Welcome all you Wild puck heads out there, I hope you all had a great holiday season, mine was nuts. It has been a while since I have had a chance to write anything but WOW! Talk about a bi-polar season for the Wild. One day you’re talking about playoffs the next it’s draft picks, then back to playoffs. Not saying that this is not exciting at all, but how many people in Minnesota have high blood pressure because of this besides me?

The Wild are three points out of 4th in the West and back in the chase for a playoff spot. With a 7-2-1 record in the last 10 games, they are only second to Vancouver (9-0-1), while accumulating points in eight out of their last nine road games 6-1-2. This team is firing on all cylinders and very focused right now. Last year the Wild won a total of 13 road games, not winning their 10th till March and now already have 10 in the books.

Throughout these 10 games the Wild have notched wins against potential playoff teams in Colorado, San Jose, Phoenix, and Boston.

Tomorrow they look for another big win in Pittsburgh to take on the Sidney Crosby-less Penguins in hopes of adding to their road record and gaining more ground in the West.

Sounds like Jose Theodore is going to get the call in net again for the Wild tomorrow with Niklas Backstrom still questionable. Theodore is 18-4-3 with a 2.41 GAA, and .914 SV% lifetime versus the Pens. The Wild will be looking for another big showing from Theo like they got from him in Boston last night.

Taking on the Northeast Division leaders last night the Wild were looking to continue their dominance of the Bruins. The Wild have never lost in Boston (6-0-0) and in one of the most exciting and energetic games the team has played all year long, they kept the streak alive. Winning 3-1, the Wild outscored Boston 33-16 lifetime and held them to 0-4 on the PP while continuing a streak where they have never allowed the Bruins score on the PP (0-35).

During the run their blue line is stepped it up offensively and put the puck in net. Cam Barker broke his scoring drought when he beat Jason LaBarbera for 6-5 OT win in Phoenix. Clayton Stoner scored his first career goal when he dumped the puck in the New Jersey  Devils zone, where the puck took a crazy hop off the boards and into the Devils net for the game winner.

The Wild are also getting points from Nick Schultz and Brent Burns. Burns is tied for the team lead in goals with 12.

Besides putting pucks in the net, the Wild have relied on two call ups from their AHL affiliate Huston Aeros in Jared Spurgeon and Marco Scandella. These two have stepped up their game for the team when they have needed them to.

With Marek Zidlicky out for a longer than anyone thought, Scandella and Spurgon have filled the gap flawlessly. Both are getting valuable ice time and mentoring by Greg Zanon, Burns and Schultz and should turn out to be solid pieces down the road for this team.

If the doubters thought that Cal Clutterbuck was a one dimensional player, he has proved them wrong. Not only is he leading the league in hits for the third year in a row, he is also tied with Burns for the most goals on the team (12). The one huge change is that he has been completely clutch on the ice this season, five of his 12 goals have tied games while four have given them the lead.

Hitting the halfway point in the season the Wild will need to continue the intensity that they showed against the Bruins if they want to make the playoffs. This team is hitting a very hard part of their schedule six out of the next nine games are against playoff teams while four are against Northwest divisional opponents.

Mikko Koivu and Martin Havlat are going to continue to be points leaders, but will need help from the likes of Clutterbuck, Burns, Matt Cullen and Andrew Brunette to keep the run going. There is not a lot that I would change on this team at the moment and hope that Coach Richards sees it the same way.

Minnesota is hungry for a playoff berth and the Wild are showing they can be a tough, gritty team even while missing key players to injury.

Josh Sargent
NHLHS Minnesota Wild Correspondent
Twitter: Josh_Sargent

Wow, where do I even begin? Tonight the Flyers Invaded the X to face off with the Minnesota Wild. Last year the Wild swept Philly winning 2-1 and 4-3 in overtime and the Flyers where looking for vengeance.

Coming into the game tied with the Capitals for the most points in the league with 30 points and lead the Atlantic division with a 14-6-2 record. Philly started Sergei Bobrovsky in net who has a record of 11-3-1, 2.29 GAA, and .925 SV%.

Minnesota was 3 points back from division rival Vancouver and looking for a big statement win. Minnesota came into tonight’s game 10-7-2 and gave Niklas Backstrom the nod in net tonight. So far this season he is 8-5-2 with a 2.11 GAA, .932 SV% and has been the rock they have been leaning on.

Right away in the first period the Flyers jumped all over the Wild scoring twice on James Van Riemsdyk and Jeff Carter goals. Matt Kassian was called up from their AHL affiliate and tried to jump start the team by fighting Jody Shelley. Giving Jody Shelley and dominating on faceoffs was about the only thing that they did well tonight. Having to end the period early due to a Claude Giroux slap shot that broke the glass along the rink the Wild were down 2-0.

2nd period the Wild came out looking like they wanted to get back into the game. Controlling the puck in the Flyer zone they were shut down by the Philly defense and couldn’t get the puck on goal. Playing over 20 minutes without a shot on net the Wild were finally able to get on the board after Patrick O’Sullivan banked the puck off a Flyer player and into the net. Unfortunately for the Wild Daniel Breire put the Flyers back up by 2 scoring with one minute left into the period. Being outshot 20-9 in the game the Wild were looking for their first comeback win.

Trailing 3-1 the odds were against them going into the 3rd. Not having a third period comeback so far this season it was looking bleak for Minnesota. Scoring 3 more times, once on the shorthand, the Flyers never looked back. Two of the Flyers goals were created by awful turnovers by Cam Barker and Eric Nystrom. Jody Shelley capped the Philly win ending his goal drought at 22 games his last goal was April 11th of last year.

Niklas Backstrom had his worst performance giving up 5+ goals in back to back games and giving up 6 goals on 27 shots ending with a .778 SV% tonight. Although you can’t put it all on him, the whole Minnesota team let him down. Bad turnovers and sloppy play in front of the net didn’t help him at all. 11 of the 18 Minnesota skaters were a -2 or worse tonight while Patrick O’Sullivan was the plus player on the team.

Giving up 11 goals in the last 2 game was a first for this Wild team since 2001 and was booed off the ice. This team is going to need a complete shake up soon. Coach Richard mentioned splitting up the top line of Koivu-Brunette-Miettinen but I think that should just be the start. This team has lacked offensive scoring 5 on 5 all season while the Defense has made costly mistakes game after game. If they are unable to get the help they need form Houston they will have to look elsewhere making a trade or four and soon if they don’t want to get to far behind in the division.

Game Notes: Matt Cullen played his 900th game tonight in front of 30+ family members and friends while Cal Clutterbuck set a team high hits per game with 12. The Wild are looking at sending down one of their forward and don’t be surprised if they call up Marco Scandella.

What was looking to be a promising 4 game road trip for the Wild turned into yet another inconsistent spread of games. Prior to leaving the confines of the Excel Arena people were talking about how good this team is, about the potential they are showing, and how Coach Todd Richards has been able to turn this team around form what they were at the start of the season. Finally, it looked as if they were heading out on the road a more disciplined team, playing shut down defense against some of the league’s top talent while staying out of penalty trouble.

Heading to Columbus they were only 2 points back from being tied with Vancouver for the lead in the division and looking for some payback from the last time these two teams met. Coming into the X for the Wild’s second home game the Columbus Blue Jackets walk out winners after RJ Umberger scored the game winner on a shorthanded goal. Determined to not let it happen again the Wild were focused on picking up their third win in a row.

Although it wouldn’t be easy with the Jackets off to their best start in franchise history at 8-4-0 and Garon with two shutouts in a row, the Wild were up for the test. Jose Theodore stood on his head saving 35 shots while only giving up 2 goals. Brent Burns had his first multi goal game of his career netting 2 PPGs but the biggest play came from the NHL’s hits leader Cal Clutterbuck. Clutterbuck chased a puck into the Columbus zone and laid a massive hit on the Jackets Jason Voracek taking out two players at once then skating to the top of the crease where he was able to net the game winner from an Eric Nystrom pass.

Winning 3-2 Jose Theodore said that the team was playing with a lot of confidence and it showed. With 3 more road games it looked as if this team could easily take the next two playing teams they have had historically good success against in the past, but the one sure thing about this Wild team is that they have proven to be consistently inconsistent.

Heading into Atlanta to face a Thrashers team who the Wild had a lifetime record of 6-1-2 a majority thought this would be a sure thing. Atlanta ranked in the bottom of the league in GAA (3.60) and PK% (75.5) witch the Wild matched up well with and wanted to take full advantage of, but the one thing over looked was that they were also in the top ten in the league in goals per game (3.66).

This was a game that showcased 3 of the NHL’s top defensemen in Brent Burns, Dustin Buyfuglien, and Tobias Enstrom. Burns coming off his two goal game was tied with Buyfuglien for goals among defensemen with 5 each. While what was thought to be a game the Wild could take turned into a scoring clinic for the Thrashers. Playing completely flat throughout the game the Wild left Backstrom out to dry on multiple goals.

Losing 5-1 the Thrashers controlled the tempo throughout the game. On multiple goals the Wild defense made costly turnovers and was unable to clear the crease where unchecked Atlanta players put away easy goals. The play of Justin Falk and Cam Barker was so bad that Coach Richards had to split them up and pinning them to Brent Burns and Nick Schultz. Although a little better, the defense still couldn’t get going. Though not all on blame is on the defense, Mikko Koivu failed to pick up a player trailing on a breakaway behind him where the Thrashers were able to score yet again.

Even though they took a beating, the game was not without some high points. Antti Miettinen scored the lone goal for the Wild on a power play goal in his first game back from a concussion on a Dustin Brown hit to the head playing the LA Kings. The Wild played almost the whole game before committing their fist penalty with just less than 3 minutes left in the game, but then took one more 2 minutes later. Niklas Backstrom played a solid game despite giving up 5 goals. Saving 29 out of 34 shots he was the main reason that they had a chance going into the third.

So after losing in Atlanta the Wild hoped to turn it around playing the Panthers the following night. With his great perfor mance in Columbus, Jose Theodore got the call in net giving Backstrom the night off in back to back games. After the poor showing from the defense in Atlanta the Wild called up Marco Scandella from their AHL affiliate the Huston Aeros scratching Justin Falk from the game.

Giving up 2 early goals less than a minute apart Theodore collected himself and shut down the Panther the rest of the night. Cal Clutterbuck was able to cut the lead in half tying Brent Burns in team goals with 5, but it was too little too late. The offense of the Wild just couldn’t get anything going for a second night in a row and dropped their second game of the trip. Jose Theodore and Thomas Vokoun played lights out not giving any ground to the opposing team and being the reason for such a low scoring game.

At the end of play Steve Brenier took a run at the Wild’s Brent Burns, Burns put his hands up and caught Brenier in the face with the butt-end of his stick. Brenier went to the ice immediately. Burns received a fighting major and game misconduct penalty for the incident. Brenier was taken to the hospital where he received medical attention but will need facial surgery to correct the broken orbital bone in his face. Acknowledged by both teams, Burns is not a dirty player and accidents happen. It was reported that Burns was so worked up over the incident that he was feeling physically sick after. The following day Burns had a conference call with the league and was handed a 2 game suspension.

Heading to Tampa a player short and dropping 2 of the 3 games the Wild needed a big win to salvage this road trip. With Burns out the Wild called back home and put Marek Zidlicky on a flight to fill their hole in defense. Zidlicky didn’t make the trip to play the Thrashers and Panthers due to a groin injury but desperate times call for desperate measures. Backstrom got the call to play net and knew the Wild would be leaning on him heavily.

Tampa was looking to right their ship losing 5 of the last 6 games but the Wild offense finally came to play. Being outshot 16-6 Cal Clutterbuck, John Madden, and Antti Miettinen all scored in the first while Backstrom only let on through on a blast from Martin St. Louis. Quietly dominate Backstrom then proceeded to play how he has all season long not allowing Tampa another goal the rest of the game.

The Wild walked out of Tampa with the win and a big boost in confidence. Martin Havlat had 3 assists; Madden had a goal and assist, while Antti Mietinen scored his second in 3 games. Backstrom stopped a season high 37 pucks in the win improving his stats to 1.98 GAA and .937 SV%. Despite the solid win Cal Clutterbuck was pulled from the game in the second period and listed as having an upper body injury.

Finishing the trip 2-2 is not so bad when you look and see how it could have ended. Looking as if Coach Richards has fixed the penalty problem the team had at the beginning of the year his focus now needs to look at the offense of the team and possibly trying to fill the defensive holes that were made apparent on the trip. The team’s inconsistency if continued will be the reason why they fail this year. On the bright side though, the tandem of Niklas Backstrom and Jose Theodore is looking like a solid one two punch for the Wild and being able to rely on both your goaltenders is huge.

Josh Sargent
NHLHS Minnesota Wild Correspondent
Facebook: @Josh_Sargent

Not only has there been great debates on whom the Oilers should take albeit Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin but since a leak broke out about Jason Spezza being on the block along with his 7 Million dollar cap hit through 2014-2015 has sparked rumors aplenty across NHL nation this last week.

First off, the decision between Hall and Seguin seems to be a touch choice with Hall being the more dynamic player and seemingly is more of a drive to the net type of player with the “give me the puck” attitude. Hall is a left handed shot, which does not really matter unless you’re a defenseman, and a natural winger plus many feel he can play center if needed. He has been compared to the likes of Ryan Smyth or Glenn Anderson but with more overall skill then either of the two.

Seguin is a natural centerman which at this point seems to be the Oilers biggest concern of holes to fill. In my humble opinion I believe the Oilers biggest weakness is on their blueline but will they select Cam Fowler before Hall or Seguin? Not a chance. That would “almost” be like taking Cam Barker over Ovechkin or Malkin which had no chance of happening in the 2004 NHL entry draft.

Either of these 2 players will be a great addition to Edmonton and likely playing along side of players such as Jordan Eberle, Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano and Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson to name a few of the nice young players the Oilers have in the system. Reminds you of the Chicago Blackhawks with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Dave Bolland which creates a great nucleus to rebuild from.

Enter the rumor mill! There are many rumors that Steve Tambellini could and should trade the top pick to acquire an already proven player in the likes of Jason Spezza who is still young and turning I believe 27 years old next week but also has a hefty price tag of 7 million per year. While many Oiler fans want to win right now and would love to see Spezza who is a nice talent on this team he most certainly will not make the Oilers a Stanley Cup winning team next year and adding that much of an addition to the salary cap would be down right ridiculous.

Boston has made it no secret that they want Taylor Hall and would probably make a deal with Edmonton to swap picks. Now that’s an offer Tambellini should most definitely consider especially if they are leaning towards Seguin anyways, ultimately the Oilers could probably dump some salary on Boston in a deal for example like this: Edm 1st overall pick and Sheldon Souray to Boston for the 2nd overall pick, Dennis Wideman and another draft pick. That would save about 1.5 million per year and remove a disgruntled and oft injured Souray from the Oilers and gain a solid d-man in Wideman along with another pick.

If I am Steve Tambellini I select Taylor Hall and keep the rebuild and youth movement going, attempt to trade the unhappy Souray for a solid role player or a good young upcoming defenseman if possible and just keep building your team as planned. If the right deal comes forth Tambo has a lot of nice trading pieces to get a deal done to improve the Oilers now and for the future without busting the bankroll. While many may disagree with this I think the Oilers have a very good chance of making the post season next year with a healthy squad and some fine young gunners coming in they just may surprise a few people.

It will be a busy off season for the Edmonton Oilers having to deal with the draft, 4 Unrestricted free agents and 8 Restricted free agents currently on the big league roster. Let’s hope the Oiler brass makes the right decisions for this storied franchise.

As the draft selection begins to wind down, here is my initial look at which prospect each team would take barring any trades.  Keep in mind this article is the first possible selections and will change as the playoffs begin to wind down.  Keep an eye out for us taking an even deeper look into the 2010 NHL Draft as the draft day comes closer.

	Taylor Hall takes the number one selection after defeating Tyler Seguin in the playoffs.  With Jordan Eberle already on board in Edmonton, the Oilers will reunite the tandem which almost singlehandedly won the gold medal in this year’s WJHC.
	Cam Fowler will bring a franchise defenseman to Boston after Hall leaves the map.  With Zdeno Chara now 33-years-old they need a blue liner to take over in a few years and can be patient with second Windsor Spitfire to go in the draft.
	Erik Gudbranson will bring another solid young defenseman to the Panther blue line.  Even though this team continues to struggle in the scoring department, they still need to build a team from the blue line out and will add to a solid core of Jason Garrison, Keith Ballard and Dmitry Kulikov.
	Tyler Seguin looked like he could take the number one spot but falls in the Blue Jacket’s lap due to organizational needs.  Although a natural center, he likely will flank Rick Nash on the opposite wing for years to come and solidify the top 6 forward corps of their struggling offense.
	Nino Niederreiter would look great on a team with another great Swiss player in Mark Streit.  The talented left wing could be the best offensive player to come out of Switzerland and would give the Islanders another identity.
	Brandon Gormley makes the perfect compliment to Victor Hedman.  With the Tampa Bay blue line looking increasingly porous, this mobile defenseman out of the QMJHL will fit in well with other alums of the Quebec league and solidify a young defensive core.
	Mikael Granlund looks to be the top pick out of Finland this season so the Hurricanes should select him based on their recent success fitting into their system.  The young left wing would fit in well with Tuomo Ruutu, Joni Pitkanen and Jussi Jokinen in their core.
	Vladimir Tarasenko will be the first Russian selected in the draft.  Which better team to mold a Russian superstar than the one which just traded away Ilya Kovalchuk.
	Derek Forbort grew up in Duluth, Minnesota making him the logical pick of the Wild.  Last year they took Nick Leddy, another local boy but traded him to Chicago in the deal which landed Cam Barker.  Taking another local kid seems like their MO.
	Alex Burmistrov fits the mold of the past Rangers selection as he certainly possesses the highest upside of the players left on board.  With Artem Anisimov already playing a full season and Evgeny Grachev waiting in the wings, this playmaking center will fit right in when he comes to the Big Apple.
	Ryan Johanson comes out of the WHL, where the Stars have found success drafting young forwards.  With most of their blue line young, they search for more help in the scoring department.  Johanson plays that role and can replace either Brad Richards of Mike Ribeiro down the road.
	The Ducks alternate taking a forward and a defenseman every season, so this season they are due to draft a defenseman.  At this point Mark Pysyk seems like the logical selection.  He comes out of the WHL, where the team selected Ryan Getzlaf, Joffrey Lupul and Brendan Mikkelson from in the past.
	Brett Connolly falls to the Coyotes after spending the majority of the season injured.  The talented left wing fits the same profile of current captain Shane Doan so he should fit right under the veteran’s wing.  He may be the steal of the draft at this point and makes the Olli Jokinen trade look that much better.
	Jack Campbell will be the first goaltender selected in the draft and to no better team.  Chris Mason and Ty Conklin will not stay for too much longer making the Blues need even that greater.  Campbell will make a great addition other US born players like David Backes and TJ Oshie.

Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Senior Editor
amonaghan@nhlhotstove.com
@NHLHotStove

Matthew Pouliot’s series on Circling the Bases, I have decided restore the rosters for every NHL team. Like Pouliot, I have established some ground rules for my selections.

1. Each team contains players they originally drafted or signed before any other NHL team. This includes players drafted and not signed, as well as European free agents coming over at an older age.
2. I have chosen to leave retired players off the list, and lean toward players in the AHL rather than those deported (KHL, SEL, DEL, etc.).

Essentially I am choosing the best available players for a team to succeed in the current NHL season. All 30 teams will be covered, with grades assigned to forwards, defense and goaltending. After all 30 articles are written, they will be ranked in order. This series’ intent is to reward or shame NHL scouts.

Due to excellent drafting over the last couple of years, the Blackhawks have restocked the cupboard nicely.  The core established on their current roster is mostly homegrown with players with free agent signings filling out a few spots.  Both their forwards and defensive units feature high end talent as well as solid depth.

The lineup for the Chicago Blackhawks is as follows.

Forwards:

The forward core is clearly the strength of the team. Bearing a strong similarity to their current lineup, the Hawks forward drafting has been excellent over the years.

Rene Bourque – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane

Tuomo Ruutu – Dave Bolland – Daniel Cleary

Dustin Byfuglien – Ethan Moreau – Troy Brouwer

Adam Burish – Dean McAmmond – Michael Blunden

Extras: Bryan Bickell, Jack Skille, Kyle Calder

For the most part, this is a solid NHL lineup.  Moreau plays a similar, albeit less effective role as John Madden while Cleary and Ruutu are solid second liners.  The one glaring weakness is a legitimate first line LW, whereas the current team has productive wingers Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg.  Although no longer with the organization, Blunden plays a regular fourth line with the Blue Jackets as has McAmmond with the Devils.

Grade: A-

Defense:

As you could guess with most of their defenders homegrown, the defensive core is strong.  Another testament to  just how good the scouting in Chicago is.

Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook

James Wisniewski – Cam Barker

Niklas Hjalmarsson – Kent Huskins

Pretty similar blue line to the team’s current construction.  The powerplay quarterback will need to be by committee as there is no Brian Campbell.  Wisniewski is a solid top four defender and as has been all year for the Ducks while Huskins plays a solid bottom pair with a very good Sharks team.  Still no glaring holes in this lineup.

Grade: A-

Goaltenders:

In my old age I forgot Craig Anderson was originally a Calgary draft choice and therefore not illegible to be on this Hawks team.  Their goalie drafting and development is certainly their weakness.

Antii Niemi

Michael Leighton

Extra: Corey Crawford

Niemi is only entering his first year as a backup while Crawford has very limited NHL experience.  At the point of this writing, the Blackhawks have failed to develop a legitimate NHL starter.

Grade: D-

Hope you enjoyed the this last edition of Restoring the Roster.  You can help NHLHS stay alive by visiting our sponsors to the left.

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-Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Founder
thehotstove@gmail.com