Hi guys. I didn't know where to put this, but since we're all pals here, I figured I'd start a new thread on the Wild boards.
This is my first offseason on HFBoards. I hear (or rather, read) a lot of people on here talk about how this is the worst (or longest) off season in a while.
Just curious as to what more seasoned HFBoarders thing the reason for this is; and what an offseason is usually like.
Also, come to think of it, I believe I started this in June or something, so I didn't experience the regular season either. Anyone want to tell me what I can expect when it starts up again?
EDIT: It says my start date is January, but actually, I created the account then didn't come back for a few months.
I've only really been following since the lockout, but every offseason is slow.
I think the reason they say it's "bad" is because all the teams are maxed out against the salary cap and/or internal budgets. It used to be that on July 1st all the big names would get signed immediately, then all the next big names, then the next tier, etc. The cap kept going up and up my $5+m dollars, so it was "free money" to spend.
But the last couple years, the cap has been relatively flat, and all the teams that spent a bunch of money got in trouble because they couldn't re-sign RFA's or get big name UFA's. So the big market teams which have a big following haven't done much this offseason, and the fans get antsy.
For the Wild, we did just fine IMO. We only had one big summer (signing Johnsson and Parrish and trading for Demitra, and I think we also got Backstrom that summer), since then it's been kind of quiet. But we filled a couple holes without overpaying and extended Koivu, then had a very good draft IMO.
No, I'm only a mod because I was the only one talking here. And this was in March.
But my guess is that things are slow after the draft and free agency is because nothing really happens until training camp opens. Almost everything has been debated a couple times.
I don't know if this off-season is any worse than others. They always suck. Especially if you want to torture yourself by reading hockey message boards every day of the summer and waiting for something to happen (like I do ).
for me this off season is really slow because i'm really feeling the season could go any direction and i can't wait to find out where. We could surprise everyone , we could be mediocre, or we could bottom out. of course there is the drama associated with bottoming out--will Richards last the season if we lose 20 games in a row? Who gets sat? Who gets called up? I dunno. could pretty much predict where we'd end up the last few years but next season is a little more wide open. At least for me.
I guess I could be considered a HF veteran based on browsing...certainly not posting. I was also on their old ancient forums as well. To be honest, this off-season doesn't seem to be worse than any other in my opinion. August has always been the hardest to me, even before the cap since 80% of the free agents were signed within the first 72 hours. The dynamics have changed but not the boredom. I just want it to be the Traverse City Prospect Tourny because then I know the season is right around the corner.
No, I'm only a mod because I was the only one talking here. And this was in March.
But my guess is that things are slow after the draft and free agency is because nothing really happens until training camp opens. Almost everything has been debated a couple times.
Which is the case on every nhl message board I've ever posted on... when it reaches a dead point in the offseason, people run out of crap to talk about...
You can only re-hash the same subject so many times without any fresh news before you just get sick of talking about it.
Which is the case on every nhl message board I've ever posted on... when it reaches a dead point in the offseason, people run out of crap to talk about...
You can only re-hash the same subject so many times without any fresh news before you just get sick of talking about it.
Pretty much. It also doesn't help when your offseason ends up being close to six months.
Every off season is bad for me. This one is worse because I think Fletcher has added some pieces to make this a playoff team, and I can't wait to see the product on the ice. Well that and I am sick and tired of hearing about Kovalchuk and that certain Viking QB.
Concentrating solely on the Wild, I'm only surprised that Fletcher hasn't done more trades...and not just for the sake of trading. I figured after Staubitz trade there would be at least one more (I realize at the draft they swapped picks but I meant acquiring different players)...nope. Maybe there was truth to his statements about "liking the team we have" or he just couldn't find a suitable enough trade without losing more draft picks / prospects. Do you guys think his comment about liking the entire roster was a facade?
I'm not sure if I was say I'm a veteran, but I'll go with very seasoned. I've been following NHL hockey since 1994 when I was still living in Michigan and trying to break Wayne's leg in NHL 95.
Anyways, my personal reason behind thinking this offseason has been so bad are what has already been said. No major splashes during the draft and no major offseason trades/signings to teams that typically get people going. If Kovy would of gone to LA, I think it would be a different story.
From a Wild only perspective its basically the same thing every year for us. We are getting younger players, but we aren't getting better overnight per say. We signed an aging Minnesotian (loved the signing though) and we showed the league yet again we can't get players who are actually FROM the state to want to come back. Tie in we still have a sophmore headcoach who hasn't shown me (at least) that he can coach on the fly and a GM that is doing everything he can to motivate the team and keep butts in the seats, and you see the lacklusterness of the offseason for basically ANY Minnesota sports team that doesn't have Favre playing for them. That and most of us are just ready for hockey to start back up again to give us something to watch. All this baseball stuff is making me wanna jab my eyes out.
From a Wild only perspective its basically the same thing every year for us. We are getting younger players, but we aren't getting better overnight per say. We signed an aging Minnesotian (loved the signing though) and we showed the league yet again we can't get players who are actually FROM the state to want to come back. Tie in we still have a sophmore headcoach who hasn't shown me (at least) that he can coach on the fly and a GM that is doing everything he can to motivate the team and keep butts in the seats, and you see the lacklusterness of the offseason for basically ANY Minnesota sports team that doesn't have Favre playing for them. That and most of us are just ready for hockey to start back up again to give us something to watch. All this baseball stuff is making me wanna jab my eyes out.
The Twins actually had a pretty interesting off-season. New field hype, Mauer's huge extension, signing Hudson, trading for Hardy, and signing Thome (seriously this shocked everyone almost as much as the Favre deal!). Plus the Nathan debacle, which wasn't good news but it was very, very big news. So I'd say the Wild are actually pretty behind the curve on this one; it's not just the Vikings who keep things interesting. I think a big part of this is that the offseason is long as hell when your team doesn't make the playoffs, plus we were pretty much already looking forward to the next season in like January.
I've had to get my fix by going back and watching the good games from this year, too bad we just didn't have to count the losses
I think there's a lot of questions heading into this year so will we really know what kind of team we are yet? We did make solid additions this year, but now we'll see how they pan out and if guys can rebound. I think any way you put it, this year should be interesting, and watching our newly drafted players develop will be fun to track also.
I've been filling my void with baseball, but it can only carry you so far, I'm excited for some hockey.
I just took a big mental break from it all. I played a lot of hockey last year, and I think I've only been on the ice four times this summer, down from about 1-2 times a week.
I really like the moves we made. Nothing smacks of panic, we didn't make any big trades, we didn't overpay crap players to big contracts, we aren't bringing in any depth players and telling ourselves they are top skill guys...just added a lot of depth and veterans to the team.
Has anyone here read The Game? It's so eye opening. I firmly believe the locker room can have a much bigger impact than I've ever given it credit. Dryden basically chronicles the downfall of the Canadiens dynasty from within, and you can see just how big a difference a couple guys in the room can make.
Richards and Russo talked about the locker room problems from last year affecting the team...and I don't think many people are giving that enough thought. They brought in some good locker room guys in Madden and Nystrom. The team changed drastically last year, and it's going to be unbelievably more cohesive from the get go. That's a big factor. There's a lot more trust with guys you've gone to battle with than when you're trying to prove yourself and show your worth. A lot of guys were probably "gripping the sticks too hard" early on last year and I don't see that happening.
Not to mention bringing in the veteran assistant coach Rick Wilson. He's going to be charged with strengthening the team defense, which was horrible last year, but also helping Richards adjust to being an NHL head coach. That could be a bigger impact than anything. I know we've all ripped into Richards a lot, but I don't think any of us have a real good understanding for his coaching style in terms of personnel management, not just the on-ice stuff. And that's another key factor. He might be a fantastic coach with the players who needs some help with the strategy of the game, and Wilson might have been brought in to do just that.
Anyways, I'm not saying this team will be winning the division, but I think a lot of the big problems last year were understood and attempts were made to correct them. We'll have to wait and see if it's successful, but it's not just a matter of "we need a 2nd line center and a winger for Koivu"...it's bigger than that
Every off season is bad for me. This one is worse because I think Fletcher has added some pieces to make this a playoff team, and I can't wait to see the product on the ice. Well that and I am sick and tired of hearing about Kovalchuk and that certain Viking QB.
Where are you hearing this stuff about Kovalchuk? I think I've heard more about Boise State than him in the last two months.
Boise State? They don't have a hockey team? I guess it all depends on what you read/watch. I don't do ESPN, so that is probably why I don't have to suffer through all that yapping of college football, baseball, basketball, etc etc. At least you weren't perplexed with my sickness of all things Favre. I swear there are Japanese soldiers in the South Pacific that don't know WWII is over, but still heard #4 is playing another season.
Boise State? They don't have a hockey team? I guess it all depends on what you read/watch. I don't do ESPN, so that is probably why I don't have to suffer through all that yapping of college football, baseball, basketball, etc etc. At least you weren't perplexed with my sickness of all things Favre. I swear there are Japanese soldiers in the South Pacific that don't know WWII is over, but still heard #4 is playing another season.
Outside of TSN, for the most part, no one is talking about hockey at the level it needs at this point because college football starts this weekend and the NFL is already in preseason mode. Tie in Tiger Wood's somewhat back in form and FIBA tournaments where the US is playing and its a little bit mixed than it was a month ago.
Boise State? They don't have a hockey team? I guess it all depends on what you read/watch. I don't do ESPN, so that is probably why I don't have to suffer through all that yapping of college football, baseball, basketball, etc etc. At least you weren't perplexed with my sickness of all things Favre. I swear there are Japanese soldiers in the South Pacific that don't know WWII is over, but still heard #4 is playing another season.
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