Wild opens 2009-10 season in Columbus; Gaborik, Lemaire play in Minnesota
Posted on July 15th, 2009 – 2:02 PMBy Michael Russo
(Update): Restricted free agents Benoit Pouliot, Clayton Stoner, Danny Irmen and Robbie Earl have accepted their one-year qualifying offers.
The 2009-10 NHL schedule was just released.
Some highlights:
– Wild opens on the road for the first time since the 2003-04 season (in Columbus) Oct. 3. Wild opens with six of seven on the road.
– Wild opens at home against the Ducks on Oct. 6.
– Todd Richards returns to San Jose on Oct. 10.
– All in one week, Martin Havlat returns to Chicago on Oct. 26, Marian Gaborik returns to Minnesota on Oct. 30 and Chuck Fletcher returns to Pittsburgh on Oct. 31.
– Wild visits Stephane Veilleux, Kurtis Foster and the Lightning on Nov. 12.
– The traditional New Year’s Eve game is against Los Angeles.
– Jacques Lemaire, Brian Rolston and the New Jersey Devils come to Minnesota after New Year’s Jan. 2.
– The Olympic break is Feb. 15-28; Wild’s first game after break is March 3 in Calgary.
– The Wild will play 18 games against the Eastern Conference this season, playing seven games against the Atlantic Division, six against the Southeast Division and five against the Northeast Division. Minnesota will play a home game and road game each against Carolina, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Minnesota will also visit Eastern Conference members, Buffalo, Montreal, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Toronto and Washington, while hosting Atlanta, Boston, Florida, New Jersey, the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers.
– The Wild’s longest homestand is five games: Feb. 4-Feb. 14, against Edmonton, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Atlanta and Vancouver. The club has a pair of five-game road trips: Oct. 8-Oct. 17 at Los Angeles, San Jose, Anaheim, Edmonton and Vancouver, and also Dec. 5-Dec. 12 at Nashville, Phoenix, Colorado, Calgary and Vancouver.
– (Updated) Training camp starts Sept. 12 with physicals, on the ice for the first time Sept. 13; preseason schedule will be released at later date, although you can figure out some games by looking at other team’s released preseason scheds. Wild opens preseason two days after camp starts in St. Louis on Sept. 15; Blues comes here Sept. 24. Columbus plays in Minnesota on Sept. 18; Wild goes there Sept. 21. Chicago comes here Sept. 20; Wild goes there Sept. 25. I hear the Wild plays a preseason game in Philadelphia I believe Sept. 29, but we’ll see that schedule when it’s finalized soon.
– Regular-season single-game tickets go on sale Sept. 12. Preseason tickets go on sale Aug. 22.
DAY DATE OPPONENT TIME (CT)
OCTOBER – REGULAR SEASON
Sat. 3 @ Columbus 6:00 p.m.
TUE. 6 ANAHEIM 8:00 P.M.
Thu. 8 @ Los Angeles 9:30 p.m.
Sat. 10 @ San Jose 9:30 p.m.
Wed. 14 @ Anaheim 9:00 p.m.
Fri. 16 @ Edmonton 8:00 p.m.
Sat. 17 @ Vancouver 9:00 p.m.
WED. 21 COLORADO 7:00 P.M.
Fri. 23 @ St. Louis 7:00 p.m.
SAT. 24 CAROLINA 7:00 P.M.
Mon. 26 @ Chicago 7:30 p.m.
WED. 28 NASHVILLE 7:00 P.M.
FRI. 30 N.Y. RANGERS 7:00 P.M.
Sat. 31 @ Pittsburgh 6:30 p.m.
NOVEMBER
THU. 5 VANCOUVER 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 7 DALLAS 7:00 P.M.
Tue. 10 @ Toronto 6:00 p.m.
Thu. 12 @ Tampa Bay 6:30 p.m.
Fri. 13 @ Washington 6:00 p.m.
Sun. 15 @ Carolina 12:30 p.m.
WED. 18 PHOENIX 7:00 P.M.
FRI. 20 N.Y. ISLANDERS 7:00 P.M.
WED. 25 BOSTON 7:00 P.M.
FRI. 27 COLORADO 1:00 P.M.
Sat. 28 @ Colorado 8:00 p.m.
DECEMBER
WED. 2 NASHVILLE 7:00 P.M.
FRI. 4 ANAHEIM 7:00 P.M.
Sat. 5 @ Nashville 7:00 p.m.
Mon. 7 @ Phoenix 8:00 p.m.
Wed. 9 @ Colorado 8:00 p.m.
Fri. 11 @ Calgary 8:00 p.m.
Sat. 12 @ Vancouver 9:00 p.m.
TUE. 15 COLUMBUS 7:00 P.M.
Thu. 17 @ Montreal 6:00 p.m.
Sat. 19 @ Ottawa 6:00 p.m.
MON. 21 COLORADO 7:00 P.M.
WED. 23 EDMONTON 6:00 P.M.
SAT. 26 ST. LOUIS 7:00 P.M.
Mon. 28 @ Los Angeles 9:30 p.m.
Tue. 29 @ Anaheim 9:00 p.m.
THUR. 31 LOS ANGELES 7:00 P.M.
JANUARY
SAT. 2 NEW JERSEY 7:00 P.M.
Tue. 5 @ Chicago 7:30 p.m.
WED. 6 CALGARY 7:00 p.m.
SAT. 9 CHICAGO 7:00 p.m.
MON. 11 PITTSBURGH 7:00 p.m.
WED. 13 VANCOUVER 6:00 p.m.
Thu. 14 @ St. Louis 7:00 p.m.
Sat. 16 @ Phoenix 7:00 p.m.
Mon. 18 @ Dallas 7:00 p.m.
THU. 21 DETROIT 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 23 COLUMBUS 8:00 P.M.
WED. 27 DETROIT 7:00 P.M.
Thu. 28 @ Colorado 8:00 p.m.
Sat. 30 @ San Jose 9:30 p.m.
FEBRUARY
Tue. 2 @ Dallas 7:30 p.m.
THU. 4 EDMONTON 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 6 PHILADELPHIA 7:00 P.M.
WED. 10 PHOENIX 7:00 P.M.
FRI. 12 ATLANTA 7:00 P.M.
SUN. 14 VANCOUVER 2:00 P.M.
Feb. 15-28 Olympic Break
MARCH
Wed. 3 @ Calgary 9:00 p.m.
Fri. 5 @ Edmonton 8:00 p.m.
SUN. 7 CALGARY 2:00 P.M.
TUE. 9 FLORIDA 7:00 P.M.
Thu. 11 @ Detroit 6:30 p.m.
Fri. 12 @ Buffalo 6:30 p.m.
SUN. 14 ST. LOUIS 5:00 P.M.
TUE. 16 EDMONTON 7:00 P.M.
Thu. 18 @ Nashville 7:00 p.m.
Fri. 19 @ Columbus 6:00 p.m.
SUN. 21 CALGARY 2:00 P.M.
TUE. 23 SAN JOSE 7:00 P.M.
Thu. 25 @ Philadelphia 6:00 p.m.
Fri. 26 @ Detroit 6:30 p.m.
MON. 29 LOS ANGELES 8:00 P.M.
WED. 31 CHICAGO 7:00 P.M.
APRIL
FRI. 2 SAN JOSE 7:00 P.M.
Sun. 4 @ Vancouver 9:00 p.m.
Mon. 5 @ Edmonton 8:30 p.m.
Thu. 8 @ Calgary 8:30 p.m.
SAT. 10 DALLAS 7:00 P.M.
CAPS INDICATE HOME GAME
DATES AND TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE
189 Responses to "Wild opens 2009-10 season in Columbus; Gaborik, Lemaire play in Minnesota"
*REPOST*
10 pts to the person who put this on the Wiki:
“Dom Moore - Who?”
Not in love with the team’s final 11 games.
Looks like I need to get tickets for Oct.26 and Jan.2, those should be cant miss games.
I definitely need to get to the Jan 2 game!
They need to start televising the pre-season games. I cannot understand why they don’t.
I would love to see a game at the United Center, but I’m more interested in the game at the “X” on Oct. 30.
10 pts to the person who put this on the Wiki:
“Dom Moore - Who?”
only 10 points?
that was genius…..go toivo
Deep Breath thats what I meant, the return of groins. I got the two dates mixed up
Wow all but 1 game in Feb. at home.
Glad to see the schedule has been worked better in March w/ Final 5 (soon to be 6) and high school tourney where Wild aren’t on the road for a long period at a time.
Gunslinger: guilty.
No worries. Disappointed that we won’t get a look at AO again this year.
From previous thread:
Maybe I missed something but how was that a Fletch reference?
“mooooon river”
That should be all I need to say. But just in case, I’ll add this:
They need to start televising the pre-season games. I cannot understand why they don’t.
+1 - I think a Wolves preseason game was aired on FSN last year. Just one of the road games would be nice.
Looks like jan 23 vs the Jackets is the Hockey Day in Minnesota game?
Quasi-former Players
Benoit Pouliot - B-B-B-Benny, Benny Hill, Benny Poubah, Pool Boy, Switzerland
Who put this on there? And why is Pool Boy a “quasi former player”?
I like the Chris Simon thing, but it’s a bit wordy…
dont see a 7-0-1 start this year!
Brutal March. 3 straight weeks of Sund-Tues home games followed by back-to-backs on the road on Thursday and Friday.
Add on top of that, some our opponents are Cgy(2), Det(2), SJ, Phi, Stl, Edm, for that stretch
Glad to see the schedule has been worked better in March w/ Final 5 (soon to be 6) and high school tourney where Wild aren’t on the road for a long period at a time.
Yep - best March schedule in a long time/ever but no home stands at the beginning or end of the season either.
By best March I ment most home games - Gun is right on the mix of games which looks tough.
The Wild are on the Road a lot until the middle of December. Starting at Dec 21, the Wild are home a strong majority the rest of the way out. Including 17 home games to 9 road games from Dec 21 to the Olympic break at the end of Feb.
man-oh-man…I looove seeing the Olympic break in there!
I count 13 back/back games
‘07-’08 March had 9 home games
just picking nits
in february, the guys on the team not in the olympics are going to be home the entire month!
that seems excessive to me…..but what do I know….
TFO I counted 15 B2Bs…fwiw
“…and some trolls even morph into citezens of said community, and become regular folks discussing issues rationally…..it is a great thing……”
MKVN are you listening?
“Mooooooon River”
Are you using the whole fist doc? Did you ever do time?
I’m guilty of Chris Simon too, but I thought that best summed up the Chris Simon Wild Experience.
toivo, I appreciate it for sure…. it’s just long. But that’s okay.
I count 2 5-game and one 4-game roadies…and 1 5-game and 2 4-game home stands.
Why would MKVN become rational, or anyone want him to for that matter? That would completely ruin his schtick. It takes a bit of work to remain in character like he does, and we should appreciate the effort that he’s been putting forth all this time. It would be like when Kiss took off the makeup if he became rational.
‘07-’08 March had 9 home games
I was drinking heavily that season 
mid december road trip decides if we are buyers or sellers….
8-9 on the road…mostly good teams…..spanning from phoenix to ottawa in distance…
could be rough…..not as bad as the opener strech….(even worse!)..
Looks like a tuff schedule down the home stretch, when we will more than likely be chasing or fighting to hold a playoff spot.
NiNY, you are correct sir. My math is failing me today…which is not good in my line of work.
man, assuming everyone’s jammed up in March on account of the Olympics, how amazing is it going to be watching all that hockey leading up to the trade deadline, and into the stretch…wow
February ends with the Olympics (which should be awesome and on NA time zone time) and then we just down shift into the stretch and insanity of march.
we decide later on of course….
but the record during that strech will show us what we have…..
TFO: Air traffic controller?
TFO, what is your line of work?
NiNY: nope, finance industry…I swear the current economy is not my fault.
“That would completely ruin his schtick. It takes a bit of work to remain in character like he does, and we should appreciate the effort that he’s been putting forth all this time.”
If it’s schtick then I agree completely….if it’s schtick.
TFO: me too. Mine neither.
NiNY: As long as we keep getting our bonuses and bailout, does it really matter whose fault it is?
Yeah…this golden parachute thing is shiny and pretty!
see, if we’d won the Cup this summer, then we could have presented SRV and Fozzie with their rings in a special ceremony at center ice before the game on November 12th…
…if we’d won the Cup.
Yeah, math is somewhat important.
Yesterday I was putting a quote together for a customer (something I rarely do for reasons to become glaringly obvious), and to find the price, I multiplied by 50% rather than divide by 50%. So I quoted the guy $1000 instead of $3000 for a product with a cost of $2000.
Oops.
Probably already been asked and answered but I’m lazy…. Are there fewer games due to the Olympic break?
Wafer: I’m sure the customer wasn’t complaining.
TFO: But he did. When the distributor gave him the price, the customer was all “That boy ain’t right” and called me back for the correction.
RG: Pretty sure it’s the same as always, 82 games.
Yep, 82 games.
thanks, Wafer…
I hate math….
“I’m like…mad at numbers…..”
“yeah!…..there’s like…..too many of them!”
-the immortal beavis and butthead
Bad math? I spoke a numerical figure to a client once, something like ‘453′, and they said, “OK. Now how much would that be if you took 100 away from it.”
I said, “You want me to subtract 100 from 453 for you?”
“Yes.”
[facepalm]
I added a couple POTDs, but I don’t have the time to search them all out.
$100 that Gaborik is hurt for the Oct. 30 game. Any takers??
Justin that is a tempting bet. I say the odds are in your favor of him being hurt though.
Lemaire has a better chance at being on the Xcel ice this season than Gaborik does!
Wafer, the POTD’s should be it’s own page if you didn’t already make it so. It would be cool to have dates on them too if possible. I swear we had someone keeping a log of POTD’s for awhile there…
wow…..we need that sucker streamlined….then it would be awesome….
almost makes me wish I could edit the page, but alas, I am computer illiterte…….
(appearently english as well)
poty’s too…..if only we could locate the NiNY joshua tree story….
Math is hard. Let’s go shopping!
-Barbie
I listed Pool Boy as a Quasi-former player because he’s in Houston and uless TR gives him a reprieve, that’s where he is until CF cuts him loose or injuries require him to play up here.
From the Stars schedule:
Wed. Sept. 30 @ Texas (AHL) 7:00 p.m.
Does this mean they’re playing their own AHL club? I’m so there!
Wait — the Stars are playing their own AHL club here in Austin?
Chicago is rumored to be shopping Sharp due to their cap issues. Any reason to believe Wild would be interested. He could fill the #2 center role.
Ms. C: That sounds like a question to be asked on the Stars blog ;). Although, just to warn you, the blog sucks. That lady who writes it isn’t very thorough like Russo. I sent her an email one time and she got super snarky and basically told me to F-off and stick to Russo’s blog. I took her advice (she also banned my IP).
The Stars will also hold an exhibition game on Wednesday, September 30 at the Cedar Park Center, facing off against the club’s new American Hockey League affiliate, the Texas Stars.
Awesome. I am so there.
I sent her an email one time and she got super snarky and basically told me to F-off and stick to Russo’s blog. I took her advice (she also banned my IP).
What’d you do? Call her a Twat?
Mike Heika’s the only hockey writer in Dallas to even give the time of day to. His blog is pretty good, though doesn’t have Russo’s following, naturally.
Alright, Austins… Assuming the Aeros don’t have a pre-season game that night, I’m there, too. I’m SO excited to see that new barn!
Sounds good Ms.C! We will definitely see you there.
BRUTAL closing month!!!!
BRUTAL closing month!!!!
As usual… *sigh*
Taking a look at the Flyers roster, they cant feel to good about Emery being the only goalie heading into the season. Might they be a logical trade partner for Harding. Offer a package with Harding for one of thier talented forwards. Richards, Briere, Carter. Could be one of the only suitors for Harding.
Wildfan, Harding + Boogaard for a forward. I’d do it. Plus the Flyers are in love with the idea of an all enforcers team so maybe they would bite on it.
Austin: I rarely laugh at posts, but I laughed at you 3:57 post. I didn’t call her anything. I was just wondering if she ever did anything other than write about her observations of the game. You know, like actual stories with substance and team news every now and again. She told me “sorry, next time I’m in the locker I’ll look for the dead bodies in the corner for you.” To which I replied, “I didn’t mean to offend you, if the team is that boring, there’s nothing you can do.” At the time, the team was dealing with Avery, so we all know it wasn’t boring.
I can definitely see Philly taking the bait on Harding + Boogey. Are they shopping anyone?
I have to think if they trade for a goalie, they have to be able to include one of their current guys in the deal on the way back.
I have zero interest in either of their guys, even as a backup.
NiNY, sounds like a good opportunity for a 3-team trade.
Offer a package with Harding for one of thier talented forwards. Richards, Briere, Carter. Could be one of the only suitors for Harding.
I blogged a while back that Philly makes the most sense for Harding. Richards and Carter are absolutely untouchable though. Richards is their captain for one thing. They’d love to get rid of Briere’s contract.
thanks casualobserver! I do what I can. She sounds like a pleasant woman. I can’t believe she banned you for calling the team boring.
I found a Dallas Stars blog once (I think it was Dallas… maybe it was Colorado…) where the guy running the blog updated every time the team (or the other team) scored a goal. I would hate it if Russo did that.
I also hate blogs that make you type in a code to post.
Hey Nick, who are the goalies over there? Emery and?
I have zero interest in either of their guys, even as a backup
Boucher did pretty well backing up Nabokov last season.
They’d love to get rid of Briere’s contract.
Doesn’t he have a touchy groin too? That would be great if we get rid of one troubled groin just to bring in another.
Doesn’t he have a touchy groin too? That would be great if we get rid of one troubled groin just to bring in another.
Well, you brought in Havlat, and he’s more injury prone than Briere. He did miss a lot of the season but had 25 points in his 29 games, closing really well (16 points, six goals in the final 13 games) and played in each of their playoff games, so he seems healthy now.
From the St. Louis Blues website:
Wild at Blues — Sept. 15 (Tuesday)
Blues at Wild — Sept. 24 (Thursday)
No word on any game at Philadelphia in pre-season (neither team has announced that game yet)…
Well that is true Kevin. Danny has probably been healthier overall than Gaby was… although that doesn’t take much.
KiPA!
sounds like a good opportunity for a 3-team trade
A three-way?
Man, this blog really is getting dirty. Buncha pervs.
And the Don hasn’t even left the building yet, Ms. C.
“Offer a package with Harding for one of thier talented forwards Richards, BRIERE, Carter”
Briere = DO NOT WANT
There isn’t a GM in the entire NHL dumb enough to take on that contract. No way Fletcher does this.
only way we take briere is by taking a prospect or pick as well……
if we have to take that craptastic contract….then they owe us!
can we get gagne from them too?
Harding+Boogie+Bela+Mittens
for
Briere+Boucher+Gagne
does philly agree to it to clear the space?
There isn’t a GM in the entire NHL dumb enough to take on that contract.
There was one to take on Gomez’s, and his is at least as bad if not worse.
It’s Harry Potter time! Adios Russoville. Have a good night everybody!
philly needs to get rid of briere….the question is….how desparate are they?
have fun dork!…..I mean……um…..have fun Austin!
Doubt it, Argon. They lost Knuble and if they give up Briere and Gagne they’d only have two players who can score.
so we give them nolan instead of mittens….
I’m trying here
so we give them nolan instead of mittens…
… Um.
Try for Briere and a younger player. Doubt they’d give up Van Riemsdyk but you can try, or someone else. Briere and Gagne will take a lot more than any of that.
Mittens and nolan included?
….oh I got it…..
same trade (mittens not nolan)
we get briere, Claude Giroux, and Boucher
Would you trade Koivu and Havlat for Harding, Boogaard, Belanger, Mittens and/or Nolan?
that actually sounds solid to me…..
*he says as he chugs the kool-aid*
*kool-aid man bursts through door*
“oh yeah!!!!
I’m trying to think of contracts worse then Briere and Cambell. I think they are both overrated and have contracts that are unmovable.
Yeah Kevin, I’m still in shock that New York could move Gomez but there is no way Briere is anywhere near what we need.
um…that would be Gagne/richards if your using koivu/havlat…..we don’t have an overpaid second center…..yet…..
by using our players that would be havlat, and sheppard…..
but briere’s contract plays heavily into this situation…..flyers need to cut that salary, making it a little easier to get than a havlat
Even if we did go after Briere, we’d have to move some major salary back their way. PMB would have to be part of that equation simply to make the salary part work on our end.
the key is getting Giroux, who is a young kid, but extremly skilled…..and could give some solid scoring depth….
flyers would have to give up something for harding and us taking briere off their hands…..
Well Briere is a playoff performer. He was great in the Caps series. But small and big cap hit could be a problem.
jonsey….this isn’t the nba….the salarys don’t have to match….
we have six mil in space right now….
if they take mittens, Bela, boogard and harding then the cap hits end up about even anyway…..
why would philly do it…..three of those contracts expire after this year, and it fills out the holes on thier team very well…..
no way Briere is anywhere near what we need.
You need a center, don’t you? He’s a center. He scores goals. He gets assists. He produces on the power play. He’s productive in the playoffs. How he is nowhere near what you need? What exactly do you guys need then?
I can’t remember Briere’s exact cap hit. Isn’t it $8Mil a year until 2014?
I wouldn’t mind briere’s cap hit if we got Giroux
6.5 acording to nhl numbers
for 5 years……
rough…… I know…..
kevin…that was great!
that would be Gagne/richards if your using koivu/havlat… we don’t have an overpaid second center
You don’t have a second center. But that’s not the point.
I picked your two best goal scorers because that’s comparable to what Philadelphia would be giving up. If you add Gagne in with Briere, it ceases to be a salary dump because they don’t need to dump that much salary, so you’d have to start giving back more than what you propose.
Giroux’s the type of young player to ask for in return but he might be entering the Richards/Carter untouchable segment. He was great in the playoffs. They might be willing to part with him.
Oh please! You make it sound like Briere was God’s gift to Philadelphia.
Briere - Overrated, Overpaid and injury prone.
after the trade we’d have about 5 mil to pay 3 forwads…..luckily we’d only need one solid third/forth line forward, and two forth line/back up types….
Briere’s cap hit is 6.5 million per year with 6 years left on it. Yeah, that’s pretty darn expensive, but it’s less than I was thinking it was. Assuming he’s healthy it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. And, it looks like he’s only had two injury filled seasons. Last year and 05-06.
Honestly, if we could get something out of the deal that would make up for the cap hit, I’d be on board.
So you’d rather have Sheppard over Briere in your lineup? Take away the contract for now. You’re making it sound like Briere is garbage. How many players on your teams have scored 95 points in a season?
I’m not saying he’s God, I’m saying he’s a good player who would upgrade the Wild’s roster. If you can’t see that, then.. so be it.
KiPA and NiNY: you both have mail…
I under stand that part of it kevin…..I know that just briere isn’t enough….because that cap hit is craptastic…as I have said before…..
You need a center, don’t you?
It’s probably PMBs job now so a top 6 wing would do. If the Wild is going to take one of the NHL’s bad contracts I am thinking Malone.
honestly it could work….the question is what are the fliers willing to part with to get rid of the contract?
Pounce on Philly. They gave up a ton for Pronger, we might as well try to rob them as well
Argon: I like your Briere/Giroux/Boucher better than with Gagne involved. Not sure if Philly would want to take as many players back (maybe Harding, Mittens, a draft pick or lesser prospect or something, maybe Boogaard since they can’t get enough fighters.) And you’re right, if they’re dumping salary, they’re the ones who have to sweeten the pot, unlike the Rangers when they poached the Habs’ top prospect and a quality NHL player for Gomez.
But that might be a decent framework.
malone….no……we need more scoring than that…
well bela makes sense, because they still need a 3rd center really bad….. unless they don’t mind lappy being that guy….
I think I have my russoville title now…..
russovilles official unofficial backseat gm.
I think they only want fighters and goons on their bottom two lines.
With the uncertainty of the cap Briere is not the answer. It’s been reported that Philly tried with three different team before the draft to move Briere, none had any interest.
Our best bet is going to be getting a high end prospect due for a raise from a team in cap hell (i.e.Kane from Chicago next year). We would of course have to send them picks and prospects in return.
or is it unofficial official…..I can never tell
no way in hell we get kane…..maybe towes next year….but not kane…..
although I would love to have him….don’t get me wrong……
I think they only want fighters and goons on their bottom two lines.
That’s funny. It almost seems like they only want fighters and goons on all lines other than their top line to me.
Is that what you need, Lucky, a prospect?
well certainly giving up picks and prospects is not the answer Lucky.
It almost seems like they only want fighters and goons on all lines other than their top line to me
Nah, their top two lines right now are something like Gagne-Richards-Hartnell, Briere-Carter-and maybe Giroux. So they have enough skill to form at least partial two lines. The rest are the tough guys.
I thought Russo said that Kane would be the one to get traded between Kane or Toews.
There are other ways around giving up Kane or Toews, that would be last resort for them.
I would love it if it was true…..although he is a FSM clone (albeit much more skill)
btw….I’ll make sure I have my underlings fill out thier respective paper work items a little early in light of recent events…..
Does Kane even count as a prospect at this point?
I’d vote no, Kevin.
only if mikko is still a prospect….
Only if you’re terrible.
Sheppard= Prospect
I’d vote no on Shep too. I don’t think skill level has anything to do with it. 2 full seasons in the NHL and you’re not a prospect anymore, IMO.
agreed
It’s not as if Fletcher is looking for the one magical player that would put us in to cup contention.
March just turned into my favorite month next year, 16 wild games!!!!
I do not know if this has been brought up yet, but the Canucks have a 14 game road trip due to hosting the olympics! Obviously, this is great news for the Wild. At least another team in the division will be as bad as us on the road this year. Well, hopefully…
Friggin Canucks! Haha…
One thing about that Canucks road trip is it’s split up by the Olympic break (eight before, six after) so they do get a break at some point.
Still, that is a long time.
Eight on the road (ending at Minnesota), two weeks off (Olympics) then six more on the road afterwards.
Can you say lots of Vancouverites will be leaving town for, oh, a month??
Can you say lots of Vancouverites will be leaving town for, oh, a month??
Gaby will be there - he should have bought that house
wtf-this is the worst schedule i seen ever-Home opener then see ya for a month. Lets play boston,new york rangers,flyer and the leafs 4 times each. This is going to be one messed up season. This is why the NHL is going down the drain. They should Schedule every team with games that build up emotion. F Bettman and scheduling a@@E*. What a Joke! Kick my dog while your here also!@#$%
Puckit: The schedule isn’t so bad. Every team has a gripe when it comes to schedules. I have to agree that Vancouver’s isn’t looking so hot for them. I think, overall, the schedule makers have done a good job. I like the fact that we play every team once. Scheduling = marketing. Emotional games are plentiful; we still play our rivals (to me, every NW game is a rivalry).
Twat, twat, twat.
It is clear to Mister Know it all that the decision was made to play a majority of the games at the beginning of the season on the road.
The logic behind this is good I think. “Deres no doubt” that legs are fresher at the beginning, then in the end. With travel a bear for the Wild, it makes sense to travel less in the second half to eliminate the need for all the travel and maybe that equates into strong legs towards the finish.
I believe the Wild took steps to make this schedule and this is not some random happening
DAY DATE OPPONENT TIME (CT)
OCTOBER – REGULAR SEASON
Sat. 3 @ Columbus 6:00 p.m.
TUE. 6 ANAHEIM 8:00 P.M.
Thu. 8 @ Los Angeles 9:30 p.m.
Sat. 10 @ San Jose 9:30 p.m.
Wed. 14 @ Anaheim 9:00 p.m.
Fri. 16 @ Edmonton 8:00 p.m.
Sat. 17 @ Vancouver 9:00 p.m.
WED. 21 COLORADO 7:00 P.M.
Fri. 23 @ St. Louis 7:00 p.m.
SAT. 24 CAROLINA 7:00 P.M.
Mon. 26 @ Chicago 7:30 p.m.
WED. 28 NASHVILLE 7:00 P.M.
FRI. 30 N.Y. RANGERS 7:00 P.M.
Sat. 31 @ Pittsburgh 6:30 p.m.
NOVEMBER
THU. 5 VANCOUVER 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 7 DALLAS 7:00 P.M.
Tue. 10 @ Toronto 6:00 p.m.
Thu. 12 @ Tampa Bay 6:30 p.m.
Fri. 13 @ Washington 6:00 p.m.
Sun. 15 @ Carolina 12:30 p.m.
WED. 18 PHOENIX 7:00 P.M.
FRI. 20 N.Y. ISLANDERS 7:00 P.M.
WED. 25 BOSTON 7:00 P.M.
FRI. 27 COLORADO 1:00 P.M.
Sat. 28 @ Colorado 8:00 p.m.
DECEMBER
WED. 2 NASHVILLE 7:00 P.M.
FRI. 4 ANAHEIM 7:00 P.M.
Sat. 5 @ Nashville 7:00 p.m.
Mon. 7 @ Phoenix 8:00 p.m.
Wed. 9 @ Colorado 8:00 p.m.
Fri. 11 @ Calgary 8:00 p.m.
Sat. 12 @ Vancouver 9:00 p.m.
TUE. 15 COLUMBUS 7:00 P.M.
Thu. 17 @ Montreal 6:00 p.m.
Sat. 19 @ Ottawa 6:00 p.m.
MON. 21 COLORADO 7:00 P.M.
WED. 23 EDMONTON 6:00 P.M.
SAT. 26 ST. LOUIS 7:00 P.M.
Mon. 28 @ Los Angeles 9:30 p.m.
Tue. 29 @ Anaheim 9:00 p.m.
THUR. 31 LOS ANGELES 7:00 P.M.
JANUARY
SAT. 2 NEW JERSEY 7:00 P.M.
Tue. 5 @ Chicago 7:30 p.m.
WED. 6 CALGARY 7:00 p.m.
SAT. 9 CHICAGO 7:00 p.m.
MON. 11 PITTSBURGH 7:00 p.m.
WED. 13 VANCOUVER 6:00 p.m.
Thu. 14 @ St. Louis 7:00 p.m.
Sat. 16 @ Phoenix 7:00 p.m.
Mon. 18 @ Dallas 7:00 p.m.
THU. 21 DETROIT 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 23 COLUMBUS 8:00 P.M.
WED. 27 DETROIT 7:00 P.M.
Thu. 28 @ Colorado 8:00 p.m.
Sat. 30 @ San Jose 9:30 p.m.
FEBRUARY
Tue. 2 @ Dallas 7:30 p.m.
THU. 4 EDMONTON 7:00 P.M.
SAT. 6 PHILADELPHIA 7:00 P.M.
WED. 10 PHOENIX 7:00 P.M.
FRI. 12 ATLANTA 7:00 P.M.
SUN. 14 VANCOUVER 2:00 P.M.
Feb. 15-28 Olympic Break
MARCH
Wed. 3 @ Calgary 9:00 p.m.
Fri. 5 @ Edmonton 8:00 p.m.
SUN. 7 CALGARY 2:00 P.M.
TUE. 9 FLORIDA 7:00 P.M.
Thu. 11 @ Detroit 6:30 p.m.
Fri. 12 @ Buffalo 6:30 p.m.
SUN. 14 ST. LOUIS 5:00 P.M.
TUE. 16 EDMONTON 7:00 P.M.
Thu. 18 @ Nashville 7:00 p.m.
Fri. 19 @ Columbus 6:00 p.m.
SUN. 21 CALGARY 2:00 P.M.
TUE. 23 SAN JOSE 7:00 P.M.
Thu. 25 @ Philadelphia 6:00 p.m.
Fri. 26 @ Detroit 6:30 p.m.
MON. 29 LOS ANGELES 8:00 P.M.
WED. 31 CHICAGO 7:00 P.M.
APRIL
FRI. 2 SAN JOSE 7:00 P.M.
Sun. 4 @ Vancouver 9:00 p.m.
Mon. 5 @ Edmonton 8:30 p.m.
Thu. 8 @ Calgary 8:30 p.m.
SAT. 10 DALLAS 7:00 P.M.
<:-)
>:)
:0
:O
(.)(.)
A relative bought a group package of 10 tix for a game last year. He recently received a call from the Wild asking if he would be interested in season tix and he has received follow-up texts.
Is the warming house empty?
hobo: you look a little too old to be going without a bra.
Stoned, the warming house is not empty but many of us in the warming house are waiting for 200 level (where the real fans sit). 
It’s sold out up there, but there is still some in the lower bowl.
mikemodano.com and go to interview minnesota on the left side of the front page.
If you listen I think it says a great deal
Watch the tribute. This guy is a class act and if you listen he talks about Minnesota with passion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h58X2B2lpGE
mkia maybe some things but I want to see him in a wild uniform.
Unless you are brain dead you can hear Tom Hicks is trying to suck the hockey life out of him by staying in Dallas.
Yeah, all the real fans that all they could ever say was “SKOULA, UGH”…yeah those fans. I’ll take my lower bowl tickets any day of the week. Just cuz I got dough to spend doesn’t mean I’m not a real fan. I’ll agree that some of the people down in my neck of the woods are just casual fans though…not all.
Stoned, the warming house is not empty but many of us in the warming house are waiting for 200 level (where the real fans sit). It’s sold out up there, but there is still some in the lower bowl.
Us (Mrs Wafer and I) too. They keep calling us asking what it would take to get STs in the lower bowl. They didn’t like my answer.
Writer’s typo or Mayor’s ignorance… you decide.
“Boston is a perfect fit for the World Classic,” Mayor Tom Menino said…”
Source: AP story about the Winter Classic linked from this site
For some reason that just irked me this morning.
Ignorance or arrogance? A little of both perhaps?
I like the idea of the open skating and college game. Too bad they can’t do a college game the same day and put that on NBC too.
But here’s my thinking behind it:
Facts:
1. Boston is playing Philidelphia; two cities roughly 250-300 miles apart
2. Boston U vs Boston College are rumored to be playing a game the next day
3. There will be open skating
The only thing that makes this a “World” Classic is the fact that there are players from all over the world on each team, but the locations of the teams involved in no way make this a World Class.
If it was a US team vs. a Canada Team - maybe. If they did an NHL team vs a KHL team - definately. But not a Boston vs Philly, and a Boston vs Boston game.
Also, just for refrerence I also dispise the term “World Series” for the same reason.
Too bad they couldn’t tie in Minnesota’s Day of Hockey with a Winter Classic game - at the Target Field or TCF Bank Stadium - or could they?
I thought I read somewhere that if Minny gets the Winter Classic, they would want to make it part of the Hockey Day MN.
Well in that case, have three games at TCF, with the Gophers and Wild tickets written as doubleheader tickets that entitle the bearer to both games.
if Minny gets the Winter Classic, they would want to make it part of the Hockey Day MN.
I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t get it eventually. It seems like a perfect fit for it.
Wildfan- I have the same suspicion about him wanting to return and it happens we need a center. This guy is a major class act I agree. Obvioussly Slimmy Tom Hicks wants to make money from him and he is sucking up to him. Motivation to play hockey is important even when your as good as him
The move is common sense
This little tidbit from the Tallon article:
—Wirtz also indicated age was a factor in the shakeup, pointing out that Bowman is 36 and Tallon 58 while saying, “We always want younger people.”—
Besides the fact that Bowman has undergone a stem cell transplant for Hodgkins Lymphoma, is Wirtz that stupid? An age discrimination suit would cost the Hawks far more than any RFA gaffe that Tallon commmitted.
SotB, that sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Plus it jsut sounds like they are grasping at straws to me.
What about a Harding + Sheppard for Briere (forgive me if suggested already)
Brunette - Koivu - Havlat
Nolan - Briere - P.M.B.
Miettinen - Bellanger - Clutterbuck
Poolboy - Brodziak - ?
Is it time for hockey season yet?!?!
NiNY, superb work on the “Why Russo’s Rants” piece on the wiki. I also appreciate, Wafer (I think), creating a separate article for Russotans. Previously, it was kinda lost amidst the rest of the Jargon. Good call.
Briere: I’m more or less in favor of taking on Mini-Stallone’s salary as long as it’s a clear salary dump on Phila’s end (i.e., not giving up an important core player).
I’m still stuck with feeling from the previous regime that I just don’t expect a blockbuster trade to ever happen. Havlat was a big pickup, though, and a good step towards getting rid of my “it’ll never happen” outlook.
Personally, I’m starting to feel that maybe Fletch should be done for now unless someone offers him AO for Weller or some such. We think we know what the players currently on our roster are capable of, but really with the new coach/system we don’t. JL is undoubtedly a great coach and undoubtedly knows how to use his players. I think though his style/system can be somewhat confusing and/or abrasive to some players (see Sheppard, J.; Nolan, O.; Demitra, P. and Pouliot, B.). For example, at this point we really don’t know if Shep is going to be a -14 again or given a different coach and responsibilities turn into a scoring machine. Some players I think we can probably read pretty well, but others may drastically improve or regress.
Call me overly cautious if you will, but I think Fletch should probably wait at least until the boys play a few preseason games before shopping them too much.
Again though, if GM X offers to trade a $100 bill for a $10 bill, take it and run!
Though there is the fact that if Fletch does absolutely nothing we’ll be stuck with pretty much no news to feed us until Sept. 12. 
I think JL has a way of “normalizing” his players. The good ones are given extra responsibility and thus don’t perform as well as they might otherwise, and the marginal players are given specific tasks that they can excel at and thus appear to overachieve.
I agree that Philly is logical place for Harding to go, but I don’t think Fletcher would touch Briere’s contract. I like Giroux, and I think that Carcillo could actually play hockey if somebody asked him to. Other than that, there’s not much that they’d give up that I like.
No news until Sept 12? Ugh. If that were the case, Goody, Russoville would develop a serious case of the Lord of the Flies.
Huge meal up top.
We think we know what the players currently on our roster are capable of, but really with the new coach/system we don’t.
+1,very good point.
