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Wild 2014/2015 Regular Season


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I've never seen Koivu & Vanek as a good fit, they just play such different styles. Yoe will figure it out eventually but it seems like he likes to drag his feet on line changes during the regular season. He does seem to get the playoff lineups right.

Spot on Bear. Vanek needs someone to do the dirty work and get him the puck where he wants it and Koivu has slowed noticeably and is not the grinder he once was and not getting the job done...we have only 4 forwards not in the plus column; Koivu, Vanek, Zucker, and Carter...figure it out.

Scandella is a poor skater, quite often get his own feet tangled, has trouble in transition from backwards to forward. Big tough guy I know but lacks in skill; did you see him fall behind the net, King forward picks up the puck, quick pass out front to guy all alone, one-timer...winning goal. For a big guy he is knocked down way too much as well IMO.

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Koivu needs to be on the third line with Niederieter and Fontaine and have Haula Center the 2nd line with Coyle and Vanek.

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Koivu needs to be on the third line with Niederieter and Fontaine and have Haula Center the 2nd line with Coyle and Vanek.

ding ding ding. But I'd also like Fontaine there instead of Coyle once. That could be awesome.
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Koivu needs to be on the third line with Niederieter and Fontaine and have Haula Center the 2nd line with Coyle and Vanek.

I like that! But he wins so many faceoffs wink

You put any speedy center who can get to the corner fast and dig pucks while Coyle disrupts it would be a big improvement IMO....and feed the points or high slot more.

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Quote:
I like that! But he wins so many faceoffs wink

and bring him in when we have an important faceoffs and just cycle your lines more to create mismatches. Everyone of our lines can defend a top line and when we can get our top line out there against the 3rd or 4th line, we get opportunities. It would add more goals at home and make us a lot more difficult to play against on the road.

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and bring him in when we have an important faceoffs and just cycle your lines more to create mismatches. Everyone of our lines can defend a top line and when we can get our top line out there against the 3rd or 4th line, we get opportunities. It would add more goals at home and make us a lot more difficult to play against on the road.

Glad you have so much confidence in all our lines but cycling lines is not that simple..plus not logical to base overall strategy on getting Koivu to the faceoff circle IMO.

Looks like lines are set for AZ with Koivu/Coyle/Vanek....give it a try...hope they produce...good move.

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How fast is this third line going to be Haula, Fontaine and Niederreiter?

Regarding PP, I want Koivu OFF the #1 PP. Granlund, Pomminville, Parise , Suter and Vanek. With Vanek on the left side. Thats what I want to see.

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I like Spurgeon on the #1 PP. He is good at stepping up into the play and scoring.

Our puck movement is much better than last year, but still just can seem to find the netting.

Coyle will be a good addition to the 2nd line. Our third line should be able to skate away from anyone.

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Yeah, very good signing. The kid is a stud and looks to get better - he's still only 22. Looks like they've been able to stagger out the contracts with some long term (Coyle, Brodin) and some shorter (Nino, Kuemper). Sounds like Granlund wants a shorter bridge deal. Hopefully between the staggered end dates and cap going up we won't end up in a major cap crunch down the road.

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Yeah, very good signing. The kid is a stud and looks to get better - he's still only 22. Looks like they've been able to stagger out the contracts with some long term (Coyle, Brodin) and some shorter (Nino, Kuemper). Sounds like Granlund wants a shorter bridge deal. Hopefully between the staggered end dates and cap going up we won't end up in a major cap crunch down the road.
Agreed! Seems like a very good strategy coupled with the fact that the players are willing to negotiate in ways that help as well.
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Have to say my confidence in Kuemper is growing with each passing shutout. No way he can keep this up but wow if he can consistently play this well we are set for a long long time.

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Boy you could tell they hadn't played in a while last night, but they got it done. Love seeing Yeo roll all four lines. 2nd line looks a lot more dangerous with Coyle, although Vanek kind of had a tough night. 3rd line looked great, 4th line looks awfully good. Think Brodziak might have to get comfortable up in the press box...

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Boy you could tell they hadn't played in a while last night, but they got it done. Love seeing Yeo roll all four lines. 2nd line looks a lot more dangerous with Coyle, although Vanek kind of had a tough night. 3rd line looked great, 4th line looks awfully good. Think Brodziak might have to get comfortable up in the press box...

I agree on Vanek...even though he got an assist he just looks slow and unsteady on his skates...gets knocked down a lot and is clearly frustrated. I thought he was faster than he is showing to be.

CM mentioned Granlund for that first powerplay unit and I agree...we need someone who can dance around a player or two to find that open shot or find that open guy...I'd like to see Spurgeon given a try with that 1st unit as well...it's not working yet, change it until you find the right combo IMO. Playing more games coming up hopefully will get the rust off everyone and up to full potential.....good win!

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I don't want to say that Vanek is Heatley 2.0...but man does he look slow out there and he seems to be coughing the puck up a lot.

I'm hoping this is just him trying too hard and needing to get into the swing of things.

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Have to say my confidence in Kuemper is growing with each passing shutout. No way he can keep this up but wow if he can consistently play this well we are set for a long long time.

Hope you are right Bear. I still cringe when I think of how many G injuries we've had the past 3 years, but I was crossing my fingers when I thought that.

Third line was all over the 'yotes last night. Thought that Nino and Fonzie should have scored a couple of times as they were outworking everyone around them.

Lastly, why did they feel the need to change from Phoenix to Arizona? Really stupid.

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Vanek is head and shoulders above Heatley. But agreed he looks slow. the Coyotes looked pretty good I thought. I bet they are in the mix for a playoff spot this year.

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Lastly, why did they feel the need to change from Phoenix to Arizona? Really stupid.

My daughter works for the Yotes and they are trying to draw a larger audience than just Phx, that franchise is in a state of flux. They have to do a ton of Community and State wide PR to get crowds...it does pick up once the snowbirds arrive though!

If is fun to go to games in shorts throughout the season and they are competitive with some speed cool

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Yeah I would guess snowbirds would be 1/2 to 2/3 of the fan base. Hard to get hockey going in AZ if hardly anyone played it as a youth. So I sort of get what they are trying to do. Still if our hockey team was called the St Paul Wild or the Bloomington North Stars in years gone by, I don't think it would affect our fanbase in the slightest. But I do realize the fan base is compeltely different.

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Honestly, I don't know why they are still there. I've heard that a large portion of the people that do go to the games are there with free tickets.

Put ARI in Quebec

Put FLA in Ontario (somewhere near the Leafs)

Let the league make money in places they are definitely going to make money.

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Offense comes alive for sure. What an outburst last night. Zucker with 2 goals though that first one was pathetic at any level of hockey

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Zucker looks like he's had enough of the AHL, man we are deep up front, so many scoring threats this year.

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So, what's better, to keep Zucker on the 4th and keeping a scoring threat there or moving him up with better linemates but stiffer opposing lines?

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So, what's better, to keep Zucker on the 4th and keeping a scoring threat there or moving him up with better linemates but stiffer opposing lines?
IMO he's trade bait. I hope I don't regret saying this but he's a liability on defense. Yeah he can snipe some goals and has speed but in playoffs when it counts I honestly don't want him out there.
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Wild have allowed the fewest shots it the league. They can afford a little liability on D if they're scoring goals. I say keep that line intact and see what it can do!

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True but haven't you been one of the most vocal ones on physical play? He certainly won't bring it but trading him could get someone who can. I don't see much of a future for zucker on this team in 2 or 3 years. Better to trade high than low. If he keeps up this streak he could be worth something.

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We'll I didn't expect this team to be as good as they are and Zucker leads the team with 4 goals without any power play time and 4th line minutes which is pretty impressive. I personally wouldn't build a team with a small speedy 4th line but here we are.

This team lacks toughness and that worries me. It's a long season and IMO, the toughest playoffs in sports.

What do you think they could get for him?

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