StormJH1

Would you rather be Chicago right now? We were in the Cup Finals back to back years, then Chicago and the Bowmans get one Cup by being as dumb with the Salary Cap as possible, despite having TONS of young talent. Detroit never bottomed out, so as far as I'm concerned, they might as well give away draft picks in the end of the 1st round (or lower) because Detroit seems as likely to hit in the 3rd round with some international player as they do anywhere else. The draft system is designed to gradually make bad teams better and slowly punish perennial playoff teams. Holland and Co. managed to buck that system for YEARS and still put a competitive team out there every season. They even managed to develop a pretty solid goalie out of a guy who was hardly a Luongo, DiPietro, or Fleury-type pick in terms of hype. It is true that the Red Wings have been notoriously (and purposefully) short-sighted in many of their moves, but that's what you do when you already have a core of superstars like #13, #40, and #5. Now those guys are older (or retired), so I agree it is time to either sign or trade for someone younger who can make an impact. But to rip them for Leino (who they got for virtually nothing out of the Finnish Elite League) or guys like Tatar (who have barely gotten a cup of tea in the NHL yet) seems a bit unfair.

Wasn't today the day (MON, 7/9) that Doan was supposed to start entertaining offers?

Look, every criticism of Semin is fair, and there are obvious concerns about him...but can you name any other player (aside from maybe Nicklas Backstrom) who has been elevated by playing with Ovechkin? He isn't that type of player. He's not a playmaker like Joe Thornton that can turn a scrub like Jonathan Cheechoo into a 50-goal scorer if he feels so inclined. He's a finisher. Moreover, I'm pretty sure they purposefully played Semin and Ovie on different lines for the bulk of this time there, since their roles would be similar. I think Datysuk does make his wingers look and play better, and he also compensates for defensive inadequacies. I also think that there are as many Russians who despise Ovechkin as there are that like him, whereas Datsyuk seems to be universally respected. Instead of arguing over who banged Alyonka Larionov the most times, perhaps Semin would refocus, at least in the short term, with an organization like Detroit that celebrated and appreciate Russians more than any other NHL franchise. (Granted, we're more Swedish now).

This is a good point. This organization has made some terrible decisions not just in the draft and in their long-term deals, but also in the ticky-tack 3rd and 4th liners they sign to these multi-year deals, at the expense of using organization guys for less money and less commitment. It's not that guys like Kyle Brodziak and Torrey Mitchell are bad players. They might even help the Wild improve this year. The point is that they aren't appreciably better than the young players or other veterans you could have used for $1.5 million or less. And I'm sorry, but just because you pay guys like Heatley and Koivu superstar money does not mean they are superstars. They need to hand this team over to Parise now and continue the rebuild with this new talent. I agree that paying (and playing) guys like Mitchell and Konopka is counter productive when this team should be focusing on developing Granlund, Coyle, Phillips, Palmieri and a bunch of other guys before it comes time for THEIR big pay day.

I have lived in Minnesota for the last 9 years and actually have followed the Wild as a "2nd team", so I've seen and followed more of this team than most. This fan base is very knowledgeable about the sport of hockey, but extremely delusional and under-informed about the NHL (in my opinion). Jacque Lemaire and Doug Risebrough (former GM) did this fan base a great disservice by ushering in a boring trap style of hockey for years, which was especially ill-equipped to deal with the post-lockout style of play. If the question is whether this Wild team scares me, the answer is "no", at least not any more than any other playoff contender in the West. After being the hottest team in the NHL through December, this team was TERRIBLE for the rest of the year. And they didn't even have a sufficient excuse. They entered last season with the lowest payroll on defense in the league ($14 million, IIRC) and they are still young, undersized, and lacking depth. They swapped Schultz for Gilbert, but neither of those guys are legitimate Top 2 defensemen. Suter obviously gives them a centerpiece, but keep in mind that virtually everything he did was with the assistance of Shea Weber playing next to him. Defensemen, like goaltenders, are extremely vulnerable to their situation, and while Suter is very good (and I wanted him on the Wings), I don't think he's a Pronger or Chara-like building block that can completely turn around a defense. We'll see. The Wild are now up against the cap and have the most expensive forward corps in the NHL. That's unbelievable to me. The problem is that there are some pretty bad long-term contracts in there (Koivu $6.7 mil, Heatley $7.5 mil, PMB $4 mil). Heck, even $3 or $3.5 mil for Setoguchi and Cullen is a bit much for what you get. They get some more of those deals off the books next offseason, and Mikael Granlund is expected to be star quickly, but we haven't SEEN any of these young guys produce in the NHL yet. I think you could fairly say that the Minnesota Wild are "better positioned for the future" than the Detroit Red Wings right now. But keep in mind that the Minnesota Wild have done nothing BUT position themselves for the future since Fletcher took over as GM, since they have failed to put a winning team on the ice during that time. I think they could potentially be a team with a lot of firepower, but until they've established some kind (any kind) of track record, I wouldn't bet them against Detroit. Their defense is still garbage. Even with Suter, I don't think I would trade their unit for ours, and Detroit has obvious problems in that department.

Someone clarify this for me - when can we sign Weber to an offer sheet and why wouldn't we? Can we offer him multiple years? If NAS can't sign him, why would they match? Finally, do we lose something in the way of draft picks if we prevail on the signing? I don't understand why the NHL has this gentleman's agreement against signing RFA's... Sent on iPhone using Tapatalk

Agree with this post. Smith and Nyquist are important guys we need to become players for NEXT year. Unless it's a guy like Nash, Ryan, or that caliber, no thanks, we'll keep them Sent on iPhone using Tapatalk

More about Burns? Really!? Why aren't people seeing the irony of people ripping the Wild left and right today, while praising Burns, who was their #1 defenseman for years while the team did nothing for years? Burns' concussion problems were as severe as Crosby's! He's an exciting player, but he pinches and gets caught constantly. There was nothing more Kenny could have done to get Parise and Suter. Let's talk about the next move and evaluate it after we know what it is. Sent on iPhone using Tapatalk

Carle sucks, don't care. Plays an offensive minded game and is way too one dimensional for that type of money and role. Sent on iPhone using Tapatalk

Amen. I'm bummed, but this game was rigged from the start. Plus, there are other moves they could make that could help and leave us with less cap burden. Is Ray Shero a garbage GM? What about the other 28 teams that didnt get these two? That seems a bit unfair. Sent on iPhone using Tapatalk

Slight correction - the Wild didn't "give up" on Brent Burns, they flipped him for Setoguchi and two awesome prospects. If Charlie Coyle blows up soon, they basically fleeced SJ. Burns had/has serious concussion issues (like, as bad as Crosby) and could be "one hit away" The Wild's problem is that they drafted horribly, overpaid Koivu, Bouchard and others, and generally made bad hockey decisions. Theyre a playoff team now, but I'm not sure those two guys automatically fix the terribleness of that defense and lack of quality depth. Sent on iPhone using Tapatalk

Parise, in many ways, was a Hossa-like luxury, not a dire need. I realize this team has scoring problems and an upgrade would have been nice, but with Brunner, Nyquist and all the returning guys, it wasn't like there was a Lidstrom-sized hole to fill at forward. Losing Suter, however, does hurt. But he's gone. I think Brendan Smith is a player. A trade for Ryan would be great, but if Franzen/Filppula can be flipped into a Top 2 defenseman instead, I would love so sign Semin and get D help that way. Sent on iPhone using Tapatalk

Don't like Carle, and while it would be nice to have cap room next year, there are other ways of doing that (signing/trading for one year deals, etc) other than taking our ball and going home. Sent on iPhone using Tapatalk

Love the signing. Appropriate rate for a backup goalie, and the upside is even higher. Don't get the NAS bloggers tweeting insults about him, probably just being trolls. Sent on iPhone using Tapatalk

4.5 mil? Jeez, I guess that's one way to satisfy the cap minimum Sent on iPhone using Tapatalk

I feel bad for him, but the reality is that this is a team that expects to be in the Playoffs year after year, and Joey does not have the track record to take over this team for several months if there's an injury to Jimmy. Even had he been kept as the backup, a long-term injury to Howard would've sent the Wings scrambling to pick up some type of veteran anyway (Heck, we thought we had Nabokov 2 years ago). I know that the easy comeback to that seems to be "The Monster" has no track record as an effective NHL goalie either, but I think that's unfair. Toronto is one of the worst teams in the NHL, and moving to a good defensive system for a goalie is similar to a pitcher who moves from the NL to the AL (or from a really bad defense to an elite defense). In other words, there are external factors that play into those statistics like GAA and SV % that we assume to be objective indicators of a goalie's skill. A wrister from the blue line into the glove and a one-timer on a 2-on-1 are both a "shot" statistically, but one is a sure save, while the other is rarely a save. And on a bad defense, you have little trust in your teammates to cover passing lanes, and there's going to be more of those "difficult" shots than on a good team. Long story short, I would not be surprised if Gustavsson ends up with a GAA closer to 2.50, and as a 20-35-game starter, he could be a pretty effective backup for the Wings if he does that.

I thought about that also...the girlfriend/fiance is from North Dakota, so that obviously favors here. Then again, they're engaged and he was a hockey player in NEW JERSEY, so I don't think it's fair to blame the fiance. I'm sure if Zach feels strongly enough about any one place, the fiance is not going to intervene, though Minnesota may be more "convenient". I remember watching the 30 for 30 about Gretzky where Janet Jones Gretzky apparently told Gretzky he should come play for Detroit because "it's a hockey town". Of course, this could be a "made-up" story since all of the Canadian hatred directed at her in '88 assumed that she had lured Wayne to L.A. to further pursue her movie career. People are going into fits over this whole thing, but even if it takes a week, this all gets forgotten afterwards. It isn't like LeBron where he's calling the ESPN special and planning a pep rally the next day - Parise's a fairly low-key guy. I'm as guilty of overanxiousness as anyone, but the truth is that he should be able to take some time to consider these offers, and it's about 99% because of Twitter that people are so frustrated.

Parise returns to Minnesota, no decision yet Posted by: Michael Russo under Wild off-season news Updated: July 3, 2012 - 1:43 PM Looking nondescript in a black baseball cap and a backpack over his shoulders, Zach Parise arrived back in Minnesota on Tuesday afternoon accompanied by his fiancée Alisha. As much as Wild fans had hoped, there was no contingent of opened-arm Wild executives awaiting his arrival with a limousine and gargantuan check. Instead, Parise, one of the most-coveted free agents in NHL history, said he has yet to make a decision as to which team will win the sweepstakes and inherit his services for the next 10 or 12 years. “There’s a lot of things to factor into it and I think that’s why we’re taking our time with the decision,” Parise, the New Jersey Devils captain, said from baggage claim at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. “It’s not something we can just make at 1 o’clock on July 1. It takes time to make sure you consider everything and you’re doing the right thing.” The teams in the running are believed to be his hometown Wild, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Detroit Red Wings and the team that might be tugging on his heartstrings the most, the Devils, who drafted him in the first round in 2003. Parise, 27, said he would return to his home his Orono and talk with family, which will likely include his father, former North Stars player and assistant coach J.P. Parise, and his mother, Donna. But in the end, he said, “It’s a decision my fiancée and I will make together and that plays a lot into it. We just want to go somewhere that we know we’re going to be happy.” As hard as it is to imagine since his agent, Don Meehan, said a decision could come later in the day Tuesday, Parise says that decision-making hasn’t started. “We haven’t made a timetable or wanted to make a timetable,” Parise said. “I don’t want to put those types of restrictions on anything. You have to do the right research and it’s a life-changing decision.” Conspiracy-theorist Wild fans, in suspense and praying he chooses the Wild, have felt there’s no way Parise would return to Minnesota to announce he’s snubbing the hometown team and signing elsewhere. Told that theory, Parise laughed, saying, “This is where I live. Either way, we’re coming back here.” Teams interested in Parise are believed to be offering contracts worth $100 million and above. Still, Parise never imagined how “stressful” this decision would be. “There’s so much more than the money. That plays a very small factor in it,” he said. “My agent’s did a great job. You take the time to consider everything. You consider where you want to be for the next however long and however many years of your life. It’s a harder decision than I thought it was going to be.” Parise said he will discuss everything with his family. “I’m excited for it to be over pretty soon,” Parise said.

THANK YOU! I live in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities, and I'm seriously going to lose some Minnesota friends over this! Since I relate everything in Minnesota back to the movie "Fargo", basically the whole state thinks they're the know-it-all banker father-in-law/grandpa ("No Jean, no money!") with old-school hockey connections...when in fact they're all Jerry Lundegaard. Folks, Minnesotans have been talking for MONTHS like this was a done deal, and obviously Zach wanted to come home and lead the Wild to their inevitable Cup. Few problems there: (1) It hasn't happened yet! Money doesn't seem to be an issue here, so even if he does sign with MIN, it's pretty obvious he thought damn hard about NJ, PIT, and several other teams. (2) Parise is not a blind Minnesota homer. As evidence of that fact, he played his college hockey at NORTH DAKOTA! If Zach Parise based his entire life around what the average Minnesotan wanted, he wouldn't have gone and played for the biggest rival the University of Minnesota has in college hockey. (3) Your team sucks. Sorry, it just does. As strong as you believe your fanbase to be, the organization has been terribly run and has two freaking Playoff series wins in their entire existence. (The fanbase bit is a big lie, by the way, as the "Team of 18,000" here is, at best, a cult following. The Wild generate zero buzz here, and coverage is swallowed by anything Vikings and Twins. Even their TV ratings are decidedly middle-of-the-pack among other U.S markets). Nevertheless, it's been months and months of coverage and anticipation that Parise is going to sign with this team that missed the Playoffs by 14 points last year. Please make it stop.

Right, which is why I also would not fault the decision to pick a team like PIT or PHI over us. Admit it or not, I think those teams ARE better "win-now" situations than Detroit. But that isn't the only question, and it may not even be the most important one for Parise. If I had to make a 10-year commitment to the franchise that's going to pay me and hopefully surround me with restocked talent, I'd look at the track record and stability of the front office. Minnesota simply can't offer that - they were an expansion team 12 years ago, and have been thoroughly under-performing (now on their 2nd owner and GM) post-lockout. Pittsburgh bottomed out, but has superstar talent now and an active front office. Same goes for Philly (even if the Bryzgalov deal fails, it still looked a pretty strong effort to fix a problem with the goaltending). Some of those Eastern teams are also much more exciting styles of play. FYI - Darren Wolfson ‏@DarrenWolfson From Lou Nanne earlier: "Soon." RT @JustinJWare:@DarrenWolfson Wait ...what?! Parise is about to land in MSP??#NHL #GoWild

I understand that perspective and understand if they don't go in that direction. But as I have thought more about this, I really think that the chance for a Russian player of Semin's age to play with Datsyuk is almost as powerful as the draw that playing with Sidney Crosby might have for a North American player (like Parise). Whereas guys like Ovechkin (and perhaps even Malkin) are more likely to run their mouth, and are more polarizing, Datysuk seems to be universally respected. He's also a very unselfish superstar, so even though it hasn't always been the case that you simply insert ______ sniper on the wing next to Datysuk and you get a 40-goal scorer, players like Semin might perceive it to be that way. I also think that the veterans on this team (even minus Lidstrom), not to mention Babcock and the front office can control him, at least well enough. Yes, his lack of defense will be infuriating, but this team falls asleep offensively far too often, and Semin has the ability to significantly help that. The problem is how you evaluate a guy like this. There's a reason he's been on a string of 2 or 1-year deals. But he's also gotten a raise up to $6.7 million. If he wants more than 3 years, it could be a problem. Then again, I think he might be a perpetual KHL flight risk, so he may not even want a long-term NHL deal. I'm really intrigued by him, if we figure out how to add to the defense, which is the top priority.

Here in the Minnesota media (and nationally, too, I guess), there seems to be this theory being accepted as fact that: If Parise goes to Minnesota --> Suter also goes to Minnesota But why? Because they're both from the Midwest? Because they played on the U.S. Olympic team? I don't get there could be so much analysis into what Parise wants and what's important to him (right down to discussion of his fiance), but because Suter has indicated he would wait a little bit, we assume that he might do what ever Parise does. How does that make any sense?! If true, then the two top free agent on the market end up on a Wild team that missed the Playoffs by 14 points, for no reason other than that Parise happened to be born here. I refuse to accept that. Even if superstars in their mid-20's wanted to play for a rebuild (which they almost always don't), I have to think there are better young or rebuilding teams out there than MINNESOTA with money to sign one or both guys.

Haha, as one of the few other Minnesota residents on this board, I laughed at that one. I'm actually going to airport later today to fly back to Detroit - I'll definitely have my eyes open for hockey people. It's getting kind of bitter over here with some of my Minnesota friends, they really need to believe Parise is coming here. And he might, but where they lose me is when they try to argue that it's a better "hockey decision" to come to Minnesota than Detroit. I'm trying to calmly explain to them that when your best hope for the future are guys that haven't played a game in the NHL yet (Granlund, Coyle), that's not a real selling point to a 28-year old superstar FA.

Increasingly, I think that would be the way to go. I'm pretty fatigued following this whole thing, but I haven't really had the strong sense that he'll sign with Detroit since FA opened. Living in Minnesota, it's amazing to me how irrelevant this Wild franchise is to people. Red Wings fans would rather see Parise in Minnesota - a team rebuilding quickly in the Western Conference, who will likely be in the same DIVISION if restructuring happens - than in Pittsburgh, a team which we arguably would only have to worry about in a Cup Final. I don't know what Suter's doing, exactly, but while they're both Midwest guys, it seems weird to me that he would follow Parise to the Wild. Parise makes sense in Minnesota as the hometown guy, but why does Suter need to play with Parise if he could play with any number of great players already on other teams?

Just as I was going off in a different thread about Wings fans always pooping on ex-Red Wings without any appreciation for what they did, I contradict myself by saying I'm happy to be rid of Hudler. That being said, we need to keep in perspective that Hudler never really made that much money for the Wings, and we just committed a cap hit to Samuelsson of $3 million, which is probably worse than committing $2.875 million to Hudler. In Hudler's first stint with the wings (pre-KHL), he only cost us about an even million against the cap. He wasn't a terrible player, but he was never a good fit on this team, and not nearly talented enough to be a "bad fit". Basically, he's our poor man's "Alexander Radulov".