Granlund Watch Is Over

Yesterday, the Wild completed task #1 on their offseason to do list and inked their #1 prospect, Mikael Granlund to a 3 year entry level contract. The signing comes four days after Granlund and Team Finland came up short at the World Championships. Here is the video of Granlund announcing his signing:

 

For just about everyone, there was a lot to celebrate. The team had signed one of hockey's top prospects. He will join the team for the beginning of the 2012-13 season. The message was plastered across the team's website, and some of us (mainly myself), flocked to the Hockey Lodge to buy a Granlund jersey.

But, not all of us in the State of Hockey were buzzing over the Granlund signing. During his weekly SidCast, Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune went insane when Granlund was compared to what Ricky Rubio was for the Timberwolves. And at the very end of the video, he went as far to say "What a joke!" Ill save my rant on this for a different day. But the Wild itself had some comic relief on that subject this morning.

The Mikael Granlund watch is over. Now, we start looking ahead to the next task on Chuck Fletcher's offseason checklist: The NHL Draft. Then following that: Free Agency. Lets hope he can ride the momentum of this signing throughout the summer...

Wild Interested Jordan Staal?

The offseason can't come enough for Wild fans. The team holds the #7 pick in the entry draft, they are expected to sign Mikael Granlund (The team's #1 prospect) to his entry level contract, and nearly $18 million of cap space so they could pursue notable free agents such as F Zach Parise and/or D Ryan Suter. But Sunday, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review suggested that the Wild are one of four potential canidates to land the Penguins Center.

The article suggests that Staal would be a perfect leader for the team (Taking a shot at its current leader, Mikko Koivu), citing old Penguins connections with Chuck Fletcher (former Pens assistant GM) and Mike Yeo (former Pens assistant coach), so he would be familiar with Yeo's system. It then goes on to list who the Wild could offer in return, saying Cal Clutterbuck, Devin Setoguchi, and the team's #7 overall pick in the entry draft would be tossed around.

After I read this article, I came away with the following thoughts:

1. There would be a surplus of centers. Should Staal put on the iron range red next fall, the Wild would have Koivu, Staal, Kyle Brodziak, and Matt Cullen all slotted in at center. Meaning, someone (Most likely Cullen) would have to take the demotion to the fourth line, unless they would accept a spot on the wing. And don't forget Granlund is a center, but one would think he will play wing for a year or two before moving into the middle.
2. The Wild would be unwilling to part with Clutterbuck and the #7 pick. Despite what Josh Yohe (the writer of the article) think, the Wild value both of them quite a bit. Clutterbuck is a perfect player in the Mike Yeo system. He gives it 100% every shift, plays gritty, and can score a goal when is called upon to do so. And the team would be more than likely to draft a defenseman (something they sorely need down in the system) with the #7 pick, so giving that up for another forward would just not work out to Chuck Fletcher's advantage. As for Setoguchi, one could see the Wild be willing to part with him due to all the young forwards coming up in their system. And he is coming off a down year, so perhaps he could use a fresh start on a team featuring Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as the top centers.
3. Staal would have to sign an extension before being traded here. Staal is under contract with Pittsburgh for just one more year. So giving up a very good package for him would be a waste on just a one year rental. The team would need Staal to sign a contract extension (Probably somewhere around $7 million a season over 4-6 years) before they even think of pulling the trigger. 
4. Who would be top line center? Mikko Koivu has been the team's #1 center for four years now. He's also been the team's permanent captain for three years. But in those years he has seen his share of wings come and go, and this past season it appears he found a good linemate with him in Dany Heatley. But a big knock on Mikko is he is not considered a top line center. He is more suited for a second line center spot. So should the team get Staal, it should be assumed that Jordan would man the top line center spot. But, it easily could go the other way too.

After taking all this in, I came to this conclusion: The Wild should not go after Jordan Staal simply due to the fact he would cost this team too much. There are plenty of teams interested in him, and even the package listed in the article would simply not be enough compared to what other teams can offer. They should and most likely will stick to going after the free agents with all the cap room they have.

It was a nice thought. But its one of those things you can try out in a video game, not real life.

Wild To Hire LaPanta

Late last night, Michael Russo of the Star Tribune reported that the Wild will hire FSN veteran and Gopher Hockey play by play man Anthony Lapanta as their new TV play by play voice. This news, coming three weeks after they told Dan Terhaar his contract would not be renewed. LaPanta will be the fourth TV play by play voice in the franchise's history joining Mike Goldberg, Matt McConnell, and Terhaar.

As Russo points out, the announcement was expected to come on Monday, but due to the backlash from the public on this matter, it has been pushed back (Most likely coming sometime today). As First Round Bust points out, the fact neither party thought that there would be backlash with decision is more disappointing than anything. 

What is disappointing to me, is that when Russo first hinted at this on Sunday, he mentioned that there was a lot of national interest in this position. Meaning, there was a few people, maybe someone from the national network (NBC Sports Network), made an inquiry about the position. But the Wild and FSN stuck to their first choice, LaPanta.

I'm not a fan of this decision, like the rest of us are. But, I also have to accept the fact the Wild believe in LaPanta as a play by play voice. I didn't get the chance to watch him much during the Gophers season. But when I did, he wasn't great, but he was by no means terrible (He does get players names correct more often than Terhaar did). So there is definitely room for improvement (Also take in to effect he replaced the popular Frank Mazzocco, so people already have a strong dislike for him.).

Whether you like it or not (And 99.99% of the public does not), Anthony LaPanta will be the Wild's play by play voice come October. And now the task for the Wild and FSN is to convince us he is the right man for this job. And they will need to do a whole lot of convincing. 

Cheers to the Boogey Man

It was one year ago today, that former Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard was found dead in his Minneapolis apartment after taking a fatal mixture of pain killers and alcohol. Derek had just come off his first season playing for the New York Rangers (Registering his first goal after 5+ seasons of being held scoreless), following a 5 year stint as the Wild's top enforcer. Boogey was known for winning most of his fights from his shear size and ability th drop the gloves. But as we found out later, he had suffered greatly from all those fights. So today, we sit back and say "Cheers" to the memory of Derek Boogaard. And as I mentioned on twitter earlier today, he was taken from us far too soon.

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For Your Enjoyment...

...watch this Game 7 overtime winner by former Wild forward Joel Ward, now playing for Washington. Also note that former Wild F's Brian Rolston, Benoit Pouliot and D Greg Zanon on the ice for Boston. Many thanks to Chuck Fletcher for sabotaging the Bruins season by trading away Pouliot (In 2009) and Zanon this past February. (I kid, I kid...or am I?)

 

Farewell Dan Terhaar

Friday, the Wild informed TV play by play announcer Dan Terhaar he will not be returning for his eighth season behind the mic. Terhaar certainly was not the best at calling games (Thus, the creation of FSN Bingo from First Round Bust), but he was by far not the worst either. Terhaar didn't have the fortune of calling many great moments in Wild history during his time with the team, but he did have a few. And we will pay tribute to those moments here.

Wild vs Colorado 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs Game 2

Wild vs Chicago January 2010


I tried finding video of Marian Gaborik's 5 goal game, but the only video's of it did not have audio of Terhaar.

As we look ahead to Terhaar's replacement, one can only hope the FSN has little say in that decision (Otherwise look for Anthony Lapanta to get the honors). It would be interesting to see who's out there for the job. I wouldn't expect a replacement to be hired until after the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so we will just have to wait and see.

But one last time, we bid farewell to Dan Terhaar.

Handing Out Hardware

Despite everything that went wrong in the last half of this hockey season, it was still a hockey season. I'm going to try and find positives in this season in the coming weeks, so if you are looking for doom and gloom you can buzz off (If you wish to seek help with putting this season behind you check out First Round Bust's 2011-12 Wild eulogy. This should help the healing process).

Today, I'm going to hand out some hardware for the 2011-12 Minnesota Wild Season and look at some of what went right.

Team MVP: Dany Heatley-Despite posting career lows in Goals (24), Assists (29), and Points (53), Heater was still this team's best player. One would figure his numbers would of been better had he not had four different centers line up with him this year (Koivu, Cullen, Brodziak, and Peters). He was also the most consistent player as he was one of three Wild players to suit up for all 82 games this season. Heater gave an honest effort night in, night out, and that played a huge role in why I chose him as the MVP. (Kyle Brodziak was strongly considered for this award as well, and I was at a stalemate between choosing the two, but my gut feeling is Heatley here)

Rookie of the Year: Nick Johnson-No one knew who Nick Johnson really was when the team picked him off waivers from Pittsburgh during the preseason. But, following a season in which his hard nosed type play was noticed on a nightly basis, everyone sure knows him now (He played so well you can get his jersey shirt from the Hockeylodge). Johnson only put up a line of 8-18-26 this year, but those numbers don't tell the whole story. He would constantly do the little things (Drawing penalties, beating out icings, give a big hit) that would make a big difference in the game. With all the rookies on the team this year, there were many candidates for this award, but no one played the way Nick Johnson did.

Keith Carney Award (+/- leader): Mikko Koivu-Injuries limited Mikko to just 55 games this season, but that didn't stop him from being one of three regular players (Koivu, Clayton Stoner, and Heatley) that finished the year in the plus column. Koivu finished with a team high +10 and the team was on a pace for 94 points had he remained in the lineup for the entire season.

Performance of the Year: Niklas Backstrom vs Boston-A 48 save performance by the Wild's netminder against the defending Cup Champs on a nationally televised game. For evidence as to how good he was, see the save and reaction by Milan Lucic at 1:52 on this video.

Hit of the Year: Mikko Koivu-The Wild were on a power play in overtime, seeking back to back wins against Detroit for the first time, in a long time (I can't find the actual dates for this). The puck went into the corner and Koivu and Kronwall went after. I'll let the video do the rest of the talking.

Goal of the Year: Dany Heatley-It was a game all Wild fans would rather not like to remember. A 4-1 lead over Nashville with 10 minutes left to play in the third, was wiped away as the Predators scored 4 goals in the final 10 (including 3 in the last four minutes of the game) to win the game. But, Heater scored two goals in this contest, including the Team of 18,001's winner of the goal of the year.

Welcome Jason Zucker!

Last night, the Wild lost to the Rangers 3-2, and are solidifying the fact they could end up with the #2 pick in June's entry draft. But on a very bright note, prior to Tuesday's game, the team announced that they have signed Jason Zucker (My #5 prospect in the Wild system) to an entry level contract. He will be in uniform Thursday night, wearing #16, as the Wild take on the Florida Panthers.

I like this move. Yes, Zucker does lose a year off his three year deal by playing the remaining 6 games, but it will give him some valuable experience. He is coming off a season in which he posted a line of 22-24-46 in 38 games played for the Denver Pioneers this season.

For me, Zucker is a very welcomed addition to this team for the final 6 games (Honestly, watching Warren Peters, Jed Ortmeyer, and Erik Christensen has gotten very old). It will be interesting to see what Zucker can bring to the table in a short time, and who knows? He could make an impression good enough to make him a favorite for a roster spot next year. We will just have to wait and see. But for now, welcome to the Team of 18,001 Jason Zucker!

Was Monday's Win The Wild's Last This Year?

Monday, the Wild blanked division leader Vancouver 2-0, giving them their first win since March 8th against Phoenix. But, as we look ahead to the final 10 games of the season, the schedule does not favor the Wild whatsoever (It definitely favors the Fail for Nail strategy, though!).

In these final 10 games, all of them are going to be played against teams who are all in playoff contention. 4 of these games will be played against Eastern Conference teams (Buffalo, Washington, NY Rangers, and Florida), with the remaining to be played against the West (Calgary, Los Angeles, Chicago, Nashville, and Phoenix).

Here is the remaining schedule starting tonight against the Flames:

March 22 vs Calgary

March 24 @ Buffalo

March 25 @ Washington

March 27 vs NY Rangers

March 29 vs Florida

March 31 vs Los Angeles

April 1 @ Chicago

April 3 @ Nashville

April 5 vs Chicago

April 7 vs Phoenix

So as you can see, this schedule is not for the light hearted teams. And with the way this team has played in the past three months, the question has to be raised, did we see the final win for the Wild in 2011-12 on Monday? It sure looks like it

Fail For Nail

As we all know, the Wild are in the midst of a historic collapse. On December 12th, they sat atop the NHL standings and were about to take on Midwest rivals Winnipeg and Chicago. And we know how the rest goes.

Today, the team sits with the 6th worst record in the league (Could be 4th worse by the end of tonight), and they have just become an eyesore to watch. But, if you are like me right now, every loss is a welcome site at this point.

With every loss (Which is just about every game now), the Wild boost their chances in the summer's NHL Draft lottery, which could see them potentially move up from a pick in the 3-6 area, to the #1 overall pick, which is just about a lock to be Sarnia Sting (OHL) forward Nail Yakupov.

On the season, Yakupov has put up a line of 49-52-101 in in 65 games played (In his final season with Sarnia, Steven Stamkos put up a line of 58-47-105 in 61 games played before being drafted by TB). And if you watch the above video, he has a ridiculous talent for putting the puck in the net, something the Wild could use.

At this point, lets be real. The playoffs are all but officially not happening for this team. So, take a page out of my book and hope they continue to come out of each game with 0 points. I know that sounds horrible, but honestly folks, this team needs a player like Yakupov. So why not hope for the loss, so they increase their chances of stealing the #1 pick from bottom feeders Columbus and Edmonton? It COULD happen...