Great effort, another loss

After last night's lopsided loss to the Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild fans had to wonder again which team would show-up in the second of back-to-back games against the Edmonton Oilers. Tonight, it was team 'A' that emerged, as team 'B' was left behind in the other Alberta city. The Wild showed little interest in winning against the Flames, as they only recorded 16 shots on goal and were a power-less 0 for 5 with the man advantage. Fortunately for Minnesota, they carried most of the play and dominated the third period tonight. The unfortunate part however, was that Oiler goaltender Dwayne Roloson played unbelievable, as he turned away 43 Wild shots and only let in 2. The team gave fans much different approaches in the two games but we got the same results. Calgary 4, Minnesota 1 last night & Edmonton 3, Minnesota 2 tonight.

It's one or the other

I really don't think this can be up for debate because in my mind it is black & white. And why the league sees it the other way is insane to me. But when you get down to it, it's real simple. And maybe that is the problem, it is too simple. After all, large corporations around the world like to micro-manage and complicate things...and the NHL is no different. A dive is a dive...and that's it. If a player dives, then there should be no other call. If a player trips another, as was the case tonight, then it's tripping. It is impossible to have both be legitimate infractions on one play. If you were truly tripped, then how could you dive? And if you really took a dive, then how were you tripped? Wake up NHL, it has to be one or the other.

Notebook needed

As far as I can tell, NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell does not take very good notes of his work. The suspensions he hands out really leave one scratching their heads sometimes trying to figure out his reasoning. In fact, it would not surprise me a bit if there was a big 'wheel of suspensions' that Campbell spins every time he is needed, and wherever the wheel stops, that is the penalty that is given out. The latest is the 5 games Derek Boogaard received for his elbow in last nights game against the Flames. Now I don't have a problem with the number of games, as I thought it was a bad play on Boogaard's part. But what I have a problem with is the lack of consistency that comes from Campbell when he doles out his suspensions & fines. More often than not, there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to the length and/or amount. So what I propose is that the NHL budget in a notebook for Campbell so that he can record every penalty he hands out and thus will be able to look back and try to come up with a more consistent method when taking action against players.

Sellers or buyers

I have scoured the web searching for information, rumors, and stories on the upcoming trade deadline. And I have found that it seems there is a clear side that most teams are on, either looking to unload or looking to add-on. And for the Wild, one of the most frustrating thing about this team is that fans never know what they are up to and what side they are on. It's always a mystery with this management team and only after something is done, do we see the direction that the team has decided to go. Story after story that I stumbled across listed player after player, speculating who might be going where. And nowhere could I find anything about our Wild other than the line that the Wild are negotiating with Niklas Backstrom. Never mind that most of the high-end players that may move would fit in perfectly with Minnesota, there is apparently no interest from our side. Several teams seem to be in need of a strong puck-moving defenseman, and what I see in our lineup is that we have at least one too many, especially with Curtis Foster on the verge of coming back. It's almost as if the Wild are a team without an identity...are we coming or going. It sure would be nice to know.

Trade Our All-Star?

I have come across an increasingly number of pieces written on a subject that, at first glance, seems absolutely ridiculous to me...and that is for a call to trade goaltender Niklas Backstrom. I guess trading an All-Star player is not a new concept as even The Great One was traded a few times in his career. But for some reason from the get-go, I cannot grasp this idea and imagine unloading one of the teams few big assets, let alone one that was our single representative and just participated in his first All-Star game. And when assessing the play of our team so far this season, a team that is going to be fighting to the end to make the playoffs, the one true consistent bright-spot has been the solid play in our defensive zone. And Backstrom can take a ton of credit for that as he has been simply brilliant.

But the cases I have seen have put up some pretty good arguments for making a deal. First however, I would like to discount one that has been bothering me for some time now. The Lemaire 'system', as it's called, has given credence to the idea that you can plug anyone into the net and get the same stifling results, or so it has been uttered. I cannot disagree more with this notion. It really gives zero credit to Backstrom or the solid goaltenders that have graced our young franchise. A quick look will show you that, yes indeed, our Wild have had pretty good goaltending from the beginning. In fact, our Wild have had league-leading goaltending at times. However, upon further review, the fact is our past goaltenders have seen success beyond the 'system'. And lets face it, all teams play the same or a different variety of the 'system' (a blog for a later time).

It started with Manny Fernendez, who has yet to convince me that he is a legitimate season-long #1 guy, then was bulked-up by the addition of Dwayne Roloson a few years later. The Fernandez-Roloson duo peaked when they carried the team to the 2003 Western Conference Finals. Enter Niklas Backstrom. The Backstrom-Fernandez team compiled a league leading 2.24 GAA combined, while virtually splitting the season in half. Fernandez, after having some lost time due to a knee injury, is having a very solid season in Boston, going 14-3-1. Roloson has had a decent career after leaving the Wild, playing on a mostly ordinary Edmonton Oilers team. His play in the 2006 playoffs, where he went 12-5, carried the Oilers to the finals before they eventually lost to the Carolina Hurricanes. So, looking at what has come and gone in nets for the Wild, it seems to me that the two main players have recorded some very decent numbers since their departures. And other than the three above mentioned netminders, the team has not inserted another goalie of any significance. But according to these 'trade Backstrom' pieces, waiting in the wings is that guy of 'significance' and what folks think is the 'plug-in guy', Josh Harding.

The argument takes shape and make sense to me when you address the issue of why we sit, yet again, with a premier player being allowed to play out the final year of a contract. In other words, General Manager Doug Risebrough has waited too long to get Backstrom signed. Our GM fumbled with Gaborik and now it looks as if he has painted himself into a corner with Backstrom. Some think that the price, now that his All-Star status has been solidified, will be too much for the Wild to take on (something I question). So the obvious thing for Risebrough to do to gain some credibility back would be to unload him while the price is high. The problem I have with that notion is that Doug's track record with the Wild has not been too good when it comes to making an NHL trading deadline move.

The question that has to be addressed before a deal is made however, is whether or not the team feels Josh Harding is a capable goaltender. After all, the team is still in the race for a playoff spot and without good goaltending, teams seldom go deep into the post-season. I don't care who the Wild pick up on the scoring end in a Backstrom trade (assuming they go after points), it is not going to out-weigh bad goaltending. So far this season Harding has only seen action in 10 games, starting 7, and has 1-5-1 record. His two key goaltender numbers are good, as he has a 2.17 GAA and a .929 SV%. But only starting 7 games is hardly a comfort, especially for a player who would be expected to backstop the defense. On the career side, Hardings experience is not much deeper. He has started a total of 39 NHL games over the past 4 seasons, and holds a record of 17-23-0-4. For his career, he has a 2.53 GAA and a .929 SV%. Unfortunately he should be considered an unknown, with his lack of experience, and one that cannot be looked to steal games as Backstrom has done so far this season...at least as far as we know.

There are a few wild-card factors that should be mentioned when discussing a possible Backstrom trade. First off, Backstrom seems to enjoy his team and has stated publicly that he would like to stay. Whether or not that desire would equate to him taking that 'home-town' discount, who knows. Even though he is only in his 3rd NHL season, he is not young by league standards, as he has plenty of professional experience in Europe and may be at a point in his career where he wants to stay put. The second factor could throw this whole idea into a spin and is not likely, but the Wild could swap goaltenders in a deal. The decision to make a move such as this would be strictly a financial one and would probably be geared for the future. The final factor would be to abandoned any notion of a playoff run this season and mold a deal that would be solely for the future. And truth be told, any one of these factors could play out as this management team is hard to figure out. But short of keeping Backstrom or dealing him for some proven players, our faithful fans will be outraged and vocal.

In the end, I really don't know what the best move might be. On one hand you have a proven asset that if traded, would command a lot in return. On the other hand, I am not sure that Risebrough has it in him to pull the trigger on a big deal. What's left is absolutely the unthinkable, and that would be to let him walk at seasons end.