From a Winnipeg perspective this is going to be fun! Looking forward to renewing acquaintances with the rest of the heart of the continent. Hope you'll all be able to find some tickets and come up for a visit! Jets are shaping up really well this year, but as others have said it could be tough to get into the playoffs when it's just 4/8.
Let's say Holland pulls some magic this off-season...
They get Suter or Weber from Nashville, sign Josh Harding, and also sign Colaiacovo. They just bought several years more of being competitive....
Let's be more realistic:
Nashville re-signs Suter and Weber.
St. Louis keeps Colaiacovo.
Lidstrom retires.
Detroit signs Harding, Brodziak, Liles, and Beauchemin.
CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR
FORWARDS
Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m)
Gustav Nyquist ($0.875m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Tomas Tatar ($0.840m)
Drew Miller ($0.837m) / Kyle Brodziak ($2.150m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)
Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Cory Emmerton ($0.533m) / Patrick Eaves ($1.200m)
DEFENSEMEN
Niklas Kronwall ($4.750m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($3.250m)
John-Michael Liles ($4.200m) / Francois Beauchemin ($3.800m)
Ian White ($2.875m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m)
GOALTENDERS
Josh Harding ($2.000m) / Jimmy Howard ($2.250m)
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $53,532,044; BONUSES: $247,500
CAP SPACE (20-man roster): $10,767,956
That looks like a pretty sad roster to me. Maybe they upgrade on wing instead of bringing in both Nyquist and Tatar. If Parise isn't available, who do they pick up? Semin maybe? The UFA crop next year is pretty sad if a Nashville and a few others can hold on to their UFAs.
So, the question is, at first glance who do you want to hate the most?
I see potential to hate every team in the new Central...
Nashville: I like them, but they're going to be a tough team to play against. Probably my least-hated future conference-mate.
Winnipeg: I like this team too, but their location will drive us to rivalry. Plus, they're the only Canadian team.
Chicago: Friendly rivalry with a competitive, star-driven team. We share rivalry history, the city is close, and they have Leddy.
Detroit: Likely the most arrogant team, but their team backs that attitude up with an exemplary track record. They'll have a target on their backs.
St. Louis: Tough, competitive team which we share rivalry history with. Games against them are always physical and exciting. Also, lots of Minnesota connections; our announcers will love it.
Dallas: They stole our team! Seriously, though. They're an up-and-coming team who we're all too familiar with. They have some great talent and exceptionally annoying players.
Columbus: This is where the true, actual hatred will likely stem from. We're already building a rivalry of sorts with Columbus because of player injuries and suspensions. Also, since expansion, Columbus has resented us because we've received more attention. I see them going down the Edmonton path; tanking this season and acquiring some star-power. Teams with #1 picks are always easy to hate.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jarick
PLEEEASSSSEE let's ditch these ridiculous jerseys for next year and come back with some clean green and white jerseys that neither look like christmas trees or ornaments. With realignment, a new coach, and some big talent, the team could vie for a WC spot, and some better duds would help with respectability.
Yes, please! Reinvent the team's appearance along with the realignment, plus we'll be getting an injection of new players from our prospect pool essentially making this team relevant again!
Quote:
Originally Posted by hipsquare
Detroit is the perfect balance for the Oilers. They can complain about how they have no interest in games against us and then Harding will go in and shut them down every game.
I wonder if this will effect Harding's future with the Wild... Y'know, since he's the only goalie we can play against them.
Winnipeg Fan here, I'm really likeing us being in the same division as you guys.
I was just in town for the Vikings / Broncos game (and dropped more money at Sheiks than I would care to admit ) as a buddy of mine has season tickets. I could see some great Football / Hockey / Basketball road trips for Winnipeggers.
I wish I had season tickets to Sheiks. Oh wait, no I don't...
FWIW the "show bars" I went to in Canada were a billion times better than they are around here. Girls were way more attractive and hung out and talked/drank with us the whole time. Not heroin/coke addicts.
ANYWAYS.
I seriously think we could challenge for a WC spot in the next few. Obviously the league wants to keep rotating the NBC teams (DET, CHI, WAS, PIT, PHI, BOS, NYR) but maybe we can sneak in and host Detroit or Chicago?
If that's the case we may have these ugly jerseys for a couple more years and then get a throwback for the game and use that as an alternate and then make it a main jersey.
I just wish they'd freshen up the greens, choose a lighter shade, put a real logo on it, and drop the reds.
iirc there has never been a east vs west format, next year
Wild host the Pittsburgh penguins, seriously pretty good connections between the two organizations, plus pens bring the star power needed, anything with crosby will well
There used to be a huge contingent on the Wild official Message Boards, but apparently things kind of degenerated over there. Our little group here has been growing like mad. Lots of people migrating over from those boards, and a decent number of Finnish fans have shown up as of late. We're still one of the more tight-knit and casual boards on HF though. Also a decent number of us on Twitter.
At this point, I think it's safe to say HF is the largest Wild message board and collection of fans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jarick
I can't stand Detroit like I can't stand the Yankees. I can't stand Columbus because they're Columbus and I will get my mod privileges revoked if I start talking trash
Same although it doesn't help I was a casual Colorado fan during the black period in the NHL.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MB Stars
Stars fan in peace, wanna say congrats on getting your wish. As we got ours too!
TBH I love our new conference, and I'm most excited to be in it with you guy because IMO I feel like we will become a great rivalry.
You stole our team - it's on like Donkey Kong!
Quote:
Originally Posted by hipsquare
So excited for this, we have it all.
Rivals within driving distance? Check
Teams with bad blood? Check
The (North) Stars rivalry? Check
A "rivalry" we can snub our noses at (not that we would of course) while they insist they hate Clutterbuck? Check (CBJ)
Some star power/O6 draw? Check
Games we don't have to stay up until midnight or later to watch? Check
The only problem is that we're going to lose a bunch of points not being able to beat up on Eddy six times a year.
They'll be good soon. Honestly, Edmonton deserves to be after how well they've gone through dark times.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jarick
As ridiculous as the WC is, I don't think they can feature Crosby three times in 6-7 years.
My guess is, since they like to tag on to football and baseball so much, it'd either be:
- Target Field hosting the Hawks because of the Twins-Sox
- Lambeau hosting Minnesota and Detroit because of Lambeau
I can't see a neutral site game; especially one which has both teams travelling 6-10 hours and a city which both fanbases hate.
__________________
Blog: First Round Bust: A Cast of Thousands celebrating a rather dodgy track record of Minnesota Wild Drafting.
"Will beats skill when skill doesn't have enough will."
-Doug Woog
Meh, they're hockey's elitests. What can you really do, can't argue with their success. Only that they ripped off Warroad's Hockeytown USA.
Anyone who has spent any time in Minnesota knows that Detroit sure as hell aint hockeytown.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hipsquare
So excited for this, we have it all.
Rivals within driving distance? Check
Teams with bad blood? Check
The (North) Stars rivalry? Check
A "rivalry" we can snub our noses at (not that we would of course) while they insist they hate Clutterbuck? Check (CBJ)
Some star power/O6 draw? Check
Games we don't have to stay up until midnight or later to watch? Check
The only problem is that we're going to lose a bunch of points not being able to beat up on Eddy six times a year.
Weve got all those points coming back to us from Jacky. Theyre consistently terrible, and were starting to hate them, so were just gonna crush them. And if Detroit gets weaker in a year or two like I think they will, they could easily find themselves in a "league punching bag" position for a few years while they are forced to draft well because suddenly all those all-star free agents dont want to sign with a loser.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jarick
I'd say our dream of a Minneh - Josey final is coming close!
The playoff format reminds me of the NCAA hockey tournament with 4 "regionals" being each conference and the regional champion moving on to the frozen four. The only difference is that the regional participants are set beforehand and not seeded based on a ranking system.
You can also think of it as a 2-series conference championship with the winner earning the right to play a 2-series NHL championship, sort of like if the CHL had four leagues instead of three.
At this point, I think it's safe to say HF is the largest Wild message board and collection of fans.
Since it is holiday season and I am feeling somewhat nice, I feel the need to give GS props. While everyone here has made this board better, GS was the one who really got it going. I don't know if it was the one-man thread, his consistency in providing daily news, or that he paid you all to come here...but he did a great job.
Since it is holiday season and I am feeling somewhat nice, I feel the need to give GS props. While everyone here has made this board better, GS was the one who really got it going. I don't know if it was the one-man thread, his consistency in providing daily news, or that he paid you all to come here...but he did a great job.
Since it is holiday season and I am feeling somewhat nice, I feel the need to give GS props. While everyone here has made this board better, GS was the one who really got it going. I don't know if it was the one-man thread, his consistency in providing daily news, or that he paid you all to come here...but he did a great job.
Speaking of... I've been meaning to ask for a raise.
I'm new, prone to bumping threads without looking post dates, and generally provide non-substantial information, but I feel that I bring color-commentary to the table.
Speaking of... I've been meaning to ask for a raise.
I'm new, prone to bumping threads without looking post dates, and generally provide non-substantial information, but I feel that I bring color-commentary to the table.
Doing some advance scouting on future division rivals Louie and Wingy on VS. tonight. Had the happy thought of the Wild knocking Bertuzzi out of the playoffs in the near future.
. 
) as a buddy of mine has season tickets. I could see some great Football / Hockey / Basketball road trips for Winnipeggers.
