The Wild's 2005 No. 1 pick, Benoit Pouliot, is a year older, stronger and faster but might be a longer shot to make the roster out of training camp in September.

Well, so much for using the "F-word" to describe the Minnesota Wild these days.
 
And if frugal doesn't apply anymore, neither does cheapskate or any similar labels often associated with an organization that has sold out almost every home game it has played but has put only one playoff team on the ice since joining the NHL in the 2000-01 season.

A 20-year-old man suffered injuries as a result of the alleged altercation at a nightclub just east of the city's downtown at about 2 a.m. on Aug. 12, Regina Police spokeswoman Elizabeth Popowich said Friday.

Former Minnesota Wild defenseman Brad Bombardir has joined the organization as its director of community partnerships.

Like every NHL goaltender, Wild backup Josh Harding personalizes the colors and design of his mask. The look of his newest headgear is acutely personal.

His older sister, Stephanie, is fighting breast cancer back home in Regina, Saskatchewan. Feeling helpless in Minnesota, Harding joined the crusade.

He had his designer paint the words, "Fund The Fight" and "Find A Cure" on both sides and adorn the new mask with six pink ribbons — the international battle sign against the disease.

General manager Doug Risebrough has left himself open to future criticism for his decision to stand pat, especially if the higher-profile moves made by rivals Calgary and Vancouver pan out. It also reinforces Risebrough's confidence that his current roster can get the job done.

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An assault charge against Minnesota Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard was dropped Monday when new details cast doubt on the case.

''Late last week we received some additional information that caused us to make some more inquiries,'' said James Fitzgerald, a Crown prosecutor. ''When I spoke to the complainant we came to the decision that we simply didn't have a reasonable likelihood of conviction.''

The deal that really set the NHL's teeth on edge was the Penner sheet, which increased the undrafted free agent's yearly salary from $450,000 to $4.25 million.
...
This year's cap increased from $44 million to $50.3 million; for the cap to rise again, the league's revenue will have to increase about 13 percent.

The Wild are betting that won't happen, which might put a lid on offer sheets next summer. On the other hand, Risebrough said, you never know.

"It's too human; the market is a human thing - it's teams' needs, it's player availability, it's the reality of what teams have to spend, team philosophy, ownership," he said. "Does that mean it will happen? I don't know, but I think it means more teams are going to plan for it happening."

Wild about their chances

The Wild did succeed in returning to the playoffs for the second time in six seasons since joining the NHL. But once in the Stanley Cup tournament, Minnesota discovered its newfound skill and flair was no match for the Anaheim Ducks, who had both of these things plus a monster lineup predisposed to inflicting physical abuse.

Ducks forward Brad May's sucker punch that injured Wild defenseman Kim Johnsson at the end of Game Four was a snapshot for the first-round series, and the only real response Minnesota offered was to whine to the league and refuse to shake hands with the Ducks afterward.

The Ducks tossed the Wild in five games, proof that Risebrough's makeover was incomplete despite Minnesota's impressive 28-9-6 record over the final 43 games of the regular season.

In an unprecedented move, Minnesota Wild forward Marian Gaborik has apologized to fantasy hockey owners for playing in a defensive system.

"When developing this team it is obvious that management paid no attention to fantasy owners, but instead selfishly decided that winning games was more important," Gaborik said in a "prepared statement."

There finally appears to be an answer coming for the Wes Walz saga in Minnesota.

The Wild said late Friday night that they will hold a press conference with their missing centre on Saturday morning, when Walz is expected to announce his retirement after 12 seasons in the NHL.

Walz announces retirement

Neither he nor the Wild offered any specifics about his leave of absence, which lasted a month, but Walz said at a news conference Saturday that he didn't feel like he was "on top of his game."

The 37-year-old has four children and said he's eager to spend more time with his family.

The Minnesota Wild will hold a “major news conference” at Xcel Energy Center today at 12:30 p.m. where it will be announced owner Bob Naegele has sold his majority interest in the team, a source confirmed this morning.

Leipold means more suffering for Wild fans

In Nashville, Leipold whined that he couldn't make money in hockey. Despite the kind of taxpayer-funded gifts that would make any Canadian franchisee drool, he continuosly grovelled to local politicians asking for handouts. He moaned that he had lost $70 million and that he was being driven to distraction by his fianancial problems.

But then the post-lockout settlement came, and from the Music City came the cry of "Hallelujah!" Leipold was about to strike it rich. He sold the team for $193 million, more than $100 million above the 1997 purchase price.

Now, it seems, hockey isn't such a bad business after all. The guy who couldn't get out of hockey fast enough and was willing to risk the destruction of the league to get his way, is coming back into the business.

Doug Risebrough's next task is to convince the gullible Cult of 18,000 that his new collection of scraps makes up a real team.

The bargain basement for professional sports is a disagreeable place, with its mold and standing water. There's a scrap heap in the corner where nocturnal creatures scurry about as general managers dig through the debris, looking for a discarded prize...

Risebrough was in the bargain basement's hockey section, up to his elbows in the squalor of stinking pads and broken sticks, trying to find bodies that he could pass off to his team's gullible consumers as real players.

In several instances, Risebrough was required to place a mirror under the individual's nostrils to make sure he still was breathing. This did not prevent the boss from suggesting the Wild was a better team with these scraps than with Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra.

Double-Talking Doug operates with a motto that has served him extremely well in St. Paul: "You can fool some of the people some of the time, and you can fool all of the Wild fans all of the time."

DTD went into this NHL free agency in great need of a center. He signed forwards Owen Nolan, Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen and Craig Weller, none being a center.

Poor beat-up Nolan is tied together with baling wire. Brunette spent the best three seasons left in his career in Colorado. And Miettinen received the glowing recommendation from Tom Lynn, DTD assistant and apologist, that he was remindful of Branko Radivojevic. Star-Trib Link

And we were bummed our GM was shopping at K-mart:

Ouch!

The very one thing that the Wild has going for it is Jacques Lemaire.

How that guy makes that scrap heap of a roster competitive year in and year out is beyond me.

He really should win the Jack Adams Trophy someday after pulling down the Harry Houdidni Award every year by escaping the cellar.

Minnesota Wild forward Derek Boogaard has been suspended for five games, without pay, as a result of an elbowing incident during NHL game #921 against the Calgary Flames, the National Hockey League announced today.

The Minnesota Wild have locked up a big piece of their franchise as they have signed goaltender Niklas Backstrom to a four-year contract extension.

Lemaire's last? Wild coach mulls retirement again

Last summer, the Minnesota Wild talked Jacques Lemaire into returning as coach. This time, they might have to be more persuasive.

This has been a trying winter and spring for Lemaire and the Wild, who entered the final weekend of the regular season with a faint hope of reaching the playoffs but haven't put together a three-game winning streak before Thanksgiving.

The architect of the Minnesota Wild since its inception has been let go after the team failed to make the playoffs for the first time in three years.

The Wild announced Thursday that general manager Doug Risebrough will not return next season, the decision coming less than a week after coach Jacques Lemaire resigned.

Looks like the day of the uber-shutdown D are over.

should be interesting to see what the Wild become... who the new GM is, what players they keep...

It appears the agent for defenceman Brent Burns is not happy with the medical staff of the Minnesota Wild.

According to the Star Tribune, Ron Salcer is accusing the Wild of negligence for allowing his client to play with a concussion for six weeks.

''They said he had sinusitis. I mean, come on,'' Salcer told the Star Tribune. ''I'm not a doctor, but I've been around the game for over 30 years. It took me three minutes to know that he had a concussion. How they cannot know for six weeks is amazing.''

Quick quote to get the idea, but read the article. Pretty shocking accusations.

TSN




Quick quote to get the idea, but read the article. Pretty shocking accusations.

The Minnesota Wild introduced Chuck Fletcher as the team's next general manager, signing the former Penguins assistant GM to a multi-year contract.

The Minnesota Wild have never been a fast-paced team.

Chuck Fletcher plans to change that, and owner Craig Leipold is already using it as a recruiting pitch to prospective free agents. Introduced Friday as the Wild's new general manager, Fletcher promised to bring the aggressive, physical style Pittsburgh has used to come within two wins of the Stanley Cup finals.

First impressions are huge, and there is little doubt that Wild fans were eager to hear what newly hired General Manager Chuck Fletcher had to say at his first press conference on Friday
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During his press conference he was direct in saying he preferred a hockey team that played an aggressive up-tempo style. Fletcher also stated that every team in the league; including the Penguins and Red Wings utilize a version of the trap and that avoiding playing the trap really was not the issue in selecting a coach, rather finding a coach that will use an up-tempo style. He noted how important that draft will be in that process of not only acquiring players to fit this new system but also as assets to trade in order to avoid to always having to resort to free agency to fill organizational holes.
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Fletcher stated the importance of toughness and that he believe fighting should remain apart of NHL hockey.

Nice Migthy Ducks rip off.

Yup. I thought the same