Wild sign goalie Cam Talbot to 3 year deal

 

Cam Talbot became the Wild’s starting goalie on October 9^th when he signed a 3 year, $11 million contract. He’ll be taking over the starting role after Wild GM Bill Guerin traded Devan Dubnyk to the San Jose Sharks. (Talbot’s contract does not contain a no-trade or no-move clause).

 Talbot was one of a number of goalies on the free agency market—including Braden Holtby (signed with Vancouver), Jacob Markstrom (signed with Calgary—Talbot’s old team), Thomas Greiss (signed with Detroit on October 10^th), Anton Khudobin (re-signed with Dallas), and Henrik Lundqvist (signed with Washington).

 Guerin stated he was disappointed with the goaltending after the Wild’s season ended and that a change was needed. He confirmed the statement about a change was needed when he traded Dubnyk to the Sharks earlier in the week. (Previously stated here).

 

Talbot, who is 33-years-old, comes to the Wild with a career 150-122-25 record (314 regular season games) with a 2.61 GAA, .919 SV%, and 22 shutouts. In the playoffs last season, Talbot’s record was 5-4-0 (10 games) with a 2.42 GAA, .924 SV%, and 2 shutouts with the Calgary Flames. Along with spending this past season with the Flames, Talbot has had stints with the New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers (where he had a 42 win game season in 2016-17 and was named to the All-Star game that season), and the Philadelphia Flyers. 

 Talbot said the following after having signed with the Wild:

           

“I kind of bet on myself with that one-year deal…I knew that people had kind of written me off, but I wasn’t done yet. And I knew that I could still play at a high level. So it’s very rewarding that I was able to prove that and to get this opportunity to play in the great city and great building like Minnesota, I’m really looking forward to the opportunity.” (theathletic.com)

 

Talbot joining the Wild gives the team a starting goalie with Stalock as back up. With having Talbot in the net, this also gives Kaapo Kankonen (who has filed for arbitration as an RFA) more time to develop to eventually become the starting goalie with the Wild, along with Hunter Jones. Guerin had this to say about signing Talbot and what it means for Kankonen:

 

“I think it buys us more time with Kahkonen…The last thing we want to do is rush him along. I’m not saying he can’t play or won’t play. That’s not the case, but we’re not forced to do anything. I think that’s really important when it comes to the development of a goalie.” (theathletic.com)

 

However, there is the expansion draft coming up after the 2020-21 season. Minnesota is only going to be able to protect one of their goalies (Hunter Jones is exempt). If Kahkonen gets an extended opportunity to play with the Wild this upcoming season and plays well, it could mean some tough decisions for Guerin regarding goaltending and which goalie is going to be protected.

 It will be very interesting to see how Talbot does with the Wild, knowing that this is his third team in three years and with Kankonen patiently waiting in the wings…

Sources:

Michael Russo, The Athletic. https://theathletic.com/2127528/2020/10/09/cam-talbot-wild-signs-free-agent-goalie/

https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/talbot-signs-with-wild-100920/c-319408248

https://www.hockeywilderness.com/2020/10/10/21509597/minnesota-wild-nhl-cam-talbot-free-agency-signing-analysis

Marco Rossi, the Minnesota Wild’s 2020 First Round Draft Pick

 

With the ninth overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, the Minnesota Wild selected Marco Rossi, a 5’9” center who spent last season with the Ottawa 67’s—amassing 39 goals, 81 assists (120 pts) with a +69 in 56 games—where he won the CHL scoring title and was named the league’s most outstanding player.

The Athletic’s Corey Pronman had this to say about the Wild selecting Rossi:

“In Rossi, the Wild get one of the best players in junior hockey last season. He’s a player with tremendous skill and a high compete level. He’s undersized and a good, not great skater. But the skill and compete level are so good that I think he can become a low-end, first-line center in the NHL who can play on both special teams. He becomes a very important part of the Wild’s future and gives them much needed young depth at center.”

 

Drafting Rossi in the first round also helps address a serious need by the Minnesota Wild—by eventually having a true first line center. I previously stated in my article posted on September 19 (here) that the Wild have not had a true first line center in quite some time (or for as long as the team has been in existence).  Along with the Wild moving on from now-former captain Mikko Koivu and Eric Staal having been traded to Buffalo, there are two center slots that now need to be filled (which I will address is a future post).

 
I will admit I didn’t know much about Marco Rossi before the draft tonight, but after the Wild selected him in the first round—I looked up videos of him on YouTube and I will admit I was impressed with what I saw in two highlight videos—which are posted at the end of this article Yes, Rossi’s only 5’9”, but he has some amazing stick handling skills. However, from what I have read so far and the videos I’ve seen, Rossi is a player Wild fans can get excited over. Hockeywilderness.com had this comment about Rossi:

 

“The Wild take the gift that was dropped right into their lap. Rossi has elite positional awareness that makes up for his 5-foot-9 frame. You don’t score points in the OHL being bad.”

 

Even as I was writing this and still trying to research Rossi, Scott Wheeler from The Athletic posted his take on the winners and losers from the first round of this draft. He had the Wild ranked first with the selection of Marco Rossi and basically stated that he (Rossi) is ready to play in the NHL.

Well, welcome to the State of Hockey, Marco Rossi.

Can you imagine a line with Rossi at center and Kirill Kaprizov at right wing? 

As I stated earlier, here are links to two of the highlight videos of Marco Rossi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRWA90nw4IM&ab_channel=WolfHockey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwHAaUFuDIQ&ab_channel=OntarioHockeyLeague

Sources:

Corey Pronman, The Athletic. https://theathletic.com/2089449/2020/10/06/nhl-draft-2020-live-first-round-updates-and-analysis/

Hockeywilderness.com https://www.hockeywilderness.com/2020/10/6/21504816/2020-nhl-minnesota-wild-draft-tracker?fbclid=IwAR2fwzItMAUl9vnjbXpP_VAt6JS2nmKWiPHIPnPusf4nffEY1g_0mVkOIXA

Scott Wheeler, The Athletic https://theathletic.com/2068998/2020/10/07/nhl-draft-winners-and-losers-ranking-every-teams-first-round/?source=twittered

Devan Dubnyk’s time in Minnesota has come to an end with trade to San Jose Sharks

 

I mentioned in my last blog post (here) that one of the big needs Wild GM Bill Guerin needs to address happened to be goaltending and what could possibly happen with Devan Dubnyk.

Well, one day before the first round of the NHL Draft, Guerin traded Devan Dubnyk to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a fifth round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. The Wild will also be retaining $1.25 million in salary and about a $2.7 million cap hit for the upcoming season (which would be the last year of Dubnyk’s six-year contract with the team). The trade actually saves the Wild some money instead of buying out the final year of the contract (which would have cost the Wild approximately $1.67 million in cash spread out over two years, about a $2.7 million cap hit next season, and about an $830,000 cap hit for the 2021-22 season). The question has been asked on whether or not the Wild need to move on from Dubnyk, and that question has been answered with Guerin making the trade.

Dubnyk made the following statement following the trade during an interview:

“It’s been a stressful week, obviously, when you find out,”…”But the conversations I’ve had, mainly with (Sharks general manager) Doug Wilson and the staff and also just hearing from anyone who’s been involved with the Sharks, you just hear nothing but good things. The more we spoke with Doug and other people, the more comfortable we were. We realize this is an extremely exciting opportunity with a great organization and so, the further this went down the road, the more excited we got about it. We were certainly antsy waiting for it to become official today, but we’re very, very excited about it.” (October 5, 2020, nhl.com)

San Jose will be the fifth team for Dubnyk in his career, in which he is 247-195-52 with a 2.58 GAA, .915 SV%, and 32 career shutouts in 520 career NHL games. He also won the Bill Masterton trophy, finished third in voting for the Vezina Trophy and fourth for the Hart Trophy, along with being named to the NHL’s Second All-Star Team—all in 2015. Dubnyk is coming off a rough 2019-20 season that saw him missing time due to a medical situation with his wife and losing the starting role to Alex Stalock. In the 30 games he played in, he went 12-15-2 with a 3.35 GAA and .890 SV%. With this trade, the Sharks will be going with a goalie tandem of Martin Jones and Dubnyk.

So, where does that trade leave the Wild as far as goaltending? The Wild still have Alex Stalock under contract and Kaapo Kahkonen with the Iowa Wild. Free agency starts on October 9 and there are some big goalie names in free agency—i.e. Thomas Greiss (Islanders), Cam Talbot (Flames), and Anton Khudobin (Stars, and who also sent time with the Wild) to name a few.

Between the draft (rounds 2-7 will be taking place on Oct. 7^th) and free agency, Guerin has options for goaltending. It will be interesting to see what transpires and what Guerin is going to do to further address the goaltending situation.

Update:

I previously stated the 2020-21 season was going to tentatively start sometime in December 2020. The NHL stated today that they have a target start date of January 1 for the upcoming season. Whether this upcoming season is going to be a full 82 game season or a shortened season remains to be seen.

Sources:

Michael Russo, The Athletic. https://theathletic.com/2110741/2020/10/05/devan-dubnyk-trade-wild-sharks-draft-picks/?redirected=1

NHL.com (October 5, 2020) https://www.nhl.com/news/wild-trade-goalie-devan-dubnyk-to-sharks/c-319304716?tid=278542340

 

 

What should the Wild address this offseason between the draft and free agency?

 

Since my last post and writing this article, it was confirmed by the Wild that Mikko Koivu’s time with the Wild are done and he will not be re-signed to another contract.

.Bill Guerin has a lot to deal with in his first full offseason as General Manager. In the twelve months that Guerin has been in the role, he’s already made some changes—i.e. firing Bruce Boudreau and trading Jason Zucker to the Penguins. 

The Wild have two big needs that Guerin needs to address this offseason. The first is the fact the Wild have not had a true first line center in quite some time (or for as long as the team has been in existence).  It’s been confirmed the Wild are moving on from Mikko Koivu, with the additions of Nick Bjugstad and Marcus Johansson (who is going to be tried at center this coming season, even though he’s listed as a left wing). There are questions about Nick Bjugstad going to be healthy for the upcoming season, as he’s coming off of back surgery. With both Koivu and Staal both gone from the Wild, there is a big hole at center. Joel Eriksson-Ek and Luke Kunin have both spent time at center for the Wild. Nico Strum is another name being tossed around to be in at center (he’s split time this past season between Iowa and Minnesota). Alex Galchenyuk has also spent time at center, but he’s a free agent and whether or not he’s going to re-sign with the Wild remains to be seen. Galchenyuk is also coming off one of the worst seasons of his career (2018-19 when he was with Arizona before he was traded to Pittsburgh as part of the Phil Kessel deal).  What Guerin does regarding this need will be interesting in both the upcoming draft and free agency that will taking place in October.

The second big need the Wild need to address is goaltending. It’s no secret that Devan Dubnyk is coming off a pretty rough 2019-20 season that saw him missing a month due to a medical emergency with his wife, missing some time in January due to the medical situation with his wife, and eventually losing the starting goalie role to Alex Stalock. In the 30 games he was in last season, he went 12-15-2 with a 3.35 GAA and .890 SV%. He didn’t start any of the games in the qualifying round against Vancouver when play resumed in August. He is entering the final year of his 6 year, $21 million contract that he signed after the 2014-15 season. That was the season where he won the Masterton Trophy and was a finalist for the Vezina trophy. Guerin made the following statement during his season wrap up:

“I was disappointed in the goaltending this year…Al (Stalock) had a tremendous year and Devan (Dubnyk) had an off year and it needs to be better. That’s just the way it is. If I told you anything different, I’d be lying to you. It was not a strong point for us.” (Judd Zuglad, Skor North, 8/10/2020)  

How the goaltending situation is going to be addressed is going to be interesting. Does Guerin stick with the Dubnyk-Stalock tandom in this up-coming season, hoping Dubnyk can rebound off of a bad year? How does Kaapo Kahkonen fit into the goalie equation? Kahkonen is coming off of a season with the Iowa Wild having won 25 games (7 of those being shutouts) with a 2.07 GAA and a .927 SV%--which was good enough for him to be named the AHL Goalie of the Year. 

There are some big goalie names who are going to be free agents come October—Braden Holtby (Capitals), Thomas Greiss (Islanders), Anton Khudobin (Stars, and who was with the Wild), and Cam Talbot (Flames), just to name a few. Along with the upcoming draft, Guerin has to seriously look at the options out there. Could Dubnyk be traded? That is a possibility, along with possibly the Wild buying out the final year of his contract.

It is going to be an interesting off-season for Guerin and from the looks of it, Wild owner Craig Leopold is giving Guerin the go-ahead to make the moves Guerin thinks is necessary to get the Wild to eventually become a contender.

 

Upcoming Dates:

NHL Draft: Round 1 will take place on October 6, Rounds 2-7 will take place on October 7.

Free Agency: NHL Free Agency will open at 12 PM ET on October 9.

Tentative Start of the 2020-21 season: December 2020

Sources:

Michael Russo, The Athletic. https://theathletic.com/2019645/2020/08/24/examining-the-wilds-options-what-to-do-about-a-complicated-goalie-situation/ (8/24/2020)

Judd Zulgad, Skor North, https://www.skornorth.com/2020/08/pulling-no-punches-wild-gm-bill-guerin-makes-it-clear-that-goaltending-changes-are-on-the-way/ (8/10/2020)

Is Mikko Koivu’s career finished in Minnesota?

 **Update** 

After I posted the original article, the Wild are expected to move on from Mikko Koivu. According to an article by The Athletic's Michael Russo (link to here), Koivu was informed during his end of the season exit meeting with GM Bill Guerin. Russo stated Koivu has been informing those closest to him that his playing days with the Wild are over. 

With the 2019-2020 season over for the Minnesota Wild after they didn’t make it past the round-robin play in and into the Stanley Cup playoffs, there are questions about the roster and what moves is General Manager Bill Guerin going to make in the off season. 

One of the big questions this off-season is whether or not Mikko Koivu’s career as a member of the Wild is over. Koivu turned 37 back on March 12.

Koivu’s career with the Wild started in the 2005-06 season. He was drafted in the first round by the team in 2001 (sixth overall). After fifteen seasons, Koivu is the team leader in the following categories (information courtesy of wild.com):

• NHL games played (1,028--all played with the Minnesota Wild)
• Points (729)
• Assists (704)
• Plus/Minus (+70)
• Shots (2,270)

Koivu is second all time in goals scored (205) and power play goals (60). He is the only permanent captain in team history (he was named captain on October 20, 2009).He is also the first in franchise history to have played 1000 career NHL games and with the same team.

Now, with the 2019-2020 season over, Koivu’s contract with the Wild has now ended. He is basically a free agent (even though free agency won’t begin until October 9). Whether or not Koivu returns for another season in a Wild sweater also depends on what Wild GM Bill Guerin is able to with free agency (this will be Guerin’s first full offseason as GM). 

If Koivu re-signs with the team, what would his role be? According to Michael Russo from The Athletic, Koivu would more than likely playing center on the fourth line with probably no power play time. It was a role that he transitioned to during the second half of the season and remained in during the playoffs.

Depending on free-agency at this point, what are the possibilities for Koivu? The first possibility is that Koivu re-signs with the Wild in a short term deal that is team-friendly so that he could retire as a member of the Wild. He didn’t waive his no-trade clause at the trade deadline so he could remain with the team. The other possibility is that he may have some options if he decides to pursue free agency or sign with his hometown team TPS Turku in the Finnish Elite League.

What the future brings for Mikko Koivu remains to be seen. Koivu still needs to meet with Guerin and he does need some time to think about his future. 

Sources:

Michael Russo, The Athletic (8/9/2020) https://theathletic.com/1984520/2020/08/09/mikko-koivu-wild-retirement-was-that-it-captain/

https://www.hockeywilderness.com/2020/3/16/21180704/minnesota-wild-mikko-koivu-retirement-new-contract-speculation-covid-19-coronavirus

Michael Russo, The Athletic (9/9/2020) https://theathletic.com/2052864/2020/09/09/wild-offseason-update-mikko-koivu-contract-future-trade-buyout-options/

Mike Milbury needs to go

I personally did not hear what Mike Milbury said on Thursday’s (August 20^th) NBC’s Islanders-Capitals broadcast; however, I did read about it. Yes, it’s taken me a few days to figure out what I wanted to say about this. I have never been a fan of Mike Milbury and there have been times where I have either muted my TV when he’s on or changed the channel until the opening face-off. 

This is not the first time that Mike Milbury has made asinine comments like the one he made Thursday night. Everyone who watches hockey knows that. He’s made several since the NHL playoffs began back on August 1^st. The two that stand out to me were his comments about Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Muzzin (who was taken off the ice on a stretcher during a game with the Columbus Blue Jackets) and Bruins goaltender Tuuka Rask (who left Toronto to go back to Boston to be with his family and was later announced there was an undisclosed medical emergency involving one of his three kids). I’m not even going to quote what he said about those two because it’s not worth repeating in my opinion. He was out of line on both of those comments. Luckily, Jake Muzzin was not seriously injured and was released from the hospital the next day.

Then, there was Thursday night and his asinine comment about women. After I read what he said, my first thought was why does NBC Sports still have this guy on the air? NBC Sports was real quick to fire Jeremy Roenick earlier this year after comments he made about an on-air colleague. Why didn’t NBC Sports do the same to Mike Milbury?

The Athletic’s Katie Strang summed it up the best in her article “Do We Honestly Have No Better Options than Mike Milbury? (The link to her article is ).

“The way he spoke about women being distractions is pretty coded language for what he feels women are good for, and that’s abhorrent.

Think about how insulting and insidious those comments are. Does Milbury not understand how many women probably were integral in making sure this whole bubble hockey experiment works? From the league? The NHLPA? The NHL clubs? His own broadcast? There are women doing advance scouting and using data analysis to ensure their teams are prepared to play. There are women working to handle every logistical nightmare within this bizarre environment and every awkward Zoom press conference we see. There are likely women gathering, distilling and providing him with the very information he uses each broadcast!

And let’s not forget those who are sacrificing and doing the yeoman’s work outside the bubble, too. There are women who are balancing school and work while plagued by uncertainty about a partner who will be gone for an unknown length of time and incurring risks we probably have not even begun to understand. There are women who are supporting entire families on their own without a partner to help shoulder the exhausting work that entails, especially amid a global pandemic.

Women are not distractions. They are essential.”

Even though the NHL was quick to condemn Milbury’s asinine comment with an official statement on Friday, all NBC Sports stated that the network was “disappointed with Mike’s insensitive comment.” 

Mike Milbury did issues a statement that read like someone else wrote it, stating that he “didn’t want my presence to interfere with the athletes as they try to win the greatest trophy in sports” after stepping aside for the remainder of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Mike Milbury apparently has a history of making “misguiding remarks” about gender sexuality and sexual assault, according to Deadline.com’s Tom Tapp, even though Tapp didn’t go into further detail (which is probably a good thing at this point). It’s obvious that he has never learned from his

As someone who has grown up around hockey, has seen a women’s college hockey powerhouse form (at the University of Minnesota), and whose first job while still in high school was working at the old Met Center in Bloomington, MN before the North Stars moved to Dallas and become the Dallas Stars—I was disgusted in Mike Milbury’s comment from Thursday night. If it were my call, Milbury would have been fired the next day. However it’s not my call.

It’s time that NBC Sports step up and fire Mike Milbury. In today’s world, there is no place for the asinine and disrespectful comments regarding women, players, etc. Hockey fans watching these broadcasts deserve better and it’s obvious that Mike Milbury isn’t going to change and learn from this when he’s been given plenty of opportunities to do so over the past several years. To put it simply, it’s time for Mike Milbury to go. 

Sources:

Katie Strang: Do We Honestly Have No Better Options Than Mike Milbury?

Deadline.com NBC Sports Benches Mike Milbury

Does Big Ten Deputy Commissioner Brad Traviolia really understand the frustration of college hockey fans?

It is October and we all know what that means, hello hockey season! 

This year, the Minnesota Gophers enter their fourth season in what I like to call the debacle that is known as the Big Ten Conference. I've stated in a previous blog post that I am NOT a fan of the Big Ten conference (as I've stated here).

Recently, I came across an article from earlier this year about Big Ten Deputy Commissioner Brad Traviolia. 

In reading this article, I don't think Brad Traviolia gets the frustration of Gopher hockey fans (or college hockey fans in general).

First of all, Traviolia doesn't have a hockey background and he admits it. He made this statement in the previously mentioned USCHO.com article from Feb.10, 2016 (Big Ten's Traviolia weighs in....) Traviolia states:

 "Coming from a non-hockey background, it’s kind of hard for me to imagine a fan in the state of Minnesota who wouldn’t be excited to see a Michigan or a Michigan State come in to play..."

What is he thinking? Does he honestly think that Mariucci Arena is going to sell out for a series against Michigan or Michigan State? Because it is the Gophers, there is going to be a decent crowd there. However, a two-game series against Michigan and Michigan State just isn't going to sell out because there isn't a true rivarly between Minnesota and these two schools. Yes, there is some history between Minnesota and Michigan (with having met in the semi-finals of the 2002 and 2003 Men's Frozen Four tournaments), but these rivalries aren't just going to happen overnight. Rivalries will draw fans to games (i.e. the Minnesota-North Dakota series scheduled for Nov. 4 and 5 at Marriucci Arena). 

(Just in case anybody was wondering, Traviolia was a wrestler at Northwestern University). 

Traviolia also stated this:

“In a perfect world, we’d have great national success in the early years of Big Ten hockey and it’d be perceived by the vast majority as the greatest move ever...Those things didn’t coincide. I understand that there is some frustration from the various fan bases that see the alignment of Big Ten hockey with the lack of national success that some of our programs are used to having and equate the two."

No, Traviolia doesn't get it. He conveniently forgets that one of the most successful and storied college hockey conferences was basically destroyed with the creation of the Big 10 hockey conference. That conference being the old WCHA conference (when it consisted of Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State, Mankato State, Colorado College, Denver, et al.) For a school like Minnesota, those games were constant sell outs because of the rivalries between those schools--especially the in-state rivalries and the storied rivalry between Minnesota and North Dakota. 

This is coming from the guy who doesn't buy into a theory of " the lack of attendance is that fans simply aren’t intrigued enough with the new conference foes to make the effort to actually go to games." I'll be honest with you, watching Minnesota play Penn State is like watching an exhibition series to me. Penn State is only entering their 5th year as a D-1 hockey program. They have a LONG way to go when it comes to developing rivalries. 

Brad Traviolia just doesn't get it when it comes to hockey...and the tradition of college hockey.

The Wild made coaching changes…now, what about the roster?

New Minnesota Wild Head Coach Bruce Boudreau

Now that the Minnesota Wild have their coaching staff in place, with the hiring of Bruce Boudreau as the new head coach. John Anderson and Scott Stevens were hired on as assistant coaches. Darby Hendrickson remains as the only assistant coach from Mike Yeo’s staff, along with goaltending coach Bob Mason (who has been with the team for the Wild’s entire existence).

The big question now is what moves are the Wild going to make in order to improve their roster? With the 2016 NHL Draft starting Friday in Buffalo and free agency starting at midnight on July 1^st  (general managers meetings are either currently going on or start on June 22), Chuck Fletcher is going to be closely watched on what moves he makes (and which ones he doesn’t).

Let’s start off with the draft. 

This year, the Wild have only four draft picks. Yes, that is correct. Minnesota currently holds the 15^th pick overall (first round). The Wild don’t have a draft pick again until the fourth round (at 106^th overall) with another two picks remaining in the 7^th round (at 196^th and 204^th overall respectively). That’s not a whole lot to build on. Chuck Fletcher traded a few draft picks away last season for upcoming drafts for basically rent-a-players (a couple of them who were busts for the Wild). I think I just saw recently that what would have been the Wild’s third round draft pick has changed teams at least 5 times already—most recently this week. (Fletcher also stated in a press conference yesterday that he’s not looking at trading for any draft picks.)

Tom Powers said on Monday, “…With the cupboard of their American League farm club now containing nothing but ant bait, the Wild need to get busy on improving their personnel.” That’s not good. (Wild must improve roster or expect miracle from Boudreau, twincities.com)

(Joel Eriksson Ek, who was the Wild’s first round draft pick last year, will be playing in Sweden this upcoming season with Färjestad of the SHL).

What about free agency?

The salary cap for the 2016-17 season has been announced at being $73 million (up only $1.6 million from last season). The Wild currently have approximately $9.2 million available in cap space, according to www.spotrac.com. That’s not a whole lot.

The Wild’s list of unrestricted free agents are forwards David Jones (acquired via trade from Calgary), Jarrett Stoll and Chris Porter (both claimed off of waivers last season), Ryan Carter, and Justin Fontaine. Out of those five, the possibility of any of those being re-signed remains to be seen. 

Darcy Kuemper will become a restricted free agent again on July 1st (and could become an unrestricted free agent after the 2016-17 season), along with forwards Zac Dalpe and Jordan Schroeder (whom the Wild are expected to tend offers to). There have been reports as of late that Darcy Kuemper could possibly be moved (via trade). 

It's going to be a very interesting part of the off-season these next couple of weeks. What Chuck Fletcher does (and doesn't do) is going to be very interesting...and could potentially cause new coach Boudreau, along with Wild fans), some serious headaches this upcoming season...

2016 World Cup of Hockey…and what does that mean for the NHL’s involvement in the 2018 Winter Olympics?

Today, in Toronto, the NHL and the NHL Players Association announced the World Cup of Hockey and the format for the tournament that is scheduled to take place at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto from September 17-October 1, 2016.

With this announcement today, what does this mean for the NHL’s involvement in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea? As of right now, there isn’t an answer on the NHL’s involvement in the South Korea games. When asked about the impact of the World Cup of Hockey (which hasn’t been played since 2004), Gary Bettman told the AP “I don’t think one has anything to do with the other.” However, both sides have dodged answering about the Olympics. The AP did state that the players "made it very clear they want to keep going to the Winter Olympics every four years," along with the sentiment of the team owners "don't seem to like shutting down their league for two-plus weeks in the season while hoping their stars don't get injured at the Olympics." (The issue was raised about stars being injured in the Olympics when the Islanders' John Tavares suffered an MCL and meniscus while playing for Team Canada in the 2014 Sochi games and missed the rest of the season). 

Talks have not been scheduled regarding the NHL's involvement in the 2018 games in South Korea with the International Ice Hockey Federation. 

The two week tournament will feature approximately 150 NHL players. 

NHL.com had the following quote from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on the creation of Team North America and Team Europe:

"Those two teams, they're more competitive than any other country team would have been for this event, so it will make the competition more competitive as well...Otherwise, you would have had a country with maybe just a couple of NHL players. Now you have what are going to be two very strong teams highlighting more NHL players being included than any other way we could have done it."

However, the World Cup of Hockey is not without it's critics. Tom Gulitti (Devils beat writer for The Record) posted this criticism on Twitter:

(courtesy of bleacherreport.com)

The level of play at this tournament will have to wait to be seen. I'm pretty sure there will be more coming out in regards to questions about the level of play as the tournament draws closer. 

Meanwhile...

The following format was announced, along with the team pools, and schedule for the tournament:

Team Groups:

Group A:

Team Canada
Team Czech Republic
Team Europe
Team USA

Group B:

Team FinlandTeam North AmericaTeam RussiaTeam Sweden

(Team North America will be made up of North American players who are 23 and younger, while Team Europe will consist of players from other countries, such as Germany, Switzerland, Slovenia, et al). 

The schedule is:

Preliminary Round (round robin)

Saturday, Sept. 17
Team Europe vs. Team USA, 3:30 p.m.
Team Canada vs. Team Czech Republic, 8 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 18
Team Russia vs. Team Sweden, 3 p.m.
Team Finland vs. Team North America, 8 p.m.

Monday, Sept. 19
Team Czech Republic vs. Team Europe, 3 p.m.
Team North America vs. Team Russia, 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 20
Team Finland vs. Team Sweden, 3 p.m.
Team Canada vs. Team USA, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 21
Team North America vs. Team Sweden, 3 p.m.
Team Canada vs. Team Europe, 8 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 22
Team Finland vs. Team Russia, 3 p.m.
Team Czech Republic vs. Team USA, 8 p.m.

Semifinals (single elimination; A1 vs. B2, B1 vs. A2)

Saturday, Sept. 24
Semifinal 1, TBD

Sunday, Sept. 25
Semifinal 2, TBD

Final (best-of-three)

Tuesday, Sept. 27
Final Game 1, 8 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 29
Final Game 2, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 1
Final Game 3, 7 p.m. (if necessary)

(Schedule and group information courtesy of nhlnfa.com)

According to nhl.com, the tournament will be played using NHL rules and officials. 

It will be interesting to see how this World Cup of Hockey plays out, considering it's going to be taking place during teams' training camp, leading up to the start of the 2016-17 NHL season. 

(link to NHL.com article NHL, NHLPA unveil plans for 2016 World Cup)

Niklas Backstrom—history repeats itself

Once again, it’s announced that during the off-season, Niklas Backstrom has been dealing with in injury that has plagued him since during the season. This time around, it’s an injury to his right elbow that has resulted in nerve damage. According to various reports, Backstrom suffered this injury during a preseason game last season and had surgery on that elbow in May. 

I wrote in one of my first blog articles about Backstrom and his future with the Minnesota Wild, (Does Niklas Backstrom have a future with the Minnesota Wild?) about how Backstrom has entered training camp coming off surgery he had to have in the off-season. 

Niklas Backstrom

Well, this preseason (as training camp for the Wild is quickly approaching) is going to be no different. Backstrom has been dealing with an injury to his right elbow that occurred during the preseason and since suffering the injury, has been dealing with nerve damage. 

Backstrom gave an interview back in June with a Finnish TV station and stated this:

“It was a bit scary situation...It happened pretty fast. All of a sudden two fingers are not working. Even in rest, two fingers were motionless. I couldn’t use my right hand to drive a car or to hold a phone. There’s a lot of stuff that’s happened during my career, but this really made me stop and think. You need your hand for the rest of your career. I’m right-handed.”

This injury prevented the Wild from buying Backstrom out of the final year of his contract. (A second buyout window was opened for the Wild when Erik Haula filed for arbitration, but the Wild were not able to take advantage of that buyout window because Backstrom hasn't been cleared medically). 

According to Puck Daddy's Sean Leahy, Backstrom's injury and sports hernia surgery last summer prevented the Wild from using their second compliance buy out on him last summer. For the second straight year, Backstrom has been able to "handcuff" the Wild and preventing the Wild from buying him out. 

What are the Wild's options at this point with Backstrom (who is in the final year of his contract and is owed about $4 million this season)? At this point, the Wild's best option is to put Backstrom on long-term injury researve. He has a no-move clause in his contract, so he can't be sent down to the minors. When (and if) he's cleared to play, he'll end up being the third goalie behind Devan Dubnyk and Darcy Kuemper. 

This will be the LAST season the Wild have to deal with this drama with Niklas Backstrom, his injuries, and off-season surgeries. Hopefully, the Wild will let him walk after this season. 

Minnesota Wild Free Agency Updates...Why Did The Wild Re-Sign Nate Prosser?

Not long after I posted my previous two articles about the top three free-agents who should be re-signed and the three free-agents the Wild should let walk, the Wild made their moves on some of the free-agents.

The Wild did come to a contract agreement with Devan Dubnyk. The deal is a 6 year deal for $26 million. If you recall from my article about the top three free agents the Wild should focus on re-signing, Dubnyk was at the top of that list (the link is here). Hopefully, the 2015 Bill Masterton award winner will be able to build upon his success with the Wild during the second half of this past season and provide some stability for the Wild in goaltending...which is what the Wild desperately need. 

The Wild also managed to re-sign Mikael Granlund to a two-year deal, along with re-signing Ryan Carter to a one year deal. (Mikael Grandlund was #3 on my list of free-agents the Wild should re-sign). 

Nate Prosser

However, there is one re-signing that did take place that I don’t think a lot of fans are happy about and that is the two year, one-way deal for Nate Prosser. In my last post about the three free-agents the Wild should let walk, Prosser was at the top of that list. (The article can be found here). As I have previously stated, I have never been impressed with Prosser as an NHL player. 

Another blogger (Tony Wiseau from Hockey Wilderness) wrote this about Prosser, and Wiseau hit the nail on the head with his statement:

"We know what Nate Prosser gives you. We've seen it for the last 4 seasons. Prosser will be an OK defender, a fine penalty killer, but a non-factor offensively. He's also 29, meaning that in all likelihood, there aren't going to be any major improvements in Prosser's game."

(Link to Tony's post Minnesota Wild Re-Sign Nate Prosser to a 2 Year Deal).

Prosser only played in 63 regular season games and one playoff game this past season. I would rather see another player, like Christian Folin or Mike Reilly, get NHL ice time than seeing someone like Prosser--who has been prone to committing turnovers and is an easy target to be hit. 

I hope Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher wakes up sometime this season and either puts Prosser on waivers or includes him in a trade. This was not a smart move on Fletcher's part and I hope he sees his mistake in signing Prosser. I don't care if he's a native Minnesotan, he's not that impressive on the ice and the Wild need to move on from him.