Outlook is perplexing...no faith in 'system'?

Usually going into a season, I have a pretty good handle on how the season will play out. Of course, the NHL season can be quirky with injury's, but minus the games lost due to the IR factor, I can normally see things clearly. Unfortunately, I don't have a clue going into this season. The puck finally drops tonight for our Minnesota Wild and I have no idea how this team will finish and am at a loss, as I don't know what to think or believe about this current team. I do believe that even with the roster shakeup and the departure of the teams one true star, Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher found a way to improve his team this off-season. But I am not so sure that I have faith in the 'system' that new head coach Todd Richards is preaching...because I still don't think that the team has enough fire-power.

The hole filled by Fletcher when he added Martin Havlat was an outstanding plug to find. He will be the player that make fans forget about our previous noodle-groin scorer Marian Gaborik...but only if he stays healthy himself. We have been through the 'scorer is scratched' ringer, and it would be nice to see a full season from our go-to guy. But if you look at a 4-season comparison in games played, Havlat has missed more games (138 missed) over that time period compared to Gaborik (121). The good news is that the most recent season was spectacular for our new go-to guy, as he recorded 77 points in 81 games last season, and all signs point to him continuing that success. But even though I believe that adding Havlat was huge, the real find for Fletcher may turn out to be the addition of Petr Sykora. It's not every day that you can get what should be a 50 points producer into camp on a 'try-out' basis.

One of the strong zones that has been pretty constant throughout the Wild's short existence has been the D-zone and with it, very solid goaltending. In fact, the goaltenders that the Wild usually roll out have usually been a top goaltending duo in the league. And our current #1 guy, Niklas Backstrom, is coming off a stellar season. Not only did Backstrom set franchise records for wins (37) and shutouts (8), he was the only goaltender in the league to place in the top 5 in shutouts, GAA (2.33), save % (.924), and wins. Now with that said, the great Wild debate in the past has been whether or not the goaltenders in particular, were the benefactor of a 'defensive system' that was instilled by our former coach Jacques Lemaire or did the Wild always get it right when acquiring goalies. We should get our answer this season. Even if Backstrom seems to be having an off-year, waiting on the bench is Josh Harding, who is seen as a starter by many in this league. So this team does have able and competent players between the pipes but it is yet to be seen what effect the 'system' will have on their games.

On the blue-line, the one thing I do find refreshing is that defense will be leaned on more heavily for offensive production and will be expected to be in the play in the offensive zone. This is something that has always been a thorn in the side of the old regime, but the outcome of holding our D back had always been a solid D-zone. With this new system, I would expect more production from a guy like Brent Bruns, who should have a great season, but will also not be surprised by the teams increase in goals against. I would also expect Nick Schultz to continue his defensive style, and really don't know what to think about our new guys, Greg Zanon and Shane Hnidy, as they both have not been offensive-defensman in the past and would expect them to be hopefully solid shut-down guys.

I would agree with most observers that, for the most part, this team has improved this off-season. However, there is one glaring area that has haunted this team for several seasons and was not addressed by our new management...the lack of scoring centers. The fact that the team was still experimenting with Pierre-Marc Bouchard at this position tells a lot. The team did add Kyle Brodziak (from St. Paul....Alberta), who is a solid two-way player, but other than Mikko Koivu, the team does not have a good scoring center.

I am more confused now than when I started this post. If you were one of the few that waded through this, you can probably tell that this is a mess start to finish, which scares me. Because I cannot get a handle on this team, the only conclusion I can come up with as to why that is may be because of our new 'system'. I love offense and scoring as much as the next fan, but one of the comforts I had with Lemaire was the fact that the team almost always played great defensive hockey. And for a group of players who were not the most gifted scorers, which is what the Wild have had in seasons past, that was a real blessing. From day one, the Wild have never been a slouch in the D-zone and that carried them to many wins.

And from what I see from this current team...not a a lot of gifted scorers.

Day 1-1/2 free agency thoughts...

Gaborik gone...so sad. It was expected, but still kind of unexpected. I truly thought that he would end up accepting an offer, one that I am not so sure was actually made in the end. Depending on who you read, there may or may not have been one last-ditch effort by Fletcher to sign the young star. It will be weird not seeing the high-flying #10, but one thing that seems crystal clear is that he did not want to stay with the Wild and never intended on entertaining the idea of staying in the State of Hockey.

Wild fans go nuts...

The panic was hilarious. A lot of Minnesota Wild fans were certainly in need of meds yesterday, day one of the free agency period, after hearing that the Sedin twins, Cammalleri, Hossa, and then finally Gaborik were signed to teams that were not located in Minnesota. Reading the comments on Russo's blog were entertaining at first, then slid down to idiotic at best as the banter was going back and forth on who was to blame for what was happening...when nothing unusual was happening. Yeah, I admit that I was starting to have post-Risebrough thoughts, but remember this a new regime with a different approach.

Havlat a good get

Martin Havlat is not a bad acquisition if you ask me. He is certainly a very capable scorer and maybe more importantly, he wants to be here, ie: team player. And if he is not quite in Gaboriks' class, he certainly is not too far behind considering he netted 77 points last season in 81 games. And the bonus seems to be that he can actually put the puck into the net in the post-season, as he recorded 15 points in 16 playoff games in 08-09. The key obviously is that the Wild need to make it beyond the regular season to cash in on that bonus, but considering they just added a 70 plus scorer to the lineup, after a near miss to the post-season with a gimpy Gaborik, I'd say our team got a bump up on this deal. The knock however, is one that is very familiar to Wild fans...his durability. But there was absolutely no choice considering that Minnesota needed a player who can put in some points, and he was probably the teams best option from minute one of free-agency.

Foster, Skoula, Bergeron, what's the deal

There has been a lot of speculation on who may be brought in to bolster the Wild's blue-line...there was the addition of Greg Zanon yesterday to answer some of the questions. But there has not been much information on our own UFA's and my question is why? It seems to me that Skoula and Foster are two blue-liners that should have been signed...Foster because I believe he has earned and deserves a fair offer considering his injury and more recently courageous comeback and Skoula because for much of the season he was our most steady and reliable defenseman. But since there was this shake-up in the front office, they must see it differently, otherwise there would have been offers before yesterday.

Koivu would be great

What this team has needed for 3+ years is depth at center and Mikko's older brother would most certainly help with that problem. Why fans poo-poo the thought of adding a 34 year old veteran is beyond me. You will get no argument that he is on the downward side to his career, but Saku did net 50 points in 65 games last season...and remember that the Wild had a total of 2 players reach the 50 point mark a season ago, and one was at the ripe age of 35. On top of that, Minnesota's leading goal scorer was 37...so stop with the has-been Hab chatter. Saku would be a great sign for this team.

One final plea

Please PA, stop pretending to know hockey. I admire your effort, in fact give you an 'A' for trying. But your presentation deserves an 'F'...you definitely come across as someone who does not know but is trying desperately to sound intelligent. I am sure you're a great person but the in your face, confident sounding bits, only make you sound lost on the ice...