Kirill Kaprizov update – Through 20 KHL games this season he has 9 goals and 6 assists for the #1 team in the league…
With our salary cap situation as it is, he’ll be the biggest impact player we’ll be able to add without making major changes to our roster…sadly he’s still 1 1/2 years away…
Khokanov is having a nice season so far too. I don’t think he has near the skill level of Kaprisov, but he is showing well so far.
4 in a row for Bruce Boudreau!! Nothing fancy last night but they got the job done! A little disappointed they couldn’t get a powerplay goal. It would have calmed my nerves a little.. They were good physically, defensively, and good enough offensively. One rookie mistake by Seeler and they get one in. other than that, I think it was a well played game. Bring on the AVS!!!
They have to figure out this powerplay…They just look clueless out there…decent effort last night, game puck goes to the penalty killers! That interference penalty on Greenway (touching the puck while still inside the penalty box) His reaction was hilarious, funny that the last time that was called was on fellow #18 Ryan Carter a year or two ago…both players were clueless it was a penalty…
Another terrible game from the worst team in the known hockey universe. How can we possibly enjoy all this winning knowing full well that this team won’t win the cup? Okay, there’s the “We all gonna die,” moment for all the TMSFs.
The first good news from last night is the team arrived on the ice in the first period having had a good breakfast, 2 cups of coffee, and most of the team was fully awake at the opening faceoff. Progress!
So a terrible pass from Seeler and a boneheaded “I’ve never heard of that.” play from Greenway at the end. But otherwise a solid effort.
Regarding the power play, let’s not hit the Power Play Panic Button yet. Zucker was 3 inches from finding the open 33% of the net he had to shoot at on the feed fron Granny. That would have changed everything. Also, they really had LA pinned in the zone for the large majority of most of those PPs, so the effort was there and they were getting the puck in and holding the zone.
In other league news, I’m hearing “Yeo Must Go!” chants coming from St. Louis. I knew he wasn’t going to last. My prediction is Yeo does not return next season.
Grouse
Past 5 years >
Good regular season record;
Winning record at home
Losing record on the road
Dubbie over worked and wears down.
Fletcher trades top players and Draft picks for 4th line rentals.
OVER and OVER Same results- playoffs one and done.
This season new GM with same the team and with no NHL ready minor league call ups.
Greenway still too early
Kunin still not ready
Ericksen Ek ????? Unproductive
This season new GM with same the team and with no NHL ready minor league call ups.
Greenway still too early
Kunin still not ready
Ericksen Ek ????? Unproductive
… and they still won against one of the hottest teams in the league. Looks like a good time to blow it up. Boudreau must go! And take Coyle with you!
It’s October, who really cares about the playoffs at this point?
I’d hold up putting any criticism on the new GM, he came into a team that had zero cap space and it’s only tradable assets all had bad seasons the prior year…He signed Zucker and Dumba to contracts that look like they could be steals in years 3,4,5…
Kunin and Ericksen Ek are both mid 1st round picks that look to be serviceable NHL players, Kunin has more potential but is coming of a torn ACL injury and both are still something like 22 years old? give them some time to mature as players and find their game…Greenway is a late 2nd rounder who’s game has improved a lot over the past two season and looks like he has legit power forward potential…
I don’t think anybody expected either of these 3 players to be impactful right away? If you did, what in their past told you they would?
I do agree with what you said regarding Fletcher’s trade deadline deals, but at least he had the guts to make moves to try and make a run for the cup…
Well, not much to talk about Wild-wise. Another win against another good team with one of the best lines in hockey. But since we’re there…
Good, careful play by the Wild to not over-reach in the first and give up goals with risky play. The Wild did a terrific job of waiting out Colorado and kept the pressure on. The Wild are more physical now and seeing the Avs and the Kings game shows they aren’t as easy to push around.
Oh and 2 power play goals. I don’t care that the first one was 2 seconds late, the Avs player coming out of the box was 5 seconds away from joining that play when the puck hit the twine.
And I love that the Wild are back on track with the dagger empty netters. Not sure what the Avs were doing pulling the goalie when they already had the 5-4 for a full 2 minutes, but to the Wild’s credit, they made them pay the price. Nice shot Brodin!
There’s no way to tell if we’ve upgraded our GM situation or not. Fenton hasn’t made major moves and one draft isn’t much to go on. Also, it doesn’t matter how much he WANTS to make trades, the availability has to be there AND the cap space configuration has to work on both ends of the deal. That’s a tall hurdle for any kind of deal that I can see would really impact this team in the here/now.
Big road trip coming up including a western Canada swing, so we’ll see if the Wild can keep it going.
Grouse
I’d hold up putting any criticism on the new GM, he came into a team that had zero cap space and it’s only tradable assets all had bad seasons the prior year…He signed Zucker and Dumba to contracts that look like they could be steals in years 3,4,5…
What I am Getting at is that any criticism should be placed on Fletcher,
and as a result of that Fenton is hand cuffed to a roster he will have a hard time improving on.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
I’d hold up putting any criticism on the new GM, he came into a team that had zero cap space and it’s only tradable assets all had bad seasons the prior year…He signed Zucker and Dumba to contracts that look like they could be steals in years 3,4,5…What I am Getting at is that any criticism should be placed on Fletcher,
and as a result of that Fenton is hand cuffed to a roster he will have a hard time improving on.
I agree with that
It’s October, who really cares about the playoffs at this point?
Nashville, Winnipeg. among a host of others.
Nashville, Winnipeg. among a host of others.
Good for them. 
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>jeff_huberty wrote:</div>
Nashville, Winnipeg. among a host of others.Good for them.
Craig Leipold
to name another
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>biggill wrote:</div>
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>jeff_huberty wrote:</div>
Nashville, Winnipeg. among a host of others.Good for them.
Jeff Huberty to name another. Craig is in a position to make a difference. We are not. You shouldn’t worry about things that are out of your control.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
I’d hold up putting any criticism on the new GM, he came into a team that had zero cap space and it’s only tradable assets all had bad seasons the prior year…He signed Zucker and Dumba to contracts that look like they could be steals in years 3,4,5…What I am Getting at is that any criticism should be placed on Fletcher,
and as a result of that Fenton is hand cuffed to a roster he will have a hard time improving on.
The same could be said for Fletcher when he took over the Risebrough. I would argue that the Wild were in a worse position than they are now. Mainly they had a terrible NHL team that wasn’t making the playoffs and the AHL team was void of any talent. Fletch at least made some moves to get our NHL roster relevant and making the playoffs. Iowa hasn’t been very competitive the last couple years, but this year they are off to a decent start. I think a lot of that is with their new coach there.
I like Fenton, I think he is going to do some things that Fletch was either afraid to do or not allowed to because I think Leipold respects him more.
We all heard the rumblings when it was said that Leipold was working with folks to critique the moves that Fletcher made. I have often wondering if Fenton was potentially in on that. We will never truly know, but something to think about because they go back a long ways.
Fun fact of the day, there is only 1 team in the NHL that has fewer regulation losses than the Wild right now…
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>jeff_huberty wrote:</div>
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
I’d hold up putting any criticism on the new GM, he came into a team that had zero cap space and it’s only tradable assets all had bad seasons the prior year…He signed Zucker and Dumba to contracts that look like they could be steals in years 3,4,5…What I am Getting at is that any criticism should be placed on Fletcher,
and as a result of that Fenton is hand cuffed to a roster he will have a hard time improving on.The same could be said for Fletcher when he took over the Risebrough. I would argue that the Wild were in a worse position than they are now. Mainly they had a terrible NHL team that wasn’t making the playoffs and the AHL team was void of any talent. Fletch at least made some moves to get our NHL roster relevant and making the playoffs. Iowa hasn’t been very competitive the last couple years, but this year they are off to a decent start. I think a lot of that is with their new coach there.
I like Fenton, I think he is going to do some things that Fletch was either afraid to do or not allowed to because I think Leipold respects him more.
We all heard the rumblings when it was said that Leipold was working with folks to critique the moves that Fletcher made. I have often wondering if Fenton was potentially in on that. We will never truly know, but something to think about because they go back a long ways.
The difference I see between Risebrough and Fletcher is that Risebrough made terrible draft picks vs Fletcher made terrible trades…the painful aspect of Risbrough’s mistakes is that they were more long-term with alot of wasted early round picks that fizzled out vs Fletcher drafting mostly in the back end of the draft (minus alot of 1st & 2nd round picks due to bad trades) with a higher % of failure…I’m not counting Fenton’s draft until next year…
The difference I see between Risebrough and Fletcher is that Risebrough made terrible draft picks vs Fletcher made terrible trades…the painful aspect of Risbrough’s mistakes is that they were more long-term with alot of wasted early round picks that fizzled out vs Fletcher drafting mostly in the back end of the draft (minus alot of 1st & 2nd round picks due to bad trades) with a higher % of failure…I’m not counting Fenton’s draft until next year…
I would agree with all this. Not that Fletcher had a ton to do with it I don’t think, but the signing of Suter and Parise instantly made the Wild relevant, but you are right, Fletch made some head scratcher trades, some I agreed with at the time, but now in hindsight they hosed us up.
Another win against another good team with one of the best lines in hockey. But since we’re there…
Good, careful play by the Wild to not over-reach in the first and give up goals with risky play. The Wild did a terrific job of waiting out Colorado and kept the pressure on. The Wild are more physical now and seeing the Avs and the Kings game shows they aren’t as easy to push around.
And I love that the Wild are back on track with the dagger empty netters. Not sure what the Avs were doing pulling the goalie when they already had the 5-4 for a full 2 minutes, but to the Wild’s credit, they made them pay the price. Nice shot Brodin!
Big road trip coming up including a western Canada swing, so we’ll see if the Wild can keep it going.
Grouse
Agree with all of that.
See something a little different in RS’s game. ZP is looking like he’s finally firing on all cylinders. Hope they continue along this road and they prove me dead wrong.
Very few GMs have the Midas touch. Fletcher made some good and some bad moves. Most GMs rely on scouts for drafts.
Wacky game last night. Bizarre ref situations with one ref signaling a penalty when Staal was hooked/slashed at the end of the first, then the official overruling and saying not just no penalty shot, but no penalty at all. Unbelievable.
Wild looked off last night, but then again Vancouver isn’t a team to look past, they need to play way better than that.
Great to see Greenway back from Iowa and with a shoot first mentality, he goes to the goal and get’s himself some. WTG Greenway. Love this kid’s style and aggressiveness.
Also, Dumba has been a hitting machine all season. He obviously used the off-season very, very well, he’s stronger and uses leverage to put guys on their @ss if they try to dance and prance past him. He dished out some nice punishment on the Kings who obviously fancy themselves too big to get hit. He’s becoming a better player every year.
Another tough matchup tonight.
Grouse
Nice win last night and the wild scored 3 PPG’s of all things although it looks like they have ditched any strategy and simply throw it at the net and crash or hope for a deflection…
and please nobody complain about Suter getting burned by McDavid…McDavid burns everybody…
and please nobody complain about Suter getting burned by McDavid…McDavid burns everybody…
Sure was humbling though. He blew by him and Staylock like they were peewees.
McDavid was like 
and please nobody complain about Suter getting burned by McDavid…McDavid burns everybody…
McDefenseless was doing his usual thing and pulling his abandon ship routine on the D zone at the first 50/50 puck to try to score yet another breakaway. It worked once. If he’s going to keep playing like that, he needed it to work 3 times, which it seldom does.
McDefenseless’ +/- is artificially high because he watches from the bench as his team gets lit up on the power play like they did last night. -3 on PPGs in one game? I guess golf tee times will be hard to come by in Edmonton again when the playoffs roll around.
Staylock looked a little out of tune at times in that game. Needs to play more? He seemed to be sliding around a lot and leaving the back door wide open a lot.
It wasn’t as bad as previous games, but the Wild still look like they aren’t quite awake in the first period. Do we need some kind of team-imposed nap time a couple of hours before game time so everybody’s bright eyed and bushy tailed? This is worth trying.
What is it going to take to get Nino going again? Therapy sessions with a Goalologist? Embracing goat yoga? Man, I just hope this is one of those mental blocks that goes away as soon as he scores one.
Well, it was a win, but it should have been a lot better.
Grouse
Nino’s confidence is shot right now, but I think it will just take a single goal to get him going again. He’s finally getting more involved with the play and had 2 assists last night…I was surprised Bruce didn’t put him out for the empty net chance the other night…
Sure was humbling though.
Must be humbling to be fighting with Arizona for 4th in the division. Look at the goal differential between Edmonton and the real division leaders. Nash +13. Tampa +11. Pitt +11. Edmonton -2. No defense = no playoffs. Again.
Grouse
I’m beginning to think you’re not much of a McDavid fan???
I’ll admit, as good as he is or as many goals as he scores, it’s going to be tough to build a team around him at his salary.
Give him a little slack, he’s just a kid.
It wasn’t as bad as previous games, but the Wild still look like they aren’t quite awake in the first period. Do we need some kind of team-imposed nap time a couple of hours before game time so everybody’s bright eyed and bushy tailed? This is worth trying.
What is it going to take to get Nino going again? Therapy sessions with a Goalologist? Embracing goat yoga? Man, I just hope this is one of those mental blocks that goes away as soon as he scores one.
Well, it was a win, but it should have been a lot better.
Grouse
Agreed.
It’d be nice if they could put teams away right away, but like the win and them finishing games. If they are pacing themselves great. Just hope it’s not a mental issue.
agreed, they cannot keep getting behind early in these games. That is going to catch up with them. Its nice to see they can actually put up some goals and the PP came out to play last night.
They actually reworked the PP setup for the game. If you recall the #1 PP unit had Staal on the side working for a one-timer shot. They moved Granlund over there and Staal in the middle. Staal is much better suited in the middle. He had a wonderful tip for a goal and then Granny with an absolute snipe for the GW both on the PP.
Well, if we’re going with the fore gone conclusion that they’re going to have yet another early exit from the playoffs, I’ll take all the nail biters I can get.
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