RIP 2009/2010 Minnesota Wild

Well, obviously there's ZERO hope of the Wild making the Playoffs this season which isnt a surprise to most but is to some. The Wild underwent major changes this past off-season but the biggest change wasnt a player or multiple players. It was coaching philosophies. Out went the battle proven, defence first, longtime coach Jacques Lemaire and in came a rookie coach with a more "wide open" hockey mentality.

Here's some questions for you Wild faithful:

Was losing this year "more exciting" under TR than it was under JL?
Did Fletcher have more "hits" than "misses" regarding player personnel changes?
Do you feel more optimistic going into next year than you did going into this year?
For those that knew the Wild werent a Playoff team do you consider this year a success?
Other than Latendresse what was the best move that CF made?


Yea, I just copied this from the other board but a couple of you don't post there so here it is.

Really? What made you late to this party? They've been done since before the Olympic break...

TaLoN wrote:

Really? What made you late to this party? They've been done since before the Olympic break...

Well, its pretty much officially over now. Wasnt trying to troll, would be interested in people opinions on multiple questions.

TBH I thought they'd sneak in as an 8th seeder. I thought Backstrom was good enough to endure the lack of a trap and I thought the addition of a healthy Havlat would make a difference.

I never thought the team had enough talent to make the Playoffs. I thought it obvious weeks ago that they weren't going to make it.

IMO Fletch is already a huge improve over Do Nothing Dumpster Diver Doug.

I still have exactly the same opinion on Richards as I had when he was hired - you have to give him a year and a half before thinking about firing him.

This year a success? After watching and listening to the last couple games, its hard to be objective. Right now I'm just disgusted. Rationally, my belief is the team took a huge hit losing Johnsson so I shouldn't be surprised, but emotionally I want the team to win and the last three games have been pretty dismal so I can't answer that question. But how can any team ever consider a 13th place Finish a success? So overall, no, not a successful season.

Optimisitc about next year? If that means making the Playoffs - not really. The prospect cupboard is very empty and there are a lot of holes, too many to fill in one off season IMO but I hope the team improves. Hopeful? Yes. Optimistic? Not really...

cehnehdeh wrote:

Here's some questions for you Wild faithful:

Was losing this year "more exciting" under TR than it was under JL?

JL is a hall of famer for a reason. He could take a bag of socks out and put together a team that can at least "compete" on a nightly basis. The game is infinitely better when your team actually has a chance to win.

cehnehdeh wrote:

Did Fletcher have more "hits" than "misses" regarding player personnel changes?

Fletcher is NIGHT AND DAY better than DR ever was! Most of the Wild's current roster problems are still Doug created problems.

cehnehdeh wrote:

Do you feel more optimistic going into next year than you did going into this year?

I feel about the same going into next year, as this team cannot truly improve until we can get some cap space. Too much is eaten up by players not worth their cap hit. PMB and Backstrom the largest of those by far.

cehnehdeh wrote:

For those that knew the Wild werent a Playoff team do you consider this year a success?

To me, since success means winning a cup... of course it's not a success... but it was still completely expected IMO.

cehnehdeh wrote:

Other than Latendresse what was the best move that CF made?

Not hanging on to every free agent in hopes of a miracle playoff run as DR would've done.

I don't think we were done before the olympic break, i think we were done when we couldn't put the Oil away that really fucked us especially coming from a 4-0 calgary beating.

1: there we better games, we saw what our team could be when they compete, when they play hard and its more exciting then the turtle, but what makes it less was the amount of times the team just plain fucking quit, the amount of times we didn't even try. There are some positives to build upon.

2: GMCF made huge changes, like many have said PMB, BAcks, Shultz are all terrible deals, and they are handcuffing us, also the talent pool was lacking, tho some nice surprises in Stoner and Sifers they showed some promise.

the one gripe i have is Nolan and Zits, i feel they should have both been moved, we didn't have to give up on our season, just made our future better.

3: yes because i'm desperate for the wild to do better, and i still think we'll make the playoffs i know its stupid but you can't take it away from me. I think we can make some moves clear up some space and be in a better position

4: Half and Half, i thought we were good enough to make the playoffs but we needed more consistent play, we can beat teams in the 7-13 range but not when we just plain refuse to play.

5: Belanger and Cal's contract

Without Nolan and his leadership last night, what would the Wild have done????

eh_one wrote:

Without Nolan and his leadership last night, what would the Wild have done????

The same thing they did anyway? Get their asses kicked.

eh_one wrote:

Without Nolan and his leadership last night, what would the Wild have done????

with out his leadership vs calgary they might have been able to come back,

nolans value isn't on a team like this, its on a team needing the extra grit and veteran savvy and chipping in with scoring.

he's going to walk at the end of the year for nothing, why would he re up with the Wild again? to go through one more year of this.

GMCF took over a terribly talented team with severe cap problems and complete lack of prospects. In basically a year, he has improved the talent level on the team, but hasn't really improved the prospect core or the cap problems. That being said, he was left with contracts that are near impossible to move and only had one pick in the first 3 rounds of the draft before moving down.

This year has been somewhat of a failure IMHO. Every once in awhile Craig McTavish says something I agree with, and he said of the Oilers "If you aren't going to make the playoffs, you might as well get a lottery pick." The Kobasew trade improved this team more than people realize, and also hurt our cap situation moving forward. IMO if we didn't trade for Chuck we're probably in the lottery. The Latendresse trade goes both ways as well, as Pouliot is tearing it up just as much, and I'd argue Pouliot will end up the more consistent offensive force.

Not really optimistic unless Bouchard retires or we find a way to deal Nick Schultz. And because of their contracts that isn't just for next year, but the next 3 years. This years draft is key, with 3 picks in the top 60.

Even including the Latendresse deal, the best move CF made was moving his biggest mistake, Nick Leddy, out of town. The only problem with that move as a whole is that we gave up our #1 d-man as well, while acquiring an overpaid d-man who compares to Kurtis Foster.

Giving Zidlicky an extension wasn't really something I liked either, but it was quite clear after KJ was dealt that it was going to happen. For how well paid our defense is we sure don't operate smoothly back there, more-so since the loss of KJ.