wild/nhl

This team has no SKILL after the first line. Clutter and Powe are scrapers, but Cullen's been a total bust since he arrived in Minnesota, and whether people like it or not, Kyle Brodziak isn't the answer to anything--and fans will soon realize that after Chuck Fletcher is stupid enough to give him $3-$4M a year to stay in Minnesota. (Like he overpays EVERYONE he signs!) Mikael Granlund--although small and slow--will be your second line center next year. Parise would be a nice signing to place on his wing. But what is this team going to do after that??? It NEEDS skilled forwards, and guys like Zucker, Coyle, Bulmer, and Phillips aren't going to have top-six forward impact for a couple years. It would be nice just to line-up Granlund, Larsson, and Phillips as your centers behind Mikko, but Fletcher MUST add skilled veteran forwards (yeah, the type that cost $5M+ a year) if this team has any chance of moving forward. The young guys aren't going to come in and save the boat. They'll simply supplement a good team.

Zids is not an honest man. His first priority is NOT staying here. Cant he look at his stats and see that he isnt helping us out, at all? Zero goals? His first priority should be to not spread his cancer throughout the team. They have enough to deal with right now. He needs to shut his nacho hole and sit in the press box like the 3rd line defencemen he is. About the 2nd, 3rd and 4th lines.....Yah, they need to pick it up. They arent going to the playoffs, so have some fun, relax, score some goals. I dont think Cullen is a bust. He works hard, every shift of every game. The goals will come. Brodziak carried us for a good month this year. I dont think he is a 4 mill a year guy, 2 sounds like it. Maybe 2 mill, with incentives/bonuses, for two years, see how he does, then negotiate a big dog contract if he keeps playing like he has been! I wish I had a dollar for every "close" goal the Wild has missed this year. I always thought that at some point they would get it together and those would start going in. But, we need to realize, we have dressed something like 39 guys this year. How do you create chemistry when you are skating with a new linemate every two games? Just keep up the hard work and it will come. Maybe not this year, but....

I guess Todd Richards wasn't the problem after all - the endless Wild rebuilding continues - Fletcher is looking more and more like Risebrough

A couple of discrepancies in this story in my opinion. Cullen (normally productive) has started strong and ended poorly the last few years, he gets tossed around like a rag doll, maybe he's worn down by mid season. Brodziak's herculean efforts and career production shouldn't be categorized as normal as of yet, but I hope they resign him for about $9mil over 4 years. In my opinion Zids has gotten more heat than he deserves, true he's been unproductive, but it sounds like he did try to talk with Yeo about ideas for the PP and how he was being used. I'm not saying Zid should be running the team but with as miserable as the PP is what's the harm in listening to a vet with a track record ? Before this blowup I've never seen anything to indicate Zid was not a good teammate and Fletcher seemed pleased enough to extend his contract, so to me it appears to be only a clash of coaching and style of play. No reason to crucify the guy for standing up for himself, we could use more players doing that on the ice.

@bobo72 hopefully Parise will believe that the Wild talent you mentioned is worth coming here to play with, because there really isn't much to convince him this organization is close to winning a cup.

Got a good chuckle over the 'normally productive' statement. Brodziak had a nice stretch a couple of months ago but has yet to establish himself as a consistent NHLer. Cullen has never scored 50 points in a season, and at 35, he ain't get'n better folks. How many good playoff teams would anoint him their #2 center ? Take off the rose-tinted glasses. This team possesses far too many mediocre players that need to be traded or cut to create future FA cap space.......

The problem with is organizion is it has trouble judging talent. Don't count on this organizion turning thing around in the near future.