I woke up, checked my family chat and I thought the Wild lost. My bro was bitching. A lot and then 2 positive posts about Kuemper, but no mention of a win.
I’ll go watch the DVR, I may still be sleeping and dreaming.
Who would have thought a PPG, SHG, 5 on 5 Goal and a Shutout all in one game?
I hope they didn’t use up all of their mojo with that win, but it was a good game overall.
Sloppy first period. Kuemper played very well and kept the game scoreless in the first when the Kings had some good chances. Man, that one dribbler was so lucky it hit the pipe.
You’re are not dreaming. The Wild actually showed up to play and they looked pretty good. But let’s not let this take away from the fact that they are an average team. Does Fletcher know how to make deals? Chicago is always making trades to upgrade their team and they just did a trade the other night to help them in the push for the Cup.
You’re are not dreaming. The Wild actually showed up to play and they looked pretty good. But let’s not let this take away from the fact that they are an average team. Does Fletcher know how to make deals? Chicago is always making trades to upgrade their team and they just did a trade the other night to help them in the push for the Cup.
Just 6 weeks ago most in the league would have argued that Minny was actually an elite team. But when you start skidding, as most every team does at some point during the season, the fans get upset and start making irrational demands.
Who is on the trade block that instantly makes Minnesota a better team? Drouin? The kid is a headcase and has been in the AHL for half of the season. That’s not a coincidence. Do you want Fletch to give up Brodin (proven talent) or Dumba (budding talent) for this kid that actually quit on his team? I’m pretty happy with them staying here for the time being.
It’s also not like Minnesota has a plethora of draft picks or talent they’re eager to trade. Sure, they could afford to trade a budding defensemen but who is on the block that would actually make us better? And on top of that, who is on the block that Minnesota can actually afford, salary cap wise.
Maybe I’m alone in this, but I’m glad to see Fletcher holding off on any trades right now. Let the team get themselves back to normal, and then adjust from there. Perhaps someone worthwhile will pop up once teams start figuring out who has a shot at the cup and who doesn’t.
In the West you can’t afford to let your team figure it out on it’s own…5 game losing streaks can’t put you out of the playoffs and for some folks (Coaches, GM’s) out of a job…
The Wild has an overabundance of talented Defenseman and they can’t possibly play all of them, so instead of letting them rot on the bench or in the minors, you replace them with pieces your team is missing…The only KNOWN forward assets on the trade block were Johanson and Druin, both extremely young players (Druin is only 20) I know very few 20 year olds who are responsible with a fast food job, let alone multi-millionaire pro athletes with Agents whispering into their ear telling them they are the greatest thing ever… so i’m willing to cut them a break and chalk most of it upto immaturity or agent ego..
I’m sure most teams would love to have a Brodin or Dumba on their team, they just figured they were always untouchable, well with Fletcher making calls asking “Who do you have to offer” you might see some names we thought were untouchable get thrown on the table… but in order to get good talent, you have to give up good talent…
Making the playoffs or getting to the 2nd round isn’t considered a successful season anymore for the Wild, so they need to make moves that get them over the hump, and in the West, that means scoring goals against good teams, and that requires top level offensive talent…
I suggest that next year we name this thread “2016-17 Wild Rollercoaster”.
I’ve just been riding along most of this year. 
On a happier note, it looked like Dubnyk had new pads 2 games ago.
DT
He had new pads over a month ago. Are you saying even newer ones? I know he was having issues with the new ones. Too slippery.
Pominville has been getting chances lately. I know ill get ridiculed for this,” but I hope he finds the net and catches fire.
Pominville has been getting chances lately. I know ill get ridiculed for this,” but I hope he finds the net and catches fire.
I sure hope so with the icetime and situations Yeo puts him in for 
90% of the time he looks like a pylon out there…and we have 3 more years of him?
Pominville has been getting chances lately. I know ill get ridiculed for this,” but I hope he finds the net and catches fire.
I wouldn’t ridicule you for that at all. We all hope it happens and he needs to. I just doubt that its going to happen. He could have a faster decline than Heatley.
While the Wild at least are scoring more goals and trying to minimize the mid-season slump, has anyone else been paying attention to the Blackhawks? I think they’ve won 12 of the last 14 or some such. Cripes. They had to deal some players like Sharp and so they deal with it by just getting better AND make teams like the Texass Team Rustlers better in the process.
Could it be that the future of the NHL is that you have to completely bottom out for multiple seasons like Chicago, Edmonton, etc have done and then collect multiple 1st round draft picks in a 3-5 year span to stack the deck?
Just looking at the top 3 picks in Round 1 in the past 10 or so years, it’s got me wondering if there isn’t really a Round 0, essentially. What I mean by that is that the teams picking in the first round in slots 1-3 seem to have a distinct advantage to be able to claim a very tiny number of Super Players like Kane, Ovechkin, Crosby, etc. After the 3rd pick, it becomes much more muddy and hit/miss.
I don’t know, maybe it’s more obvious in hindsight, but it does leave me wondering if in a twisted way, the Wild’s relative “lack” of cellar dweller time is now a hold back in the NHL? Granted, you could argue that the Wild had chances with grade A talent on the board and Reisborugh screwed up by picking junk…
Grouse
Could seems to be turning into that stud we’ve always hoped for. He looks unstoppable.
That loss to the yotes sums up the last month of Wild hockey….
This team needs a punch in the face to wake itself up! The season is slipping away fast….
Matt, Coyle is having a very nice year. He’s only turning 24 and hopefully they keep him on the wing now, unless 2 centers get hurt at the same time. I think if they keep that line playing with nino and Koivu, that’s going to help ninos game too.
I missed the last half of last night’s game. You have to be kidding me. Give up a shorty when you are on the PP the last 2 minutes of the game?
One might say, viking-esk type of loss. Give up the tying goal, shorthanded and no goalie in the net. You can’t even dream of a scenario like that:???:
I missed the last half of last night’s game. You have to be kidding me. Give up a shorty when you are on the PP the last 2 minutes of the game?
What was even worse was how that shorty happened. I really like Dubnyk, but that goal is 100% on him. There are times during every game where it just seems he is disinterested and lacks focus. This was exactly one of those times. Nothing like handing the puck right to the opposition while you are tangled up behind the net.
The only bright spot was Coyle. That kid is an absolute menace out there. He has some grit, no he’s not going to fight, but he is physical, fast and can handle the puck.
He almost had another goal but a brilliant poke check by their goalie, plus he drilled the pipe in the shootout.
Reading the Russo article this morning, Yeo said the All-Star break is coming at the perfect time because his team needs a break…um, wasn’t there recently a 4 day gap between games where he said the same exact thing?
All we can do is observe Yeo on the bench and how his team performs on the ice, what I see is a coach/team with ZERO urgency and a major lack of focus…Both of those points should be hammered home by the coach and the players buy into it…that’s not happening here anymore…time for a change…
The only problem I see is if they do make a mid-season coaching change, who replaces him? Brunette – He can’t run a powerplay let along an entire team…Darby – Please god no…. Sydor – he has his own problems to deal with…
I think that’s the only reason Yeo keeps his job the rest of the season…
I hope they give Dubnyk a rest and ride Kuemper a few games out of the break. He needs to focus a bit more. I don’t think he has necessarily played poorly, but there have been several head scratchers for me with him lately.
I think Grouse has a very valid point. We haven’t sucked bad enough to really turn over the roster. It does seem that you need to be really terrible and capitalize on top draft picks for a few years to get anywhere.
Too bad we cant suck enough to get Austin Mathews. That kid is amazing to watch. I saw a lot of him in the World Juniors and I am way more impressed with him than I was with Eichel or McDavid at that stage.
Yeo must go…There I said it.
top 3 picks this year’s draft are studs, the 2 power forwards from Finland look like can’t miss prospects…
The Wild will never suck enough to get close to picking that high, even when they had terrible teams, they would typically end the season on a meaningless winning streak and take themselves out of picking top 3….
I think the talent on this team is there, they are just not coached to their potential… They also lack the true STUD offensive player (Kane/Ovechkin/Crosby) they can lean on when a goal is needed, but then again, alot of teams don’t have that player…
It’s hard for me to get mad at Dubnyk. Giving up one goal, even a boneheaded one, should not cost you the game. His numbers this year are good. Good enough that with a little more scoring, this team should have a few more points at this stage of the season.
I agree he hasn’t been the problem this year. He either needs to give up handling the puck or get better at it, there have been numerous times where he’s tried to play it and goofed up, bit us in the butt last night…
The defenseman should have been screaming their heads off though too, they need to tell him what’s incoming….I never watched any replays to see if they were talking to him?
I just want to puke. Really! I watched the whole game last night with an overwhelming feeling of impending doom. It was absolutely inexplicable to me as to how the Wild were NOT ahead 4-0 after the first freaking period. Even worse was that it was completely unsurprising to me that they found a way to lose and lose badly.
Totally agree with Pug. Dubnyk is not the problem here. Yes, it was a boneheaded play, but that has to be looked at in the context of the fact that it’s not Dubnyk’s fault that the entire rest of the team can’t find their @ss with both hands. At the point where Dubnyk screwed up, the Wild should have been leading 5-0 and it should never have mattered.
As far as Coyle, well, nice to see one Wild player find the back of the net. To me, that doesn’t make up for the fact that he still holds a predominant place on the LONG list of underachieving Wild players. Coyle needed to carry that team in the shootout and he clanked the post. Another perfect metaphor, if you ask me. When is somebody on this team going to freaking step up? Just another night of every player on the Wild team hoping somebody else can get it done for them.
Don’t even get me started on Yeo. Ok, now you got me started, so perfect call out by Joe: Yeo’s only response, no matter how BAD his team is playing, is to stand there with a blank stare on his face like he’s some kind of stunt double for Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man.
WTF are you doing, Yeo? Your team is as flat and lifeless as 5 day old beer laying on a dive bar floor, and so to remedy the situation you stand there motionless with a stupid look on your face the whole game? Wow. That’ll light a fire under them!
The Wild have totally screwed themselves by NOT firing Yeo last year. To me, the point of who coaches the team going forward should not be the first decision. First, you have to come to the now totally obvious conclusion that Yeo isn’t the guy. Until the Wild ownership are there, the “who now” is not relevant.
It’s another lost season, boys. Even if the Wild pull off another Groundhog Day and back into a wildcard spot, they’re going to get hammered. And beat Chicago? Be freaking serious. Making matters even worse is that at the present pace, the Wild will play just well enough so their first round pick is in the teens somewhere. About 10 places too late for the cream of the crop.
Grouse
As far as Coyle, To me, that doesn’t make up for the fact that he still holds a predominant place on the LONG list of underachieving Wild players.
IDK, Coyle is having a very good year in my estimation. To me he is the only one of the young players who isn’t underachieving. He has more goals right now than he has ever had in a single season. He is really using his body out there and is visible on every shift.
Nino and Zucker haven’t done much this year. Haula has had a few nice games, but you don’t expect too much from a 4th liner. I think he is “meeting expectations” at least lately, but after Haula and Coyle I think its a big below expectations for the rest of the young guys.
Dumba has regressed and in a big way. Lots of mental errors that I see each game. To this point few have cost the Wild, but that is only a matter of time.
No, Dubnyk isn’t the problem. Never said he was, but I think it would be good to give him more rest because, Kuemper has been playing really well.
We have to score more than 1 dang goal a game. That’s depressing.
Let’s not forget the nice play Dubnyk made early in the game laying the paddle down and passing to a defenseman, beating out a coyote player in alone.
I hope Yeo keeps Koivu, Nino and Coyle together. That should help bring Nino along.
I like the lines now, they just need to start scoring.
I like the lines now, they just need to start scoring.
Me too! Its not time to panic yet, but its getting close.
I too am happy with Coyle and Haula’s play this year and agree Dumba has regressed. Zucker sure seems to be hustling all the time, I just don’t see him getting the breaks any more and I think they are just covering him way better after last year. I never like Yeo and have been calling for his head for 2 years. He does absolutely nothing to get the team fired up. Stand on the bench with his water bottle and the deer in the head lights look on his face.
Dubnyk crapped the bed on that play, but like Grouse said, it never should have been that close to matter. He made several really good stop to keep them to 1-0. I don’t hold out much hope for this club this year. They may squeak into the playoffs but aren’t going anywhere. To me it’s the perfect time to send Yeo packing and get a new coach in here to get accustom to the team before next year.
I’m curious for those who don’t like Yeo’s demeanor, how do you feel about Suter, Parise and Koivu?
There are times I see Yeo steaming on the bench. I suspect he isn’t quiet in the lockeroom.
I’m not worried about dumba at all. He’s young. Remember when there were questions surrounding Scandela? They sent him down and people thought he might be a bust? Defence takes time and there are set backs.
Regardless of what Yeo is like behind the bench, in the locker room, etc, the fact remains that he has a team that has consistently gone into these mid season funks and put their playoff picture in jeopardy. Had it not been for VERY lucky trades the last 2 years–with last year’s Dubnyk trade being the mother of all lucky trades–the Wild wouldn’t have seen the playoffs either year.
You have to change the pieces you CAN. Yeo’s been given all the players that are reasonably possible and we can’t afford burning any more early round picks on trades.
I cannot see where the Wild have anything to lose at this point by overhauling the coaching staff. I am hard pressed to think of teams who would have waited this long.
Just last night NBC announcers were talking during the Sharks v. Avs game about how the Sharks fired their coach last season after they didn’t make the playoffs. For the first time in 10 years! Now I’m sure there were other issues, but come on. We’re up here with the Wild mgmt wringing their hands over Yeo and you’ve got teams like St. Louis dumping a coach after they MADE the playoffs. We’re way to patient. I haven’t seen that the change did much harm to the Blues or the Sharks. What is our problem? Why are we always trying to shine coaching sh!t?
Grouse
Now I’m sure there were other issues, but come on. We’re up here with the Wild mgmt wringing their hands over Yeo and you’ve got teams like St. Louis dumping a coach after they MADE the playoffs. We’re way to patient. I haven’t seen that the change did much harm to the Blues or the Sharks. What is our problem? Why are we always trying to shine coaching sh!t?
Grouse
Grouse, Hitchcock is still coaching the Blues…
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
