Arrogance and/or incompetence?

There were apparently too many miscalculations made by ex Minnesota Wild GM Doug Risebrough, because sometime today, owner Craig Leipold gave him a pink slip. From everything I have read and heard since the end of the Wilds' regular season, this move is a big surprise. Myself, I am not sure what to make of the move, other than the good news is that this franchise has a chance to move itself in a new direction. I applaud the work that Risebrough has done, but in the end, there were too many misteps that led to where the team sits today, at home instead of playing and earning millions a series.

The end of the end may have come when Risebrough coined the phrase, 'managing expectations'. Pretty peculiar way of ducking for cover if you ask me. A better way to explain what happened this season would have been to admit that errors were made in letting a couple of free agents go after last season. Another problematic decision that could have been brought up was the fact that there was a huge blunder by the front office to deal Marian Gaborik when it was clear he was going to play out his current contract and enter the summer as an unrestricted free agent. And it is funny to me how 'professionals', including GM's & player agents, can conduct business as if it were recess time on the playground. Sorry to disappoint, but there is a time to swallow that pride and open up to the one guy who can persuade a certain player that the Wild have a good offer and bright future. The problem is that the Wild seemed to be unwilling to offer another good contract and really did not have a bright future, with Risebrough at the helm.

Risebrough did a lot for this franchise. I cannot begin to imagine what the pain would feel like when trying to build a new team from scratch. We were competitive, to a point, and did well for a brand new organization. The problem was that they seemed to be stuck and there was not much in the well to push it out of this rut. Maybe now though, with the right GM to lead this organization, fans can once again start to appreciate the play of our Wild.