Wild 2015-16

is that picture legit? if so, wtf is Toronto looking at in the war room? The TV replays showed a sliver of goal line left that the puck had to cross, but they only froze the frame at that very spot, I never saw it advance a few more frames to see if it went any further in?

anyways, no excuse going down 4-0 at home in an elimination game before the team finally wakes up, there needs to be some major changes in this team or else it will be more of the same in the years to come…

I suspect Fletcher will keep his job and make some MAJOR trades this summer in an attempt to 180 this team as his last chance to save his job…I also think the threat of losing players for nothing in the expansion draft will also force some major names being traded…

Let’s hope Parise’s back injury isn’t a sign of things to come…

The nbc photo didn’t seem to be very carefully taken. They basically showed it in slomo once and stopped it once. I’m sure they didn’t want badmouth the NHL on national television so they didn’t really show it too much.

Is that photo real? To me it accurately shows that the puck was not flat to the ice like the overhead shows. Whether it was doctored is anyone’s guess.

I was just asking if it’s a legit image, it shows the puck completely over the goal line, thus it should have been a legit goal… I never saw that image on the television broadcast..

PUG from that angle, you could make it look like anything crossed the red line, heck the cross bar is even 3 feet passed the goal line

Nino retweeted the picture without comment. I saw another one, not sure if it was the same. My initial thoughts too was someone was Photoshoping it. I have no idea where the picture came from.

I don’t think that photo can be trusted. I would have loved that goal to be good like everyone else, but if you look on the NBC site, they have the crossbar view and being honest from that view I can see the call that it didn’t clear the goal line by about a quarter of an inch.

It’s a totally raw deal, but IMO the Wild have been screwed by far more obvious missed/blown calls whereas this one is close, but not close enough. The blatant missed diving/embellishment in the first period that was the start of the 3-5 power play was a far worse blown call than this and had just as big an impact on the game because it was a total acting job and what is the point of having an embellishment penalty if the refs are going to quit calling it in the playoffs?

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I suspect Fletcher will keep his job and make some MAJOR trades this summer in an attempt to 180 this team as his last chance to save his job…I also think the threat of losing players for nothing in the expansion draft will also force some major names being traded…

I’m not sure the expansion can factor into trade decisions because couldn’t whatever players you trade for also be grabbed in the expansion draft?

It will be interesting to see what the market shapes up like. Also, we’ve got a few bubble players that may or may not be offered spots for next season. Combine those with shrugging off Backstrom’s salary and I think we have a few bucks for at least one UFA acquisition as well as whatever trades can be done.

I would have to agree with those who say we seem to have a surplus of d-men with the combo of what’s on the roster now and what’s up and coming. I think now’s the time to make a D for O trade, but it has to be a good one! I think Dumba could bring a prime player, but this MUST be a player for player deal and NOT giving away more draft choices. If the other side won’t deal without draft picks being in the mix, than tell them to take a hike.

I’m still wondering if Nugent Hopkins will be dealt and if the Wild can make a play for him? Edmonton seems to have a problem (defense) that a trade with us could solve.

Grouse

What a difference a year makes huh? This team has SO MANY question marks right now moving into next year… Parise’s health, New Coach? New GM? only 4 draft picks this year (2 of which are 7th rounders) Buyout Candidates? Salary Cap handcuffs? Planning for Expansion draft?

yuk…

Evan Pheneger wrote:

PUG from that angle, you could make it look like anything crossed the red line, heck the cross bar is even 3 feet passed the goal line

Correct, its called Parallax. From an angle the puck appears to be over the line, but if you are directly above the goal line it never crosses from all the images I have seen.
NHL Network did an interesting piece on a similar goal in Calgary. They actually had their net setup, with goal line, etc with a puck. From the angles the puck clearly looked in. When they moved to an overhead shot the puck was about 1″ from crossing the goal line. No goal…

Has anyone seen the goal can advance to the next frame?

not yet, what’s strange is that none of the major sports websites even mention the close goal at the end…or the fact that the dallas defenseman had to put his hand on the puck in the crease…nothing on TSN/ESPN, etc

You can’t argue with this view…
DT

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A closer view of that same photo.

I will admit if that puck is off the ice by 1″, it’s no goal.

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Anybody watching the Hawks Blues game 7 tilt?

Holy hell what a game!

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/about-that-stars-wild-goal-line-conspiracy-theory-photo-224720720.html

biggill wrote:

Anybody watching the Hawks Blues game 7 tilt?

Holy hell what a game!

Yes I’m watching. Wide open throttle hockey.

Grouse

I think I’d give the Blackhawks any 3 or 4 players except Parise for Kane.

That my friends is play-off hockey. Skate fast and hit hard. Watching this game you realize how far the Wild still have to go.

ajaikens31 wrote:

I don’t think that Dubs is to blame for any of their losses in the playoffs so far…

He sure isn’t to praise for either of the wins. The goalie needs to steal at least one game in every series if you want any success in the playoffs. He has never done that.

Not sure if you watched yesterday’s game but, at least 3 of those goals were on him. From the clean sniper shots to the dribbler between the legs. That popup dribbler doesn’t go in for anyone else. You’re supposed to freeze on a disappearing puck like that. Not skate aimlessly across the crease.

Russo had an interesting article about the offseason. He pretty much lays out how bleak it is. I feel like the window had closed and we’ll miss the playoffs for a couple years.

You know Parise is probably going to miss a lot of games now that his back is messed up. I hope he doesn’t turn into a pronger.

Well, I am going to have to temper my disappointment of Spurgeon’s play this year based on comments that have been coming out the last couple days. Apparently he has been playing with an “upper body” injury all season and was only about 80%. That certainly could explain why I was seeing him being a bit “off” this year. Gutty guy though. I really like his game, but thought he didn’t have as good of a year, and now this may explain it.
Vanek had broken and displaced ribs, Haula Hip pointer and Scandella needs hernia surgery.
Someone needs to get a better conditioning program, though that wouldn’t have helped Vanek when he got the 2 arm cross check across the back, it might have helped some of the other injuries.

While I admire these guys for wanting to play through it for the team, depending on the injury, wouldn’t it be better to fix it and be 100%? A lot depends on the injury, but playing a whole year with an upper body injury seems dumb. Now the hernia and hip pointer obviously happening at the end of the year, then you play through it.

I wonder when Scandela got the hernia, because he looked pretty hot out of the gate, but the second half he seemed quite a bit off.

I don’t want a Vanek buyout. I don’t expect him to play to the $7.5M next year, but I don’t want his contract bleeding into next year with a buyout either. And he still has value on the PP and I think when it comes to the locker room, he’s probably good. At least publicly he never pouted or was surly about being a healthy scratch.

Right, I honestly don’t see much benefit in buying out Vanek. So it might save $5M next year, you still trickle into the following year. We have to pay Cooke $1.5M next year still. I think these things help short term, but pile up and cause issues down the road. Heck, I think Philly is still paying Bryzgalov. LOL
In order for the wild to be able to do anything they will have to trade some players.

if we could get a hometown discount on Okposo, I have no problem swapping Vanek’s salary for his…you expect the cap to go up around the same figure of what Vanek’s buyout penalty would be, so hopefully it’s a wash…

after the next 2-3 years (ugg 3 more years of Pomminville) you also have Koivu & Pomminville’s bloated salaries coming off the books, so you can plan ahead knowing that money will be available…

I don’t like the idea of wasting the bump in cap space on a buyout. That’s money that can be spent elsewhere. Cook and Backstrom were a little different. Neither were going to see playing time this year. So paying them a salary (like we did in backstroms case) was a waste. At least in Vanek case we should get some return on him even if he just becomes a PP specialist that sees 10-12 minutes a game.

If Poms – Haula – Nino continue their trajectory playing together, that ugg could turn into a woo whoo!

mplspug wrote:

Camp is starting up!
– Sounds like the younger players will finally see more ice time, especially on the PP!
– I see our defense only getting better, including offensively with the addition of Reilly and Dumba in his second season
– If Zucker plays 75 games and gets PP time, he’s a lock for 30+ goals
– A little concerned about the PK and checking line after losing Brodz…can Haula or Carter replace him? I am not too confident.

– Will Nino flirt with 30+? Will he get a little of that agitator back?
– Will Fontaine and Haula show it was a sophomore slump last year?
– Does Vanek prove last year was off a little because of his injury?

Funny.

– Younger players saw more ice time. Didn’t translate to much
– The defense didn’t really get better. It was the same at best.
– Zucker has me questioning if he was a flash in the pan
– PK took a huge step back. Concern validated
– Nino flirted with 20 and barely got it. Keep that line together for most of the year and things may be different this time next year
– Haula found his game late. He’s a bright spot. Fontaine remained Fontaine
– Despite being healthy most the year, Vanek had the same year.

Player moves are one thing, but how about some comments on moving the GM? Did anyone else see/hear that lame presser that The Chucker gave yesterday? If you want to Google it, just enter “dazed and confused” and that should bring it up nicely.

Yeah, I get he’s not going to telegraph any moves, but the WHOLE thing was just The Chucker laying out one contradictory statement after the other. We had great contributions from our young players but our young players didn’t step up enough. We’re a 100 point team, but we only played to the 80 point level. We have great locker room chem, but there’s a split in the locker room…

Literally every main point he made, he then backed over with a contradictory statement.

The Chucker has no real clue how to GM this team, he’s just adjusting his sail to the prevailing winds every 10 games. We don’t free up any cap space by ditching the Chucker, but to solve any of the Wild’s problems we have to address is the leadership even steering the ship in a known direction?

Grouse

Boudreau Boudreau Boudreau Boudreau!!!!!

Fletch ain’t going anywhere…If he was it would have been done already. Move on…RR

CaptainMusky wrote:

Boudreau Boudreau Boudreau Boudreau!!!!!

208-104-40 and won 4 straight Pacific Division titles. Ya that’ll work. Now go get em’…RR

The owner loves him, so until that changes, he’s staying put as the GM… The draft might dawn on the owner a bit when we make our 1st round pick, then tap a 3 round nap until our 2nd pick…