Russo’s Rants » Blog Archive

Q&A Part I

Posted on March 18th, 2007 – 11:49 AM
By Michael Russo

OK, sorry this has taken so long. It’s been a very busy week, but finally I’ve got a little alone time here at 38,000 feet on my back to the Twin Cities. I’ll probably only do half by the time I land here. If there’s a bunch more I don’t get to, I’ll try to do another version later in the week. But I’ll want to get this up at least.

On a flight, incidentally, packed with Wild fans who attended last night’s game. FYI, also, I’m off the next few days.

smuggla says: There’s been much discussion about bringing up John Scott, the defenseman from the Aeros to help the Wild in the playoff run. Are there any accuracies with these reports?

Russo: When Houston’s season ends, the Wild will bring players up to be around the playoff run, practice and provide depth in case of injuries. However, even if Scott’s one of them, it’s extremely doubtful he’d get in unless there’s an exorbitant amount of injuries. Jacques Lemaire is not about to use a defenseman he’s never heard of in a pressure-packed playoff situation. He’s going to go with the defensemen who got the Wild here. If the Wild has injuries in the playoffs, Erik Reitz and Shawn Belle would be first to step in.

WildHooBear says: Critiques of Hall and Moore?

Russo: Sorry to pick just one of your questions. Maybe throw some back in on a future Q&A. I like both Hall and Moore. Hall is limited with his skating, but he drives the net, is always on the puck and is responsible in his own zone. Last night in Calgary, he did a marvelous jobs just chipping pucks out any time the Wild was in trouble to at the very least trigger a line change. He gives the Wild a better “playoff type” player on the third line than Pascal Dupuis could have offered (i.e. grit). Moore, I think, will be a good player here. It just might not be this year. As we’ve seen with Todd White last season and Mark Parrish this season, it can take Lemaire awhile to warm up to players. Moore appears to be the latest example, and unfortunately for him, it comes at a time where Lemaire probably doesn’t have the time to learn the nuances of Moore’s game. Lemaire trusts what Wyatt Smith provides on the fourth line, and Smith is playing well right now. And with White, Mikko Koivu and Wes Walz ahead of Moore, he could be squeezed into a playoff depth player. But Moore can skate, is solid defensively, is an outstanding faceoff guy and clearly has offensive flair, which he showed with his two-goal night March 9 at Buffalo.

Joe says: At the end of the season do you see the Wild locking up Niklas Backstrom to a big deal and having Josh Harding as the backup and sending Manny Fernandez packing?

Russo: It is WAY too early to say for sure because so many things have to happen. First off, Backstrom has to lead this team somewhere special. There are scores of examples in the NHL of goalies that have gotten hot for a few months, then were given a big deal and failed miserably - Jon Casey, Jim Carey, Johan Hedberg, Martin Gerber off the top of my head. However, let me say, I don’t think Backstrom would fail miserably. I think this guy is 100 percent for real and will be a No. 1 somewhere next season - here or elsewhere. I really believe he’s the next big thing when it comes to goalies. Remember, Miikka Kiprusoff came out of nowhere, too. Backstrom is calm, poised (look how he reacted to that cheesy goal he allowed 32 seconds into the Calgary game), unflappable and beloved by his teammates. Lemaire says he’s never coached a goalie that works on his game more on the ice and his conditioning off the ice. When the season ends, I’m sure the Wild will investigate what it’ll cost to sign Backstrom before he becomes a free agent. If it signs him, Fernandez is certainly a goner at some point. However, Fernandez has a ticket of $4.33 million and you have to be positive you can trade him. I think there are teams that would have interest - Florida, Phoenix, L.A., maybe Philly - but it could be tough if Fernandez is still voicing concern about a bum knee. In the salary cap world, it’d be difficult for the Wild to fit both Fernandez and Backstrom, although maybe it starts Harding in the minors, let Fernandez prove he’s healthy and then try to trade him. I do think you can quality assets for him, however, remember, the Wild wouldn’t have much leverage at that point because teams would know the Wild is desperate to rid itself of his salary. Like I said, this is all different scenarios of pure conjecture. A lot of things have to happen. But Backstrom is the model of consistency, and while a month ago I think the Wild was resolved to the fact it would just have to let Backstrom go this summer, I don’t think it can do that anymore. I know it’s tough for the Fernandez fans to admit, but this guy absolutely saved the Wild’s season. His statistics are spectacular, and there’s no debating rationally his 14-3-2 record in Manny’s absence.

Egad says: Is the coaching staff concerned at all about consistency at this point in the season? A team that can look as bad as this one looked against San Jose and as good as this one looked against Buffalo makes me nervous.

Russo: I have to preface this by saying I did not see the San Jose game, but I understand the Wild was flatter than a pancake. I really think though you need to take that game and throw it out the window. If I remember, the Wild played in Vancouver on a Sunday night. The team spent the night, left the next morning, landed Monday afternoon in Minnesota and was dragged to practice. To me, it’s no shock it didn’t have legs in a Tuesday night game to San Jose. I know fans want to discount travel because these are a bunch of millionaires flying in first-class seats and staying in posh hotels, but sometimes, that’s a valid excuse. I really think that performance can be thrown out the window. And quite frankly, I would say the Wild’s consistency the past two months has been remarkable, especially on the road. This team plays an unbelievably proficient, efficient game on the road. Look at Vancouver. Down 2-0 immediately, falls back into its system and recovers dramatically. Last year, this team would have caved if it gave up a goal 32 seconds into a game like it did in Calgary. Instead, it rallies together for a big win. With eight of nine to finish the season at home, it sounds funny, but the goal better to be to repair its home game because it hasn’t been as consistent.

newfan says: Is it just me, or has Brent Burns become one of the better d-men on the squad and the TV face of the team?

Russo: I don’t know about the face time because I never get to watch the games on TV, but it wouldn’t surprise me. He’s a charismatic, funny, very intelligent guy. And you’re dead-on that he’s become of the Wild’s top defensemen lately. I think we all need to remember he’s 22, and it takes a long time for defensemen to develop. Drafting a top-end defenseman requires patience. It’s quite the investment. Often times, teams give up on these guys way too early and regret it later - Chris Pronger from Hartford, Ed Jovanovski from Florida, etc. But as I wrote last week, the Wild has finally stopped messing with his head by flipping between forward and defense. Burns has all the tools to be a stud - size, speed, great shot, long reach, hockey sense. Chatting with Burns recently, it’s become very apparent to me just how vital Keith Carney’s presence has been to his development. Not only has Carney been the Wild’s steadiest defenseman, he’s a role model in this room. The way teammates talk about Carney, it reminds me about how teammates talked about Joe Nieuwendyk. I don’t think I’ve covered too many players more respected by his teammates than Carney. If you were in there, you’d see how much he’s adored. And Burns is No. 1 on that list. He completely looks up to Carney and credits him for much of his play.

kj says: Why isn’t Dominic Moore being utilized more and Todd White utilized less? Is Lemaire’s post-game comment about Kurtis Foster a ‘message’ for him to step it up in practice?

Russo: I answered Moore above. As it’s been well documented on my Blog with White, I just don’t get the criticism he receives. Is he flashy or spectacular offensively? No. But he’s a competent playmaker who can be exceptional defensively. Just watch how many times a game White gets his stick on a pass in the neutral zone to completely ruin an opposing attack. Let’s put it this way: If White’s not re-signed - and he may not be because GM Doug Risebrough is going to stay away from unrestricted free agents until he’s got Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Mikko Koivu signed - watch how fast White gets a job. As for Foster, I’m trying to remember the comment you’re referring to, but if it’s the “million-dollar shot” comment from last weekend, the message was to shoot the puck. Foster’s slap shot is second on this team to Brian Rolston. Lemaire wants Foster to blast away.

toivo says: Is Brian Rolston at 100% He doesn’t seem to be.

Russo: You’re right, he wasn’t the same since the All-Star break, although it certainly looks like he’s back. He looked tired and is nursing something because he’s been getting treatment often lately, but he had a fantastic road trip. Even Edmonton, which was the only game he didn’t score in, he had lots of energy. At this time last year, he hit a bit of a wall, too. It’s been a grind the last month and remember, he’s 34. But the one thing I’ve learned covering this team, if I were a Wild fan, Rolston would be the last player I’d worry about.

Wild RoadTripper says: Do you EVER have a good road trip? I would be really afraid to be near you on the road.

Russo: Fellow passengers just looked at me alarmed because I just laughed hysterically. Trust me, I love the job, but at this time of year, traveling gets old, especially when you’ve been on the road for 17 of the last 19 days and wake up not knowing what city you’re in. Now, instead of whining to my editors and telling all my friends about my travel escapades, I have you all. So thank you. In all honesty, I’m just kidding around most the time. Trust me, like I’ve said here before, I know I’ve got it lucky. I’ve been a sportswriter for 16 years. My only other job was at Toys R Us at age 16. I quit five months in.

NIH says: After Boogard, who would you rank as the 5 best fighters on the Wild?

Not too many fight after Boogey, but Carney used to drop the gloves a fair amount. I’d like to see Manny in a goalie fight. That could be entertaining. In all seriousness, Stephane Veilleux is a pretty fearless guy. Wes Walz fought Tyson Nash last year, which was impressive. Nick Schultz fought Tony Amonte, which was humorous. I once covered Mark Parrish in Florida drop the gloves with, I believe, St. Louis’ Ricard Persson. As I told Parrish after that game, it’s always entertaining covering two Swedes in a battle.

ceber says: What’s a typical practice like? Do you see a lot of the same drills day after day? Or does Lemaire change up the practices like he does the lines?

Russo: I would say that Jacques’ practices are the most innovative I’ve ever covered. When I watch other teams practice - or when I covered Florida - it seems coaches have a routine and do the same drills every day. Jacques changes practices up depending on what the Wild needs to work on. He once told me that when watching video, if the Wild is struggling in a certain area, there’s always a drill to be invented that would mimic exactly what the team needs to work on.

ballgame says: If you were commissioner for a day, what would be your most important issues to tackle - reallignment? schedule? Simonesque thuggery? TV deal? Any, All, or None?

Russo: TV deal, no question. ESPN equals legitimacy and exposure, and the NHL needs both.

Db says: There was an article on ESPN about Rolston and the possibility of him leaving after after his contract is up next year. Has there been any talk about his status or is it to early to speculate?

Russo: If ESPN wrote this, it took it from me. Here’s the story I wrote prior to March 8 Boston game.Jim Polkowski says: Mike, maybe it’s time to start discussing the potential first round opponents. If the Wild finish 3rd who would guess they might see in the first round? San Jose or Dallas? If they happen to finish 5th I would hate to see them face Detroit. I would rather finish 6th and take our chances with the Canucks in the first round. Or do you see a 7th/8th finish in which case we would probably see Nashville or Anaheim. Your thoughts.

Russo: I just have this feeling the Wild’s headed for a first-round matchup with Vancouver, which would be exciting. There’s so much drama there with Kevin Bieksa, Matt Cooke, Alexandre Burrows. And the Wild seems to be in Roberto Luongo’s head. But let’s be honest: We can dissect matchups all we want, but in this conference, there’s no easy matchup. The Wild has beaten Nashville for fun this season, but stuff like that is thrown out the window come postseason. The same can be said for how easily Detroit has handled Minnesota. If the Wild enters the postseason on the same high it’s on now, I think teams will fear the Wild.

We’re landing now…There are a lot of very good questions still. I’ll try to do some more later in the week.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 18th, 2007 at 11:49 am and is filed under Q&A. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

235 Responses to "Q&A Part I"

toivo says:

March 18th, 2007 at 12:15 pm

About White, even JL was getting on his case, so you can’t say he wasn’t deserving of the criticism he’s gotten here. Bad turnovers, soft play, indecisive, non-agressive… there was a stretch that started even before he hurt his knee where he was not playing well.

But I’ll be the first to say, he’s been playing a lot better as of late, which is great. Like you say, he’s been great in the neutral zone, has contributed a bit of offense without all the turnovers and has even been willing to play a bit more physical. In general, he’s just been a lot more aggressive, but it’s like he’s been two different players. I know, I know… it’s a long season and players go through ups and downs, yada yada yada…

Ty says:

March 18th, 2007 at 1:24 pm

Mike,

Back to my question from last week regarding the lack of televised games lately….how does the Wild Mgmt feel about it? It seems crazy that FSN would televise a T-Wolves game rather than a Wild game at this point in the season based on how each are playing. Does FSN or other channels have the choice to televise the Wild rather than the Wolves when the play at the same time? The Wild’s TV ratings must be destroying the T-Wolves ratings. Too bad Victory Sports never got off the ground and they could have an agreement and rights to televise and of the local sports teams games depending on who is playing better! It just seems crazy to have the girls HS state B-ball tourney on instead of the Wild considering how they are playing as of late!

ballgame says:

March 18th, 2007 at 1:37 pm

Russo - something tells me you were dying to answer the goalie question. Way to hide it in the middle of a post. Would Tampa be in that mix too? I can’t see the Wild wanting anything to do with Manny’s contract if they sign Backstrom. Wouldn’t they just unload him for a fourth rounder or something close to that?

So a couple days off… Where ya heading this time?

Becky says:

March 18th, 2007 at 3:26 pm

As a Fernandez fan, I don’t have trouble admitting Backstrom (AND Harding) have done a great job of holding down the fort since Manny got injured. I want the team to do well. Period. What I DO have trouble with is the dismissal of Manny’s contributions to the team this year and the overlooking of some key variables that have helped shape each goalie’s season so far.

Nik has had the glorious opportunity to step in with a healthy and usually competent/cohesive team playing in front of him. He didn’t earn that terrific record all by himself. And he has not yet been forced to steal a game for his team like Fernandez has done.

Manny had three weeks of a healthy team playing in front of him in October and then possibly three weeks of the same in January — sparkling stats for him during those periods, as well.

In addition, let’s remember some of those 11 road losses the Wild suffered prior to January (and the return of Gaborik) occurred with Nik in net. Bottom line is at the end of the day, it’s going to be a tough call for Wild management. I appreciate you, Russo, acknowledging that right now the goalie conversation is pure conjecture.

ballgame says:

March 18th, 2007 at 4:46 pm

Becky - I don’t want to sound as if I’m totally writing off your last post, but there are some issues I think need addressed.

I believe the folks that you think are dismissing Manny’s accomplishments for this team aren’t - I just think they realize that all three goalies have done very well and there’s really only places for two. Right now Manny’s the odd one out. Why???

Reason 1: (most importantly) He’s still hurt.
Reason 2: Backstrom has has played as well if not better than Manny.
Reason 3: Team chemistry is at an all time high. Proof: recent road trip for starters.
Reason 4: Manny’s contract would be great to unload this offseason.
Reason 5: Manny’s a (well documented) hothead which may explain Reason 3.
Reason 6: Harding has done a great job in backup, leading the idea that we only need one starter.
Reason 7: Backstrom is much more consistant than Manny. If Manny is in goal last night and lets that first soft one in (and he has), he’s on eggshells for the rest of the night.

One thing is 99% for sure - either Backstrom or Manny will be gone after this summer and many of us on this blog are making our choice for one or the other. I appreciate Manny’s contributions, but let’s not make it out to be more than it has been. He had a great year last year, but was average the previous four seasons. The Wild may have to let him go like they did Bruno, Annti, Mitchell, & Darby. It’s not always pleasant, but it’s the NHL.

smuggla says:

March 18th, 2007 at 4:57 pm

I agree with Becky. Manny single handedly won games when Gabby was out. The ONLY reason Manny is not is the mix is because he’s hurt. His emotions have nothing to do with it.

smuggla says:

March 18th, 2007 at 4:59 pm

Manny is also one of the BEST in the game at shootouts. He is the reason the Wild have an unusually large amount of shoot-out wins this year.

ballgame says:

March 18th, 2007 at 5:16 pm

I’ll give you the last comment smuggs, but Manny was in a bit of a slump mid season. I’ll say this too, they haven’t needed a lot of shootouts lately.

Denny says:

March 18th, 2007 at 5:43 pm

Russo: Good to see your Gaborik article at hockeynews.com

Denny says:

March 18th, 2007 at 5:44 pm

That is, thehockeynews.com

Becky says:

March 18th, 2007 at 5:48 pm

I agree, Ballgame, that we have 3 good goalies when there’s only room for 2. And we each have our reasons for favoring one or the other (Nik or Manny). I can’t see Harding going back to the minors — he’s proven he can handle himself in the NHL.

It seems to me the players we’ve let go or traded prior to deadline in the past had contracts that were about to expire — this would be the first time we would “unload” someone who had two more years on their contract extension. I asked Russo in the Q and A if that truly was the case for the Wild and what impact that would have on DR’s decision. Maybe this will happen more because of the new player contract/cap rules. It’s just so ironic that DR has worked pretty long and hard to keep Manny here. He saw potential he wanted to see play out.

Damn injury!! Guess we’ll all have to stay tuned…

ballgame says:

March 18th, 2007 at 5:55 pm

Yeah - I know everyone has thair favorites and I’m definately leaning toward Back. It’s not that I don’t like Manny - I was big on him when he was hot last year and when he was hot this year.

I’m a big believer that there is something wrong upstairs with most if not all goalies. Every goalie that I’ve played with, known, or watched has been a whackjob (with apologies to our mental health professionals). Rollie and Manny are two of the biggest. Back seems different, so… stable. It’s a reach, I know, but I like him because of it.

I’m also going to stick with my seven reasons above, subtracting the shootout arguement that smuggla smacked me with.

smuggla says:

March 18th, 2007 at 5:57 pm

Don’t think Nik doesn’t have a few skeletons in his closet.

ballgame says:

March 18th, 2007 at 6:09 pm

Oh I’m sure he does - how does a 32 year old not get noticed by the NHL until he’s 32?

Although… smuggla, are you saying you know something without actually saying you know something?

smuggla says:

March 18th, 2007 at 6:40 pm

I’m not a betting man, but if I was, I’d guess there’s a few players in the league who have a screw loose. Especially the person who decides not to televise a game or a sport people desperately want to see…

smuggla says:

March 18th, 2007 at 6:44 pm

Call me crazy, but right now, the T-Wolves are on both FSN and ESPN. And the Wild wasn’t on TV at all yesterday. If that’s not totally assanie I don’t know what is.

toivo says:

March 18th, 2007 at 6:49 pm

Backstrom’s 29, 28 whe the season began.

ballgame says:

March 18th, 2007 at 7:49 pm

The voices in my head are giving me the wrong info.

smuggla says:

March 18th, 2007 at 8:01 pm

I got a shrink you can call.

ballgame says:

March 18th, 2007 at 8:08 pm

Who - same as Manny’s?

Becky says:

March 18th, 2007 at 8:53 pm

I keep hearing goalies are “different”, “special” — I have to say “whackjob” is a first, but I get your point, ballgame. My son is a goalie and so far he seems pretty normal for a teenager.

Maybe that’s part of what’s getting Nik so much attention — the perceived stability.

Who’s in charge of TV contracts anyway!

ballgame says:

March 18th, 2007 at 9:03 pm

Becky, God bless ya. I’ve got a five year old who is hooked on hockey. I’m not sure I’ve got what it takes to be a hockey parent.

Even so… when we go to the hockey pro shop I won’t let him touch a goalie stick.

kj says:

March 19th, 2007 at 5:56 am

I hear ya ballgame…my 4 year old daughter is big into hockey. She is learning to skate and loves it.

One thing to consider…Manny’s contract might not look so big when Backstrom hits the open market. IF his agent is calling the shots, he’ll be out of here.

From what I have seen, Backstrom looks unspectacular because he is mostly in good position. Manny is more like a gunslinger. He is streaky. He is more aggressive and takes more chances.

I guess I don’t have a preference other than I know they won’t have all 3 around next year.

Russo: White has been better of late. I think that has more to do with Rolston getting his legs back than it does with White. I’m not a White fan obviously. I think he’s one of the primary ’soft’ players on the team.

ballgame says:

March 19th, 2007 at 6:12 am

kj - maybe you, Becky, and I can start a sub-group of Russo’s Rants for hockey parents. I’ve got so many cool stories, but I also know whats ahead. I used to teach at a high school that currently is a hockey powerhouse and have seen what those kids do year round and what happens to the 30 or so kids that don’t make a team.

True story - my 20 month old girl crys when we take her Wild jersey off. She howls and sobs “HockeyWild”. She wields the plastic sticks with prowess. If I could just freeze time…

ballgame says:

March 19th, 2007 at 6:18 am

New post, new thought.

I am currently watching NHL - On the fly from the NHL network online and it got me thinking…

Why don’t put the entire league online? Exposure would be an issue initially, but more and more people are getting high speed internet. My wife and I are able to watch Gray’s Anatomy online in bed whenever we want - we rarely watch broadcast tv anymore.

I don’t know how the finances would work, but I’m sure putting on your own show would be more cost efficient than paying to put it on ESPN. More and more clips are getting better than YouTube quality. This (NHL -OTF) is pretty good quality and good content.

In two or three years or so, it could be a juggernaut and the industry standard.

Becky says:

March 19th, 2007 at 7:33 am

Love both of your ideas, ballgame! I tried to avoid hockey all together — missing teeth, dawn practices, etc. However, my son persisted and I figured I’d let him go as far as he could as long as he worked hard and didn’t screw up in school. He’ll be attending a hockey powerhouse high school next year, so I’m pretty nervous… (Please say you’ve at least videotaped your daughter!)

Send your online idea to DR — can’t hurt. The NHL canNOT be making money with their current arrangement.

An off-the wall thought. DR is a stickler for plans and he consistently refers to Harding as the future. Nik really needs to be on a team that doesn’t have such depth in the crease, where he can plan on calling it home for quite some time. If we pair him up with Harding, that pushes Harding’s debut as #1 off at least three more years, if not more. Maybe a Manny/Josh combo makes more sense because Manny’s older and Josh is just about ready to hold his own.

And finally, I think certain players bring out the best in others. Rolston getting his legs back helps White play better. Gaborik coming back turns Demitra into part of a dynamic duo, etc. Fourth line combo sparks other lines… That’s why the Wild are as strong as they are now.

kj says:

March 19th, 2007 at 7:53 am

ballgame…

I could give you lots of stories. This is my second go-round with hockey kids. I have grown children that played traveling hockey through HS - one of them with the misfortune of having me coach him…:) One of my oldest’s team mates is a current NHLer. Thank God I had nothing to do with his development!!!

Nick in New York says:

March 19th, 2007 at 8:07 am

good points all…smuggla: Manny is sweet at shootouts, but that particular skill set goes out the window in 3 weeks. Not a knock on Manny, and your overall point that we owe a lot to Manny looking at the whole season is valid.

ballgame: great idea about putting the whole league online. There is no drawback that I can think of in the US (other than some kind of contract with Fox Sports and NBC). But how would you deal with the Canadian media companies that have invested so much into hockey, and for so long? But it’s a terrific idea. I wonder how much they can build out the youTube relationship?

Nick in New York says:

March 19th, 2007 at 8:10 am

Re: the last two games not being on FSN. I am guessing, but could there be some kind of contractual obligation to the WCHA Final Five (which took place during both games)?

That doesn’t explain why Calgary didn’t broadcast the Saturday game (which I presume would have made it available on Center Ice) but I’m guessing that was just a bad coincidence for us Wild fans.

smuggla says:

March 19th, 2007 at 8:20 am

Becky brought up a good point about DR and his plan and how that effects the goalie situation. I do think people should not think too far into the future and worry about next year and where everyone fits in blah blah blah, enjoy this year. As far as who ends up where and what, leave that up to Wild management, they’ve done a great job up to this point, our job is to enjoy it.

As for watching TV on the internet? I’ve never been a fan of that, I’m a visual person. The thought of watching an entire hockey game on a tiny computer monitor doesn’t sound too appealing. I’m fine watching it on my 32 inch TV.

JB says:

March 19th, 2007 at 9:26 am

Smuggla, you need a bigger monitor.

I agree i do nto like watching hockey on the web. But if it was free i would be all over it!!

GreenStar says:

March 19th, 2007 at 11:01 am

even with a bigger monitor, the quality still sucks. at least that was the deal with MLB two summers ago. A majority of computer users just don’t have the hardware. it takes more than a broadband internet connection.

no one watched the games on espn2 either. what i’d like to see versus do is show more late night west coast games throughout the week. as it is now, we are mostly stuck with east coast games.

i’d like to see TSN made available on directv.

kirk says:

March 19th, 2007 at 11:10 am

you can get some of the wild on tv if you have the center ice package. cause the edmonton game was on tv on thu. edm. that is

Reid says:

March 19th, 2007 at 12:19 pm

Yep, I would like to know what hardware that a person would need that they “just don’t have” to show games besides a broadband connection. The biggest impact is bandwidth. that is all that is limiting the quality of broadcast internet games we have now. How much are they willing to spend on bandwidth, and how fast of a connection do you have at your house. they factor in those numbers, and then use compression to get the best picture to you at the bitrate you can handle. it is not a hardware problem.

Reid says:

March 19th, 2007 at 12:23 pm

current video cards can handle any video you are watching that is streamed to your pc.

sad to see the time hasn’t been fixed yet. they probably don’t have a down time at the paper, so i guess some slack, 1 week, is allowed.

Becky says:

March 19th, 2007 at 12:44 pm

I have Center Ice and it’s awesome — I can watch hockey from East to West whenever I want to except in instances with Calgary/Wild last week. I even get to brush up on my French if no one except Montreal is broadcasting that game.

However, it would be nice to have an option when I’m on the road other than listening to the radio feed via wild.com on my computer. It also would be nice for the US media to get serious about promoting hockey and its coverage. NBC commercials are hilarious — too bad the actual game coverage isn’t too hot.

ballgame says:

March 19th, 2007 at 12:52 pm

Don’t get me wrong - I’d rather watch High Def hockey on my 60″ LCD and theater sound, but this fantasy also includes Heather Graham or Jessica Alba. My main piece of equipment is my laptop - I don’t have cable or satallite and I won’t be getting it anytime soon (nor Heather or Jessica). Costs too much to pay for too many channels that I don’t watch.

GreenStar, currently the technology is nothing to write home about. However it is improving and has the potential to be as good as television soon. How many watched any of the live basketball last weekend or have watched the live pre-game show that NBC has on before their Sunday games - it’s not bad.

I’ve done some homework and found out that the NHL puts old games on Google (whoopie.) and now CenterIce has an online service but are offering it for the month of March at $119. This seems typical of the NHL - come up with a great idea, don’t promote it and charge folks up the wazoo for it.

I honestly think this is the future of live sports that aren’t pronounced football or baseball. The NHL needs a leg up on the other sports and could do so with direct, grass roots marketing and online offerings. Hell, I’d pay $120 for a season of hockey - not much more.

By the way, TSN is showing live hockey online for free - just can’t get it in the states. (You could also see the Tim Horton’s Briar for all of you curling / hockey crossovers)

Why are we still dealing with an NHL braintrust that doesn’t show a game between Calgary & the Wild?

elimn17 says:

March 19th, 2007 at 1:02 pm

so about the whole manny thing. I really wonder what nik would have looked like if he where the starting goly at the begining of the season. I only mention this becauaes I dont think nik has been tested like manny has. Now Im not saying that nik hasnt been tested in games and stepped up and made amazing saves and what not. what I am saying is that nik didnt start the season and 10 or so games in lose its star player gabby. so I think these guys have played under two rather different situations. ye nik looks great right now but the team is playing great right now too. what happens if the team starts to faulter? Is he gunna have enough to pull through it?? I guess Im saying dont be to quick to dismiss manny becuase we havent seen ALL the ups and downs that nik will face during a whole season.

ballgame says:

March 19th, 2007 at 1:05 pm

Not sure why my link didn’t work.

If that didn’t work - here’s the link’s text.

http://www.onfrozenblog.com/2007/03/12/nhl-center-ice-online-now-available/

GreenStar says:

March 19th, 2007 at 1:41 pm

i have your standard cable internet service from time warner with a dell inspirion 8600 laptop powered by what was a high end geforce card with 128megs on board and when i went full screen with the baseball feeds, the PQ was not as good as my 27in sony at the time. when i watched it in it’s 3 inch window it was good.
i didn’t say it couldn’t be done but PQ goes a long way when watching hockey.

Nick in New York says:

March 19th, 2007 at 1:54 pm

separate topic: Apparently the Dallas Stars’ President Jim Lites voiced some inflammatory opinions about the Nashville organization due to the fact that Modano’s setting the career goals for an American record wasn’t acknowleged in their game.

Here’s what he said:

“Their owner, management, public relations people, coaching staff — I think they all failed the game,” Lites told the Dallas Morning News. “It’s because of people like Mike Modano that they even have a team in Nashville. He has helped pioneer the game in the South, and for him to be treated like that in a milestone moment … it’s just a horrible thing.”

“I understand it’s a competitive situation, but we’re also working together to sell the game,” Lites told the paper. “They get more money from revenue sharing than any team in the league, they voted against the new schedule because they wanted to have an easier schedule for themselves. They take and take and take and take and never give back, and I’m sick of it.”

Thoughts?

smuggla says:

March 19th, 2007 at 2:01 pm

Hockey doesn’t belong in the South. Take away those teams and increase the overall talent level with a smaller amount of teams all in the North including Winnipeg. If people in the South want hockey they can come up there to see it.

HormelRowofFame Guy says:

March 19th, 2007 at 2:05 pm

Ballgame.. I have a 60″ Sony HDTV and have only seen two broadcasts in HD this year of the Wild. It is very frustrating. Hockey really works on HD if the broadcast team knows their stuff and backs off and shows the entire width of the ice… but no one broadcasts in HD - and NOBODY in the appliance selling business tells you that! I don’t get why they don’t show it in HD, but they don’t.. so save your money for now.

Nick in New York says:

March 19th, 2007 at 2:15 pm

smuggla: just for the sake of argument, how do you react to this (from an article on nhl.com):

“When the Stars moved from Minnesota to Dallas in 1993 there were three hockey rinks in northern Texas and no high school hockey programs. Today, the Dallas region boasts 23 sheets of ice that serve more than 7,500 youth players and 70 high school teams.”

I mean, doesn’t that prove that hockey, while traditionally NOT a southern sport, CAN grow with proper exposure?

Every time I talk to someone from a city down there that got a team recently (and I’m in sales, so I talk to people all over the country all the time) I ask them about it, and if there’s any appreciable growth. And the answer has ALWAYS been something along the lines of “yes, the sport is really growing”.

Now your point about expansion diluting the talent pool is a great one. But if the net result is that we’re growing more and better hockey players simply by increasing the number of kids that grow up wanting to be Mike Modano, then in a generation or two that disparity will be filled.

In the last several years the number of US College hockey players drafted in the higher rounds has increased noticeably. Places like Alabama-Huntsville and Omaha-Nebraska are fielding Division I programs that are competing with the big schools.

I think hockey is expanding at the grass roots, and I’m not willing to say that the NHL expansion of the last 15 years had NO bearing on that.

smuggla says:

March 19th, 2007 at 2:16 pm

That sucks to hear that HRFG. I actually got an HD TV before the hockey season, but when I heard people say that not all games are broadcast in HD, I chose to save the $15 a month extra the cable company wants to give me HD. Seems like more trouble and expense than its worth. I imagine as technology advances, more games will be broadcast in HD and it will be lesss expensive or an included cost. I’ll just wait till then…

Reid says:

March 19th, 2007 at 2:24 pm

greenstar- pQ? pixel quantity? your laptop resolution is like 4 times that of your tv. that is why it looks grainy. its not your hardware. it is the amount of data that they are willing to stream. how many kbps they want to give you.

watching any sort of tv looks choppy on a pc. your resolution is 1024 x 768 at a minimum these days. its all about good compression, and bandwidth.

Hockeydad says:

March 19th, 2007 at 2:32 pm

Not to mention, I have been reading everyone’s frustrations with being unable to watch the CY game. Limiting the NHL to the Northern U.S. isn’t going to help with a better national TV contract any time soon, either. As much as I sometimes like to feel a little snobbish and think that places like Tampa, FL and Raleigh, NC don’t deserve to be hoisting the Cup (or at least before I see it being hoisted in St. Paul), I believe it is good for the growth of the game.

More specifically on the TV side, the NHL definitely needs to do whatever is necessary to get back to ESPN. Having said that, many of us hockey fans tend to over-estimate the NHL’s popularity across the country, and even sometimes in MN. I don’t know the answer to this question, but I bet it would surprise a lot of us to actually compare the Wild’s TV ratings against the T-Wolves.

smuggla says:

March 19th, 2007 at 2:35 pm

Good big pic point of view NiNY. I did notice that there is a team from Alabama in the NCAA final 16 tourney (I’m sure they’ll make an early exit). My point of view is every time you see a game played in the South, the announcers always talk about how bad (mushy, choppy, soft) the ice is - (probably just your typical mindless media-guy cliche banter). The NHL expansion got ridiculous in the 90s half those new NHL cities in the South don’t have the fan base to support a team. It was like the NHL forced themselves upon those cities - almost begging them to embrace it. The NHL should have been more selective. Now we have cities that should have teams (Winn, Queb, that don’t) and too many southern cities that have it but shouldn’t.

Remember the quality of play during the Olympics - when the upper crust of NHL talent is squeezed into 8 teams. That’s some intense hockey. The NHL should have a happy medium, about 20 teams. I won’t mention any names, but I think we know which 10 cities we should cut out of the game (in case youre wondering it’s: FL, TB, PHX, CAR, DAL, NAS, ATL, etc….)

Reid says:

March 19th, 2007 at 2:39 pm

will the Alabama team make the same early exit that Holy Cross made against the Goophs?

Eddie Shore says:

March 19th, 2007 at 2:51 pm

That’s very interesting Nick in NY, that is very bush league of Nashville, I would bet the farm that if Modano scored them goals in any venue in Canada, they would have even acknowleged it. Sad indeed.

Nick in New York says:

March 19th, 2007 at 2:53 pm

I guess I don’t necessarily disagree, but my point is more of: A) it’s hard to do comprehensive market testing before you actually enter the market and B) how do you define what is and is not a legit hockey city?

I mean if you go by pre-existing fan base then no american cities outside of Mpls/StP, Detroit, Boston….maybe Buffalo…should have ever gotten a team. And yet the NHL went into Pittsburgh, Philly, New York, etc and made it work. Obviously it didn’t work everywhere (Oakland, Atlanta, Winnipeg, etc) but I would be amazed if there aren’t exponentially more hockey players/fans in Philly today than there were in the 50s and 60s.

ICE: Obviously climate has an effect on ice conditions. But if they can play an NHL game outdoors (granted in Edmonton) then I think the ice problem is one that technology and innovation can help overcome. (And with global warming, the current standard of crappy ice may well become more of a league-wide issue.)

Don’t get me wrong: I realize that a major part of the huge expansion of the 90s was the expansion fees that the owners pocketed. And there’s no doubt that there are guys in the league that shouldn’t ever have gotten out of Moose Jaw. But I see those as natural growing pains.

NASCAR eats the NHL’s lunch in terms of fan garnering over the last umpteen years. It’s got a huge and rabid fan base, largely down south. Since I don’t know jack spit about the sport this could be wildly inaccurate, but I don’t see a lot of tracks being built north of the Mason-Dixon line (at least not here in the Northeast).

At the same time, the NHL is making forays into NASCAR territory and trying to grow the sport without benefit of national media coverage, or a “natural” cultural appeal. I think this is a business model that has the potential to really pay off down the road for the NHL.

Umbie says:

March 19th, 2007 at 4:30 pm

Everyone is talking a lot about Manny & Backstrom and I think both are good goalies. I remind people that on one side Manny was replace in the second game of the season when he was scored on at will by Nashville, and then Backstrom came in and the Wild came back and won the game. On the flip side I have seen Backstrom give up some bad angle shots in the last month or so that have ended up making games closer then they need to be. So to be fair I think both goalies have plus & negative side to them.

Becky says:

March 19th, 2007 at 5:30 pm

I read somewhere that bowling, BOWLING, actually had greater viewership than hockey on ESPN or whatever channel carries it. It seems like it took the lock-out to get the NHL to even think about clever marketing. While I don’t agree with the all of the markets selected for expansion teams, the NHL had to do something to strengthen the hold in the US.

Your point about “natural” cultural appeal is dead on, Nick. As the face of our urban centers change, so does the allegiance to hockey. Here in the Twin Cities not a single public urban high school fields a boys hockey team as far as I can tell — the suburbs and the north (and Rochester) are where they’re at. The urban parochial schools have solid teams, however.

I had the chance to attend a Bruins game last October against the Buffalo Sabres. I was shocked. Here was an original 6 team and the place was nowhere near full. In fact, there may have been more Sabres fans than those cheering on the Bruins. I was used to the X filled to the rafters with a program that totally engages the fans.

My son is one of maybe a handful (I’m being generous) Mexican/American youth hockey players. His dad was a soccer star in Mexico (put skates on for exactly 15 minutes and won’t touch them again!). I think each NHL team is trying to broaden the game through support of youth hockey in whatever area its located, but it’s going to take a while. Look at how long it’s taken soccer to catch on.

Scott says:

March 19th, 2007 at 5:30 pm

As both a NASCAR and hockey fan it kind of ironic the both sports are in the same boat when it comes to expansion. Over the last ten to fifteen years NASCAR has been expanding its fan base out its “home” in the south. NASCAR has opened up tracks in Cali., Kansas, & Chicago. Now it is adding races and tracks in Mexico, Iowa, and Canada. This expansion has been met by opposition from “purists” who don’t like seeing races taken away from the more historic tracks. Sound kind of familiar.

NASCAR’s expansion plan has been working to. I live in South Dakota, and over the last 8-9 years I have seen the number of people who watch NASCAR grow quickly. People wearing driver shirts, hats, etc. has probly tripled.

The NHL needs to keep doing whats it’s doing. Sure some expansion teams won’t work out.But if the NHL doesn’t expand it end up losing TV time to NFL, MLB, NBA, and NASCAR. So instead of watching games on Vs., they won’t be on at all.

Also I found an iteresting article on the web. I don’t how old it is but its a good read.
http://proicehockey.about.com/cs/businessofhockey/a/contraction.htm

Nick in New York says:

March 19th, 2007 at 5:48 pm

Scott- great insight into NASCAR’s expansion. Whatever they’re doing it’s obviously working!

Becky- I think you’re dead on that socio-economic considerations, as pertaining to the distribution of population has a huge impact on what extra-curricular activities appeal to, say, urban versus suburban youth.

Obviously these are vast generalities (ironic considering that Joe Mullen has been in the news with all the Modano stuff, he of Hell’s Kitchen, New York) but the bottom line is that hockey faces a double whammy in that it’s expensive to play at an organized AND unorganized level.

Compared to (american) football, which is obviously expensive at an organized level, but quite inexpensive at an unorganized level, hockey requires more stuff regardless of whether or not it’s on-ice youth programs or pick up games in the street. Basketball and baseball are both easy and cheap to play.

That said, the number of non-caucasian’s playing hockey is increasing from the NHL on down. That and programs like Ice Hockey in Harlem are making an impact.

A couple years ago I participated in a street hockey tournament that was co-sponsored by IHIH. It was a bunch of teams made up of bohemian Brooklyn types, mid-level city business people like myself, and then a couple squads of kids from the IHIH program. The hockey was good and intense, and the camaraderie was evident all day. But the thought that all those kids went to school the next Monday talking about playing hockey, and more specifically that they played with and against a bunch of people who didn’t look like them, or come from the same background as them is the point.

As long as there are programs to provide sticks, nets, balls/pucks and a couple pillows for the goalie - in other words enough to get people out there - I’m confident that the game will sell itself once they start playing.

Scott says:

March 19th, 2007 at 6:14 pm

I going to throw a few questions out there about our defence.

With Schultz, Skoula, and Foster hitting FA at the end of the year, who do you guys see getting resigned?

If the wild were to pick up a D-man over the summer(trade, draft, FA) what kind of d-man should we look for?
–A defensive-minded D
–Blue-line sniper
–A big physical D

Should JL just play Nummelin or Foster instead of constantly scratching one of them?

Nick in New York says:

March 19th, 2007 at 7:21 pm

I’d like to think Schultz, who I think has really solidified our second pair, will be back.

I can’t stand Skoula, but JL obviously loves him so I would bet he comes back unless he forgets how to skate backwards.

I think we clearly need Foster, so I’d like to see him come back.

If Burns and Johnsson (and to a lesser extent Foster) could provide consistent offense, then we wouldn’t need Skoula. And we have a lot of money invested in Johnsson so I doubt he’s going anywhere. If that all magically happens then you would think Skoula would be moveable. At that point then we’ll be glad JL has been blowing sunshine up his butt all season because hopefully that will mean we could get more for him than he is worth in my book.

Without knowing who’s going to be available as a UFA, I think we clearly need a big banger. A guy like Mitchell would do wonders for this team in my book. But there is no way DR and JL bring in a Darien Hatcher type who can ONLY bang. We’d need a guy who can at least initiate some offense, and isn’t just a neanderthal.

Bill says:

March 19th, 2007 at 7:35 pm

This is the type of commercial the NHL should have on during other sports events to get people interested in watching the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UIppjQajqU&mode=related&search=

Bill says:

March 19th, 2007 at 8:08 pm

It would be nice if Bell could step it up for next season. He has the size and wouldn’t cost alot. It would be great if we could get some offense out of Johnsson. If not this season then next. He is such a good skater and can really move the puck out of the zone. I think he just needs to take a chance once in awhile and pinch in like Carney and Burns have been doing.

smuggla says:

March 19th, 2007 at 8:13 pm

The question about the defensemen is an interesting one - it’s the position I used to play. I was hoping they’d get Ed Jovinoski or Chara in the offseason. Will the Wild come back next season with an improved group? Absolutely. Although it’s hard to complain when the guys you got are about to enter the playoffs as the third seed in the West. However they decide to upgade, I’m sure DR and crew will make the right decisions.

Becky says:

March 19th, 2007 at 10:51 pm

Schultz has really stepped up his game this year. I don’t think he had to visit JL’s Dog House once.

I’m with you, Nick, regarding Skoula. We have seats behind the Wild net. Used to be every time Skoula got the puck in our defensive zone something bad would happen. It got to be joke with my husband and me. However, JL’s faith in him seems to have helped work out the wrinkles to a certain extent. Still not my fav, but he contributes more now than detracts.

Foster HAS spent time in the Dog House. He’ll be back if he uses all of the hockey gifts he possesses — shooting the puck more often while not compromising D comes to mind. Burns said in a recent Hockey Unplugged that the strength and speed of Foster’s shot is a close second to Rolston’s. Just gotta get it on net more.

It’ll be interesting to see what they do. I think we still might be in the evolving stages…

ballgame says:

March 20th, 2007 at 7:31 am

Morning -

Becky: Not to keep disagreeing with you, but there are several St. Paul and Minneapolis High School Hockey programs. St. Paul has Johnson, and Como Park. I’m not sure about the present, but there used to be a combined team of Central, Highland Park, and Harding. Mpls has South, Southwest, and two combined teams “East & West”.

I’m disappointed about the lack of appeal of our great game, but I’ll harken back to a previous post that I submitted…

The reason NASCAR works and hockey doesn’t has to do with the consumer and not the product. I don’t get NASCAR, but millions of others with short attention spans and deep pockets do. Hockey’s a great game that requires patience and understanding of the game to enjoy. I can switch on NASCAR and without knowing about restrictor plates and tire pressure, I should be able to understand the in’s and outs of the sport. Not so in hockey.

The classic example is Mrs. Ballgame. She had never seen a hockey game until I got tickets for the state tourney. Because I was a teacher at the school in the tourney, we got seats on the glass behind our net. She was intreagued, and asked at least 100 questions. What is offsides? Why is the crease blue? Why is that hit clean and that hit a penalty? Fast forward six years and she will pick up tickets on the way home from work (we live a mile from the X) and hustle us out the door to watch the Wild.

The NHL’s problem is no exposure to allow fans to understand their game. A glowing puck will not turn one on to hockey. The more one understands hockey, the more one loves it.

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 7:36 am

OK…one brutal stretch of 8 of 10 on the road, with the playoffs basically on the line, DONE! Our record was 7-1-2, and 6-0-2 on the road.

Who was it that was saying they needed to kick butt during that stretch?

Mission accomplished!

Now we finish the season with 8 of 9 at home, and we’ll only play 1 team that’s a playoff team during that whole stretch. (Whether it ends up being Colorado or Calgary remains to be seen.)

Umm…does that scare anyone else? I mean, does the rest of the season look so easy on paper that we’ll see a let down?

I know they’re all saying they’re focused on winning the division, and Vancouver has been on just as impressive a run, and there’s the matter of seeding to be determined…but the recent success has been largely due to getting their individual and collective game honed and focused, and if we lose that focus…

Becky says:

March 20th, 2007 at 7:49 am

You’re right, ballgame. How could I forget about Johnson — they played Baudette on 1/20 (and lost that time)in Baudette as part of Hockey Day MN! Glad to hear some other programs are around. I know they have YOUTH hockey, I just never hear anything about the older teams.

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 7:50 am

ballgame: I completely agree that the learning curve in hockey appreciation is more important than it is in other sports. I would also submit that it is a very front-loaded learning curve. In other words, I think that once you get past hockey 101, the game will pull you in sufficiently to motivate you to complete the full curriculum, as it were. Those ads from a few years ago with Shania Twain and Denis Leary explaining the rules of the game were a good idea, but they lost something on TV.

What the league and the teams should do is partner with the local schools, businesses to do “field trips” to the rink, bring in someone from community relations as the “teacher”, maybe have a player stop by, whatever.

But actually put people on the ice and do demos about “this is a face off”, “this is hooking”. They could tie it in with all kinds of academic subjects, do off-ice multimedia reinforcement of the things they “learned”, whatever.

And then, the coup de grace would be to make a section of seats available for the game THAT NIGHT. That kind of experience would A) endear the team to the community and B) really immerse these people in the game from soup to nuts and C) help hockey stand out from the other “big” sports - in a positive way.

Teams could charge the school/business for the event and the tickets so they wouldn’t LOSE any money. I just don’t see a downside to this. If the barrier to entry is ignorance, regardless of the basis…then you have to overcome that ignorance.

We hockey fans agree that the game will sell itself in terms of being exciting (beyond the fights) and appealing to the US sports consumer. But no one likes to feel like an idiot, so let’s get people over that hump in a “cool” experience that will really kick start their relationship with the game.

kgopher says:

March 20th, 2007 at 8:04 am

This is the first year I have really been a hockey fan. Had been to a couple games with my fiance since we started dating 3 years ago but they were standing level or upper level. I thought it was fun to go to the games with him but just didn’t get into hockey if I wasn’t at the game. What hooked me this year was the first game we went to when we sat 2 rows behind the visitors bench. I could see everyone’s faces and I could see better how fast the games were. It made it more exciting to me. Since I have been hooked. The player appearances help too since you actually get to see the players and it makes them more “real” to me. Not just some person who you see only on the ice. I now watch every game I can and listen to the ones I can’t. This is the only sport that I can watch a whole game on tv (and choose to watch over something else) and definetely the only sport that I will listen to on the radio. I am still learning all the basics (still don’t understand what icing is..if someone could help me on that one) but I really am enjoying the games. I have lower level tickets for tonights game and can’t wait!

smuggla says:

March 20th, 2007 at 8:08 am

For a movie day they should have the kids watch Slapshot. Remember that scene with the French-Canadien goalie explaining the rules of the game? That is a classic. What are everyone elses favorites scense or one-liners from that movie?

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 8:08 am

kgopher: if you really want to learn about icing, check out the link on my name and we can discuss there…I don’t want to kill Russo’s blog with rules discussions (I already pushed it talking about investing with smuggla!)

smuggla says:

March 20th, 2007 at 8:13 am

we were just sweating Russo for being away from his blog for so long.

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 8:20 am

speaking of which…do you think we’re going to see anything today?

kgopher says:

March 20th, 2007 at 8:42 am

I will try looking it up online somewhere. Thanks Nick

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 8:52 am

don’t do that…it’s basically if you send the puck from your own zone all the way down past the goal line, and the other team touches it first (after it crosses the goal line) it’s icing.

Here’s the text from the NHL rule book:

For the purpose of this Rule, the center red line will divide the ice into halves. Should any player of a Team, equal or superior in numerical strength to the opposing Team, shoot, bat or deflect the puck from his own half of the ice beyond the goal line of the opposing Team, play shall be stopped and the puck faced-off at the end face-off spot of the offending Team, unless on the play, the puck shall have entered the net of the opposing Team, in which case the goal shall be allowed.

For the purpose of this Rule, the point of last contact with the puck by the Team in possession shall be used to determine whether icing has occurred or not. As such, the Team in possession must “gain the line” in order for the icing to be nullified. “Gaining the line” shall mean that the puck (not the player’s skate) must make contact with the center red line in order to nullify a potential icing.

(NOTE 1) If during the period of a delayed whistle due to a foul by a player of the side NOT in possession, the side in possession “ices” the puck, then the face-off following the stoppage of play shall take place in the neutral zone near the defending blue line of the Team icing the puck.

(NOTE 2) When a Team is “short-handed” as the result of a penalty and the penalty is about to expire, the decision as to whether there has been an “icing” shall be determined at the instant the penalty expires. The action of the penalized player remaining in the penalty box will not alter the ruling.

When a Team is “short-handed” by reason of a major penalty, and they have neglected to ensure there is a player on the penalty bench to exit upon the expiry of the penalty, they will continue to play short-handed but are not permitted to ice the puck. Icing will be called. They may substitute for this penalized player at the next stoppage of play.

(NOTE 3) For the purpose of interpretation of the Rule, “icing the puck” is completed the instant the puck is touched first by a defending player (other than the goalkeeper) after it has crossed the goal line and if in the action of so touching the puck, it is knocked or deflected into the net, it is NO goal.

(NOTE 4) When the puck is shot and rebounds from the body or stick of an opponent in his own half of the ice so as to cross the goal line of the player shooting, it shall not be considered as “icing”.

(NOTE 5) Notwithstanding the provisions of the section concerning “batting” the puck in respect to the “icing the puck” rule, the provisions of the final paragraph of Rule 59(e) apply and NO goal can be scored by batting the puck with the hand into the opponent’s goal whether intended or not.

If a player of the side shooting the puck down the ice who is on-side and eligible to play the puck does so before it is touched by an opposing player, the play shall continue and it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule.
If the puck was so shot by a player of a side below the numerical strength of the opposing Team, play shall continue and the icing violation shall not be called.
(NOTE) If the Team returns to full strength following a shot by one of its players, play shall continue and the face-off shall not take place.

If, however, the puck shall go beyond the goal line in the opposite half of the ice directly from either of the players while facing-off, it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule.
If, in the opinion of the Linesman, any player of the opposing Team is able to play the puck before it passes his goal line, but has not done so, play shall continue and the icing violation shall not be called.
If, in the opinion of the Referee, the defending side intentionally abstains from playing the puck promptly when they are in a position to do so, he shall stop the play and order the resulting face-off on the adjacent corner face-off spot nearest the goal of the Team at fault. If, in the opinion of the Linesman, the goalkeeper feigns playing the puck or skates in the direction of the puck on an icing at any time, the potential icing shall not be called and play shall continue.

(NEW for 2005-06) The Linesman shall have discretion to wave off apparent icing infractions on attempted passes if those passes are deemed receivable.

(NOTE) The purpose of this section is to enforce continuous action and both Referees and Linesmen should interpret and apply the Rule to produce this result. If, however, a goalkeeper is legitimately out of the net in an attempt to go to the players’ bench to be substituted for an extra attacker and in no way makes an attempt to play the puck, the icing should not be nullified under this section.

If the puck touches any part of a player of the opposing side, including his skates or his stick, or if it touches any part of the opposing Team’s goalkeeper, including his skates or his stick, at any time before or after crossing the goal line, it shall not be considered icing.
(NOTE) If a goalkeeper takes any action to dislodge the puck from the back of the net, icing shall be washed out. If, however, a goalkeeper is legitimately out of the net in an attempt to go to the players’ bench to be substituted for an extra attacker and in no way makes an attempt to play the puck, the icing should not be nullified under this section.

If the Linesman shall have erred in calling an “icing the puck” infraction (regardless of whether either Team is short-handed), the puck shall be faced-off on the center ice face-off spot.
(NEW for 2005-06) Any team that is in violation of this Rule shall not be permitted to make any player substitutions prior to the ensuing face-off. However, a team in violation of this Rule shall be permitted to make a player substitution in order to replace a goalkeeper who had been substituted for an extra attacker.
(NOTE) A team in violation of this Rule shall be permitted to make a player substitution in order to replace an injured player.

ballgame says:

March 20th, 2007 at 8:55 am

Nick - good marketing idea. Hockey’s got to have a grass roots approach above anything else.

The remaining 9 games frighten me!!! Especially tonight. When’s the last time we stuck it to Phoenix of all teams. 2-7-1 in their last 10. Smells bad right now.

kgopher - icing explained. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_w4MV_LwMw

Nick - where does your site lead to? Is this your blog?

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 8:57 am

not my blog…it’s a local (MN) sports site that I’ve been hanging around for a few years….fairly quiet, but troll-free (for the most part) and some very knowlegeable hockey people.

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 9:02 am

I’m with you about being scared of this game. It’s just too easy to have a let down.

ballgame says:

March 20th, 2007 at 9:19 am

Is Russo back on today? I’m sure we’ll get something after the pregame skate. Hopefully an injury update - Boogey, Walz, Manny.

Question is, will we get to 100 (meaningful) comments before the next post.

Mike has been pretty quiet as of late - now that the ruse is up, is he quitting the blog?

smuggla says:

March 20th, 2007 at 9:22 am

I disagree, I think the Wild has emerged as an upper-crust team and it’s been a long time since their old habit of ‘playing down to an opponent’s level’ surfaced. I think the last time that happened was the last time they visited Colombus - and I think Gabby was still hurt. I expect the Wild to win every remaining game (except maybe the ones against Cal) because Vancouver will finish strong as well and the Wild know they have to do this if they want to win the division.

Hockeydad says:

March 20th, 2007 at 9:42 am

The 2 games against St. Louis scare me the most - those guys have really played well the last few weeks, especially considering what they traded away at the deadline.

Kgopher - the one nuance about icing that can make it a little more difficult to determine when the call should be made is the exception for when a linesman deems a pass was receivable. In that case, the linesman can waive off icing. This is a post-lockout change, I do believe, and has greatly reduced the number of icing calls (a good thing IMO).

Kellogg says:

March 20th, 2007 at 9:42 am

I am not concerned about these last few games. Lemaire has them focused on the division lead. They know they don’t want to start on the road in the playoffs. They have graet momentum right now. It just doesn’t seem likely. Phoenix has zero to play for anyway. They’ll come out very weak in this game. What do they care?

smuggla says:

March 20th, 2007 at 9:50 am

Often times you can hear the ref yelling out “Noooo!” when the puck sails past everyone into the opposite attack zone indicating that icing is waived off for one of those reasons.

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 9:54 am

hockeydad: I think the lineys could waive off icing for that reason before the lockout, no?

Hockeydad says:

March 20th, 2007 at 9:56 am

Kellogg - the Wild didn’t exactly light up Edmonton last week and what do the injury-depleted Oilers care? There’s no reason the Wild shouldn’t mop up these upcoming opponents, but if they fall into the trap you just laid out and take these teams lightly, these games will be more difficult than they need to be. If they maintain the focus they have generally had on the road the last couple of weeks, however, then things should be fine.

Hockeydad says:

March 20th, 2007 at 9:58 am

Nick, not so sure. I note from your rule excerpt above that the exception seems to be “new for 2005-06.” In any event, icings for that reason sure are waived a lot more frequently now than before, so could just be a point of emphasis, too.

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:03 am

yeah…I should probably read what I post…I think you’re right about the new for 05-06 part…

I didn’t discern between just waiving it off for the old reason that an opposing player was close enough to it to play it, and the attemped pass was receivable part. You’re right that that’s new.

kgopher says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:04 am

Thanks everyone for the explanation of icing. Greatly appreciated.

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:10 am

kgopher: so when you see a player dump it out from his own zone, and it looks like it could…go…all…the…way down to the far end boards, watch the linesmen. They’ll raise one arm straight up in the air if they intend to call icing. If something happens to negate the icing they’ll vehemently do the treading water thing with their arms and, as smuggla pointed out, they’ll also yell “NO!” to reinforce that they’ll waiving off the icing.

You can also tell if icing is indicated or not by watching the goalie at the far end of the ice. He’ll be watching to see if the lineys indicate icing too. And if they do, he’ll stay in his crease and wait it out because if he goes out to play it they can negate the icing. But if you see the goalie skate out to play it, or into the trapezoid to stop it from rimming all the way around, then you know that icing was either not in effect or was waived off by the lineys.

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:16 am

also: the linesman who is high in the zone (closest to the neutral zone) will naturally be the one that chases the dumped puck down the ice, and will actually whistle the play dead as a result of icing. You will notice that that (lead) linesman will often look back at the trailing linesman before indicating that icing is on with his own arm. While I believe the lead linesman has the authority to call icing regardless of what the trailing guy saw, they will communicate to each other in this way on nearly every instance.

Not a big deal, but one of the little things that make watching the game more fun.

Hockeydad says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:23 am

While we’re on the topic of rules (boy do we need Russo to post something new, or what?), here’s one that not many people in attendance at the X appreicate: Hand passes are allowed in your defensive zone. So many moans and groans from fans at the X who feel the Wild just got screwed when the opposing team does that and, expecting a whistle, there is none.

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:25 am

really? I’m surprised that more people don’t know that rule…I wonder if Erik Johnson’s penalty in the WCHA championship game will further confuse them?

Hockeydad says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:26 am

I missed it - what did EJ do?

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:28 am

he was without a stick, picked up the puck and threw it out of the zone. Clearly a penalty, and I suppose better than running around without a stick, but yikes!

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:29 am

actually, he threw it into the stands. I don’t know if the same rule about a DOG penalty for clearing it directly into the stands from your defensive zone exists in the NCAA as well as the NHL.

smuggla says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:30 am

The rule there is that although you can push, bat, grab and drop a puck with your hand - you’re not allowed to wrap your fingers around it and throw it.

kgopher says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:32 am

Kent Youngblood is covering for Russon on Articles today and wrote and interesting one on how the Coyotes are rethinking their player structure and how it is a younger team then when the season started. They are starting to follow the Wild’s model and develop and play the younger players instead of going with the older players they were playing at the beginning of the year. He also had a short blurb on Manny’s knee injury needing more rest. Both articles are on the tip of the http://www.startribune.com/wild page.

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:32 am

yeah…and EJ definitely wrapped his paw around it, picked it up and chucked it out of the rink!

smuggla says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:32 am

I don’t think the puck actually made it into the stands the EJ play

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:34 am

oh…I thought it did, but I guess I can’t say definitively…

Hockeydad says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:34 am

Yikes is right! One way to get a whistle, I guess.

smuggla says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:34 am

Gretzky may have been the best player to ever play, but as far as his coaching skills, the jury’s still out… If PHX copies the Wild, that will definately make them a better team, but we will always be one step ahead of them.

smuggla says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:37 am

I watched the replay closely and it bounced on the ice near the glass and looked like it went into the crowd at first, but it was an optical illusion. It would’ve one hell of a souvineer!

kgopher says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:39 am

Not that I can comment on Risebourgh’s competancy or not since I really don’t know much about hockey, let alone running a team, but just thought it was an interesting point for the people that don’t like his style and don’t think he is competant (again, can’t comment one way or the other on that one). He can’t be screwing up too badly if others want to do unless it is the case of if your friends jump off the bridge…

Kellogg says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:47 am

Hockeydad, The Oilers did care being that (at the time) they were still attempting to get into the playoffs. I agree that we did not play nearly as well as we need to on a night in and night out basis. That is going to happen occasionally. However, my point is that the Wild know what they need to do, and I don’t believe that they will fall into a trap against the poor teams they will be playing. I do not think they will win all nine remaining games (I hope they do). I am sure they will have at least one let-down. I just think that the majority of the games, Leamire will have them ready.

Becky says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:54 am

Key point in the Strib article about the Coyotes is their newfound attitude — Gretzky’s playing the young guys now and they’re playing hard and having fun. Wild will have to show up for the rest of the season and I think they will. They should be riding a high on what they’ve seen they can really do as a team.

As for DR, I happen to like his vision and his style. He has an instinct that is usually on the mark.

smuggla says:

March 20th, 2007 at 10:56 am

kgohper, I believe your suspicions are accurate. I would say DR is at least competent if not exlemprory. The team is in it’s 6th season has already been in the Western Conf finals. More importantly, they are now an upper crust team and positioned to be there for a long time. It’s only a matter time before they win the Cup, and they may win a few in a row. Look at the other expansion teams of the 90s, the Wild is already at or past their levels.

kgopher says:

March 20th, 2007 at 11:01 am

Not complaining here. I really love watching our team play. I think whatever they are doing is working and they need to stick with it. Am really looking forward to tonights game at the XCel Center!!

Nick in New York says:

March 20th, 2007 at 11:47 am

that’s good enough for me smuggla…

kgopher: don’t sweat the newbie status. None of us can say we know what it takes to run a professional sports team so we’re all in the same boat.

Nicole N. says:

March 20th, 2007 at 12:40 pm

We better WIN BIG tonight!

Hockeydad says:

March 20th, 2007 at 12:48 pm

Better win, yes, but I will be more interested in how they play, than the margin of victory. I am hoping to see a lot of puck possession, good forecheck and that PHX’s chances and possession will be minimal. All in all, a good crisp effort.

Hockey D says:

April 4th, 2007 at 12:41 pm

This may be an odd question given that the playoff race is the main topic of conversation, but I’ve always wondered why the Wild have Houston as their minor league affilliate and Dallas has Des Moines. Wouldn’t it make more sense financially & geographically to switch them? Manitoba would make more sense too….just curious.

MsAdams says:

September 11th, 2007 at 1:01 pm

How much does it cost links on your blog (Blogroll)?

chatham furniture nc says:

September 14th, 2007 at 2:39 pm

How add your blog to bookmarks?

download free lagu melayu mp3 says:

September 17th, 2007 at 7:04 am

JAPAN MP3 Download?

cheap levitra says:

September 18th, 2007 at 4:36 am

Wieviel kostet es Verbindungen auf deinem blog (Blogroll)?