With his diminished play and soon-to-be expiring contract, this blogger asks if it's time to rename the Minnesota Wild press box popcorn machine at Xcel Energy Center after uber-underachiever Dany Heatley
Have we Minnesota Wild fans found the next human stalagmite (a.k.a. Martin Skoula)? Another Filip Kuba stand-around human pylon?
We just may have.
With his woeful offensive output and $7.5M cap hit, Dany Heatley just may be the next Wild player needing to learn how to make popcorn in the Al Shaver press box at Xcel Energy Center. The only bright spot (if it is that) is that his contract expires at the end of this 2013-2014 season, which may make 'Heater' attractive to a team on the rebuild.
Like, maybe the Buffalo Sabres, or Dallas Stars, or any team not based in Pittsburgh in the Metropolitan Division, or San Jose Sharks (but keep Marty Havlat, will you? Thanks.)
Heatley is a boat anchor on the Wild speedboat, a slow, plodding forward who's best days are well in the rear view mirror, who's attributes are marred by his lack of compete level, inability to find open space, and just flat out bad timing when in the offensive zone.
Saturday night, he was the third best defenseman the Florida Panthers (another team needing a rebuild) had, blocking two shots (one a near-sure-goal) from Mikael Granlund in the third period of the Wild's 2-1 shootout loss to the lowly Panthers, who are still looking up at nearly everyone else in the Eastern Conference.
Heatley has become more of a liability every time he steps onto the ice. A former 50-goal scorer, gifted with great hands, he hasn't used them like he has wanted to in the last two seasons. He should have received a compliance buyout last summer, but since he was injured in an end-of-game scrum in San Jose last April, Heatley ended the season on injured reserve, and according to the terms of the new CBA, compliance buyouts could not be tendered to players on IR.
And now, the Wild are paying for that injury. And how. Talk about paying it forward; the fact that Heatley is not having success to justify that massive contract is hamstringing the Wild, whose anemic offense has only scored 5 goals in the last four games, going 1-2-1 on a four-game Eastern road trip which, based on the current overall talent level of the Wild, they should have gone no worse than 3-1.
So what to do? Heatley has become the single largest liability the Wild have. And one of the toughest to deal with, as his massive contract precludes any type of a major deal. The NHL would immediately throw up red flags at any type of a 'salary dump' deal. The other team in any Heatley trade would as quickly incur the wrath of their own fans, as this albatross of a forward plays the schedule out at half-speed. Or slower.
For all those Ottawa fans who have booed Heatley over the years (he wanted out of Ottawa, and got his wish) for not being a Senator, and the San Jose fans (when they aren't beating each other up) who also boo Heatley when he returns to NorCal, the Wild would probably say 'If you want him, you can HAVE him. Cheap.'
Peyton Place, meet 317 Washington St., St. Paul. As that's what Dany Heatley has made his hockey life in Wild country.
Showing posts with label Skoula. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Skoula. Show all posts
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Brand New Year, Same Old Wild Problems
New Year's. Time to re-start everything. Time to turn the calendar over, and renew your committment to making your life better in the New Year,
Oh, how I really wish the Minnesota Wild would follow that philosophy.
The fact of the matter is that despite their recent success (two wins vs. Calgary, wins vs. Colorado and San Jose in the last two weeks), this Wild team is, at best, a .500 hockey club. A testament to middling performance. A team which, if this season so far were made into a commercial, would come out like the Education Minnesota union ad during the elections -- "Mediocrity, Mediocrity, ME-DI-OCRITY!"
The reality is that until the Wild can once again upgrade their forwards to a level of, say, a St. Louis, or the LA Kings, or even this afternoon's opponents, the formerly-lowly Phoenix Coyotes, the Wild will be mired with a Calgary Flames team which is on the verge of a total rebuild, and the near-perpetual bottom feeders, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Edmonton Oilers, teams who are destined to be cannon fodder for the likes of the Detroits and Chicagos of the Western Conference.
How bad are the Wild viewed, especially away from Minnesota?
CBC's Pierre LeBrun, with Kelly Hrudey commenting on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night from Pittsburgh's Heinz Field, where they were doing the Washington-Pittsburgh Winter Classic, came out and said that the Wild are 'not a sexy team' right now, and do not even deserve hosting the Winter Classic (although they wouldn't have had the warm weather problems they did in the Steel City yesterday). He also said that Philadelphia (home of Comcast, who will purchase NBC from GE later this month) and Colorado (who's Invesco Field at Mile High would be an 80,000-seat bonanza, for a game vs. either the Detroit Red Wings or the Dallas Stars) are the current front-runners for the 2012 game, a game which the Wild ownership covets dearly.
LeBrun's comments should have been viewed as an alarm bell, ringing throughout 317 Washington Street in Downtown St. Paul. It's time to get serious as to what direction the Wild need to go in to get where they really need to be -- the Stanley Cup Playoffs -- and soon.
They have to get involved this season at the trade deadline. And at the rate this team is going, they certainly would not be construed as 'buyers'. No way. They need to unload salary, and quickly. Antti Miettinen, Andrew Brunette, Chuck Kobasew all need to be shown the proverbial door. Two other Wild players -- John Madden and Jose Theodore -- are also unrestricted free agents at the end of this season. But there are two Wild players who's output underscores the fact they need a change of scenery.
Cam Barker and James Sheppard, your taxis are waiting to take you to the airport. One-way.
Sheppard, injured in pre-training-camp while ATV'ing in Colorado, needs a new start. Somewhere else. The second biggest draft day bust in Wild history (behind A. J. Thelen), the only thing Shep is doing right now for the Wild, is dragging down the team's salary cap to zero. They won't get anything out of him this season. Anything you get in return for him, (even a used puck bag), should be considered a plus for the Wild. Just get his name off the books.
Barker, acquired in the Kim Johnsson-Nick Leddy trade from Chicago, has probably been the single biggest stalagmite since Martin Skoula departed after the 2008-09 season. He doesn't hit. He doesn't check. Quite frankly, other than take up space on the roster, he really doesn't do much of anything, which is evident in his -12 plus/minus rating, worse than the rest of the Wild defense combined.
And who(m)ever told the Wild forwards that the fans don't want 'garbage' goals at home? The way that this team doesn't score, we fans can't be begging for the 'pretty' goal. Beggars can't be choosers. The Wild faithful will take goals, any way the Wild can deliver them.
Let's hope the New Year will right the Wild's ship of state. Because, the dinghy is still leaking...
Oh, how I really wish the Minnesota Wild would follow that philosophy.
The fact of the matter is that despite their recent success (two wins vs. Calgary, wins vs. Colorado and San Jose in the last two weeks), this Wild team is, at best, a .500 hockey club. A testament to middling performance. A team which, if this season so far were made into a commercial, would come out like the Education Minnesota union ad during the elections -- "Mediocrity, Mediocrity, ME-DI-OCRITY!"
The reality is that until the Wild can once again upgrade their forwards to a level of, say, a St. Louis, or the LA Kings, or even this afternoon's opponents, the formerly-lowly Phoenix Coyotes, the Wild will be mired with a Calgary Flames team which is on the verge of a total rebuild, and the near-perpetual bottom feeders, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Edmonton Oilers, teams who are destined to be cannon fodder for the likes of the Detroits and Chicagos of the Western Conference.
How bad are the Wild viewed, especially away from Minnesota?
CBC's Pierre LeBrun, with Kelly Hrudey commenting on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday night from Pittsburgh's Heinz Field, where they were doing the Washington-Pittsburgh Winter Classic, came out and said that the Wild are 'not a sexy team' right now, and do not even deserve hosting the Winter Classic (although they wouldn't have had the warm weather problems they did in the Steel City yesterday). He also said that Philadelphia (home of Comcast, who will purchase NBC from GE later this month) and Colorado (who's Invesco Field at Mile High would be an 80,000-seat bonanza, for a game vs. either the Detroit Red Wings or the Dallas Stars) are the current front-runners for the 2012 game, a game which the Wild ownership covets dearly.
LeBrun's comments should have been viewed as an alarm bell, ringing throughout 317 Washington Street in Downtown St. Paul. It's time to get serious as to what direction the Wild need to go in to get where they really need to be -- the Stanley Cup Playoffs -- and soon.
They have to get involved this season at the trade deadline. And at the rate this team is going, they certainly would not be construed as 'buyers'. No way. They need to unload salary, and quickly. Antti Miettinen, Andrew Brunette, Chuck Kobasew all need to be shown the proverbial door. Two other Wild players -- John Madden and Jose Theodore -- are also unrestricted free agents at the end of this season. But there are two Wild players who's output underscores the fact they need a change of scenery.
Cam Barker and James Sheppard, your taxis are waiting to take you to the airport. One-way.
Sheppard, injured in pre-training-camp while ATV'ing in Colorado, needs a new start. Somewhere else. The second biggest draft day bust in Wild history (behind A. J. Thelen), the only thing Shep is doing right now for the Wild, is dragging down the team's salary cap to zero. They won't get anything out of him this season. Anything you get in return for him, (even a used puck bag), should be considered a plus for the Wild. Just get his name off the books.
Barker, acquired in the Kim Johnsson-Nick Leddy trade from Chicago, has probably been the single biggest stalagmite since Martin Skoula departed after the 2008-09 season. He doesn't hit. He doesn't check. Quite frankly, other than take up space on the roster, he really doesn't do much of anything, which is evident in his -12 plus/minus rating, worse than the rest of the Wild defense combined.
And who(m)ever told the Wild forwards that the fans don't want 'garbage' goals at home? The way that this team doesn't score, we fans can't be begging for the 'pretty' goal. Beggars can't be choosers. The Wild faithful will take goals, any way the Wild can deliver them.
Let's hope the New Year will right the Wild's ship of state. Because, the dinghy is still leaking...
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Centers of attention
Well, folks, Chuck Fletcher and the Minnesota Wild staff said they would go out and get some help at center, the on-ice position of greatest need. The result after two days of free agency:
Mission. Accomplished.
The signing of ex-Ottawa Senator Matt Cullen (who actually won the Stanley Cup when he was with the Carolina Hurricanes, in 2007) and ex-Texas Star Warren Peters (for depth) signify that the further erosion of the center position will not be allowed to happen.
(Sorry about that, Doug Risebrough.)
And for those of you that feel that the Wild lacked 'grit' at the end of last season, let's introduce some second-generation 'grit', namely Eric Nystrom, the son of ex-NY Islander great Bob Nystrom, he of the four Stanley Cup winning Islander teams of the 1970's. Nystrom was signed as a 'depth forward', hopefully to play alongside Cal Clutterbuck and, hopefully, rookie Casey Wellman at fourth line center (although some, including Michael Russo, hockey scribe extraordinaire at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, think that James Sheppard will be the fourth-line center coming out of training camp.)
(And before some of you complain, I do apologize in advance for putting the names of 'Russo' and 'Sheppard' in the same sentence. One is no way in the league of the other. We all know that.)
Granted, some of the best Wild 'additions' were, in fact, 'additions by subtraction', as a good deal of the Wild's accumulated 'dead weight' are no longer on the roster, as Derek Boogaard now can honestly say, 'I am a Ranger', no thanks to his greedy, selfish ol' buddy, Marian Gaborik, who helped lure Boogaard to Manhattan after the Rangers' previous goon, Jody Shelley, signed a multi-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, who are indeed re-creating the 'Broad Street Bullies' of the mid-1970's at the south end of SEPTA's Broad Street Subway.
For those of you who participated last season in the 'Big John Scott' drinking game, we hope you enjoyed yourselves, as Scott signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks on Day 1 of free agency.
Owen Nolan? Still out there, but rumor has it he may go to the Washington Capitals or any of the three California teams (Nolan just built a new house near San Jose, where he has business interests; Nolan was a Shark for 11 seasons).
Andrew Ebbett signed with the Phoenix Coyotes, so now Ed Jovanovski now owes Ebbett dinner for butt-ending Ebbett last season during a Wild-Coyotes game in Glendale. Just make sure the dinner isn't at Whataburger, OK?
Robbie Earl? Still available. Don't hesitate, don't everyone push all at once, now...
Granted, most Wild fans are waiting for the first-round draft choice of this season, 18-year-old Finnish SM-liiga wunderkind Mikael Granlund, already playing at the top level of one of Europe's top leagues, to start paying dividends after 2010-11, where he will remain with his Finnish Helsinki team for one more season, then come across the North Atlantic and probably compete right away for the third center position (unless the Wild manage to trade way one or both of their top centers.)
And then, there's the Pierre Marc-Bouchard saga to deal with. Will he be able to return from a severe concussion which has kept him out for all (except one game) of last season and the last three weeks of 2008-09? Even if he comes back, at what level will he be able to safely operate at? He will always have the fear of one more good bell ringing ending certainly his hockey career, and possibly his life. You have to ask yourself: at what point is it really WORTH it to continue playing hockey?
PMB comes with a very hefty $4.08M cap hit. The only way the Wild get out from under that permanently is for PMB to voluntarily retire. We know he really doesn't want to do that. He may, however, have no choice if his concussion symptoms continue. There is a long-term injured reserve exception to the salary cap, but the minute PMB steps back on the ice in a game situation, the LTIR is lifted, and the Wild are that much more over the salary cap.
So how are the Wild doing? Like all NHL teams, July is the time your team gets better. But, so does everyone else. The amount of dead weight around the League in general you would think would push those on the lower end of the scales to get better faster. Some will retire (Keith Tkaczuk, as example); some will play elsewhere (Martin Skoula signing with the KHL Avangard Omsk, for one. There are others. I'm just happy that Skoula will not be over here anymore) and some will just sit at home, waiting for the phone to ring...
--WRT
Mission. Accomplished.
The signing of ex-Ottawa Senator Matt Cullen (who actually won the Stanley Cup when he was with the Carolina Hurricanes, in 2007) and ex-Texas Star Warren Peters (for depth) signify that the further erosion of the center position will not be allowed to happen.
(Sorry about that, Doug Risebrough.)
And for those of you that feel that the Wild lacked 'grit' at the end of last season, let's introduce some second-generation 'grit', namely Eric Nystrom, the son of ex-NY Islander great Bob Nystrom, he of the four Stanley Cup winning Islander teams of the 1970's. Nystrom was signed as a 'depth forward', hopefully to play alongside Cal Clutterbuck and, hopefully, rookie Casey Wellman at fourth line center (although some, including Michael Russo, hockey scribe extraordinaire at the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, think that James Sheppard will be the fourth-line center coming out of training camp.)
(And before some of you complain, I do apologize in advance for putting the names of 'Russo' and 'Sheppard' in the same sentence. One is no way in the league of the other. We all know that.)
Granted, some of the best Wild 'additions' were, in fact, 'additions by subtraction', as a good deal of the Wild's accumulated 'dead weight' are no longer on the roster, as Derek Boogaard now can honestly say, 'I am a Ranger', no thanks to his greedy, selfish ol' buddy, Marian Gaborik, who helped lure Boogaard to Manhattan after the Rangers' previous goon, Jody Shelley, signed a multi-year contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, who are indeed re-creating the 'Broad Street Bullies' of the mid-1970's at the south end of SEPTA's Broad Street Subway.
For those of you who participated last season in the 'Big John Scott' drinking game, we hope you enjoyed yourselves, as Scott signed a two-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks on Day 1 of free agency.
Owen Nolan? Still out there, but rumor has it he may go to the Washington Capitals or any of the three California teams (Nolan just built a new house near San Jose, where he has business interests; Nolan was a Shark for 11 seasons).
Andrew Ebbett signed with the Phoenix Coyotes, so now Ed Jovanovski now owes Ebbett dinner for butt-ending Ebbett last season during a Wild-Coyotes game in Glendale. Just make sure the dinner isn't at Whataburger, OK?
Robbie Earl? Still available. Don't hesitate, don't everyone push all at once, now...
Granted, most Wild fans are waiting for the first-round draft choice of this season, 18-year-old Finnish SM-liiga wunderkind Mikael Granlund, already playing at the top level of one of Europe's top leagues, to start paying dividends after 2010-11, where he will remain with his Finnish Helsinki team for one more season, then come across the North Atlantic and probably compete right away for the third center position (unless the Wild manage to trade way one or both of their top centers.)
And then, there's the Pierre Marc-Bouchard saga to deal with. Will he be able to return from a severe concussion which has kept him out for all (except one game) of last season and the last three weeks of 2008-09? Even if he comes back, at what level will he be able to safely operate at? He will always have the fear of one more good bell ringing ending certainly his hockey career, and possibly his life. You have to ask yourself: at what point is it really WORTH it to continue playing hockey?
PMB comes with a very hefty $4.08M cap hit. The only way the Wild get out from under that permanently is for PMB to voluntarily retire. We know he really doesn't want to do that. He may, however, have no choice if his concussion symptoms continue. There is a long-term injured reserve exception to the salary cap, but the minute PMB steps back on the ice in a game situation, the LTIR is lifted, and the Wild are that much more over the salary cap.
So how are the Wild doing? Like all NHL teams, July is the time your team gets better. But, so does everyone else. The amount of dead weight around the League in general you would think would push those on the lower end of the scales to get better faster. Some will retire (Keith Tkaczuk, as example); some will play elsewhere (Martin Skoula signing with the KHL Avangard Omsk, for one. There are others. I'm just happy that Skoula will not be over here anymore) and some will just sit at home, waiting for the phone to ring...
--WRT
Monday, January 11, 2010
Gui's Big Bite takes down Pens, 4-3
One goal, 3 assist night makes Wild fans forget about Pouliot
By Wild Road Tripper
There was no bigger stage in hockey Monday night. A national cable/satellite audience (except for DirecTV subscribers) in both the USA and Canada, exclusive time slot, big game at home, and the opponent: the defending Stanley Cup Champions, led by the twin stars of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. And, with all that, who knew it would be Guillaume Latendresse stealing the show?
The Minnesota Wild won their third straight game as they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in front of 19,044 at Xcel Energy Center, with Latendresse leading the charge, with the game winning goal with 13:47 remaining, and assists on the other 3 Minnesota goals in the back-and-forth, intense game. Eric Belanger also got a goal and an assist, as the Wild defeated the Pens for the second time this season. Martin Havlat extended his point streak to eight games with his 8th goal of the season, and Cal Clutterbuck tallied his ninth on a second period tip-in. The Wild now have a 7-3-3 record against the Eastern Conference this season. The Wild have not lost to Pittsburgh since the first month of the 2007-08 season.
The Wild, playing in front of a lot of Pittsburgh fans (or more accurately, a lot of fans of, 'Sid the Kid') stayed with the Pens throughout the game, as the up-and-down pace meant long stretches between whistles, meaning players were being used up quickly. And, it showed as the game went along, as the pace, although fairly brisk, slowed considerably in the third period, as the Wild waited for opportunities to develop where the offense could take advantage of a somewhat shaky Marc-Andre Fleury in the Pens' goal. Sid did get two goals and an assist in the game, and ex-Wild winger Pascal Dupuis chipped in a goal and assisted on both of Crosby's tallies, to get back at the team that gave him a paycheck for six seasons. Martin Skoula, former Wild defenseman and legend of Xcel's press box popcorn machine, was also reunited with his old mate; he was a healthy scratch for Pittsburgh in this game.
Niklas Backstrom, who was pulled after two periods prior to the unbelieveable comeback on Saturday night against Chicago, made 35 saves, several of the spectacular variety, to win his 20th game of the current season, and his 113th NHL win overall, all with the Wild, which ties Backstrom with Manny Fernandez for most wins by a Wild goaltender in a career. Belanger and Nick Schultz both achieved the 100th point as Wild players with their contributions, as well.
The Wild draw even in points with 10th-place Dallas in the NHL Western Conference, but the Wild have played one more game than the Stars; both teams are four points behind eighth-place Los Angeles, who lost to the Sharks last night. The Pens gain no ground on Atlantic Division leader New Jersey, six points ahead of the Pens. The big question for Wild fans going into the next game will be: can the Wild keep it up?
That NEXT GAME: vs. Vancouver, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 6:00 PM Central (4:00 PM Pacific), Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth (in HD); Canucks TV: Rogers SportsNet Pacific; also available in HD on NHL Network-USA only; XM NHL Home Ice, Ch. 204)
By Wild Road Tripper
There was no bigger stage in hockey Monday night. A national cable/satellite audience (except for DirecTV subscribers) in both the USA and Canada, exclusive time slot, big game at home, and the opponent: the defending Stanley Cup Champions, led by the twin stars of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. And, with all that, who knew it would be Guillaume Latendresse stealing the show?
The Minnesota Wild won their third straight game as they defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in front of 19,044 at Xcel Energy Center, with Latendresse leading the charge, with the game winning goal with 13:47 remaining, and assists on the other 3 Minnesota goals in the back-and-forth, intense game. Eric Belanger also got a goal and an assist, as the Wild defeated the Pens for the second time this season. Martin Havlat extended his point streak to eight games with his 8th goal of the season, and Cal Clutterbuck tallied his ninth on a second period tip-in. The Wild now have a 7-3-3 record against the Eastern Conference this season. The Wild have not lost to Pittsburgh since the first month of the 2007-08 season.
The Wild, playing in front of a lot of Pittsburgh fans (or more accurately, a lot of fans of, 'Sid the Kid') stayed with the Pens throughout the game, as the up-and-down pace meant long stretches between whistles, meaning players were being used up quickly. And, it showed as the game went along, as the pace, although fairly brisk, slowed considerably in the third period, as the Wild waited for opportunities to develop where the offense could take advantage of a somewhat shaky Marc-Andre Fleury in the Pens' goal. Sid did get two goals and an assist in the game, and ex-Wild winger Pascal Dupuis chipped in a goal and assisted on both of Crosby's tallies, to get back at the team that gave him a paycheck for six seasons. Martin Skoula, former Wild defenseman and legend of Xcel's press box popcorn machine, was also reunited with his old mate; he was a healthy scratch for Pittsburgh in this game.
Niklas Backstrom, who was pulled after two periods prior to the unbelieveable comeback on Saturday night against Chicago, made 35 saves, several of the spectacular variety, to win his 20th game of the current season, and his 113th NHL win overall, all with the Wild, which ties Backstrom with Manny Fernandez for most wins by a Wild goaltender in a career. Belanger and Nick Schultz both achieved the 100th point as Wild players with their contributions, as well.
The Wild draw even in points with 10th-place Dallas in the NHL Western Conference, but the Wild have played one more game than the Stars; both teams are four points behind eighth-place Los Angeles, who lost to the Sharks last night. The Pens gain no ground on Atlantic Division leader New Jersey, six points ahead of the Pens. The big question for Wild fans going into the next game will be: can the Wild keep it up?
That NEXT GAME: vs. Vancouver, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 6:00 PM Central (4:00 PM Pacific), Xcel Energy Center. (Wild TV: FSNorth (in HD); Canucks TV: Rogers SportsNet Pacific; also available in HD on NHL Network-USA only; XM NHL Home Ice, Ch. 204)
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