Minnesota Wild retool defense to get more offense

I've been a big fan of Marik Zidlicky's style of Defense for a couple years. I'm pretty stoked they added him to the blue line. Huge upgrade over everyone on the roster and probably a top 5 Defenseman in the NHL. Pretty big move by the Wild, much better than the additions of Hill and Carney last season.

13thStep wrote:

I've been a big fan of Marik Zidlicky's style of Defense for a couple years. I'm pretty stoked they added him to the blue line. Huge upgrade over everyone on the roster and probably a top 5 Defenseman in the NHL. Pretty big move by the Wild, much better than the additions of Hill and Carney last season.

I agree with you. I am still a little concerned over losing Rolston's scoring output. Yeah, Brunette will pick up some of the slack and he is a great leader, but I would like to see another significant contributor of points.

Zidlicky was a good move but Brunette is a joke! We have a new owner so clean house Doug and Jacque most go also. This team is so soft they might get run over in the AHL, We have waited all these years for these two clowns to build a team and year after year the same B.S. wake up people. The champs picks up Hossa already have six fowards that can score, six forwards that can bang and are the sandpaper type you need, three D that are skilled and three that bang. The Wild have one forward that will bang, not enough pucks for the rest of the forwards, and not one banger on D. Just another rebuiling year for Minnesota!!!!!

Great moves adding Bergeron and Zidlicky. Not sold on the offense, but what else is new? You've got to lay out some cash if you want to score.

Brunette is not a joke. He's a great leader and that's really important. (If you question that look at Gaborik's time as a captain. No leadership.) Brunette does score once in a while too.

No doubt Wild will miss Rolston, but Brunette makes other players better and will take them further in the play offs.(ex. last year)
As for the new defensive trades, hope it works out, but playing the position of defense in the the NHL is geared for the bigger players.

If you discount the building, absolutely nothing the Wild have ever done comes even close to "great"

I don't for one minute believe the Wild made any kind of serious offer to Hossa (although clearly they couldn't wait to tell us how bad they tried)/ Like any hockey player is dumb enough to walk away from a 4 year 32 million dollar contract (like we are told was offered...)in favor of a one year 7 mil deal.

No chance folks. The Wild called the guys agent for fan base CYA without any realistic intentions of getting anything accomplished othhr than the press release to say we tried.

This franchise has ZERO history of trying to sign top tier talent in their prime. Sadly as is now pretty evident they also have had very little success in developing their own players as is evident by the fact they had nothing in their farm system FLA was interested in last year when trying to get Jokinen at the deadlline.

Hey wild fans, put down the koolaid. It's REALLY stale already. This group is going through the motions. The X is full and they aren't otherwise motived to do anything.

Patience you say? Expansion Mighty Ducks (half full building) 1 cup. Expansion Lightning (mostly empty building) 1 cup. Relocated (formerly broke - half full building) Hurricanes 1 cup.

Than fans here drop loads of dough on this product (including another payment installment due next week btw).

We deserve some effort here. Sorry I don't buy the press releases . DO something already....!

Roseville Mom wrote:

Brunette is not a joke. He's a great leader and that's really important.(If you question that look at Gaborik's time as a captain. No leadership.) Brunette does score once in a while too.

Hopefully he will not hold the past against us. Now if we could just have gotten Richard Park back.

I wouldn't say that the addition of TWO defenseman is an "overhaul." Besides, it doesn't matter; Jacques will turn them into defensive-minded blue-liners with his prevent offense. He does it to everyone else. He can't coach any other style. He isn't good enough. Therefore, cut those defensemen's numbers in half when they get here.

The truth of the matter is: It was never the personnel's fault. It's always been the system. Take last year's team and give the reigns to someone like Mike Ramsey and you'd have a conference finalist and 50 regular season wins.

Jacques system is as antiquated as those black Trans Am's with the gold eagles on the hood, and no "offensive-minded defenseman" is going to change that system. Just ask Kim Johnnson.

I have been saying the same thing for the last two years. If your teams formula for long-term success is to build through the draft and develop young players...YOU BETTER KNOW HOW TO DRAFT!!! If this has been our plan all along why is our AHL squad such a POS?(10 teams in the AHL had better regular season records in 07-08) "Stay The Course..." Remind you of anyone?...this is a joke. Can anyone really blame high profile players like Gaborik and Hossa (among MANY others) for not wanting to be in Minnesota? Players look at it this way - If I go to Minnesota and sign a 4 year contract my point totals are going to be cut in half (due to playing in an out-dated defensive style system) so when I try to sign my next contract my offers are going to be obserdly low because of my diminished point totals. I am not going to beat the best teams in the West (san jose, detroit etc.) and therefore never going to go to the SC Finals.

How many times during the season did i say:Barry Melrose for coach!

Good luck wild, you can have zidlicky. Most of the time he is just thier for the excercise