Minnesota is quite bad

[nmhen]

Originally Posted by devo22

Is it possible that they suffer from a bit of a country club atmosphere (hate the term, but can't think of a more apt description)? They have signed several big names to long big-money contracts (Parise, Suter, Vanek, Pominville) after all and at least a couple of those probably just wanted to live in Minnesota more than anything else (I know that Vanek did, for example). Actually love a lot of their young talent and thought that team would be great this year. Maybe I'm totally wrong about the vets, but it's certainly possible.

I can see that. Parise and Suter commented recently about how glad they were that they picked Minny in light of their fathers (in the sense that they got to spend more time with their dads as a result).

This team is extremely thin at center, and you just can't be that way in today's NHL. That's a problem. I think the defense is overall better than they've played this season. Yeah, the 3rd pair is weak, but that's not the end of the world, nor is it that uncommon.

Goaltending is an issue. They had Kuemper slotted into the AHL this season, until Harding kicked that wall. So it's encouraging that maybe they knew he wasn't ready for full-time NHL duty yet. But now he and Backstrom are still under contract (one-way, and both would be exposed to waivers, plus Bax has a NMC), and if they come back next season with those two there will be riots in St. Paul.

[nmhen]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

Sounds like its just a real bad mix of a lot of stuff going on.... Parise's dad, Suter's (wasn't his dad, was it?) passing away isn't a "country club" thing...... as for Vanek, ya that one looks like a F-up.

A) Yes, it was Suter's old man, Bob.
B) Vanek...ugh. Can you imagine some teams (NYI) wanted to give him 7 years?!

[Itse]

Minnesota is for me the biggest surprise of the season by far. They looked really good to end last season, and while I haven't watched them a lot this season, what I've seen also looked good. They're not winning cups with those centers, but other than that the roster looks pretty good too.

I thought the Wild making playoffs would be a sure bet. And since as a franchise they are STARVING for some playoff success, I thought they could actually go on a bit of a run. Hungry teams are dangerous teams.

Really surprised to see them suck like this.

At least it's a good season to suck

[Poe969]

The wild miss Heatley.....he was the reasons the team was as good as they were and now he's gone and look. lol I honestly don't know what's wrong with that team, they have a decent roster and there is no way they should be this bad.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

I am really surprised at where they are in the standings. At the start of the season, I thought they would be very similar to Winnipeg: potentially frisky, with some decent goaltending. Jets have it, Wild does not?
Also, I thought they had decent possession numbers, so perhaps another kick in the nuts for the advanced metrics crowd.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by nmhen

A) Yes, it was Suter's old man, Bob.
B) Vanek...ugh. Can you imagine some teams (NYI) wanted to give him 7 years?!

I'm honestly of the belief that building via UFA is a terrible idea (I know a lot of people here suggested to do that a few years ago)...... a lot of times you don't know what you're going to get, seems crazy to me to give such a long contract to someone who you don't know how they will mesh on your team. Sometimes (Chara/Boston) it works out, but too many other cases of it flopping.

[PsYcNeT]

Mods, please create a No Good subforum so we can have a thread for all other 29 teams.

Seriously. Like 100% serious. It's a really good idea.

[nmhen]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

I'm honestly of the belief that building via UFA is a terrible idea (I know a lot of people here suggested to do that a few years ago)...... a lot of times you don't know what you're going to get, seems crazy to me to give such a long contract to someone who you don't know how they will mesh on your team. Sometimes (Chara/Boston) it works out, but too many other cases of it flopping.

Yeah, we're learning that lesson the hard way right now. Hopefully Chuck Fletcher is, too. I mean, it used to be Minny wasn't a desirable place for FAs to go. So, now that it is (more) desirable, that's a feather in the cap and whatever.

But, I think Fletcher is seeing that talent upgrades alone do not necessarily compensate for poorly-allocated talent in terms of roster structure. And a lack of chemistry can trump talent.

[troutman]

I could never hate Minnesota, for giving us Prince, Dylan, Mould/Hart, Westerberg, First Avenue, and blonde girls of Scandanavian descent.

http://www.thecurrent.org/listen

[Henry Fool]

Originally Posted by troutman

I could never hate Minnesota, for giving us Prince, Dylan, Mould/Hart, Westerberg, First Avenue, and blonde girls of Scandanavian descent.

http://www.thecurrent.org/listen

Also MST3K.

What a let down it must be after looking good in the playoffs last spring. Haven't watched them this season but hanging on to Yeo sounds like a terrible mistake. Better to start looking ahead as soon as possible rather than stew in negativity until summer.

[jaginla]

Originally Posted by Locke

"No Good" is a Trademark of the Edmonton City Council, the City of Edmonton, the Edmonton Oilers and their Management. Its their new slogan, they're putting it on the sign.

No GoodTM

[Locke]

The 'No Good' threads seem to be getting out of hand, but I'll let this one stand because a member of that team's fanbase started it.

[Poe969]

saying "No Good" threads are no good is No Good!

[ForeverFlameFan]

The thread title is awesome now.

[Locke]

I like this. Quite bad.

[Vinny01]

Can't believe how bad Vanek has been. I figured they were going to take a step forward and be that third team in the central with Chicago and St. Louis. They have some solid vets, good young talent, a legit #1 Dman but are lacking severely in net.

Fire the coach, trade for a goalie and all will be fixed IMO.

[Dr. Doom]

What happened to Kuemper?
He started the season red hot and he's been a great goalie throughout the system coming up.

He's been hot garbage since his decline, is the defense hanging him out to dry?

[nmhen]

Originally Posted by Dr. Doom

What happened to Kuemper?
He started the season red hot and he's been a great goalie throughout the system coming up.

He's been hot garbage since his decline, is the defense hanging him out to dry?

The defense has not been good. But Kuemper's head is off, too. Mike Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune points out that Kuemper's poor play started bang on after he passed his games threshold that triggered waiver exposure. Coincidence? Perhaps. Kuemper's a big kid (6-5). But he's getting beat from far out almost every game. He's giving up rebounds. And he seems to get rattled when he lets in one goal. All that indicates that he is fighting through some kind of mental yips right now, which happens.

As I said before, the team had him slated in with the AHL team for this season. Part of that was two immovable one-way deals in Harding and Backstrom. Part of that was Kuemper still could be sent down without being exposed to waivers (as of the start of the season). He only has 55 NHL starts to his record so far, so he's young.

The Wild's problem is that they now cannot get him to the AHL (waivers) to help him work it out.

The Wild's goaltending situation is extremely ugly right now.

[djsFlames]

I like this thread. It's an interesting spin on the "no good"

Plus, as fans who had to endure us playing 6-8 games a season against those sloths, we know just how No Good the Wild are.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

I like this thread. It's an interesting spin on the "no good"

Plus, as fans who had to endure us playing 6-8 games a season against those sloths, we know just how No Good the Wild are.

I dunno man, the Wild vs Blackhawks series last year was great.