Fletcher further stamping his team

Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher is wheeling and dealing these days, as two low-level acquisitions were made recently. One move looks to add what hopes to be a piece that fits this hockey clubs puzzle, while the second move subtracted a piece that the GM's around these parts have been trying desperately to make fit. Neither move should make a huge impact but lower-level moves like these sometimes are the most important to a team because they fill role positions that are sometimes hard to come by...and you never know what a change in scenery will do for a player.

The latest move really takes a player off of our roster that has never reached the height of what the expectations were for him. Taken with Minnesota's first pick (4th overall) in the 2005 draft, Benoit Pouliot was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for LW Guillaume Latendresse. Pouliot was seen as a scoring sensation for his OHL Sudbury team, where in his last two seasons of juniors he amassed 132 points in 118 games. But as for his pro career in the AHL and NHL, there was not nearly as much offensive production. To date, he has only netted 18 points in 65 career NHL games. Drafted the same year (4th round, No. 45) Latendresse had higher amateur numbers than Pouloit but has similar point production per games in the NHL. He has netted 85 points (48-37) in 232 NHL games, all with the Canadiens, but was also seen as an underachiever within that organization...much like Pouliot was seen here. But over the past three seasons, Latendresse has averaged 15 goals a season and his 6'2"-230lb frame provides much needed size at the wing position.

Here is a good read on Latendresse from AllHabs...

The earlier move came via the waiver wire when the Wild claimed C Andrew Ebbett from the Chicago Blackhawks. This move seems to be a win-win for Minnesota and is one that should have the fans excited, as the upside to Ebbett could be big while the downside is basically non existent. Ebbett, a former Michigan Wolverines player who netted only 2 points against the Minnesota Gophers in 8 games, averages just over a half-point per game in the NHL, as he has scored 9 goals and added 24 assists in 63 career games. He is seen as a skilled player who will hopefully fill a huge void that the Wild have at the Center position, a void that has been present for several seasons.

Burns out...again

Unfortunately, the 'illness' that apparently sidelined D Brent Burns against the Islanders has turned into another concussion problem for our promising blue-liner. If you recall, Burns missed a big chunk at the end of last season with a concussion, one that seemed to have gone undiagnosed and had been possibly lingering for some time while he continued to play. This has not been a very strong season for Burns, and now one has to wonder if this once Canadian Olympic Team hopeful has again been playing when he maybe should have been sitting.

Clutterbuck domain dormant

There was rumblings last season that our own Cal Clutterbuck should be considered for the Calder Trophy as the leagues top rookie because of his checking craze. It was a tongue-and-cheek movement to say the least, and if you go back and check the dates you will find that it was actually started right here. But when the fan base kept the ball rolling on this Calder campaign, CalClutterbuck.com domain was purchased by someone local and a one page site was introduced to the web. However, after following up on the site this season you will find a 'GoDaddy.com' parking page, as there is no trace of Cal and site seems to be vacant and very dormant. This is unfortunately because being as popular as he is, one would think that with a character like Cal as the subject, page after page of info could fill a nice fan website.