January 12, 2009

Who's more in denial? Wild players or Doug Risebrough?

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By Derek Felska

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The old axiom goes, hindsight is always 20/20 but with the NFL Playoffs in full swing there is no shortage of Monday Morning Quarterbacks sharing their two cents as to why their team's season ended in disappointment and what they believe should have been done differently.  As a fan of the Minnesota Wild, it pains me to tell the organization "I told ya so" but I more or less did with this article I wrote on the 4th of July.  Like many Wild fans, I was very much underwhelmed with the team's efforts to improve itself over this last summer.  I even wrote about it. 

Fans question the direction of the Franchise

If you ever happen to visit wild.com and surf through the message boards, it is about as positive as the economic picture of the world right about now.  Among some of the most popular threads are this past week are: Risebrough's plan is failing with over 117 posts and it is 7 pages in length, Fire Risebrough with 124 posts and is also 7 pages in length, or Wild officially in rebuilding mode with 765 posts and 39 pages in length.  With threads like these so popular it is obvious fans are definitely concerned with the direction of the team.  If these threads were a Presidential approval poll, not too many Wild fans would approve the job of President and General Manager Doug Risebrough has done this season.  The Wild are currently sitting in 10th place in the Western Conference with a 20-18-3 at the halfway point in the season with 41 games under their belt.  Yet in a recent interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Michael Russo the Wild's General Manager does not seem all that concerned when he said, "It's not easy, and it's been tough for some of them, but I'm starting to see what I thought would happen by the end of the year. They're becoming good players and contributing more."  Really Doug?  Are you sure about that?   

James Sheppard - 41GP  2G 6A = 8pts   -15 
Benoit Pouliot - 37GP  5G 6A = 11pts   +1
Colton Gillies - 21GP  1G 3A = 4pts   Even

Does any of these young players look like they are on the cusp of being good players and contributing more?  James Sheppard, 20, had a very modest 19 points in 78 games last season and it looks as though he'll be lucky to replicate his totals from last season.  He certain is not providing the team a reliable person in the faceoff circle with an underwhelming 41.9% success rate.  Many teams send their prospects to the minors for seasoning, preferring these talented junior or college players to first learn the ropes at the minor league level.  Sometimes that maturation process can take years, just ask Erik Reitz who had been with Wild's American League affiliate Houston Aeros for 6 seasons up until this year.  I am not suggesting that we send Sheppard down to the AHL for 6 years but certainly some time in the minors would be good for him to develop his game let alone allow him to build his confidence.  Yet as Michael Russo reported Risebrough disagrees as he was quoted as saying, "everybody should play in the minors, but that these players will develop faster in the NHL."  Really, so a lost player from last year that appears equally as lost this year is simply developing?     

The 4th Overall pick from 2005, Benoit Pouliot still has not found the consistency that has dogged him all the way since his junior days with the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL, and up until recently had been a regular healthy scratch.  Some fans point out his great skill and how he has been relegated to the 3rd and 4th lines as the reason he has not put up better offensive numbers.  Perhaps, but even though Doug Risebrough did not keep him up with Wild last season due to the fact Risebrough questioned his professionalism he was basically handed a roster spot this season by default.  So far Pouliot has still disappointed for a player who was picked just 3 spots behind Sidney Crosby in the 2005 draft. 

Colton Gillies has played just a token amount of games with the Wild, earning just minimal ice time as he averages just 8:26 per game and has looked lost and overwhelmed all season long.  Oddly enough with Gillies being a frequent healthy scratch Doug Risebrough went against the precedent he set with players like Nick Schultz, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Brent Burns and did not allow Gillies to join Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in Ottawa.  Is Gillies really learning that much sitting in the pressbox most nights that he had nothing to gain from the experience of playing for Team Canada as they tried to tie their own record of 5 straight Gold medals?  How could sitting and not playing be better then playing in such a high level hockey event as that? 

Not to rub salt in the wound, but former Wild prospect Ryan Jones is doing just as well for the Nashville Predators as the best of the youngsters listed here as he has 4 goals 4 assists in just 18 games.  I hope Marek Zidlicky and his 18 points in 36 games is worth it.  

With the Wild as 2nd lowest scoring team this season many fans were hoping Doug Risebrough would make a move to add some relief to the team's scoring woes.  By banking on the youngsters producing offense in addition to bringing in a few offensive defenseman like Marek Zidlicky and Marc-Andre Bergeron who is currently injured is an experiment that has failed miserably.  This is no slam to Cal Clutterbuck who continues to be a force in the physicality department as he is 5th in the NHL in hits with 143 of them.  Instead Doug appears to want simply wait the 10 weeks doctors are projecting for star winger Marian Gaborik's return.  If the team is sitting 12-14 points out of the playoff picture by that time what would have been the point of waiting for Gaborik to return?  It was Risebrough who appeared confident that he would resolve the contract issue between its star winger before the season started, that didn't happen and it looks as though the team will be lucky to get any compensation for the talented Slovak.  If so, it is disastrous to simply let the team's best asset walk without anything to show for it.    Perhaps this article I wrote on the 25th of July will become front and center by the season's end.   

If the season turns sour, should Doug Risebrough be fired?

If the season's duldrums has many pointing the finger at the team's general manager is it only his fault?  Or are the coaches and players to blame too?  As former Pittsburgh Steelers' coach Bill Cowher said, "Players play and coaches coach."  It is difficult to think what more Wild Head Coach Jacques Lemaire could do with the lineup he was given.  With the exception of Owen Nolan and Marian Gaborik, no player on the team going into this season had scored more than 30 goals in an NHL season.  Last night in Columbus the players' effort, especially in the 2nd and 3rd period was rather uninspired to say the least.  Minnesota, with a day of rest under its belt looked about as interested as a person is when they're going to the dentist to have a root canal.  Even as Columbus' Nikita Filatov embarrassed the team with a hat trick the Wild did not show much fight in the closing minutes and looked as though they were looking forward to a flight home instead of trying to fight for a playoff spot.  Sure its the 40th game of the season and there is a lot of hockey before the 4th season but last night's effort was horrendous.  The terrible effort was obvious to Head Coach Lemaire as well as the media covering the event. 

However if you ask the players, like defenseman Brent Burns about last night's effort and you get a totally different story, "we were working hard out there, we just didn't get the bounces."  Are you kidding me?  The Wild was dragging on the ice, with no jump in its legs when it needed to be at its best was instead at its worst.  Was Zidlicky's meaningless goal in the closing minute of the game their justification that the team was working hard out there?  Perhaps they didn't take a close look at the Blue Jackets' roster which more closely resembled the Syracuse Crunch then an NHL squad.  Derek Dorsett and Nikita Filatov have been up and down from Syracuse all season and they provided more than enough offense to beat the Wild.  While Burns might still be glowing in the 1-0 victory over the Bruins it is losses to teams like the Blue Jackets, especially one so ravaged by injuries, that will cost the team a post-season bearth.  Perhaps its time the team make a trade to shake things up, and to wake the team up from its poor effort as it sounds like the players could use a reality check.

So who seems to be in more denial at this point?  Doug Risebrough or the players?  Hard to say, either way with both sides clearly seeing events in an entirely different way it is unlikely the team's woes will come to an end if they refuse to acknowledge the reality of the situation.  If anything appears certain at this point that as long as the team's struggles continue an arlready irritated fanbase will only become more agitated and the story could perhaps end in the Xcel Energy Center not being sold out for a change.  Without question, in combination with the bad economy the team's struggles and the apparent denial from the players and management are going to put the sellout streak in risk of being broken like no other incident has since the lockout.        

    

Tags: Minnesota Wild, NHL Outsider

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    I've said this before this season how adversity reveals character, but what can you really say about the character of the Minnesota Wild after squandering a 3-goal lead to the Ottawa Senators in a painful 5-3 loss at home yesterday?  Disastrous, calamitous, embarrassing, pathetic, unforgivable, disappointing, shameful, and just plain sad are the adjectives that come to mind after a game like that.  It was a defeat that appears to have shaken this team to the core and with a 4-day break before its next game on Thursday against Calgary Flames the Wild will have plenty of time to reflect about this most recent setback.  Even after other bad games in the past the team has normally not allowed a sense of genuine malaise to set in.  From the fans, to the players, coaches and even upper management a far more depressed feeling took place.  A quick glance at the Wild.com message boards many Wild fans feel awfully cynical about the team's post-season chances, and can you blame them?   

    After the game the players where normally the players clear out for interviews rather soon had not even taken off their equipment when the reporters spilled into the locker room as they had a short meeting where they aired their frustration over the collapse.  In the post-game press conference a very irate Wild Head Coach Jacques Lemaire chastised the undisciplined play of his defenseman for pinching in far too often leading to the two shorthanded goals the team gave up.  Lemaire then said the team would be having a meeting Sunday at noon to discuss where the team is heading which was a day the team originally had scheduled to have off.  Even in the face of frustrating losses the Wild Head Coach normally keeps his emotions in check and while he may call out specific players from time to time he normally does not get nearly as wound up as he did this time.  After last season, Lemaire debated whether he really wanted to return as coach and only after meeting with Team President and General Manager Doug Risebrough did he decide to return.  Will Lemaire want to come back after a season of frustration like this one?   

    During the meeting at noon today, instead of having an intense practice of skating as some had speculated the team instead opted to have discussions and Doug Risebrough was there to speak to the team.  Risebrough rarely addresses the team over its play other than occasional meetings with individuals.  I realize this loss hurt the team but why would he address the team?  The trade deadline is March 4th, could this meeting mention that the next few games will determine whether this team will be buyers or sellers at the deadline?  Perhaps it was announcement if the team doesn't change its course soon Risebrough will be looking to turn the team into a fire sale so if the team plans on playing like crap it might as well start packing its bags?  With the Wild's next three games against the likes of Northwest Division leading Calgary Flames, Central Division leading Detroit Red Wings, and a very tough Chicago Blackhawks squad so even if they play well they may have a lousy next three games. 

    To make matters worse the combined effect of an economic recession and cynicism about the team is starting to show in the fact the team is having to work harder to sell tickets.  The Wild barely managed to keep their sellout streak going as they had hundreds of extra tickets unsold to their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.  This afternoon on 830AM WCCO's This Week in Hockey the show had Wild's Vice President of Communications & Broadcasting Bill Robertson pleading with Minnesota fans to buy tickets to the game against Calgary and Detroit.  Wild.com's Kevin Falness even chimed in that Minnesota has just 10 home games remaining this season and suggested fans take advantage of these limited amount of chances to see the team play.  I will repeat it one more time, Kevin Falness said Minnesota have just 10 home games remaining this season.  Could this be a subliminal admission from Kevin Falness the team's season will end with the conclusion of the regular season?   Wild fans have been unquestionably loyal to this organization from the start.  The fans are from a traditional hockey market and know the difference between good and bad hockey in addition to a solid effort and a poor one.  The State of Hockey should not have to settle for a team that loafs against a non-playoff bound team like the Ottawa Senators.  Perhaps a fire sale would do this team good.  The Wild had a lot of turnover in its lineup since last season but perhaps a sense of complacency has settled in.  Who should the team deal? 

    Personally, the player I would trade that I believe would come as a shocker to the locker room and perhaps the fanbase is Brent Burns.  Brent Burns has struggled mightily this season, especially in the defensive zone.  Last year, Burns set the bar of expectations rather high after playing like a budding future Norris Trophy winner as a force in both ends of the ice.  This season Burns' decision making has been atrocious and has never been the same since the team had him play wing for about 2 weeks earlier in the season.  Often times Burns has been guilty of simply trying to do too much out there and the result has been a plethora of errors.  While he has not had a great season, he still has a lot of value as well as great potential making him an inviting asset to trade.  His salary, an average of $3.5 million per season makes him appear rather affordable considering his upside and he is under contract until 2011-12.  The arrival of Marek Zidlicky and Marc-Andre Bergeron have largely supplanted Burns in the role of offensive defenseman. 

    I think the team needs to keep Niklas Backstrom and I do not believe he will stick around for anything less than $6 million per season.  He is another asset that would likely attract some interest and garner some quality picks or prospects in return.  Marian Gaborik is another prime candidate to be traded, but he is virtually impossible to deal considering his well-known injury issues as well as rumors pertaining to his lack of happiness with the organization.  I doubt a fire sale would make a re-negotiation any more likely either.    

    If the Wild are indeed going to be a seller at the trade deadline this might give you a better idea of who the team will likely be talking to. 

    2009-10 Unrestricted Free Agent List (Team-by-Team)

    Or could we see the team make a move to improve itself before it star winger Marian Gaborik is set to return?  If you put it to a poll from Wild fans most will tell you the prospect of such a move to improve the team in the short-term is extremely unlikely.  One such thread over at wild.com eloquently titled, "Well DR, Your Hand Is being forced, Will you finally respond and make the team better through a deal?" demonstrates rather clearly that fans have little hope of Doug Risebrough making a move to turn this team's fortunes around.

    Wild Fans vent frustration and challenge Doug Risebrough

    Remember this is the same team which could've used an upgrade at center; even Jacques Lemaire basically asked for help through the press and the team wound up with another enforcer-type player when it traded a 6th round pick for Chris Simon as its only move at the deadline.  In a recent interview to the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Michael Russo with the Wild's majority owner Craig Leipold the Racine, Wisconsin-native said he had nothing but confidence in Doug Risebrough's ability to run the team.  He went as far as saying Risebrough's job is safe and places Gaborik's injury as the reason the team has underachieved.  While that certainly is a factor, you can bet season ticket holders are likely going to let their frustration be known as the team asks for its first 10% of its season ticket payment. 

    The month of March will have the Wild playing 12 of its 16 games on the road.  Even the most optimistic Wild fans would say the team would be lucky to win just half of these games away from the Xcel Energy Center.  At this point barring some tremendous collapse of fellow playoff contenders Columbus, Edmonton a .500 record home stretch will not get the job done.  So would the best thing be sell off what the team can and start again next season and re-tool its nearly empty prospect pool.  The Wild's top draft choice from this season, Tyler Cuma has been out with a knee injury all but 20 games this season forcing him to lose a year of development.  Benoit Pouliot, the 4th Overall pick from 2005 still has a way to go before he understands what it takes to stay in the NHL on a regular basis and may never find that part of his game despite the fact he possesses great talent.  Minnesota could use to stockpile some draft picks; but with a rather mundane amount of success on draft day to its credit is this such a wise move either?  Assistant General Manager Tommy Thompson has not had any late-round steals and with already one 1st round bust to his credit and another 1st rounder's progress teetering on complete failure should get the axe if the team ends up having to sell off assets to pile up draft choices.  Without question, Wild fans will want to see some level of accountability over the decisions (or lackthereof) of the last few seasons.  If they won't demand it in terms of letters, E-mails, calls into radio shows, they will likely hit this team where it hurts the most by hanging up on Wild Season Ticket Reps when they ask if they wish to renew. 

    The Wild must tread very carefully, and no matter what they decide to do they must be very careful not to patronize the intelligence of its fanbase.  Do not try to sell a garbage roster, and tell the fans it has the potential to win a Stanley Cup.  Of course there will be a few homers that will buy the hype and propaganda, but the vast majority will see it for what it is.  Just empty talk and excuses for not delivering a quality product on the ice.  The Minnesota Wild will find out the hard way if they try to tell the fans everything is just fine and there is nothing to be worried about.  We're too smart for that.    

     



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