Does Victor Rask have a future with the Minnesota Wild?

 

Ever since Victor Rask was traded to the Wild in January 2019 in exchange for Nino Niederreiter, Rask has been either on the fourth line or a healthy scratch. In 66 games with the Wild, Rask has only racked up 7 goals and 9 assists (16 points).

Remember, Paul Fenton was the Wild’s general manager at the time the trade was made. This particular trade is looking to be one of the worst trades in the history of the Minnesota Wild. The question here is saving $1.25 million on the cap worth it (Niederreiter’s salary was $5.25 million/year). Fenton traded for a player who missed significant time (including training camp) before the trade was made due to having surgery on his hand after he sliced part of his hand in a kitchen incident. There were rumors that Fenton didn’t even send a scout to watch Rask play in person nor did Fenton even talk with Eric Staal, who played with Rask in Carolina for two seasons. In addition to the rumors about Fenton not scouting Rask, there were rumblings that the Hurricanes were going to buy Rask out of his contract before the trade.

What was Paul Fenton’s thinking on that—to trade for a player without doing any scouting? (This trade was among the list of reasons why Fenton was eventually fired after the 2018-19 season). There really hasn’t been much value to having Rask on the roster.

Rask is not that impressive of a player. As previously stated, he’s only appeared in 66 games with the Wild so far and has only racked up 16 points (7 goals and 9 assists). He’s not that great of a skater—which has been evident when watching him play. If you look at his career stats, he’s a career -27 (405 career games with 70 goals and 109 assists). For the Wild, this trade has basically been a bust.

Where does Rask fit into the Wild line up? Or does he? As of the time I was writing this article, the Wild currently have six centers (including Rask). With the additions of Nick Bonino, Nick Bjugstad, and Marcus Johansson, along with Joel Ericsson Ek and Nico Strum already on the roster. Rask isn’t close to being a top center-which the Wild desperately need. In my opinion (and I am not a coach or general manager at all), there should be some effort to move Rask. I don’t believe the current NHL CBA allows for restructuring of contracts.

What are the options with Victor Rask at this point?

• Buy out the remaining two years of his contract. This is one option; however, it’s a costly one. Rask has two years remaining on a 6-year, $24 million contract he signed after the 2015-16 season (when Ron Francis was the GM of the Hurricanes). The trade to the Wild also occurred before his trade clause went into effect, which the Wild are not honoring. Right now, Rask has a cap hit of $4 million for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. IF the Wild were to buy out those two remaining years, Rask would have a cap hit of $1.33 million through the 2023-24 season.  Would the Wild be able to afford that cap hit to free up a roster spot?

• Trade Rask. This could be considered a daunting task, considering Rask’s salary and lack of offensive production throughout his NHL career (405 career games with 70 goals and 109 assists). Can the Wild find a willing trade partner or is there a possibility that Rask would have to be part of a trade package? How much salary is the Wild going to have to retain? It’s going to be interesting to see if (current) Wild GM Bill Guerin can pull off trading Rask.

• Keep Rask until his contract expires. Are the Wild willing do that, especially at $4 million a year for the next two seasons? Right now, he’s still on the roster. But where does he fit in with the Wild having a total of six centers on their roster? Rask is not one of those players who can be moved over to a wing spot and depending on other factors, he could be spending a lot of time in the press box as a healthy scratch-albeit an expensive one. 

Time will tell what happens with Victor Rask and the Minnesota Wild. One thing is for certain is that the Wild should try to find a way to move on from this bad trade and cut their losses in a way that will help the Wild.

Sources:

https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/the-ugly-shocking-details-of-fenton-s-firing-in-minnesota 

1.    https://thehockeywriters.com/hurricanes-wild-niederreiter-rask-trade-revisited/

https://zonecoverage.com/2020/wild/revisiting-paul-fentons-2019-trades/

https://www.nhl.com/player/victor-rask-8476437

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wild DID turn things around in the second half of the season…and clinched a playoff spot

Flashback to January 29, I wrote this:

“…the Wild are going to need about 46 points in the remaining 36 games of this season (with a record of 22-10-4). Can the Wild pull it off? It will be interesting…I would like to believe the Wild could possibly turn things around and make a push towards getting into the playoffs. However, I think the Wild have dug themselves into quite a hole and I can see them possibly playing spoiler towards the end of the season.” (From Can the Wild turn things around in the second half? January 29, 2015). 

Back to the present, the Wild managed to clinch their playoff spot with a 2-1 over the Blackhawks at the Madhouse on Madison last night.

Yes, I will admit, this die-hard Minnesota Wild fan was skeptical that the team was going to be able to pull this off.

There is one person who I would like to thank for this Wild turn-around, Devan Dubnyk. 

Dan Myers from NHL.com wrote this in the article “Five reasons Wild clinched playoff berth” (nhl.com) under the number one reason of Dubnyk’s Brilliance:

“The Wild were a battered and beaten group the morning of Jan. 14. They had lost 7-2 to the Pittsburgh Penguins the night before, and at 18-19-5, Minnesota was third from the bottom in the Western Conference standings…Later that day, general manager Chuck Fletcher traded a third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft to the Arizona Coyotes for goaltender Devan Dubnyk. The rest is history.”

Graphic Coutesy of NHL on NBC on Twitter

Nino Niederreiter gave this statement to the Star Tribune’s Michael Russo:

“…Let’s be honest: The Dubnyk trade changed everything…During that time, we just needed a new face in the locker room. Everybody was very frustrated, everything always looked the same. We called up players, but it never really felt different. We brought Dubnyk in, it was a fresh, new face, we got to know a new guy, we had a great start and there was trust right away in each other again.”  (startribune.com, April 1, 2015)

Russo mentioned in the same April 1 article:

“The turnaround for the team and thus individuals since Devan Dubnyk’s Jan. 15 arrival has been remarkable. The most stunning statistic in the Wild’s NHL-best 26-6-2 second half is the fact its goal differential is an NHL-best plus-47. That’s 104 goals scored (3.05 per game) and 57 given up (1.67 per game)” 

It also doesn’t hurt that the Wild have been winning on the road.

Myers included this in his “Five reasons” article (under the fourth reason, Winning on the road):

"Minnesota has lost once in regulation on the road since the Dubnyk trade, going 15-1-2 over that span. The Wild have won 11 consecutive road games since a 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Feb. 16, the longest road winning streak in the NHL since the San Jose Sharks won 10 in a row in 2007.

The Wild have already set team records for road victories (23) and road points (48) in a season, and they still have two games left away from Xcel Energy Center."

Going into the playoffs, I think those road wins are going to be key. The Wild have been winning on the road and teams are definitely starting to take notice. 

Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said this after last night's loss to the Wild to NHL.com's Brian Hedger:

"We tried to make plays [in the third] and turned pucks over, and that led to plays in our own end…The Wild have gotten better the last three years. They've got some younger guys, they've got some depth, they've got some speed and skill throughout their lineup, and they check extremely well, and they can frustrate you. They'll make you pay if you try to take them on."

Courtesy of Kevin Lass from Facebook

The Wild did it. They clinched a play off spot this year after the roller coaster of a season they had. This is the third straight year the Wild will be in the playoffs.  As I stated before, I was skeptical and believed the Wild would be playing the role of "spoiler" this season. The Wild proved me wrong, and I'm happy about that. 

Link to Dan Myers's Five reason Wild clinched playoff berth here.

Link to Michael Russo's April 1st article from Star Tribune here

                 

My Picks for Top Hockey plays of 2014

As 2015 is upon us, I thought I’d share my top hockey plays of 2014. For the top three plays, there are links to the videos of those plays. 

#4 Darcy Kuemper opening the 2014-2015 NHL season with back-to-back shutouts for the Minnesota Wild.

The Wild were one of two teams to start the season with back-to-back shut outs when they won the first two games of the season in a home-and-home series against the Colorado Avalanche. (The San Jose Sharks were the other team, but both their goalies each recorded a shut out). The Wild won at home 5-0 and took the second game in Denver 3-0.

Darcy Kuemper is the youngest goalie in the NHL to open the season with back-to-back shut outs at 24-years-old. 

#3 Minnesota advancing to Frozen Four Championship game with .6 seconds left in the game

One of the biggest (if not the biggest) rivalry in college hockey continued in April when the University of Minnesota met up with the University of North Dakota in the semi-finals of the 2014 Men’s Frozen Four in Philadelphia.

This game was tied up at 1 a piece until senior Justin Holl scored a short-handed goal (and his first of the season) with 0:00.6 left in the game. (Watch the play here). Minnesota went on to face Union in the championship game. 

Gophers' Seth Ambroz reacting to Justin Holl's goal 

#2 T.J Oshie securing Team USA’s win against Russia in the Sochi Olympics in the shootout

“You at some point, we’re going to end up in a shootout and we’re going to want T.J. Oshie” Team USA General Manager David Polle (usatoday.com, February 16, 2014).

Well, that some point came when Team USA’s game against Russia.

T.J. Oshie scored four times in the shootout to give Team USA a 3-2 victory over the Russians. (Watch the entire shootout here)

T.J. Oshie scoring one of his four goals in the shootout. (photo courtesy of usatoday.com) 

#1 Nino’s overtime series winner against Colorado in the first round of the playoffs

Back in 2003, the Minnesota Wild knocked the Colorado Avalanche out of the playoffs with an overtime goal scored by Andrew Brunette. That was the last playoff game Patrick Roy played in, because he announced his retirement as a player shortly after that.

Flash-forward to 2014. The Minnesota Wild and the Colorado Avalanche have a game 7 in their play-off series in Denver...and overtime. 

The Wild were down 4-3 when Jared Spurgeon scored with a sniper shot with 2:27 left in the third to tie the game up at 4 a side. Then Nino struck with 5:02 in overtime with a nasty wrister to eliminate the Colorado Avalanche from the play offs. (Watch it here). 

Patrick Roy lost his first play off series as a coach...to the Minnesota Wild.

Nino scoring his OT series winning goal 

The Wild are the first team in NHL history to win a game 7 in overtime after scoring four game-tying goals. 

These plays were chosen by me. 

Here's to 2015 and more great hockey in the new year! 

The Penguins. The Wild. The top two teams in the NHL set to take the ice…

The top two teams in the NHL met for the first of two meetings this season at the Xcel Energy Center last night (these two teams will meet again in Pittsburgh on January 13). Coming into this game, the Wild were the only remaining undefeated team at home (Montreal lost Sunday night to Calgary at home 6-2). These two teams split their two game series last season. 

The Penguins will be without defenseman Olli Maatta for the next four weeks. It was reported yesterday that he underwent successful surgery to remove a tumor from his thyroid. It had been revealed recently Maatta’s tumor was found during his pre-season physical, but he had been cleared to play until he was scheduled to have surgery.

The Family of Slain Mendota Heights Police Officer Scott Patrick
(courtesy of @mnwild on Twitter).

Before the start of the game, the Minnesota Wild honored slain Mendota Heights (MN) Officer Scott Patrick. (Officer Patrick was killed on July 30 while conducting a routine traffic stop). Officer Patrick’s widow, Michelle, was joined by the couple’s two daughters (Erin and Amy). The Wild presented them a team-autographed jersey with his badge number. Michelle, Amy, and Erin were also joined by Officer Patrick’s two closest friends and co-workers Bobby Lambert and John Larrive. Scott Patrick was a 19-year-veteran of the Mendota Heights Police Department. Michelle, Amy, and Erin led the crowd with the “Let’s Play Hockey” call before the opening face-off. Michelle Patrick stated to a local media outlet "... the opportunity was a good chance to show the community the family is doing OK. She says it means a lot for the team and fans to recognize what her family is going through, which she says continues to be a long journey." (KSTP.com)

The Penguins' Thomas Greiss and the Wild's Zach Parise

When I was starting to write this blog post, I had made the assumption that Marc-Andre Fluery was going to be starting last night's game (against the Wild, he's 0-5 with a 3.76 GAA and .853 sv %). Shortly before the game, I found out that Thomas Greiss was getting the start. He was 1-2 against the Wild heading into last night's game with a 2.36 GAA and .917 sv %. Darcy Kuemper made his first career start against the Penguins. 

The Penguins were going into this game with a league leading average of 4.1 goals per game, while the Wild were averaging 1.8 goals against (which was the league's lowest). 

Then the puck was dropped....

The Wild got themselves into trouble early, especially in the neutral zone. The Penguins forced the Wild to ice the puck three times early in the first period, and committed several turnovers. The Wild were not playing the up-tempo and fast-paced hockey we had seen in the first ten games of this season. Despite the sluggish play of the Wild, they still managed to out shoot the Pens 6-5 in the first period. The only scoring came very late in the first period when the Pens' Nick Spaling tallied his second goal of the season with 53.9 seconds left.

The Wild's sluggish play continued into the second period. Brandon Sutter notched the second Pens' goal of the game 2:08 into the second period. Chris Kunitz scored to make the score 3-0 with 4:32 left in the second. That goal was scored five seconds into the Pens' first power play of the evening. Kunitz's goal marked the first time this season the Wild have had a 3-goal deficit in a game. All three of the Pens' goals came as a result of turnovers by the Wild. The Wild still managed to out shoot Pittsburgh 13-12 in the second period. 

The Star Tribune's Michael Russo stated in his blog that the "Wild executed poorly for 40 minutes and for the first time this season couldn’t play 'fast hockey' because of difficulty getting through the neutral zone." (Flat Wild bumbles, tumbles vs. Penguins, 11/5/2014, startribune.com).  

The Wild tried to get back into the game in the third period and had come out of the gate out-shooting the Pens 9-1 for the first 12:16 of the period. Nino Niederreiter put the Wild on the board with his first career short-handed goal at 10:42 of the third period--snapping the Pens' scoreless streak at 205 minutes and 28 seconds. (Marc-Andre Fluery had two shutouts in the Pens' previous two games).

With 3:05 left in the game, a very controversial and blown call was made when Mikko Koivu's goal was called off. The refs claimed the reason why the goal was waived off was because of interference by Mikael Granlund on Pens' goalie Thomas Greiss. In watching the replay of the incident several times, Granlund was pushed into Greiss by defenseman Kris Letang, therefore making it incidental contact. Where the refs made the mistake is that the whistle should have been blown when the "interference" was spotted and not allowing play to continue for several seconds--allowing Koivu to get the puck past Greiss.  The refs stated that the call was "not reviewable" and could "not be overturned," even though the Wild's broadcast did show a shot of the situation room in Toronto and it looked like they were reviewing that play--and spent a couple of minutes doing so. 

Nino Niederreiter stated this after the game, "it’s obviously very frustrating, definitely very big, because I thought it should have been a goal,” 

Patric Hornqvist scored an empty goal to make the score 4-1 in favor of the Pens at the 18:26 mark in the third period. The Wild ended up taking their first home loss of the season, even though they managed 34 SOG, compared to 22 for the Pens. 

This was a very frustrating game for the Minnesota Wild. Jason Pominville was quoted in the Pioneer press, stating, " ...We were in our zone and didn't give up much, but it felt like they controlled most of the play and we weren't able to generate as much as we usually do." (Chad Graff, twincities.com 11/5/2014). Ryan Suter added,  "I think we took for granted just being at home," defenseman Ryan Suter said. "We've had a lot of success here. We came out flat and we thought we just had to show up to get the win, and that's obviously not what happened."

The Wild were without Zach Parise for the third period, for what has been disclosed as an "upper-body injury" and he will not be on the road trip for the next two games at Ottawa and Montreal. It also looks like the Wild will also be without Matt Cooke and Jared Spurgeon for this road trip as well. The Wild's depth in their line up is going to be tested on this up-coming two game road trip. 

I usually would not include some kind of meme in a blog post like this. However, I did find this particular one very appropriate...

Hello Hockey Season!!!

I don’t know about you, but I was counting down the hours on Thursday until the puck dropped on the 2014-15 Minnesota Wild season.

For the Minnesota Wild, they were coming off a play-off run that included beating the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the play-offs. Ironically, the Minnesota Wild was the team that Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy last faced as a goalie before he retired after the 2002-03 season. It seemed very fitting that the Minnesota Wild handed him his first play-off series loss as an NHL head coach. As we all know, the Wild ended up facing the Chicago Blackhawks and lost that series in six games…

Fast-forward to October 9, 2014. The date of the home and season opener for the Minnesota Wild and their opponent that night—none other than the Colorado Avalanche, 

who the Wild knocked out in the first round courtesy of an overtime goal scored by Nino Niederreiter.

The State of Hockey flag going around in the stands during
 the introductions (courtesy of the Minnesota Wild on Twitter)

The Wild came out with all cylinders firing from the start. They must have gotten the memo that it was okay to shoot at the net because they were making shots on goal. The Wild did take two minor penalties within the first seven minutes in the first period and held the Avalanche to ZERO shots on both times they had the man advantage.

The first goal of the season was scored by Jason Pominville at 14:54 in the first period with assists by Mikael Granlund and Ryan Suter. The Wild had the shot on goal advantage at the end of the first period 17-5. The Avs were unable to get any kind of offense going and the Wild’s defense looked solid through one period of play.

Then came the second period….

Jared Spurgeon opened the scoring in the second period to make it 2-0, followed with goals scored by Zach Parise, Nino Niederreiter, and Ryan Suter. Again, the Wild outshot the Avs in the second period 21-8. The Avs had their third power play opportunity and were held without a shot again. 

The Wild's Erik Haula taking a shot against
Avs Goalie Reto Berra
(Courtesy of Chad Graff, Pioneer Press)

Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov was pulled from the game and replaced by Reto Berra at the beginning of the third period. The Wild managed 10 more shots during the third period and basically made Nathan MacKinnon (2014 Calder Trophy winner) and Gabriel Landeskog non-factors in their first game of the season. Landeskog didn’t take a shot during the game.

The Wild broke a franchise record for shots on goal in a single game with 48. Darcy Kuemper recorded his first shutout of the season, having only faced 16 shots from the Avs. In addition to the offense, the Wild’s penalty kill held the Avs to zero shots on all four power play chances they had. The Wild totally dominated the first game of the season, but they knew Saturday night was going to be a whole different story in Colorado. 

The Wild simply outplayed the Avalanche on Thursday night. Avs' Captain Gabriel Landeskog made this statement to the Star Tribune's Michael Russo:

"...that's what happens. A team that wins battles looks that good against a team that doesn't" 

Patrick Roy did make an idiotic and controversial statement to the Denver media on Friday. I am not going to repeat that statement or discuss it because (in my opinion) it doesn’t need to be rehashed. I will say is that it shows the idiotic and “goon” mentality on the part of Roy and his statement is uncalled for. 

Round two Saturday Night in Denver----

Heading into Saturday night’s rematch in Denver, the Wild knew the Avs were not going to make it easy on them. It was the Avs home opener and they knew they got embarrassed on Thursday night in Saint Paul.

The Wild once again came out at the start shooting at Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov. Charlie Coyle started the scoring for the Wild with his first goal of the season coming in at 1:51in the game, with assists from Ryan Suter and Jonas Brodin.  The Wild had their first power play of the game and managed to rack up eight shots on goal during the man-advantage. They also outshot the Avs in the first period 15-9.

The Avs' Jan Heidja pushing Nino Niederreiter into Semyon Varlamov
 that resulted in a goal for the Wild being waived off. (Andy Cross, Denver Post)

The Avs definitely brought the physical game, even though there were cheap shots made. Minnesota native and former Gopher Erik Johnson was assessed a major penalty and tossed from the game for his hit on Erik Haula late in the first period.  The Wild ended up with three minutes of power play time (two minutes of the five minute major were negated due to an “interference” call on Thomas Vanek). 

Thomas Vanek and the AVs Jan Heidja battling for a puck
during Saturday night's rematch in Denver
(courtesy of twincities.com/David Zalubowksi, AP)

Jason Zucker added his first goal of the season at the 11:50 mark of the second period from Thomas Vanek and Matt Dumba to make it 2-0 Wild. The Wild still managed to pull off 10 shots on goal, while the Avs managed to post 11shots on goal during the second period. 

Roy pulled Varlamov with 2:58 left in the game for an extra attacker and they had a 6-on-4 power play when Matt Cooke got called for interference with 2:33 left to play. The Wild managed to kill off that penalty with some spectacular goaltending by Kuemper. Parise scored on an empty net to seal the deal for the Wild with three seconds left for a 3-0 win. The Avs managed to out shoot the Wild 10-9 in the third period, but the Wild still held the shot advantage 34-30 for the game. 

Darcy Kuemper’s play in the net Saturday night was amazing to watch. Charlie Coyle stated in the Pioneer Press that “He came up huge on a number of occasions and bailed us out a few times when we had a defensive lapse…We didn’t play bad, but he definitely helped us out big time.” (Chad Graff, Pioneer Press 10/12/2014). Right now, I would have to say Kuemper is definitely making his case known to be the Wild's #1 goalie. 

After watching these first two games of the new season, I think it's safe to say the Wild are a much different team than they were this time last year (after starting the season 0-1-2 in their first three games). All eight Wild goals were even-strength goals. However, the Wild need to work on their power play. They are 0-8 so far this season with the man-advantage, even though they have taken more shots on the power play. Overall, the Wild have definitely added excitement to this new season and it's going to be a fun season to watch!

The Wild are one of two clubs to start of the season with back-to-back shut outs (the San Jose Sharks are the other, both Antti Niemi and Alex Stalock have each recorded a shut out this season for the Sharks). Darcy Kuemper is the youngest goaltender to open the season with back-to-back shut outs at 24 years old. 

It was also announced this morning that the Wild have come to terms on a six-year contract extension with Jonas Brodin. I haven't read anything on that new deal, yet. But knowing he's now locked in for a while, that is a good thing. 

The Wild are off until Friday. 

Minnesota Wild players report for training camp, updates, and what is going on with Josh Harding?

Minnesota Wild players have reported for the start of training camp today, which means three weeks until the puck drops for the 2014-15 Minnesota Wild season! (Yes, I’m a little excited for hockey season!)

First look at Thomas Vanek (#26) in a Minnesota Wild Sweater (courtesy of the Minnesota Wild)

Two weeks ago, I blogged about Nino Niederreiter and Darcy Kuemper having not been signed to new deals. Well, the Minnesota Wild announced on September 11 that they have agreed to terms on a new, three year deal with Nino Niederreiter. The St. Paul Pioneer Press is reporting Nino’s new contract is for three years and $8 million. (Chad Graff, twincities.com 9/12/2014).

While I was reviewing this article to get it posted tonight, word came across Twitter that Darcy Kuemper and the Wild agreed to a new deal. It looks like it’s a two year (one way) deal, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. So, I had to hastily re-write this article. Kuemper will be reporting to training camp in the morning.  Ilya Bryzgolav will still be reporting to training camp with the Wild on a tryout (according to Star Tribune columnist Michael Russo). 

I was originally going to post how the Wild’s goaltending situation was going to be a huge question mark going into camp with it having been announced on Wednesday that Josh Harding is going to be out for an indefinite period of time after having fractured his right foot on Sunday. It has been reported that Harding’s injury is not going to require surgery. However, Harding’s going to miss significant time again. As I was writing this, Michael Russo posted this on Twitter:

(Courtesy of Michael Russo, @Russostrib, twitter)

This won't be the first time the Wild has suspended a player over an injury that wasn't hockey related. The Wild suspended James Sheppard prior to the start of the 2010 season after he injured his knee in an ATV accident. So, how long Harding will be suspended for remains to be seen. 

The Wild are holding an open practice on Saturday, along with the inaugural Minnesota Wild Breakaway 10k/5k/1-mile fun run. I will be running in the 5k. I will have some pictures of the races for a future blog. 

Twenty one days until the start of the 2014-15 Minnesota Wild season....

Training Camp starts September 18—Nino Niederreiter and Darcy Kuemper are still unsigned. Is this something to be worried about?

The Labor Day weekend has passed, kids are back in school. That means one thing—we’re getting closer to hockey season! Yes, you read that right, I said hockey season.

With training camp fast approaching for the Minnesota Wild (and the rest of the NHL), is it an issue that Nino Niederreiter and Darcy Kuemper are still unsigned at this point? It depends on who you ask. I think it’s more of an issue that Nino Niederreiter hasn’t inked a new deal rather than Darcy Kuemper not having signed yet.

This is why I say Nino not being signed is a bigger deal. Nino is considered to be a “building block” for the Wild. He had a breakthrough year in his young career with the Wild this past season, while scoring 14 goals, along with dishing out 22 assists during the regular season (and scoring 3 goals—including the series winner against the Avalanche in round one of the play-offs—along with 3 assists during 13 play-off games). He’s a big body on the ice. Nino showed that, having been paired with Mikko Koivu and Charlie Coyle in the play-offs. Nino made this statement in an interview shortly after the play-offs ended:

“It's exciting…I ended up playing with Chuck and Mikko and gave me, kind of a feeling that that's where I want to be next year. Definitely, that's my goal and that's what I'm looking for. I will do everything it takes to be in that spot next year, and I feel that's great motivation to push myself this summer." (Niederreiter becomes building block in Minnesota, Brian Hall, fsnorth.com, 6/3/2014)

I mentioned that he had a breakthrough year last season. He didn’t have much opportunity to play in the NHL when he was with the Islanders. He spent all of the 2013 season in the minors and the Islanders didn’t call him up at all. When he was traded to the Wild before last season for Cal Clutterbuck and a draft pick, Nino was given a fresh start in the NHL and he was able to build up his confidence, along with working his way into a being a constant in the Wild’s line up. Yes, there’s been times where he’s been inconsistent. He’s still growing as a player and he is aware of the areas he needs to improve on.

(photo courtesy of rantsports.com)

It’s a very interesting situation with Nino having not signed a new deal yet—and it could set up an interesting scenario. At the end of the 2014-2015 season, Erik Haula, Mikael Grandlund, and Charlie Coyle all become restricted free agents. Michael Russo of the Star Tribune stated in his last article that “(Wild GM Chuck) Fletcher feels he has to get the Niederreiter deal right or it’ll affect the others.” (Startribune.com 9/2/2014)

The Wild already have quite the interesting situation with the goaltending. They had quite the goalie carousel last year, having used five goalies (Josh Harding, Niklas Backstrom, Kuemper, John Curry, and Ilya Bryzgolav). Harding and Backstrom are both signed (in my previous post, there is the question on whether or not Backstrom has a future with the Wild). John Curry has signed a new one year, two-way deal. The Wild also have Johan Gustafsson in their system. Would it be nice if Kuemper signed a new deal? Yes, because if the Wild were to move Niklas Backstrom, they could go with the tandem of Harding and Kuemper (providing Harding stays healthy this upcoming season and doesn’t miss most of the season). There have been times where Kuemper has been inconsistent, but the same thing can be said about him as I stated about Nino, Kuemper’s young and there are areas of his game that he can definitely improve on.

I think that both Kuemper and Nino will eventually sign new deals. It will probably happen after the start of training camp. The Wild aren’t the only team out there who have restricted free agents that haven’t signed new deals yet going into the start of training camp. Nino’s deal is probably going to be watched closely, due to the impact it could have on other Wild players next summer.

On a totally unrelated note: the Minnesota Wild will be having their first Breakway 10k/5k/1 mile fun run on September 20, benefiting the Minnesota Wild Foundation. I will be running in the 5k, along with some friends. Hopefully I will have some pictures to post in a future blog.

Important Dates for the Wild:

September 18: Players are due to report to training camp

September 19: First on ice practice

September 20: Single game tickets go on sale, first Minnesota Wild Breakaway 10k/5k/1 mile fun run

October 9: Home and season opener against the Colorado Avalanche.