Saturday, February 9, 2013

Worry: Yes. Panic: No

"We’re trying to do everything we can to find the right solution, whether it’s to spark guys or find the right mix. Usually there’s a method to the madness, we’re not just trying to catch lightning in a bottle. We want to make sure that are putting something together that can work, more than just in the short term." -Mike Yeo


For those of who who already are panicking, you can stop reading. I have no time for you.

Over the week, I have separated myself from the blogs and tweets because simply, too many have chosen to hit the panic button on the season. And its hard to simply wrap my head around the fact, that after 10 games, we should be firing Mike Yeo, demoting Mikael Granlund to AHL, and trying to trade Devin Setoguchi.

I believe that Mike Yeo is the right leader for this team. He has won before as an assistant. And in his lone season as the Houston coach, he lead the team to the Calder Cup Final. The guy has always been around winning. And he has a team right now that can and will win.

Mikael Granlund is a rookie folks. He has 9 games under his belt, in the NHL. He registered 21 points (8G, 13A) in 21 games for Houston, and if memory served me right, he did not get off to a fast start there either (But don't hold me to this). He will come around, it just takes a little time. Even Steven Stamkos sat out a few games in his rookie season too.

And despite a horrendous start by Devin Setoguchi, I too am a believer in NOT trading him right now. He has played well this week, despite not scoring a goal yet. But if he can continue playing like this, he will start finding the back of the net. And yes, I am well aware of the many forwards this team is carrying, but is it possible that Yeo is keeping them, so players can step up their game so they dont have to watch the game from upstaits? I would certainly think so. And it is certainly a good problem to have, when you can't decide which forwards to scratch because they all have played well this past week (Granlund was scratched Thursday despite a great game Monday. Mitchell is a scratch tonight despite his stellar performance all week).

Yes, I know that its a shortened season, and we cannot afford to have prolonged slumps like this. But, no, I do not believe that this slump will go on much longer. This team just needs a bounce to go their way. Once they get that bounce and find confidence, they will take off.

Should we be panicking, absolutely not. Should we be worried, yes, a bit.

We can talk about the panic button after 20 games.


Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell

1 comment:

  1. With a severely shortened season and the Wild looking mostly lost out on this ice this season 10 games may indeed be enough time for panic to set in. All is not lost, but all is not well in Minnesota.

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