Articles in Minnesota Wild

Sometimes goofy is good.

from Michael Russo of The Athletic,

As much as any Wild fan, Bill Guerin is disappointed and dumbfounded by the team’s inexplicable 1-3-1 start after a franchise-record 113-point season a year ago.

He can’t believe how many good, relied-upon players are off to subpar starts. He’s dismayed by the overall defensive play. And he’s displeased with the= compete level, not so much in regards to effort but in how the team is working....

He doesn’t want to waste an option this early by storming the locker room gates and tearing into guys. And, for now, he’s letting the coaches coach and hasn’t gone the route of hosting individual meetings.

But the Wild general manager made clear during a sitdown with The Athletic on Sunday’s off day in Montreal that it’s time for Wild players to get their acts together or there is a danger of things going off the rails.

“I think it’s simple here: We’re just not a pretty team,” Guerin said, which is a stunning statement when one considers last season’s entertaining squad was a very pretty team.

“We have some skill — maybe not as much as some other teams — so when we don’t play hard, heavy, physical, when our competitive level isn’t where it needs to be, we struggle. And when we are, we’re good. That’s how we became good. We’re not doing that right now. I don’t see it. And I want to start seeing it.”

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from Michael Russo of The Athletic,

Two games into this ugly start to this campaign, scoring goals is the least of the Wild problems.

They are bleeding goals and can’t get a save from either of their goalies.

“You can’t expect to win games when you let in 14 goals in two games,” veteran Mats Zuccarello said Saturday after a 7-6 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, one game after the Wild gave up seven in a season-opening throttling by the New York Rangers. “Sometimes we play defense like we’re a fucking junior team.”

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from Jim Souhan of the StarTribune,

The Wild opened their season Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center by opening a clear path to their goal.

They wanted to remind everyone that they were a playoff team last year. They reminded everyone that they were a terrible playoff team last year.

One that dumped its second-leading scorer. One that is banking on the mystical factors known as "chemistry'' and "continuity'' and "sheer luck'' to be anywhere near as good this season as they were last year.

The final score: New York Rangers 7, Wild 3.

Call them the Minnesota "Wil.'' They left out the "D." So should we.

"Our D game was awful,'' Wild coach Dean Evason said.

The Rangers are a quality team. The Wild made them look like Gretzky's Oilers.

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Game highlights are below.

from Michael Russo of The Athletic,

Welcome to NHL99, The Athletic’s countdown of the best 100 players in modern NHL history. We’re ranking 100 players but calling it 99 because we all know who’s No. 1 — it’s the 99 spots behind No. 99 we have to figure out. Every Monday through Saturday until February we’ll unveil new members of the list.

VARENNES, Que. — The long driveway is filled to the brim with trucks. Landscapers are there, putting the finishing touches on the new house, and a dock is being put in on this refreshingly breezy July day about 40 minutes southwest of Montreal....

When the super-athletic, acrobatic eventual Hall of Famer and the man who kicks off The Athletic’s NHL99 project as the 100th-best player in the NHL’s modern era isn’t stopping pucks, winning games, playing practical jokes on his teammates, hanging with his wife and playing with his three children, this is a glimpse into his life.

On this day, hours before Fleury would decide to forgo free agency and re-sign with the Wild for two years, he is relaxed, downright hospitable and reflective about where he’s come from and what he thinks his NHL legacy will be.

When reminded about his three Stanley Cup championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins, his five All-Star Game appearances, his Vezina and Jennings trophies and the fact that in NHL history only Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy have won more than his 520 regular-season and 92 playoff games, Fleury smiles, blushes and stares once more at the blue St. Lawrence River.

“It’s hard to believe,” he says. “It’s surreal. Those were my heroes.”

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