Quote:
Originally Posted by nmhen
When multiple coaches have to try a player - the supposed leader on the team - with multiple other players, at least some of whom have had real success in the NHL before that point, and, when the pairing doesn't produce offense, the other players get moved, not the captain, I think it's reasonable to ask why the captain is the only one who doesn't get demoted. Yes, my perception is that Koivu gets treated with kid gloves - you mentioned Yeo still feels the need to blow sunshine up his breezers - and that is indicative of a player who requires a little extra....attention/care to get to his happy place. Did you know that Fletcher found it prudent to fly to Finland to make sure Koivu was cool with him hiring Yeo?
And, why is that a disingenuous list? It is representative of the "offensive-minded" players with whom he has been paired, and not found chemistry, over the years. That's all it claimed to be.
Of course that's how it sounds to you. You're on the other side of the trade.
I *think* Richards named him the permanent captain, it wasn't until after Lemaire left. Not 100% sure on that, though.
Look, if you think Koivu's a first line center in the NHL, that's great. I think he's a very good two-way center in the NHL. An ideal 2nd line center. We're annually in the bottom third in the league in scoring (currently 26th in the league). Yes, we were an expansion team, but that was 13 years ago. I refuse to accept that as an excuse anymore.
So, you are right that a big part of my position is wishing the Wild had more talent so they could justify playing Mikko on the second line. I just would not enjoy dealing with the whining about the injustice to him from his legion of fans if/when that happens.
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The list is disingenuous. Parise? Brunette? You're just trying to make it sound like he has no chemistry with anyone. Not only that, apparently it's not that you have had bad wingers and no other centers for years, it's Koivu being high maintenance when the lines were being shuffled. Seriously, it doesn't sound like you appreciate his contributions at all.
As for him being a first-line center, that's not what I've been saying. I just think you're going too far in trying to prove that he's overrated and kind of crapping all over him in the process.
Ideally, on a championship team, he wouldn't be on the first line. No one would disagree. Ideally the Wild would also have a goal scorer and more than two good defensemen. But in the real world he's the best center they have and has been for years. That doesn't make him overrated. What you fail to see is how much crap you're shoveling on Koivu just for being captain of mediocre teams. Everything follows from the basic fact that the teams haven't been good - the apparent inconsistency, the lines that don't produce enough, getting shut down by the Hawks last spring, etc.