Wild 2015-16

http://wild.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=871393

Thank God. I’d hate to see a trade screw with our chemistry. Hee hee hee

Trade that was backed up in the queue, Wild traded Nick Backstrom for a 3rd/4th line winger… At least the Backstrom era is Finally over!

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Trade that was backed up in the queue, Wild traded Nick Backstrom for a 3rd/4th line winger… At least the Backstrom era is Finally over!

Well, the got David Jones for Backstrom plus another draft pick bites the dust. A late rounder, but still wish they didn’t have to give that away.

I wish Backs the best. Always tough to see the franchise goalie go downhill in the last years, but I hope he gets a few more starts.

Grouse

Backstrom will be my favorite Wild goalie for some time. It was tough when he got injured was it 3 years ago in warmups? I think he could have really had a nice run. He was a champion in Europe. Unfortunately he was never the same.

I guess the move helps make the roster easier to manage not having a 3rd goalie take up an active roster spot. I’m not sure Jones adds much.

mplspug wrote:

I guess the move helps make the roster easier to manage not having a 3rd goalie take up an active roster spot. I’m not sure Jones adds much.

I think its the addition by subtraction with that move. This will give Backs a chance to play, which it has to suck for him being healthy and not getting a sniff of the ice.
Im still bitter about what transpired this off-season, but wish him good luck.

Sorry to see Backs go, I always liked him for sure, but to have his contract on the books with little or no intention of playing him seemed like a waste. Hopefully he gets to play again.

I’m glad to see him go, he’s played the bs surgery card the last 2 years to screw the Wild over… All this crap about him being a “Real Pro” about the situation!?! Are you kidding me? Do people not realize he has been paid almost 4 million dollars each of the past 2 season to merely show up for practice…..

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I’m glad to see him go, he’s played the bs surgery card the last 2 years to screw the Wild over… All this crap about him being a “Real Pro” about the situation!?! Are you kidding me? Do people not realize he has been paid almost 4 million dollars each of the past 2 season to merely show up for practice…..

X1000! He has held the Wild ransom for a very long time with these “injuries”. Behind the scenes the Wild have been shopping his arse’ for a long time. Good riddance! RR

The Wild didn’t have a gun put to their head when they signed him to that contract. These pro sports work both ways. Sometime the team wins, sometime the player wins. Same with Parise & Suter. Wild knew that the chances both of them out-performing their contracts were slim and none. They were willing to take the chance they could lead them to the Cup. Contracts are only bad if things don’t go as planned.

The issue was that he purposely had the elective surgeries at the time he did so the Wild couldn’t buy him out in the offseason… it was a dick move on his behalf… The Wild fired back by making him show up each morning for early tough conditioning goaltending practice even though they had ZERO intentions of playing him…but like I said, Backstrom had the last laugh when he cashed his check each month..

it was just a mess of a situation, with blame going on both sides, but Backstrom’s moves were shady… glad it’s over…

The surgeries Backstrom had were not elective and they were clearly due to injuries sustained playing hockey or preparing to play hockey. It’s not like he kicked a wall and broke his foot or something, not that that ever happens.

We can question the timing of the surgeries such that they put him off the trade market during the summer, but then again it’s only in retrospect that this didn’t work out in the Wild’s favor.

Remember, Dubnyk was NOT a sure thing for this season. He was a UFA. He could be playing for anybody right now. His resigning for the Wild was NOT a done deal and there was plenty of speculation this summer that more than the Wild were interested in him. So the Wild did have a situation where their backup goalie needs were not set in stone. We could have had a situation where Backstrom’s surgery and recovery by the beginning of the season could have been terrific timing for the Wild as he could have been backing up Kuemper as our #1.

Bottom line is Backstrom did what the contract and the CBA allow him to do. I don’t look at his playing career any differently because of it. The Wild look out for their interests and I can’t blame Backstrom for looking out for his. Everybody’s assuming the guy is just coasting it out to retirement, but he’s never actually said that’s his intention. What if the guy really wants to play another 2 years? Could happen.

Everybody was all over Jager about 5 years ago assuming he was going to retire quietly at the end of his big contract, but then he just kept playing, and playing, and playing…

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

It’s not like he kicked a wall and broke his foot or something, not that that ever happens.

That’s just mean…

If you are upset with how Backstrom played out, you better hope Suter or Parise don’t one day turn into a Chris Pronger.

mplspug wrote:

If you are upset with how Backstrom played out, you better hope Suter or Parise don’t one day turn into a Chris Pronger.

That scares the daylights out of me due to their length of term. Its a nightmare and with guaranteed contracts in the NHL, one where the player seems to hold most of the cards.
I do believe the contracts were front end loaded (like Dubnyk’s) meaning that on average they are $7.5M per year, but in actuality they are heavy on the front end so buyouts in the last 2 or 3 yrs of the contract are not too bad.

correct, they are front loaded and meant to be bought out with 3 years left or possibly 4 if the Wild can handle a larger cap chunk bitten out…after this season their contracts are about 45% complete…

The assumption was that the salary cap would keep going up and the actual $ amount wouldn’t look so bad after 4-5 years…That hasn’t happend yet though… I’m happy with the investment so far…they have been the franchise cornerstones since the day they put the jersey on…

Is David Jones really an upgrade over Porter?

Hey Pug, what do you think of starting the Haula line now? 3 goals for that line in the first period!!! Hate to say, but I told ya

3-1 after 1 against the Avs. Just think if this team didn’t suck for a month? They are fun to watch again.

Hmm, nice jinx guys.

Second period sucked. Dub had 2 weak goals scored on him tonight. Needs to get his head in the game. Hope they come out on fire in the third

mplspug wrote:

Hmm, nice jinx guys.

You sir can not talk to us about a jinx, curse or voo doo.

Big win.

Dutchboy wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mplspug wrote:</div>
Hmm, nice jinx guys.

You sir can not talk to us about a jinx, curse or voo doo.

I credit my negatively with the win.

Looking like Charlie’s breakout year. Nino back on track too. Now just get Zucker out there and maybe we finally get this team on a Stanley cup trajectory.

As good as Coyle has been I wonder is he physical enough? He is a big boy.

Haula for President!

Ok, well, the stick chucking move was really freaking stupid, but other than that… Haula for President!

I just LOVE whipping the avs. Doesn’t matter how, how pretty, etc, just pile on the goals. Then add a few empty netters just to grind it in.

Grouse

I am all over that Grouse!!!

I have been begging for him to get a chance. Yeo is gone, he gets his chance and takes full advantage. Guy is a STUD!!!!

Great finish for the WILD tonight. Awesome game to be at

sticker wrote:

Great finish for the WILD tonight. Awesome game to be at

Yes. I have to thank the Grouse family for that. Unfortunately, a bought with strep left some open tickets. Glad to use them. It was also good for me to erase the bad taste from my last game vs Boston.

Wild showed toughness and grit tonight, and the value of those two points goes without saying. I’m christening the Haula-Pominville-Neideriter line as the Torchetti line, since something he did has seemingly pulled all three of those guys out of slumps. Brodin and Zucker are both back soon, and this team could use them to carry momentum into some territory where we should get some points (Leafs, Sabres).