Fletcher's sweet moves

Minnesota Wild fans thought they were getting a mover and a shaker when the team announced several years ago that the organizations first GM would be longtime NHL'er Doug Risebrough. Risebrough was a hire that was seen as a coup of sorts, as luring a name like his to an expansion team was sure to bring instant credibility to the new franchise. What fans received instead were blockbuster trade deadline moves such as the deal that brought in Chris Simon for a sixth round draft pick. Enter new GM Chuck Fletcher and his limited experience. His few moves to date have given fans faith in the front office again, which is a concept that has been missing for some time. Fletcher managed to get rid of excess baggage in Benoit Pouliot while acquiring what looks to be a strong power-forward in Guillaume Latendresse. Fletcher also recognized early that the Wild was very thin up the middle and plucked Andrew Ebbett off of the waiver wire. The 'key-goal' impact that these two players have had offensively for this team has been immediate and will hopefully last all season long. The two combined for the OT winner last night against Nashville, as Ebbett scored his second goal in a Wild uniform, with one assist going to Latendresse, who also notched a goal earlier in the game. And speaking of Latendresse (2nd rounder, 45th overall by Montreal)...he has netted 3 points in 3 games with Minnesota.

A funny side-story...WCCO radio runs a Wednesday segment called "Fletch", featuring Fletcher and Strib columnist Sid Hartman. Well, if you ever listen to Hartman, who is still a sport icon in this town, you will know that he has lost something over the years...and he called Fletcher 'Cliff' several times during their interview. To Chuck's credit, he let it pass and played it like a pro.

On a roll

It is a mini-roll, but one that is badly needed. First off the Wild is on a three-game winning streak. Not bad for a revamped team that only one season ago had only one four-game winning streak and only two three-game winning streaks all season long. Secondly, the Wild have earned points in 9 of their last 11 games, going 6-2-3.

The unfortunate results of the Wild's recent success? The team is still bottom dwellers in the Western Conference, only 1 point ahead of last place Anaheim and Edmonton. The good news is that next up on the schedule are those Ducks, and putting together a four-game win streak would be quite an accomplishment, considering the early season troubles that plagued this team.

Sellout reaches minimal numbers

Eight tickets distributed was the difference in the Nashville game becoming a non-sellout, which would have halted the streak at 339 for regular season games and 379 games overall. Everybody now knows, thanks to Russo, that this streak is superficial at best, and one wonders what game will finally be known as the one that cracked the streak...only the Wild knows this, since it seems to be in their direct control. Whatever game is chosen, it is pretty clear that the team is having a hard time finding legitimate ticket buyers, as a crowd of 18071 has to be the lowest in the franchises history.

Looking for votes

I suppose this could be considered trying to stuff the ballot boxes, maybe...but head on over to The NHL Arena anyway and vote for your favorite Wild blog, Wild-Puck of course!

It seems to be a friendly place to discuss the Wild and the NHL...as is Wild-Puck [Minnesota Wild Message Boards].