NHL awarded a team to Minnesota and they began play in 2000.  All was right again, correct?  No.

Not only did we have to build a team for scratch, selecting journeymen players and coaches, the broadcasting side had to be rebuilt as well.  Nowhere did this hurt more than on the TV side.  Shortly  before the North Stars moved south they had hired an unproven play-by-play guy by the name of Ralph Strangis.  Ralph started doing telecasts and was soon adored by most Minnesota hockey fans.  Then the team left and Ralph along with it.

Since then Strangis has teamed up with Daryl Razor Reaugh to form what I believe is the best hockey game-calling tandem in the United States.  Meanwhile, we have been listening to games called by Dan Terhaar and most recently Anthony LaPanta.  I liken the difference to eating at Murray's versus eating at the Best Steak House in Mounds View.

How great with Strangis sound doing Wild play-by-play?  Maybe Craig Leopold will make another free agency splash this offseason and bring Ralph back home.

Granlund Impresses

Mikael Granlund had his best game last night in Vancouver.  Despite his Pee-Wee frame, he played big in the corners and did not turn over the puck at inopportune times.  Up until last night he was the singlemost disappointing part of this team, and believe me, there are plenty of disappointing parts, but last night he showed glimpses of what his future could hold.

I have reversed my earlier-held belief that he should be sent to Houston for the remainder of the season.  Granlund would best be served by playing every day with the NHL team, to get acquainted with the speed and more importantly, the size of NHL players.  He will succeed if he does not shy away from contact, but rather initiates it.

Kneejerk

To be fair, I fully admit I am a kneejerk reactionary blogger.  I was one of the first to call for Jacques Lemaire's head, I hated the Mikko Koivu draft pick the first two years when he was in the Finnish Coast Guard and I thought "Good Will Hunting" was the greatest movie ever when I first saw it.  As it turns out I was wrong on all three accounts, but I'd still put GWH in my Top 10.

That being said, after the first few games of the season I was ready to release Mikael Granlund.  Ok, not release him, but send him back to Houston for some seasoning.  He looked over his head in the NHL and was coughing up the puck at the most inopportune times.  He looked like my 13 year old son playing with the bantams...not ready for the show yet.

Granlund played better Wednesday night against the Blackhawks.  Sure, he was still guilty of a few turnovers, but I thought he played his best game of the season.  It just goes to show you that a few games does not a season make.

For now, I am saying keep him around a little longer and if after 10-15 games he still looks overmatched, send him to Houston and recall Charlie Coyle.  Coyle is exactly the type of big forward we need on that second line.