Will the Wild ever win a Cup?

[PikeBayCommanche]

What do you guys think?

I just don't see it. Seems like the big time players don't want to play in Minnesota.

[Bob Schroden]

I just don't see it.

Yep they will.

Hopefully this year, you never know.

[CatchPhotoFilet]

NOPE! yeah when the twins win another world series and the vikings win a super bowl. all of 3 will not happen.

[solbes]

2-3 years before a new coach & gm get their system and players fully in place. I don't see it this year, but I am hopeful for the future.

[JimBuck]

Give em' time. The only reason we haven't had much for big players is that we didn't actively seek much for new guys until this year. The new staff and management are getting things done. Why wouldn't a player like to play here if the money is right? Watch some of the Wild games on the road and it's evident that fans in many of the southern states don't even know what a puck is. People here go crazy for good hockey. Just give it time.

[knoppers]

well they played the first period great tonight, then they stopped playing. it was almost like a lemare team.

[Bear55]

Yes they will win a cup, they may even be the dominate team for over a decade at some point. The question is will we all be alive to see it?

[OnAFly]

It will happen, but definitely not this year, or next year. They are rebuilding right now and they'll need time to clear out what Doug left us, a few very overpaid players.

Free agents will be more accepting of our team now that it isn't as offensively handcuffed. No talented center wanted to play in a system where he was the 3rd D man.

Give them a couple of years to clear out the garbage and build a few players up. They'll know the system by then and not revert back to the old one for half a shift and end up with a goal against. Just remember...it can only get better from here

[JimBuck]

Ha. Good point OnAFly. It can only get better from here. I gotta say Nabakov played out of his mind last game facing 40 shots on goal. If we can produce 40 shots on goal every game I think we'll be just fine.

[mnwild]

I dont see it happening for many many years. They will never be able to sign a big free agent, they dont want to come here for some reason. I am 34 and I bet I will never see it happen before I pass away. I am glad I still remember when the Stars made it against Pitt, thats the best memory I will ever have of a Minnesota(NHL)hockey team...

[OnAFly]

Why will we never be able to sign a big free agent? Under DR and JL this was probably true. DR just wasn't a good GM and Lemaire's system was defensive to the point of not being fun for the very offensive players, or the big name scorers. So there goes the UFA contracts.

DR had a tendency to let our big players go for nothing in return. It was difficult to trade for better players when he did this. So there goes trading for the elite scorers, we would have needed to trade core players to do so.

Give the Wild and Fletcher a couple of years. Lets see what he does with guys like Johnsson, Harding, Bouchard, and Schultz. These are guys that either have large contracts and are killing cap space or are valuable in terms of trade. Lets not give up before we have a chance to see what the new management can do for us.

[CRAZYEYES]

They never will in my life time. They'll balme it on the stadium and then ask you and me to by them a new one and then they'll still never win.

[mojogunter]

I think that now that it is not a given they will sell out every game makes management take notice and try to make the team better. DR made little or no effort to improve. Why would they if they sold out every game without trying? I think they are headed in the right direction, it just will take at least a couple of years before they can get the team to where they think it should be. Hopefully Fletchers vision is the right one.

[OnAFly]

I don't think last game was a sell out. Attendance was 18,170. I'm not sure what it has to be to be considered a sell out. They are trying pretty hard to sell them now. They make packed games and offer incentives to go to smaller market games.

I completely agree that the direction the team took this summer was the right one. Watching the games, you can see spurts of the offensive style of play Richards it looking for come out. If we can figure out how to play in the second period, we'll be a decent team. Probably not a playoff team, but at least we won't be compared to the Leafs anymore

[ozzie]

My good friend and I were talking the other day and I am not a big hockey guy but he lives for it and I asked if he sees the Wild being competitve in the near future and he thinks that in the next 2-5 years they will be very competitive and have a shot at a title.......

[OnAFly]

I would tend to agree with him!

[PierBridge]

well they played the first period great tonight, then they stopped playing. it was almost like a lemare team.

Don't worry its the New system...LOL...oh wait there are 4 teams with New systems all playing better than us which isn't hard to do...LOL!

To compare this mess to anything Lemaire related is an imsult to all hockey fans...world wide.

I realy like this high flying up tempo big scoring system we went to ... this should sell a lot of tickets..... To the Timberwolves games...

Jacque won't be missed....Yeah right.... LMAO!

[PierBridge]

56 seconds in and the game was over tonight. That happened alot under JL... Good grief...

[MinnesnowtaWild]

Of course the Wild will win a Stanley Cup, just not anytime soon.

[MinnesnowtaWild]

Gotta remember we are a new expansion team and one of the best in the last 20 years as well. Our cousin the Blue Jackets have only made the playoffs once and that was just last year. The Wild have made it 3 times in their short life so don't give up hope.

[OnAFly]

Won four of five...is there hope? Probably not for a cup, but at least for entertaining hockey

On a side note, why does Richards play Nolan on the fourth line all the time. The guy can score some goals if you put him with capable players, aka not Shep and Boogey.

[archerystud]

Kind of lost it at the end tonight, from what I watched it seemed like the Wild outplayed the Lightning. At least the games have been fun to watch lately.

[jwhjr]

Frustrating to lose a 2 goal lead in the 3rd! The Wild need to put those games away. Zidlicky's penalty at the end of the 3rd really hurt.

[solbes]

Nolan's goal was the best I've seen all year. It looked like they had it in the bag, but made 2 careless errors in the last 10 minutes. The shoot out wasn't even a contest.

Getting a point helps, but we need to scoop up every point we can to keep the season interesting.

[OnAFly]

Where was the back up on the short handed goal. How was our guy in all alone with 2 TB guys behind our net? I know TR emphasizes offense, but that really should not have happened in any system.

Also, Zid should be moving his feet, not hooking people as they skate away. That was a terrible penalty to take. Should have won that one. A lot of "what ifs" could have changed the outcome.

EDIT: Definitely a sweet goal by Nolan. Nothing better than watching a guy split the D and sling a wrister in