Monday Musings on Flyers, Canadiens, and Goalies Valiquette & Howard

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Written on 12/07/2009 by Jim Cerny


After being smoked 8-2 by the Capitals in Peter Laviolette's debut behind the bench, the Flyers will look to show their new coach their better side tonight when they skate against the Canadiens in Montreal.

But what exactly is their better side right now?

The Flyers have lost four in a row---outscored 16-4 in the process---and seven of their last eight. They scored three goals or more twice in that span, and lost both games anyway.

They are having problems putting the puck in the net. Their goaltending with Ray Emery and Brian Boucher has been spotty. And their commitment to strong defensive-zone play comes and goes on a nightly---and sometimes shift-by-shift---basis.

Bu the biggest issue in Philly just might be in the dressing room. Though there are plenty of denials from the Flyers, I have heard from several reliable NHL sources that the mix may not be a good one in Philly. And if that is the case, that is a huge problem.

Already we have seen a very good man, and solid coach, in John Stevens lose his job. Word is that he couldn't handle the locker room issues that have arisen with the club. Laviolette, not as much of a player's coach, will do his damndest to get the players in line.

But the issues may run deeper than any one coach can correct. From what I saw on Saturday, these players sure didn't look like they gave a damn about trying to impress their new coach.

Laviolette has been a winner at his previous stops. He guided the Islanders to playoff appearances in both seasons he was their coach, and in 2006 he coached the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup Championship, which was secured with a Game 7 victory. Clearly he seems to have what it takes to get a very talented Flyers team back on track.

Or does he?

Check out Puck Daddy's take over at Yahoo! Sports.

Despite a strong case made by Puck Daddy, I still think Laviolette can turn things around in Philly. And I would not be surprised to see the Flyers right in the Eastern Conference mix when the playoffs roll around in April. They are too talented a bunch not to be.

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The Canadiens sure know how to throw a party, eh?

Saturday night's extravaganza to celebrate the organization's 100th birthday was both classy and memorable, plain and simple. The introductions of former greats, complete with the ex-Habs skating out on to the ice, was really just phenomenal.

To see Patrick Roy and the reclusive Ken Dryden not only skate out on to the Bell Centre ice, but do so with their full goaltending gear on, and then proceed to set up in their respective nets and face shots, was most definitely my favorite part of just a terrific night in Montreal.

Hats off to Les Habitants, as classy an organization as you will find in professional sports.

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And a tip of the hat to Red Wings netminder Jimmy Howard, who really showed me last night. Back on Friday I wrote right here in Rink Rap that I believe---and still do, by the way!---that Detroit needs to upgrade their goaltending situation. Part of the reason for that is the inconsistent play of Howard, the 25 year-old rookie.

Well, with me in the building at Madison Square Garden, Howard was simply terrific last night in a 3-1 win over the Rangers. It was more than the 28 saves he made. It was the quality of the saves, the timing of the saves. In short, Howard had himself a brilliant night.

Trailing 1-0 with less than 30 seconds to go in the first period, Howard exploded across his crease from left to right to stone Christopher Higgins on the doorstep. A 2-0 lead at home for the Rangers would have been huge, especially receiving a goal so late in the period. Instead Howard kept the deficit at one.

Then less than two minutes into the second period Ryan Callahan was awarded a penalty shot after being hauled down on a breakaway by Detroit's Jonathan Ericsson. Callahan made an excellent move in-tight, switching from backhand to forehand and sending his shot to the far corner of the net. Howard dropped into the splits, and somehow got his left toe on the puck, stopping it along the goal line.

Yet again, Howard kept the deficit at one with an amazing save.

Then after the Red Wings had tied the game at one apiece, Howard made several more big-time saves, including at least a pair during a Rangers power play in the third that swung the game's momentum in favor of the Red Wings.

I still believe Howard needs to be more consistent. And I still think adding a Martin Biron, for example, would be the move to make. But give credit where credit is due. Howard was splendid last night, giving me and 18,200 at MSG a glimpse into the player he could be on a regular basis.

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I'll end on somehwhat of a downer today.

One of hockey's real good guys---and a long-time personal favorite of mine---Steve Valiquette was placed on waiver by the Rangers last week. Unclaimed, Valley was shipped to the club's AHL affiliate in Hartford.

In his first two games for the Wolf Pack this weekend, Valiquette struggled even worse than he had at the NHL level this season. On Friday, Valiquette started and was pulled in an unsightly first period. Restored between the pipes in the second, Valiquette ended his first game with the Pack having allowed five goals in a 7-1 defeat.

It didn't get any better yesterday. Valley was pulled early in the second period after having allowed five goals on 16 shots in what would turn out to be a 9-3 loss to the Hershey Bears.

Ouch!

First Valiquette struggles to the tune of a 3.74 goals against average and .852 save percentage in six appearances as Henrik Lundqvist's backup this season. Then after being strafed for eight goals two Saturdays ago in Pittsburgh, Valley is placed on waivers. When no one claims him, an indignity itself for a goalie who performed very well as a backup the past few seasons in New York, he is sent to the minor leagues, where he thought he had finally escaped back in 2006-07. Now Valley is rocked in his first two starts at Hartford.

It is very tough to sit back and watch this happen to a man who is among the most friendly, and funniest, I have known since working in the National Hockey League.

Valley and I first met when he was fourth or fifth on the Islanders depth chart, but was called up to the NHL level in 1999-2000 out of necessity anyway, and I was the team's radio broadcaster. We formed a friendship then, and rekindled it when I became the Rangers' beat writer for newyorkrangers.com and Valley had evolved into a capable NHL goalie with the Blueshirts.

Here's to hoping that Steve Valiquette can pull his game back together and escape the minors again at the age of 32.

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Goaltending Solution Sought in Hockey Town

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Written on 12/04/2009 by Jim Cerny


Watching another ugly goaltending performance by the Red Wings during last night's 4-1 loss to the Oilers just makes me wonder how and when Detroit is going to fix this season-long problem.

Jimmy Howard overplayed two shots/passes last night and, as such, allowed a pair of weak goals that helped to undermine his team.

It continues to be a case of one step forward, one step back for Howard during his inaugural NHL campaign. On Monday I thought Howard played one of his best games of the season, positionally-strong and at times outstanding in denying the Dallas Stars during a 4-1 Red Wings triumph. Then last night he looked awkward and allowed a pair of softies.

The numbers bear out Howard's inconsistent play. He has appeared in 14 games, posting a 7-5-1 record with a 2.67 goals against average and .907 save percentage. Howard has been better of late, but he doesn't seem capable just yet of stringing together a slew of solid starts in a row.

Of course this wouldn't matter if veteran Chris Osgood was playing better. Ossie is following up a very mediocre regular season performance from a year ago with another shaky one, so far, this season. Osgood's 2.75 goals against---while better than last year's 3.09 mark---is disappointing, and worse than Howard's. So, too, is his unsightly .897 save percentage.

The thing is, Osgood redeemed himself a year ago by turning in a phenomenal effort during the playoffs, carrying the Red Wings to within a game of another Stanley Cup Championship with a solid 2.01 goals against average.

Just two years removed from his third Cup, a league-best 2.09 regular season GAA, and a ridiculous 1.55 GAA in the post-season, Osgood certainly has the appropriate street cred and quite a bit of cache built up in Detroit. But yet this is the second straight regular season where you scratch your head and wince when you consider his play.

Last season Detroit was fortunate to have Ty Conklin, much more of a proven commodity than Howard, to shoulder some of the load during the regular season. Now the Red Wings have turned to Howard, the 25 year-old goalie of the future who has been apprenticing in the American Hockey League the previous four seasons, and the results are decidedly mixed.

Of course both Howard and Osgood do have somewhat of a built-in excuse for their average numbers, what with how Detroit has been ravaged by injury so far this season.

Still, Wings GM Ken Holland and head coach Mike Babcock are not ones for excuses. So what is their move? And do they have the cap space to make the type of move they may deem necessary?

Anaheim would be willing to unload J.S. Giguere now that Jonas Hiller has emerged as the favored goalie, but his contract is very difficult to move. And I'm not so sure that the Ducks would be eager to send Giguere to a conference rival like the Red Wings anyway.

Perhaps now that Rick DiPietro is closer to returning to the Islanders, New York might consider trading one of its goalies. Dwayne Roloson, who is on a two-year deal, has played better than Martin Biron, who signed a one-year contract this past summer. Likely Roloson and DiPietro, who basically has a lifetime deal to remain on the Island, would stay, and Biron would be shipped somewhere.

The Red Wings could do worse than Biron to split time with Osgood during the regular season, and push him heading into the playoffs.

If such a move would take place, it would not be for amother few weeks, I would think. DiPietro is going to play some games in the minor leagues starting this Saturday, and you'd have to believe that the Islanders want to see him play a few games at the NHL level and see if he can remain healthy, a big IF considering he played only five games a year ago, and has yet to play this season.

In the meantime Howard and Osgood will try and convince Red Wings brass that outside help is not needed.

From my point of view, I disagree. Change is needed in goal for the Red Wings.

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Tuesday Tidbits on Ovie, Vokoun, Savard, and more

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Written on 12/01/2009 by Jim Cerny


Less than 24 hours after being helped off the ice with an injury to his right knee, Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin was back on the ice this morning testing that knee.

According to Caps beat writer Tariq El-Bashir on Twitter, and Joseph White of the Associated Press, Ovechkin donned a sweatsuit and skated gingerly for about five minutes by himself before retreating to the dressing room.

After practice the Capitals reported that Ovechkin is listed as Day to Day.

Ovechkin was hurt in a knee-on-knee collision with Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason in last night's Caps victory.

As Gleason was starting a rush out of his end of the ice, the aggressively forechecking Ovechkin went for a hit on the defenseman and simultaneously threw his right leg out as Gleason cut towards the middle of the ice. There was direct knee-on-knee contact, and both players remained on the ice for several minutes. Ovechkin was helped from the ice, and was also assessed a five-minute major for kneeing and a game misconduct. Gleason eventually returned to the game.

After the contest Caps coach Bruce Boudreau was in full spin mode trying to protect his most valuable asset, Ovechkin. Boudreau claimed that, at best, Ovechkin should have received a two-minute minor, and that a suspension was not warrented. Boudreau's main fact to support his belief was that Gleason was not seriously hurt.

I disagree, and I am not influenced by the severity of Gleason's injury.

Ovechkin made a similar knee-on-knee hit to Pittsburgh's Sergei Gonchar in the playoffs last spring. Enough is enough. I understand he might just be the biggest draw in the game, but Colin Campbell has to make the right call here. Ovechkin deserves to be suspended.

Whether he is or isn't, though, it seems that Ovechkin will miss some game action no matter what due his own knee injury.

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Washington's next opponent is the Florida Panthers. You may not see Tomas Vokoun between the pipes for the Panthers at the Verizon Center, though, on Thursday.

In one of the most bizarre---and embarrassing---plays you will ever see, Vokoun was struck down by his own teammate after Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk scored a goal in last night's game. Defenseman Keith Ballard was so incensed that Kovalchuk was able to pot his own rebound past Vokoun---due in large part to the fact that Ballard had skated himself out of the play behind the goal line---that he swung his stick wildly in frustration. In the process his stick struck Vokoun on the side of his mask, sending the veteran goalie crashing down to the ice, with blood pouring from his left ear.

Apparently unaware of what he had just done, Ballard proceeded to swing his stick again, this time smashing it against the goal post, while Vokoun lay writhing at Ballard's feet.

Simply incredible.

Ballard then skated to the bench. Meanwhile the Florida trainer was sprinting past him to tend to Vokoun, who eventually was taken off on a stretcher, and spent time at a local Atlanta hospital.

You absolutely need to watch this video if you haven't already. 

The good news is that Vokoun only suffered a laceration of the ear, and had no internal damage. He flew home with the team after last night's game.

But in a season chock-full of injuries---and by the way add Columbus defenseman Rotislav Klesla, Carolina's Joe Corvo, and Ovechkin to that list, all from last night's action---this one has got to be THE most bizarre, and stupid, of all.

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Cross Marc Savard's name off the free agency list for next summer. Savard and the Bruins today agreed to a seven-year deal, that reportedly averages out to about $4.2 million a year.

My initial reaction is a split one.

On one hand, I say good job by the Bruins keeping one of their best players in the fold, and doing so at a cap hit that is not brutal. Though hurt ealier this season, Savard has thrived in Boston, recording 96, 78, and 88 points in his three full seasons with the Bruins.

But on the other hand I say "Yikes!" Seven years for a player who will be 33 years old by the time his contract kicks in? That is a long commitment, though---this season aside---Savard has been remarkably healthy the past four years. By the end of this contract, Savard will be 40 years old. I understand wanting to lock him up so that he didn't receive other tempting offers, but seven years sounds like an awfully long time to be tied into Marc Savard if you ask me.

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Saw that Devils beat writer Tom Gulitti tweeted earlier today that Johnny Oduya returned to practice this morning. Oduya and a whole host of other key Devs have been sidelined recently, not that anyone would have noticed.

New Jersey has won three in a row, including a 6-1 pasting of the Islanders on Saturday, a game that saw six of the Devils regular 18 skaters sidelined due to injury. Dating back to the end of October, the Devils are 11-2-1 in their last 14 games, making them, surprisingly, one of the hottest and top teams in the league this season.

Not sure how they do it over there in Newark, but Lou Lamoriello seems to be a magician year after year.

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Naslund and Forsberg Show True Colors

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Written on 11/25/2009 by Jim Cerny


One of the cooler hockey stories so far this fall involves two former star players who no longer play in the National Hockey League.

Sweden's Peter Forsberg and Markus Naslund (photo, right, from his last season in the NHL as a member of the Rangers in 2008-09) have decided to unretire and play for the same MoDo team in the Swedish Elite league for whom they starred some 17 years ago.

The reason for their joint return?

MoDo, once a powerhouse in Sweden, has been struggling on and off the ice. Forsberg and Naslund are hoping that their presence can lift the team out of the cellar in the standings, and, just as importantly, help improve the team's bottom line.

"The hockey team means everything to this city," Naslund recently explained. "When the team is not doing well, you can tell a lot of people are down here, too."

And the total monetary compensation the two former NHL all stars will receive?

Nothing. Zero. Nada.

That's right. Forsberg and Naslund are coming back to provide a lift to a MoDo franchise that helped launch both of their careers. And they are asking for nothing in return.

That right there is why this is my favorite hockey story this fall.

I have always had tremendous respect for Forsberg. His skill level. His battle level. His willingness to fight through, and, later in his career, fight back from debilitating injuries. He has always been a player to admire.

Naslund was someone I respected and watched from afar for most of his career. He had always struck me as a classy guy, both on and off the ice, and was a fine ambassador of the Vancouver Canucks for many years.

Last year Naslund embarked on his final season in the National Hockey League as a member of the Rangers, and I had the privilege to work with him while serving as the beat writer for the team's web site. Though he was somewhat guarded regarding himself on a personal level, Naslund was a pleasure to get to know professionally. He was honest and straightforward, both during good times and bad, and made himself available to me and other members of the media every day. When I needed the most honest assessment of whatever was going on with the Rangers last season, I always turned to Naslund for the answers, and he delivered the goods.

I know he didn't produce the numbers that both he, the organization, and the fans had hoped for when he signed as a free agent two summers ago, but no one can ever say that Naslund did not represent the Rangers with the utmost class during his one year on Broadway.

Now Naslund shows his true colors again. One more classy move, this time in his native country, as he and Forsberg refuse to forget those who helped them on their road to stardom.

Best story of the year, so far.

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Gaborik Most Valuable in First Quarter

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Written on 11/24/2009 by Jim Cerny


A quarter of the way through the 2009-10 NHL season is a good time to assess the good, bad, and ugly in the National Hockey League.

To me, the top story has been the plethora of injuries sweeping through the league. That, and the amount of injuries caused by blows to the head, as well as the GMs consideration of tougher penalty calls for such violent hits.

The biggest surprise, in my opinion, is the play of the Colorado Avalanche, though both the Islanders and Coyotes deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the Avs. First place in the Northwest and third overall in the Western Conference, the sorry Avs of a year ago have been replaced by a plucky bunch backstopped by the somewhat-suprising, and quite dependable, Craig Anderson.

The most disappointing team has been the Carolina Hurricanes, hands down. An Eastern Conference finalist last spring, the 'Canes returned much of the same lineup this season, just with much worse results. Their 14-game winless skid (0-10-4) was as shocking as it was embarrassing.

The top rookie? Tough call because this is a really, really deep freshman class this year. Two that have really impressed me ar Philly's James Van Riemsdyk (6-12-18 in 17 games, with four game-winning goals) and Evander Kane of Atlanta (7-5-12 in 20 games, with three game-winners and, like Van Riemsdyk, a +7 plus/minus mark). John Tavares of the Islanders, Victor Hedman of Tampa Bay, Michael Del Zotto of the Rangers, and the Avs precocious duo of Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly will all continue to bear watching as the season moves along due to their strong play, too.

Now, who has been the most valuable player through one-quarter of the season? Anderson deserves consideration for what he has done in Colorado, though his numbers are not eye-popping great. Alex Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk, despite injuries that sidelined both for a spell, are averaging just about a goal-per-game and have both been phenomenal so far this season. Philly's Chris Pronger has been a beast, playing 27 minutes a night in every important game situation, averaging nearly a point-per-game as a defenseman, and carrying a +13 along the way. Anze Kopitar leads the league in scoring and has helped push the Kings into second place in the Pacific Division.

And what about Joe Thornton or Dany Heatley, both of whom have played huge roles in helping the Sharks stay ahead of the resurgent Kings? Or Ryan Miller and his sub 2.00 goals against average and 12-3-2 record for the Sabres?

There are a host of players off to great starts this season. But who is most valuable to his own team? I'd have to say Marian Gaborik of the Rangers.

Gaborik's numbers certainly back this argument. In 21 games played (he missed two because of an injury), Gaborik has 18 goals---nearly one-per-game---and 32 points. He is tied with Heatley for the league lead in goals, and is second behind Kopitar in points. He has also scored at least one point in 19 of the 21 games in which he has played, showing tremendous consistency this season.

Dig deeper and you find out that Gaborik has also been a workhorse, averaging more than 22 minutes of ice-time, among the leaders for all forwards in the NHL. He has also been an excellent penalty killer, while thriving on the power play with seven power play goals, second most in the league.

But dig some more and you find out the real reason why I think Gaborik is the MVP of the first quarter of this season.

Gaborik has put up these elite-level numbers with little-to-no help from his teammates. In fact in a stretch that spanned more than 200 minutes of hockey and ended in the first period of last night's victory over the Blue Jackets, the Rangers did not have a goal scored by a player not named Marian Gaborik or Vinny Prospal. That's a total of six goals, and Gaborik either scored or assisted on all six.

The Rangers have scored 71 goals this season, and Gaborik has a hand in 32 of them.

So even as the only legitimate offensive threat wearing a Rangers jersey every night, Gaborik has still found a way to keep scoring. With that target etched on his jersey, and every coach game-planning against him---and pretty much only worrying about him---Gaborik has delivered game-in and game-out.

Even last night when the story was about a seven-goal outburst by the Rangers, with five goals tallied by others on the Rangers' roster, it was Gaborik who scored the biggest goal of the game. The Rangers surrendered the first two goals of the contest, and trailed 2-0 just 9:31 into play. As head coach John Tortorella and goalie Henrik Lundqvist both told me after the game, had Columbus scored a third goal before the Rangers scored their first, it would likely have been lights out for the Blueshirts. But instead Gaborik scored a huge goal two minutes after the Blue Jackets went up 2-0, and the Rangers took off from there.

"Who else but number 10," Lundqvist said of Gaborik.

There's plenty of hockey left to be played yet this season. But one quarter of the way through, Marian Gaborik has been the most valuable to his team.

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Strange Days Indeed

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Written on 11/19/2009 by Jim Cerny


I am not sure if it's a black cloud or a full moon, but there's something wreaking havoc on the National Hockey League so far this season.

As discussed here before, the amount of injuries to star players is off the charts. Plus there have been a string of strange incidents that add to the question: what the heck is going on here?

Two more stories from today fit right in with what has been par-for-the-course over the first quarter of the NHL season.

First, the Los Angeles Kings placed winger Ryan Smyth (above photo) on Injured Reserve this morning. So down goes another star player---and another one who was off to a very strong start this year. Smyth joins the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jonathan Toews, Cam Ward, Brian Gionta, Simon Gagne, Sergei Gonchar, Roberto Luongo, Marc Savard, Joe Pavelski, and seemingly half of the entire Detroit Red Wings roster as star players forced to the sidelines for an extended period of time.

Smyth, who was thriving with 23 points (9-14-23) in 22 games during his first season out in LA, suffered an "upper body" injury during Monday night's game against Florida. The Kings announced today that he will miss at least a month of action, a severe blow to a team has thrived with Smyth skating on its top line alongside the league's top scorer Anze Kopitar.

"All these injuries that are happening to key players around the league, everyone is going through it and no one is going to feel sorry for you," Kings coach Terry Murray told ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun.

Actually, I find it most interesting that Murray would even speak to anyone associated with ESPN.com. You see, you could make the case that Smyth is on IR because ESPN.com put the whammy on him earlier this week.

On Monday, mere hours before Smyth suffered his injury, Scott Burnside at ESPN.com included a segment in his column making the case for Smyth to be a part of the Canadian Olympic Hockey team. Citing his great play this season, and his past contributions to Canadian entries in international competition over the years, Burnside detailed why the 33 year-old Smyth deserved a call from Team Canada's Steve Yzerman.

Then WHAM! Smyth gets hurt, is out a month or more, and the Olympics---while still a possibility---become more of a long shot.

So this one may have less to do with black clouds and full moons than with ESPN.com's hockey analysis! Just think of it as the hockey version of the Sports Illustrated cover jinx.

If we argue that Smyth's injury has more to do with Burnside and a jinx, then it can be said that the clouds most certainly found their way to Minnesota, where all hell was breaking lose at Wild practice today.

To quote Michael Russo, the fine Wild beat writer for The Star Tribune, from his Twitter update (@Russostrib) this morning, "This is an angry practice."

Russo reported that head coach Todd Richards was in rare form, "plenty of lectures, smashing sticks against glass", he Tweeted. Then Russo added, "(Kyle) Brodziak chopped stick in half, (Mikko) Koivu threw stick four rows deep."

Sounds like good times in Minnesota.

But really they are just taking a page out of the Calgary Flames book. Apparently there was a shouting match in coach Brent Sutter's office following Calgary's 3-2 home-ice loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday. Though it can not be confirmed who was shouting at whom, it was reportedly loud and angry.

Sun Media's Randy Sportak reported that Sutter downplayed the incident afterwards, saying it was just the normal course of doing business in the NHL.

"It's a high level of competition where there's a lot of emotion and a lot of intensity involved," stated Sutter. "Those things are going to happen at different times."

Sutter made sure to add that this incident "is no one else's business...that's the way it is."

Coaches flipping out. Star players being shelved almost on a nightly basis.

Black clouds. Full moons. Sportswriter jinxes.

Can't say things are boring this year in the National Hockey League.

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Fresh Start for the Wild

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Written on 11/18/2009 by Jim Cerny


A quarter of the way through their "fresh start" of a season---as newly-minted captain Mikko Koivu (photo left) calls it---the Minnesota Wild are still trying to find their identity, while at the same time attempting to remain out of the basement in the Western Conference.

Within a matter of months this past spring, the Wild lost the three pillars of their organization, signaling a major change in the course the franchise would take in the following years.

Doug Risebrough, who was GM of the Wild even before there was a team on the ice, was the first to go.

He was followed by Jacques Lemaire, the only head coach in franchise history.

And then Marian Gaborik---the Wild's first-ever draft pick and the organization's all-time leading scorer---was allowed to slip away as an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

The three long-time faces of the organization, all gone within a matter of months.

"A fresh start is the right way to describe it," Koivu told me a couple of weeks ago. "There are a lot of new things on and off the ice. Now we are trying to build it all again. But it is strange not to see those guys around here anymore."

Strange indeed. Over the past nine years no three people were more visable representatives of the Wild than Risebrough, Lemaire, or Gaborik. It is one thing to lose one or two of those men. But all three? Almost unheard of. But that is the path ownership chose months ago.

"It's tough to not be around those guys who have always been here," stated Koivu, who has a team-best 18 points in 20 games this year. "You get used to a certain way, and certain people. But it is part of the game, and it's something that every team goes through. It's fresh, and a whole lot different."

What Koivu didn't say---and wouldn't answer---was whether fresh and different equal better. So far the Wild---under new coach Todd Richards and GM Chuck Fltecher---are tied for 13th place in the west with 16 points. They are 7-11-2 and have allowed the fifth most goals in the conference (63), something unheard of when the defensive-minded Lemaire was the coach.

And while Gaborik thrives in New York with the Rangers---his 15 goals are tied for the league lead, while his 27 points are second most---his replacement in Minnesota, free agent pick up Martin Havlat---has struggled mightily with just two goals and eight points in 18 games.

It was Gaborik that most Wild observers believed would have been the first to leave the State of Hockey. A world-class talent---albeit one limited by injury for much of his career---Gaborik had been through several contract battles and stalemates with the Wild. And he was no fan of Lemaire's stifling system either.

It was not a huge surprise that Minnesota let Gaborik walk without even a token contract offer.

Well, at least it was not a big surprise to most observers. Long-time Wild forward Andrew Brunette told me that he thought up until the final days that his good friend was going to return to Minnesota.

"I thought something would get done the whole time," said Brunette, a 22-goal scorer a year ago who has seven so far this season. "I called him the night before free agency started and he said 'I'm going to go', which was a little disappointing. I know how it was with the old regime and (Gaborik) with the contracts, but I really thought with the change (in management), and with how well he played at the end of last year, that he would stay."

Brunette added, "I mean, you move on. It's part of the business. But maybe I am partial. I just know how good he is. I really thought something would get done."

Though the results aren't there just yet---and it must be difficult for the Wild faithful to see Gaborik's success on Broadway and Lemaire's so-far triumphant return to New Jersey---the Wild organization did the right thing. Nine years is a long-time for the same voice as head coach. And Brunette feels maybe Gaborik needed the change as much as the organization did.

"As hard as it is for me to say this, for his career and for him, he might have been a little stagnant here at times, he might have needed a change," stated Brunette.

Speaking of change, the new regime in Minnesota is going to have to change the recent trend of draft-day failures from that of the old guard. After selecting Gaborik, Koivu, center Pierre-Marc Bouchard, and defenseman Brent Burns with their first picks from 2000-2003, the Wild have not chosen one stud in the first round since. And forget studs. Right now the word is "duds", as in 2005 first rounder Benoit Pouliot (2-2-4 in 14 games, five goals a year ago) and 2006 first-round selection James Sheppard (0-1-1 in 18 games, five goals last season).

And other than the rugged Cal Clutterbuck in 2006, the Wild have not drafted a regular contributor in the later rounds since early in franchise history.

Add to the mix the disappointing play of veterans Petr Sykora (2-1-3 in 10 games) and Havlat, and, well, you can understand the problems that face Fletcher and Richards.

"It will get better," predicted Koivu.

The question, though, is when?

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