from Jim Souhan of the StarTribune,
When their best pure defenseman, Jonas Brodin, was sidelined, the Wild surged.
With their best scorer and most valuable player, Kirill Kaprizov, sidelined, the Wild have excelled.
Their drive to the top of the Central Division standings, and toward the top of the entire NHL, has been a doctorate-level study in team-building.
The Wild have a gritty, deep, unified roster.
Dean Evason coaches with a tone that is always demanding but never strident or unreasonable.
Most of all, Bill Guerin has again proved that he is the Room Whisperer, the Sultan of Subtlety.
Remember when the Wild traded Cam Talbot for Filip Gustavsson last July?
That felt more like a move to remove Talbot from the awkwardness of being bumped from the starter's role by Marc Andre-Fleury than because Gustavsson was a quality player.
one mans opinion:
Reaves is the modern day Probie, yeah, hes old, until you tangle with him. we know SY favors skill, but I wouldve grabbed him from the Rangers.
to whit:
The arrival of power forward Ryan Reaves has made the Wild bigger and tougher, and Reaves has even contributed occasionally as a scorer. He had zero points in 12 games with the Rangers this season; he has 14 points in 53 games with the Wild.
"I think he knows what works," Reaves said of Guerin. "He's played on some really good teams. He knows that it's not just about having a bunch of first-rounders that make up a team. It's grit. It's skill. It's having good defensive defensemen, and some good offensive defensemen.
Speaking of Reaves (I tweeted this yesterday),
Aren't the Wild paying Ryan Suter and Zach Parise a lot of money - and 12-14mm in cap space is being used for that? That makes his job more impressive if I am reading that right
Here's betting a fellow team mate pranked him with ammonia in the second bottle.
(I should know from his reaction--I did the same dirty trick on my little brother in the 1960s and caught hell for it)
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