On the same day that Sergei Bobrovsky, Henrik Lundqvist, and Antti Niemi were announced as finalists for the 2012-13 Vezina Trophy, I’m presenting a new kind of goalie award, the Most Valuable Goaltender of the Year, to Evgeni Nabokov of the New York Islanders. This honor is based on a single statistically-driven question: Which starting ...
Pre-season projection: Playoff team Final team record: 26-19-3 (8th in Western Conference) Flip a coin. The Minnesota Wild made the playoffs for the first time in five years; they almost played themselves out with a 5-6-1 finish, blowing their shot at the division. They scratched out critical season-ending tilts with the Los Angeles Kings and ...
A game-by-game autopsy of Niklas Backstrom’s playoff failings is in order on the cusp of his first playoff start in five years. These games are particularly worth examining as the Minnesota Wild’s current lack of defensive depth will put a heavy burden on the goaltender in the coming weeks. Will he shake off long ago ...
Pre-season projection: Playoff team Current stock: Holding Team record: 21-13-2 (3rd in Western Conference, 1st in Northwest Division) Surprisingly, the Minnesota Wild held their grip to the top of the Northwest, putting six points between themselves and ninth place with an 8-4 push that was punctuated by a franchise-best seven-game winning streak. Secondary scoring and ...
In the Old West, a renowned but aging gunslinger usually ended his career with a bullet in a ditch. In the new West, he’s paid $7.5 million this year and next. Times indeed have changed. The challenge for Dany Heatley, once one of most feared goal scorers in the world, is a nightly duel between ...
The Minnesota Wild is headed for a fall. It’s no exaggeration to say that Devin Setoguchi and Matt Cullen have ignited the 14-5-1 explosion which has propelled the Wild near the top of the Northwest Division. With 11 goals leading the squad in that stretch, Setoguchi has done the finishing, while his centerman Cullen has ...
Pre-season projection: Playoff team Current stock: Holding Team record: 13-9-2 (3rd in conference, 1st in Northwest division) 7-4-1 in their last 12, the Minnesota Wild has clawed to the top of the Northwest. As predicted, secondary scoring has marginally improved. The Wild has also enjoyed more consistent goaltending, and possible defensive stalwarts have emerged in ...
An army made up of just privates and generals cannot win a war. Much the same, the Minnesota Wild, breaking in promising recruits like Mikael Granlund, Jonas Brodin, Jason Zucker, and Charlie Coyle, while led to the battle by Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, and Ryan Suter, is lacking the quality personnel between the bottom and ...
Captain Kirk once learned that one Tribble is cute, but too many Tribbles are trouble. The same goes for rookies on an NHL team. In a topsy-turvy season, the Minnesota Wild has been forced to go against gospel, playing an unusually large number of rookie skaters in high-leverage game situations. Freshmen Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, ...
Pre-season projection: Playoff team Current stock: Dropping Team record: 6-5-1 (11th in the conference, tied for eighth) As the Wild thrashed the Avalanche on opening night, Mike Greenlay, Minnesota’s TV color guy couldn’t help but wiggle the forest green and Iron Range red tattooed on his butt by bragging, “We’ve been talking about the fact that the ...
