Gaborik?

[DoubleLunger]

Ouch my groin hurts, can i have a couple years off.

MARY ANN Gaboric

[maros91]

Ouch my groin hurts, can i have a couple years off.

MARY ANN Gaboric

Funny.

[Quackaddict9]

Quote:

I agree with you but it's their little panzy but goatee's and red hair that makes me want to crush every bone in their body.

whatever their hair color is, skin color is, and they are a dangerous threat on the ice...I'll take them still.

Oh speaking of Rick Nash, anyone see him take two hard hits in back to back nights from T.J. Oshie??? Man, nothing new with this kid, always in the hit highlight at the Ralph before starting line ups for the SIOUX!

[walleyes12]

Ouch my groin hurts, can i have a couple years off.

MARY ANN Gaboric

LOL

Maybe you are spending too much time on the computer!!!

[OnAFly]

Quackaddict9 - Were these hits at the Ralph before, after, or between getting arrested at the bars for fighting?

[Quackaddict9]

Quackaddict9 - Were these hits at the Ralph before, after, or between getting arrested at the bars for fighting?

HaHa!

but fighting in a bar? I thought it was in the elevator out east when they played UNH? Stories get mixed up once a while I guess!

Back to Gaborik...

[redlake]

Quackaddict9 - Were these hits at the Ralph before, after, or between getting arrested at the bars for fighting?

You can bet your butt the Wild would take a TJ Oshie. It all comes down to making good draft choices doesn't it? Lets face it, the Wild are not going to win the cup on free agency. The Wild have crapped the bed lately with Sheppard, Gillies, and Puloit. My blame goes directly to D.R.

[titelines]

The Wild's overall track record with the draft isn't really that bad IMO.

Gabby was drafted, so was Burns, Clutterbuck, Veillieux, Koivu, Schultz, & PMB. They have all developed into very good players.

If we are assessing right now, I'd agree that Gillies, Sheppard and Olvecky would have to be considered busts. If they can develop into consistent point producers it would help a lot.

Free agency hasn't been too bad. Belanger was a good pick-up, and look at Brunnette and Nolan. Let's not forget Backstrom either. That's not to say that there haven't been blunders (see Simon).

One of the problems is that we started trading all of our draft picks in order to sign "premiere" players to short term contracts, in the hopes that they were the answer (i.e. Demitra).

We have a dozen "core" guys surrounded by a bunch of guys that are pretty much interchangeable. At this point we have to resort to free agency, because we don't have any high draft picks to rely on; and there aren't any answers in Houston.

[walleyes12]

Belanger Sucks!!! He plays decent defense but his offense sucks! Hes a terrible number 2 center!

[Quackaddict9]

Belanger Sucks!!! He plays decent defense but his offense sucks! Hes a terrible number 2 center!

I like him much more than Veillieux!!! I dislike that guy, running all over places as it seems!

I agree with ya Red, The Wild do not make good draft picks (except for a few), We've let some guys go where they developed in good hockey players or already have a good career!

[walleyes12]

Veilieux can go too! Way to many below average players on this team!

[OnAFly]

Veillux's spot is nearly taken my Clutterbuck, but he's still better defensively. I don't think we'll be seeing Veillux's name on a Wild jersey next year.

We can't really say much about Gillies right now. This kid is 19. How many 19 year old kids are making highlight reels? He's got the size and the skills, it's just a matter of what he does with them.

As for Shep, I think there was way too much pressure put on him this season. He's only 20/21 years old and people expected him to score 20 goals. There's a reason other teams were talking about trading for him last year. He's no Gabby/Koivu, but he could develop into a real solid player.

QA - Stories must have changed by the time they all the way down here

[maros91]

Belanger stinks.

[knoppers]

Belanger stinks.

belanger plays the penalty kill very well, his other play is less than desirable.

I think the wild have a good chance to sign gabby, since he has played so little this year. he still is one of the best offensive players ever.

I should ad, 1ST place FM hockey league 2008

not this year.

[koonie]

I think our draft choices would be better in something other than Lemaires system. Put these guys on the right line and it would help tremendously.

[archerystud]

Either the Wild draft horribly or they are not very good at developing players. Gabby, Burns, Koivu are great players but some players just have enough talent to be great and don't need to be developed.

The Wild need some scoring punch and if Gabby leaves they will need to get it from else where.

I too would like to see a new coach. I think JL is a great coach but it's time to move on and get a more exciting hockey team. Also of the Wild's draft "busts" I'd like to see how Pouliot would do with a new coach. The kid has talent and can create scoring opportunities which is not something you can say about most of this team.

[archerystud]

Case in point comparing two left wings.

Player.......Games....Pts.....TOI....+/-

Veilleux.......77........22....15:46...-16

Pouliot........37........11....11:50....+1

Why does Veilleux continue to play in all these games. Based on his stats he is average AT BEST. I'd prefer to see what the kid has to offer at this point.

[Quackaddict9]

Must be one of the Bemidji related coach for the Wild that likes to see Veilleux running all over and hit (like Clutterbuck but worse), more than Pouliot does?

[archerystud]

Could be, but this team needs to find some offense somewhere. They need to find some scorers/playmakers to go with the grinders.

I liked Souhan's article in the Strib today about the Wild and I think he is dead on. The scary part for this team is that if the lose Gabby then what do they have to replace him with? We've seen how the scoring has been like this year without him.

Sure they can spend some money to replace him but its time for this team to step up and be a contender. If that's the case they need a COUPLE of scorers. How much longer can guys like Nolan and Brunette play anyway? These are their best goal scorers and I think it's safe to say they are getting a bit long in the tooth (old).

[walleyes12]

sign him, and put some claus in his contract that if he gets hurt, he ows the wild a portion of his contract back, or something on those terms

[Bear55]

If we are assessing right now, I'd agree that Gillies, Sheppard and Olvecky would have to be considered busts. If they can develop into consistent point producers it would help a lot.

I'm willing to give Gillies and Sheppard a few years before I'd even think about calling them busts. I think they were rushed into the NHL, sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't. Remember they are 19 and 20 years old at the moment, Mikko Koivu scored 21 points as a 23 year old rookie - he also spent a year in the AHL before that, sometimes you have to give certain players the time they need to fully develop.

[pinkfloyd4ever]

I think the Wild have to make another effort to sign him, he has been a beast since coming back, and like the other guy said, put an injury clause in there. My guess is that Gaborik doesn't want to stick around though, I don't know

[solbes]

I would guess his preference is to leave. I'm sure he's heard all the press and fan reactions on his health & grit.

Question is who would take the risk on signing him without some special clauses? Since I don't believe he will get what he wants on the open market (long term, big $$$), I could see him signing a one yr deal with the Wild. Which only prolongs the misery another year.

[Swanny2]

I don't believe he will get what he wants on the open market (long term, big $$$), I could see him signing a one yr deal with the Wild. Which only prolongs the misery another year.

I agree but if the Wild could get him to bite on an incentive-laden contract for a year, and he actually is healthy/productive, he'll look a lot better at trade deadline time and we could get something in return; rather than just some laundry.

[pinkfloyd4ever]

that's a good point. I would like to see the Wild make one more attempt at a contract to him