Wild 3, Canadiens 0; Roster talk; Nolan highlights
Posted on October 4th, 2008 – 9:41 PMBy Michael Russo
As you could tell my below blog, the Wild was very good tonight in every area.
Niklas Backstrom was so good, the classy fans in Montreal gave him a standing O at one point
Jacques said tonight was the best Stephane Veilleux he’s seen. He played with Marian Gaborik and James Sheppard, and Veilleux and Gaborik scored goals and Sheppard had two assists.
Veilleux led the Wild with four goals in the preseason and Sheppard and Veilleux tied with six points.
Antti Miettinen was very good tonight, as was Erik Reitz, who fought Steve Begin in the end as a reaction for Begin’s earlier hit on Gaborik.
Talked with GM Doug Risebrough before tonight’s game. The Wild plans to make cuts Sunday. He sounds like Colton Gillies and Cal Clutterbuck/Danny Irmen can’t BOTH make the team barring injuries. Risebrough said he’ll keep 23 players, including injured defenseman Kurtis Foster, who will be placed on injured reserve.
So in reality, that’s 22 players — 13 forwards and seven defensemen. To keep both Gillies and Clutterbuck/Irmen, the Wild would likely need to keep 14 forwards.
So if I had to guess, Gillies gets the wing spot and Benoit Pouliot obviously gets the center spot over Krys Kolanos.
Risebrough said he doesn’t know if Marek Zidlicky will be ready by the start of the season with an injured ankle. He says he’s day-to-day.
If he’s not ready, the Wild will keep an extra defenseman, meaning Reitz and probably Tomas Mojzis.
As for Tyler Cuma, I’ve gotten a lot of emails asking if the Wild could keep him 10 games. Remember, that’s only if he’s signed. If he’s not signed, he’d have to be returned to Ottawa of the OHL by Tuesday at 5 p.m, I think.
And according to members of the front office, there has been no talk of signing him yet. Everything with Risebrough and Lemaire is subject to change, but so far, he’s going back to junior.
To go with Sunday’s Owen Nolan story, here’s some YouTube video of some of the things mentioned in the story:
Calling hat trick shot at ‘97 All-Star Game
Nolan running Ed Belfour in ‘98 playoffs
Nolan fighting Aaron Voros last year
Nolan career highlights from 1,000th game ceremony last season
I thought the most interesting part of the Nolan story was Vincent Damphousse making the comparison between he and Pierre-Marc Bouchard. Damphousse, by the way, now owns the spa La Scandinave in Blue Mountain, Ont., and Mont-Tremblant. He’s also opening two more in Old Montreal and Whistler, B.C.
I’ll talk to you Sunday after I get back to Minnesota in the afternoon.
32 Responses to "Wild 3, Canadiens 0; Roster talk; Nolan highlights"
Send us Clutterbuck and Irmen back. They can always get called up but neither needs to be sitting in the press box.
Misconduct,
I will say that I have never heard of a goalie getting a standing O in another teams building. It just goes to show you what kind of a special goalie we have. capable of taking us to a stanley cup
I agree. They are too young to be sitting in the press box. Get them some playing time in the minors and keep them fresh in case there is an injury.
The fact that DR is keeping 22 with Foster being 23 tells you that Clutterbuck and Irmen are heading to Houston.
From the last thread…
kj says:
October 4th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
NiNY…glad we could provide a few minutes of diversion for you! Next time you’re singing.
It was nice to finally meet you and your lovely bride. I felt bad ‘cuz I had so many people to talk to and couldn’t spend as much time as I would have liked chatting. Such is the life of a rock star, I guess…
I also thought it was pretty crazy that my best buddy (The Good Doctor - I’ll have to tell you how he got that nickname) knew who NiNY was…
Green*…I’m with you for the bail $$$
MKia…please cease and decist from using me as one of your nom de plumes (hey, they played the Canadiens tonight). I have not, nor will I ever support your point of view. Even if I agree, I’ll keep my big fat mouth shut…
I miss anything good on the last string? I’m too tired to read it…
Campaigned for my mom all AM, worked all PM. BTW, if anyone lives in or knows someone in Fridley, Reynolds for Mayor!
Oh, and my highlight of the day. Come home and look at my fantasy teams. I thought my friends were smart. One guy picked up Emery, one guy landed Jagr. Nice boys. Nice.
You shouldn’t have said anything about it to them. 
Nah, I know. Like I said, one last friendly nudge from the ol’ commish. Now I crush them.
Rawr! Crush mangle destroy!
Buddha:
Pam is your mom? I think that 6 degrees of separation thing just kicked in.
Yeah? How fun… I have to know.
You should send it to me. buddhafisch@gmail.com
kj: *tips cap*
Pleasure was all ours. You’re a class act. And a cowbell legend!
Thanks for the bail money pledges, guys. Wife in New York and I are pulling the graveyard (ouch, bad choice of word) shift at the hospital right now. I have managed to contain my rage. 
I like that we seem to have some options among our youthful contingent of the roster. Why, it wasn’t that long ago we Russovillians were lamenting the apparent bareness of our cupboard…
Hang in there Nick.
As for the young guys…well maybe you’re all just surfing the Nile…
(Get it? The Nile? Denial? Huh? Hey everybody?)
(… okay, I’m going away now.)
[…] Russo’s Rants – […]
[…] -Canadiens fans might be the best in the league. Why? Because they gave Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom a standing ovation in a 3-0 preseason win in Montreal last night. […]
I will say that I have never heard of a goalie getting a standing O in another teams building. It just goes to show you what kind of a special goalie we have. capable of taking us to a stanley cup
Mr Know it All,
You’ve never seen a Habs game, have you? As About the Sens points out, their fans are the best in the NHL, by far. They are not the best because of their ovation for Backs last night, they do things like that all the time for other teams, and it’s usually because they are letting their team know their displeasure for the effort being put out that night. Toronto’s fans are the same way. Although here in the State of Hockey, we have a great fan base, and heading to the X is always fun, the X nowhere near produces the same type of atmosphere that you would experience in either Montreal or Toronto. Their fans are absoultely rabid about hockey, hence the riots in Montreal.
If Nolan can pot 15 or so goals, I will be much happier having Nolan than Demo in the lineup. We will be a better team
SRV will get 35 goals this year.
Olden will play like he’s Youngden.
Gaborik will re-sign.
Wild will win the Stanley Cup.
*glug, glug, glug*
Wouldn’t it be nice if SRV could sustain this streak? He seems like a new man. Don’t anybody disturb the air around him…
Anything they get from Owen Nolan will be a definitive plus for the Wild. Kind of like found money…and, has anyone noticed that Mark Parrish still doesn’t have an NHL gig yet?
Anyone else want what SRV is having these days? What a start…granted, it IS pre-season, but like a baseball hitter on a hot streak, you hate the week-long layoff before the season opener…
Does the ‘Standing O’ that Habs fans at the Bell Centre gave Wild goaltender Niklas Backstrom last night give new meaning to the phrase, ‘Stand Up and Jeer?’
Not too subtle, are they, the Habs crowds…
If Gaby really wanted to stay here, he would tell Ron Salcer that he’s ready to sign now, and that he (Salcer)’s done negotiating…if he really wanted to stay here, that is…
Florida Panthers finally play their one pre-season home game tomorrow, vs. the Islanders. They’ve been off for over a week…
If Gaby really wanted to stay here, he would tell Ron Salcer that he’s ready to sign now, and that he (Salcer)’s done negotiating…if he really wanted to stay here, that is…
That’s my feeling too - it’s all about getting a huge contract. Wasn’t it Gabby who fired his agent the last time around to get a deal done? If so, it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen this time.
hockeynut… you have perked my ears… as Fraizer says, “I’m listening.”
Gaborik fired his agent last time around ‘cuz he was still an RFA and the agent was incompetent.
Now, with Salcer, he has someone that won’t cave and is probably telling Gaborik that he will get Ovie money if he waits until 7/1/09.
The Facts
The Wild have the way they operate
The Wild have offered up the loot and we all know its better then fair
The Wild have told Gaby what they have to offer as a franchise
We all know that the Wild are being conservative with some of the language of the contract becasue of Gabys injury history. Gaby it sounds has not always taken care of himself and has been a bit reckless. I cant see where the Wild can be held at fault for being conservative with the language of the fine print
With all of the facts above its hard not come to the conclusion that …
Salcer needs to say to Gaby, what do you want to do here, this is what we have for a contract offer. Here is what it is, it is the best I can do with this club. I will say to you that you could get more money in free agency, but you could run the risk of getting a very reduced contract if you were to have injuries. Do you want me to initiate a contract or should we request trade
Signed: Mister Know it all
Good stuff Know it all !
You’ve never seen a Habs game, have you? As About the Sens points out, their fans are the best in the NHL, by far. They are not the best because of their ovation for Backs last night, they do things like that all the time for other teams, and it’s usually because they are letting their team know their displeasure for the effort being put out that night. Toronto’s fans are the same way. Although here in the State of Hockey, we have a great fan base, and heading to the X is always fun, the X nowhere near produces the same type of atmosphere that you would experience in either Montreal or Toronto. Their fans are absoultely rabid about hockey, hence the riots in Montreal.
Last season after a Red Wings game they gave Chris Chelios a standing ovation - after naming him one of the stars of the game. He’s old and no longer an everyday player and there aren’t too many games between the conferences, so they wanted to be sure to show their appreciation for his years in Montreal just in case they didn’t get another opportunity.
Canadiens fans are well known for appreciating fine hockey from either team in the game.
i’ve been the montreal for a game and i’d recommend it to anyone. the X ain’t the same simply because we don’t have the history.
ruesse got one thing right on the radio this morning that the best writer in hockey is the Don. then i went into the tunnel and when i came out slover souhan was saying “don’t ya think the wild are happy gaborik isn’t signing because they are cheap?”
ruesse also said he wants top 4 money but he isn’t a top 4 player.
ruesse also said he wants top 4 money but he isn’t a top 4 player.<
wow…me and reusse have more in common than just our weight…
It makes us look like idiots on the russo rant when we talk about Gabby and the real star is Backs
“It makes us look like idiots on the russo rant when we talk about Gabby and the real star is Backs”
That doesn’t seem like something the real Buddha would say. We really should complain to the moderators about MiKA and his multiple personalities… maybe we can get him IP Banned.
Yeah, Austin, that’s not Buddha.
Honestly, MKia, please just stop with the impersonating. It’s not fooling anyone.
Did anyone catch Tampa earlier on Vs? Barry has cut some hair off the back. I don’t think it will reach the collar of his suit or his shirt!
Barry also looks like he isn’t missing meals either.
