Talk to Chuck: The kids are still coming

Yes, Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher. I'm sure that you are still very much aware of this, but all of those kids you invited over the last few years, by drafting them and signing college free agents?

They're still on their way to the Wild roster.

And, starting this week, Wild fans will be seeing more of them in the future, despite this week's mega-signing of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter to 13-year, $98,000,000 contracts. Each. For, lost in all the excitement and suspense of the Independence Day fireworks, is the fact that the Wild will hold their annual Prospects Camp this coming week. Which also means that the Wild will have ice in place, during the team's 'Select-a-Seat' event on Tuesday night, when all those 'newbie' season ticket holders (STH's), who signed up just last week during the Parise/Suter watch, get to actually pick where they sit for 2012-13.

The kids will be on exhibition, also, as well as being gruelly tested for numerous physical and mental challenges. There will be two scrimmages (open to the public) as well; on Thursday night (July 12) at 7:00 PM, and on Sunday, July 15, at 11:00 AM (early, so the prospects can make Delta's last bank of Sunday flights out of MSP Airport).

So, for those of you who thought you'd be seeing the likes of Jonas Brodin, Brett Bulmer, Charlie Coyle, Zack Phillips, and Jason Zucker at Xcel Energy Center this season, this may be your only guaranteed chance to make that happen. (Don't worry, players get injured all the time. They'll all be up at some point or another.)

See what a signing (or two) will do for your hockey club?

Also, the Hockey Lodge is having their 'Warehouse Sale' at Select-a-Seat and at both scrimmages, as well (first time they have extended the sale thru both scrimmages). So if you wanted that Wild-themed item that you said earlier you really wouldn't pay that much for, this sale is for you. Markdowns abound. Go for it.

And enjoy the future of Wild hockey this coming week. Because, it sure looks bright right about now.

Wild, 2012-13: 'A special place for a long time'

Signings of Parise, Suter overwhelm Wild, fans as memorable day unfolds



By Wild Road Tripper

And most Minnesota Wild fans didn't believe it couldn't get done. Yes, even including this blogger.

But, they did it. The Independence Day signings of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, the two most sought-after NHL free agents, now propels the Wild into the realm of the NHL's elite franchises. The Twitter hashtags of #Parisewatch, and #Suterwatch, will forever hold special place in the hearts of the Wild faithful, as the three-day watch held Minnesota sports fans and media in mesmerizing suspense, as word kept reaching the hockey-crazed masses that both were available, IF...the Price was Right.

At $98 million each, over 13 seasons, front-loaded to receive $24 million in the next 13 months, the fact that they took less money to sign in Minnesota than, say, Detroit or Pittsburgh, the fact that the Wild won this multi-dimensional, multi-directional battle, despite digging out from their dismal finish in 2011-12, and jettisoning enough salary in the last three seasons to make this fit under the NHL's salary cap (at least, the current version), took a masterful stroke by GM Chuck Fletcher and his staff, especially as the negotiations dragged on past the first day of free agency.

Needless to say, the buzz generated by the signings blew up the phone lines at the Wild sales offices, where eight representatives were on duty this morning in advance of the signings...just in case. By mid-day, all sales employees were asked to report, in order to answer the phalanx of calls, as hold times reached 30 minutes-plus in the early afternoon.

Even KFAN, the team's flagship radio station, had to scrap their scheduled 'best of' programming for the afternoon, for six hours of all-Wild-hockey, all-the-time talk, with numerous Wild 'personalities' sprinkled throughout the day. Into the evening, the station ran the first three hours of the afternoon's events (from 6-9 PM, Central Time).

You need to sit back now, dear Wild fan, and just dream...of a NHL Winter Classic (Minnesota in 2014? Craig Leipold says it just may happen...now), a trip back into the playoffs, for the first time in four seasons...and remember, it WAS the number 8 seed that went to the Stanley Cup finals from the Western Conference last month...and won it all...

Good things yet to come? Ya, sure, you betcha there. And I'm still on board for the ride. You?

New schedule, new problems

Release of 2012-13 schedule belies labor strife, NHL indifference to Wild

By Wild Road Tripper

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- They still just don't get it.

With their season possibly headed for shortening due to labor strife, the NHL released their 2012-2013 schedule Thursday morning, to a round of 'Huh?' from fans of the Minnesota Wild.

The League did the Wild absolutely NO favors, as not only did they fail to appreciate the instant interest that two games vs. the Winnipeg Jets had last season, they stuck the Wild with two games vs. the lowly New York Islanders, for the second straight season. (They might have actually felt sorry for Charles Wang's forlorn hockey club, as the Isles beat the Wild twice last season.)

Yes, they scheduled two games (home and home) also with the Philadelphia Flyers, and the Pittsburgh Penguins (the game at the 'X' in St. Paul, January 19, probably to be proclaimed 'Hockey Day Minnesota') but to leave the Jets off the schedule in St. Paul, does take a bit of explaining from the head office in Manhattan.

Other than that, the annual visit of the Disney on Ice troupe in early December will once again leave the Wild traversing the Southwest, just as winter begins its' grip on the Upper Midwest. But, even worse than that is the 12-day, 6-city marathon beginning in Tampa Bay on Nov. 3 (leaving Minnesota the previous day) and ending in Philadelphia on Nov. 12. They play in Tampa, Boston, the Rangers, Detroit, Newark (vs. the NJ Devils), and Philly before heading for home.

As for the 'traditional' games, other than the HDM game noted above, the other dates to note are:

Home Opener -- Oct. 13 (Colorado)
'Black Friday' -- Nov. 23 (Toronto)
New Years' Eve -- Dec. 31 (Edmonton)
'Hockey Day America' -- Feb. 17 (Detroit)
Last Home Game -- Apr. 13 (Columbus)

33 of the 41 home games are 7:00 PM starts. Of the other eight games, four are 5:00 PM starts, two games at 8:00 PM, and one each at 6:30 PM (Detroit, Feb. 17) and one lone afternoon game (Saturday, March 23, vs. San Jose).

Other points of note: One game of the 12 against the two Alberta teams (Calgary and Edmonton) is played prior to the New Year, as are two of the 6 games against Vancouver. By contrast, the six games vs. Colorado are fairly spread out throughout the schedule. The Wild have only one inter-conference game after Feb. 6, so if they are going to actually make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2013, they will have to do it on their own, by beating the other teams in their own conference again, and again.

And, unlike last season, when the Wild played most of their last two weeks at home, this season the Wild play five of their last seven on the road, in a final 5-game, 9-day gasser, with games in all four time zones. And, the final game of that stretch is their second game at Detroit, who never treat the Wild well, no matter how well the Red Wings are doing otherwise.

But, the reality is that until the NHL and the Players' Association can come to agreement on how to slice up that revenue souffle' that's being served up, there may not even BE a season to complain about a schedule over. The fact of the matter remains, that if Don Fehr and Gary Bettman can't get along, we'll all be sitting home, wondering what would have really happened in those two games against the lowly Islanders.

Calm before the Storm

Final weekend before draft, summer tour, free agency day allows Wild, fans to think of 'what if?'

Well, folks, we're almost there.

Next week at this time, there will be new players for the Minnesota Wild, courtesy of the NHL Draft being held this coming Friday and Saturday in Pittsburgh. There will be limo buses being gassed up and inspected, for the Wild Summer Tour starting the following Monday. And, as we have all had drilled into us for months, the start of Free Agency on Sunday, July 1st.

Now, I'll digress at this point, as we all know which free agents that the Wild covet, and which ones they don't. We all know that the Wild have carloads of cash and cap space to spend; but so do others, others who are closer to the Stanley Cup Finals than the rebuilding Wild are.

There are also issues with the current roster, as well, as there is the Guillaume Latendresse question to answer: Will he return to the Wild roster, after basically two seasons of suffering concussions? Will Latendresse sign a lesser contract, one that will be incentive-laden, to remain on the roster? Or will GM Chuck Fletcher say that enough is, indeed, enough, and that the coming influx of new talent will be enough, to allow a potential 30-plus goal scorer in Latendresse to get away? Even Gui knows he won't be getting the $2.5M qualifying offer that, as a restricted free agent, he would be eligible for. But the fact that this Wild team was 30th in the NHL last season in scoring, is a statistic that screams out at everyone involved -- management, players, and fans alike.

There is the also continuing Pierre-Marc Bouchard issue as well. Three seasons when he has had his season cut short with head issues. Again, the question is: How long do you hang onto the talent, knowing that you've seen what he can do, but not knowing when -- or, if -- you can depend on him to play a regular spot?

There are issues surfacing at a spot -- defense -- which Wild fans are not used to dealing with, either, with the departure (via trade) of Nick Schultz and the arrival (in the same trade) of Tom Gilbert, Bloomington native and defensive liability, IMO. Whomever pairs with him had better be fast, as Gilbert's lack of speed and unfamiliarity with the ways of Mike Yeo, and the rest of the roster, were very apparent as the season's final weeks played out this past season.

As offensively challenged as Schultz was, his defensive work more than made up for his lack of point punch. The replacement? Who knows? That will be decided in training camp, as one of the six (or more) spots on the roster to be filled, by the load of newbies coming down the restocked pipeline.

And what of the new blood? We all know about Mikael Granlund, he will be on the roster on Opening Day; but what of the other youngsters? Who will make the cut? Who goes to Houston for Gulf Coast seafood and hockey seasoning? And who gets traded (if anyone) for 'NHL talent'?

Does 'trader Chuck' make an appearance in Pittsburgh during the draft? Or do the Wild, with extra picks from trades made during the past season, stand pat and continue to restock the larder following the end of the Risebrough era?

And then, there is the Free Agency scenarios, many of whom have hit the light of day in the last few weeks as the date approaches. Parise, Suter, Joe Corvo, the list goes on and on. I won't bore you with all the various details, but suffice it to say, that the end results will more help the Wild, than hurt it, again IMO. (And don't ask me who or how...)

Yes, the schedule also comes out this week as well. But, until there is agreement between owners and players on a new collective bargaining agreement, any schedule will not be worth the paper (or, bandwidth) that it's printed on. Labor peace must be obtained before the puck is dropped again. The Phoenix Coyotes situation must be dealt with (again), as any sale must have the de facto approval of the Goldwater Institute ("In defense of Liberty") before the sale is finalized. Then there is Quebec City, who is building a new arena (in the parking lot of the current Colisee Pepsi), hoping to land an NHL franchise. But which franchise will it be? Phoenix? Or, another franchise of the six NHL teams in financial trouble?

Only the NHL knows for sure, And, no one in Gary Bettman's office is talking.

OK, Granlund's finally signed. Now what?

After biggest rookie signing in team history, Wild fans now ask: What will team do for an encore?

The angst was, indeed, for naught.

The Tuesday signing of Mikael Granlund to his first NHL contract -- an event which was scheduled, announced, but still not believed by most Minnesota Wild fans until the ink was on the paper -- closed the latest chapter on GM Chuck Fletcher's master rebuilding plan, as the IIHF World Championships in Helsinki ended, and, as scheduled, Granlund didn't bail out on Minnesota. He did exactly what he had said he would do. Now, then, the next question for Wild fans:

What do the Wild do for an encore?

The NHL Draft is less than four weeks away, at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, on June 22 & 23. Will that be the next big acquisition day? Will the Draft bring another big trade, such as last season's Brent Burns - Devin Setoguchi swap, announced at Xcel Energy Center during the first round of the 2011 Draft?

Or will the trade embargo lift, 48 hours after the last game of the upcoming Devils-Kings Stanley Cup Finals, to a crescendo of trade activity which might give the Wild an inside shot at a number of players who might just help dramatically improve the roster?

Or, will we all just sit back and wait until Free Agency Day, and watch the NHL Network (who will, once again, carry the TSN feed), as player after player changes teams for greener pastures, while the Wild sit idly by, and take the best remaining leftover?

Rumors abound about a myriad of players, especially about the two biggest potential free agents -- Devils winger Zach Parise, and Predators defenseman Ryan Suter. Everything so far is just that -- a rumor -- but the fact is that these two players, and many, many more, are about to get paid, and some serious amount of coin will slide across Fletcher's table, as well as the tables of the 29 other NHL clubs. The buzz will amp up the week before, as the Wild Summer Bash road trip (also known as the start of the Anthony Lapanta as Wild play-by-play announcer sell-job) trudges across Minnesota in the height of the mosquito season. The fact that the tour ends up at the John Rose Oval in Roseville, instead of the X, is also indicative of this being less about the current Wild team than normal.

No conspiracy theories here, folks. Just some thought, that the Wild need to do a better sell job on their current ticket holders, and that this may be (or may NOT be, we'll see) a way to start the summer sales campaign off. With the Twins tanking, the Vikings stadium woes finally behind the state, and the Timberwolves doing no better than the Wild, this is the time the Wild sales staff need to step up their efforts to sell hope to the masses.

Of course, the hockey operations staff could make life a lot easier for the sales department, by signing a couple of the big name players rumored to be hitting the market, to help out the bumper crop of rookies and second-year players, who are expected to make the Wild roster on Opening Day, 2012 (whenever THAT may be), CBA negotiations not withstanding.

Oh, snap! I forgot to acknowledge the 800-pound gorilla in the room. The CBA negotiations, which have not even begun yet, between the owners and players, with the two sides gearing up to act like an episode of, 'the Bickersons', across a table in Toronto.

Maybe we don't have to worry about a season after all...

Forty Days and 40 Nights

'To-Do' list for Minnesota Wild is long, daunting as Granlund signing, June draft, free agency approach

As the Stanley Cup Playoffs near their end, and yet another season is finally in the record books, the Minnesota Wild turn their eyes towards the future, both in the short and long-term, as there are four major dates to consider in the next 40 days:

1. June 1st. The date by which GM Chuck Fletcher must have his prized first-round pick of 2010, Mikael Granlund, signed to an NHL contract, or he goes back into the draft pool to be chosen again. The Wild have repeatedly assured fans and media that he will sign, after Finland's final game in the IIHF World Championships. That game is being played as I write this at Helsinki's Hartwall Areena, which became a house of horrors for the Wild in October, 2010 during the NHL Premiere series vs. the Carolina Hurricanes. Hopefully this time, the Wild will actually get it right and pull out a 'W' from the granite-walled edifice, by getting Granlund in the fold, once and for all.

2. June 22 -- 23. NHL Draft, CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh. OK, most Wild fans were frustrated after last season's epic crash-and-burn. This is where they begin to make up for all that losing, all that spent angst, all the injuries and patched-up line-ups. Fletcher and the scouting staff need to score big here, to continue to upgrade an organization, which is still suffering the effects of the Doug Risebrough years, of trading away draft picks for washed-up vets, and marginal third-and-fourth-line players. (Bill Muckault, anyone?)

3. July 1. NHL Free Agency Day. The day that Fletcher really needs to be at the top of his game, as he has been given the ability to sign the two biggest names in the free agency pool -- Zach Parise and Ryan Suter -- together, which would please most Wild fans no end. But can the staff sell the potential free agents that the Wild are headed in the right direction, for the medium-and-long term? And, if either or both of those sign elsewhere, then who do you go for? Or do you sit back, play the kids next season and hope for even better players to test free agency after the 2012-13 season (if we even have one, which brings me to the next point...)

Sept. 15th. NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement expires. Without a new CBA in place, it is doubtful there will even BE a 2012-13 season, so adamant that both sides are in their positions. Negotiations have, so far, barely begun, and no official negotiating sessions have even taken place, yet all signs point to at least a delay to, if not a total cancellation of, the start of next season. The NHL owners want a 50-50 spilt of all hockey-related revenues; currently, that split is 57-43 in favor of the players. The NFL and NBA currently have similar revenue splits. After what looks to be a classic East Coast-West Coast Stanley Cup Final upcoming, to have this goodwill be crushed like this over a labor dispute is the last thing either side (owners or players) need.

Wild fans just need to wait and see how all this plays out, because for better or for worse, the fact is that for this franchise, the only game that they can play right now, is a waiting game.

First Class? Not in the Wild's TV Booth

Hiring of LaPanta as Wild PBP man sign of organizational downgrading ?

The news shot like a missle thru the armoury on Saturday afternoon.

The Minnesota Wild let slip that they were about to hire Anthony LaPanta as their TV Play-by-Play man, replacing Dan Terhaar, who had been dismissed last month, following seven years' service to the NHL team.

Reaction from Wild fans was swift, and scathing. And, sadly, very close to the mark.

With the Twitter hashtag of, #wedeservebetter , the fans let the team have it for what is believed to be a mostly money decision, as the swirl of controversy rages on in cyberspace, as the Mother's Day weekend takes time away from the point of the exercise:

1. Anthony LaPanta is definitely NOT the best choice for the Wild's new TV play-by-play man.

2. The Wild either failed to do a national search, or were advised not to by ownership, for financial reasons.

3. The Wild need to go back and do their homework, as the fans are speaking out -- LOUDLY -- against this hire. The TV on-air duo is the fans' primary exposure to the Wild organization as a whole, especially when the team is away from the Xcel Energy Center. The fact that such a substandard talent has been allowed to advance to this level, is another result of the general downgrading of the organization as a whole, since the ownership change from Bob Naegele to Craig Leipold.

Everything the Wild do should -- SHOULD -- be done to maximize resources. Fans in Minnesota have been able to tell when their sports teams pull out the 'retrenchment' card. (See 'Baseball, Twins', and 'Basketball, Timberwolves'). The fact that this is being done in the midst of the Stanley Cup Playoffs -- when most hockey fans have other things on their minds than Wild hockey, no thanks to four losing seasons in a row by the local six -- and six weeks before the team's summer caravan means that even they are not enthralled by the selection.

And I am not, either. I'm not an expert in this kind of thing (broadcasting), although I was interested in it as a teen-ager. But I know a 'homer' when I hear one, and LaPanta is a homer. Behind the play. Malaprops. Whining about penalties too often.

Please. Both sides. Re-think this decision. This Wild franchise has worked so hard to rebuild the on-ice product; and, hopefully, this fall will be the start of the new age for the franchise. In today's sports world, where image is everything, to have the face of that image on TV be a second-rate announcer, who bumbles and stumbles thru game after game like 'Little Boy Lost', who whines about every single call made against you, whose 'homerism' permeates every single telecast, you have to ask: Is THIS the image you want to give to the public?

Please. Minnesota Wild and Fox Sports North. Just say 'NO' to LaPanta.