Playing second fiddle

It's never all good...the Minnesota Wild have positioned themselves better than in any previous free-agent period after their recent acquisitions and spending, yet there is one huge piece still missing. And that missing piece is just sitting there waiting to be picked up but there is still no word on a deal. If Mikko's older brother, Saku Koivu, decides to come to play in the State of Hockey the puzzle will be that much closer to being complete. But if he gets away, there will still be a gaping hole up the middle, a problem that this team has had at the center position for years. The older Koivu would fill that need beautifully. Unfortunately, by all accounts, the Wild have slipped a bit on his list and the deal isn't as sure as it once seemed by reports.

It seems to me that the time has come to simply snatch him up by sweetening the deal. Too many times this organization has let players slip away only to go short-handed, with arms in the air, telling fans that they tried and made viable offers. Well how about making an offer that is accepted instead of sitting and watching other teams make that offer? I think Fletcher and Co. have done a great job to date, but this is one free agent that they should not let slip away, we need him. While it is true we are under a new direction with Fletcher, it would be nice to truly out-do the rest of the league by landing this veteran, one that is reportedly being courted by several teams.

On a side-note on the Koivu free agency...I had a chance to speak with a Wild employee, and former long time NHL player, on the subject. While this individual does not have first-hand knowledge of any negotiations, he does posses the knowledge of the inner workings of the team and organization as a whole. His take was that he did not think this would necessarily be a good signing. The reason given was simply that this was Mikko's team and anything that could or would happen to disrupt that would be devastating....food for thought I guess.

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...