Free agents...Have the Wild fallen behind? MVN article

LemaireisGOD · 07-10-2007, 07:19 PM

The State of Hockey News | MVN - Most Valuable Network » Blog Archive » The Northwest Division re-loads with free agents, have the Wild fallen behind?

The Northwest Division re-loads with free agents, have the Wild fallen behind?

By Derek Felska | July 10th, 2007

For many die-hard fans of NHL teams; as the free agency period began July 1st the likely scenario for some of these hardcore hockey lovers is a near compulsion to check websites to see if their team has made any moves. A workshift ends, and a person races to their computer hoping to see their team make a big splash.

While Wild fans were basically spoiled in the offseason of 2006 with a plethora of significant upgrades, this season has been considerably quieter. It is unreasonable for any fan of the Wild to expect the team to make as many moves as it did last off-season, but there is always hope that the team will surprise us. Yet the rest of Northwest Division have been far from idle and many of the teams have made significant upgrades to their rosters. This begs the question, have the Minnesota Wild fallen behind the rest of the teams in the division? The team has made some moves, but they pale in comparison to the moves made by most of the rest of teams in the Northwest. Here is a listing of the moves made by the entire Northwest Division and you can be the judge. After each listing, I will give a brief synopsis of the impact these moves will have on their team.

Calgary Flames

D - Anders Eriksson

D - Corey Sarich

D - Adrian Aucoin

RW - Owen Nolan

Impact? The addition of Sarich makes an already tough and physical blueline even more difficult to go against. Dion Phaneuf, Robyn Regehr, and Rhett Warrener were already a very formidable group to begin with and adding the hitting ability of Sarich gives and the offensive potential of Aucoin gives the Flames one of the best and deepest defensive corps in the league. Eriksson does not provide any physicality but he can be useful on the power play. Meanwhile the addition of Owen Nolan adds some veteran grit, and he demonstrated to a limited degree last season in Phoenix that he can still be a contributor.

Colorado Avalanche

LW - Ryan Smyth

D - Scott Hannan

Imapact? The arrival of steady stay-at-home defenseman Scott Hannan will play big dividends with the young blueline of the Colorado Avalanche. It will also free John-Michael Liles to take more risks offensively knowing he has a great defensively-stable partner to work with. The addition of Smyth gives the team another go-to scorer to work with seemingly ageless Joe Sakic, budding young stars Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski, always productive Andrew Brunette, and a resurging Milan Hejduk. Smyth also gives the team an element of competitiveness it has not had since Peter Forsberg left, and the Avalanche now have a player who is willing to do everything in his power for his team to succeed (and they have him signed for 5 years).

Edmonton Oilers

D - Dick Tarnstrom

D - Joni Pitkanen

D - Denis Grebeshkov

LW - Geoff Sanderson

G - Mathieu Garon

Impact? The Edmonton Oilers desperately tried to upgrade its offense by attempting deals to bring in Michael Nylander and Thomas Vanek but both times were foiled either by a misleading agent or by the team matching the Oilers’ offer sheet. Edmonton’s defense got less physical but more offensively potent with the additions of Dick Tarnstrom (back from a 1-year European hiatus) and young and talented Joni Pitkanen. It could be another frustrating year for the Oilers, but it comes from knowing it has now stockpiled lots of young talent and within a few seasons they could be at the top of the division.

Minnesota Wild

RW - Petr Kalus

C - Eric Belanger

D - Sean Hill

Impact? The Wild did not make many major additions, but its biggest move was its trade of goaltender Manny Fernandez. The team feels confident in Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding ability to man the crease making Fernandez’ departure irrelevant. Belanger is a creative centreman who normally plays in a defensive role and he has been basically told he’ll be playing between the Slovakian dynamic duo of Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra. Hill is a physical blueliner who would’ve been recieved with much more praise from Wild fans and media if he did not have a 19-game suspension for steriod use which will limit his impact to the team. Once Hill gets into the lineup he’ll be a valuable physical presense, but we’ll have to wait nearly a 1/4th of the season to see it. Petr Kalus is a promising prospect, who if he can demonstrate he can finish with some level of frequency he might be able to earn a spot in the Wild lineup.

Vancouver Canucks

LW - Ryan Shannon

RW - Brad Isbister

C - Byron Ritchie

D - Aaron Miller

G - Curtis Sanford

Impact? The addition of Aaron Miller will give the team another stable presense that it found out it needed as Kevin Bieksa couldn’t be everywhere on the ice. Curtis Sanford is a more legit backup goaltender than Dany Sabourin (even though he gave it his all in his few starts) and he will give the Canucks more goaltending depth. The acquisition of Isbister gives this team possibly a low-risk high-reward power forward much in the way the team won on its gamble of Taylor Pyatt last season. Byron Ritchie will make for a nasty counterpart for agitator Matt Cooke; and he will also help out on the penalty kill.

An argument can be made that many of the Wild’s acquisitions from last year did not have anything close to their best seasons. Players like Mark Parrish, Pavol Demitra and especially Kim Johnsson did not produce offensively as much as they have in recent seasons and if they perform to their abilities there is little doubt the team could be significantly improved next season despite their milquetoast amount of roster changes.

07-10-2007, 07:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
LemaireisGOD Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 504	Free agents...Have the Wild fallen behind? MVN article The State of Hockey News \| MVN - Most Valuable Network » Blog Archive » The Northwest Division re-loads with free agents, have the Wild fallen behind? The Northwest Division re-loads with free agents, have the Wild fallen behind? By Derek Felska \| July 10th, 2007 For many die-hard fans of NHL teams; as the free agency period began July 1st the likely scenario for some of these hardcore hockey lovers is a near compulsion to check websites to see if their team has made any moves. A workshift ends, and a person races to their computer hoping to see their team make a big splash. While Wild fans were basically spoiled in the offseason of 2006 with a plethora of significant upgrades, this season has been considerably quieter. It is unreasonable for any fan of the Wild to expect the team to make as many moves as it did last off-season, but there is always hope that the team will surprise us. Yet the rest of Northwest Division have been far from idle and many of the teams have made significant upgrades to their rosters. This begs the question, have the Minnesota Wild fallen behind the rest of the teams in the division? The team has made some moves, but they pale in comparison to the moves made by most of the rest of teams in the Northwest. Here is a listing of the moves made by the entire Northwest Division and you can be the judge. After each listing, I will give a brief synopsis of the impact these moves will have on their team. Calgary Flames D - Anders Eriksson D - Corey Sarich D - Adrian Aucoin RW - Owen Nolan Impact? The addition of Sarich makes an already tough and physical blueline even more difficult to go against. Dion Phaneuf, Robyn Regehr, and Rhett Warrener were already a very formidable group to begin with and adding the hitting ability of Sarich gives and the offensive potential of Aucoin gives the Flames one of the best and deepest defensive corps in the league. Eriksson does not provide any physicality but he can be useful on the power play. Meanwhile the addition of Owen Nolan adds some veteran grit, and he demonstrated to a limited degree last season in Phoenix that he can still be a contributor. Colorado Avalanche LW - Ryan Smyth D - Scott Hannan Imapact? The arrival of steady stay-at-home defenseman Scott Hannan will play big dividends with the young blueline of the Colorado Avalanche. It will also free John-Michael Liles to take more risks offensively knowing he has a great defensively-stable partner to work with. The addition of Smyth gives the team another go-to scorer to work with seemingly ageless Joe Sakic, budding young stars Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski, always productive Andrew Brunette, and a resurging Milan Hejduk. Smyth also gives the team an element of competitiveness it has not had since Peter Forsberg left, and the Avalanche now have a player who is willing to do everything in his power for his team to succeed (and they have him signed for 5 years). Edmonton Oilers D - Dick Tarnstrom D - Joni Pitkanen D - Denis Grebeshkov LW - Geoff Sanderson G - Mathieu Garon Impact? The Edmonton Oilers desperately tried to upgrade its offense by attempting deals to bring in Michael Nylander and Thomas Vanek but both times were foiled either by a misleading agent or by the team matching the Oilers’ offer sheet. Edmonton’s defense got less physical but more offensively potent with the additions of Dick Tarnstrom (back from a 1-year European hiatus) and young and talented Joni Pitkanen. It could be another frustrating year for the Oilers, but it comes from knowing it has now stockpiled lots of young talent and within a few seasons they could be at the top of the division. Minnesota Wild RW - Petr Kalus C - Eric Belanger D - Sean Hill Impact? The Wild did not make many major additions, but its biggest move was its trade of goaltender Manny Fernandez. The team feels confident in Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding ability to man the crease making Fernandez’ departure irrelevant. Belanger is a creative centreman who normally plays in a defensive role and he has been basically told he’ll be playing between the Slovakian dynamic duo of Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra. Hill is a physical blueliner who would’ve been recieved with much more praise from Wild fans and media if he did not have a 19-game suspension for steriod use which will limit his impact to the team. Once Hill gets into the lineup he’ll be a valuable physical presense, but we’ll have to wait nearly a 1/4th of the season to see it. Petr Kalus is a promising prospect, who if he can demonstrate he can finish with some level of frequency he might be able to earn a spot in the Wild lineup. Vancouver Canucks LW - Ryan Shannon RW - Brad Isbister C - Byron Ritchie D - Aaron Miller G - Curtis Sanford Impact? The addition of Aaron Miller will give the team another stable presense that it found out it needed as Kevin Bieksa couldn’t be everywhere on the ice. Curtis Sanford is a more legit backup goaltender than Dany Sabourin (even though he gave it his all in his few starts) and he will give the Canucks more goaltending depth. The acquisition of Isbister gives this team possibly a low-risk high-reward power forward much in the way the team won on its gamble of Taylor Pyatt last season. Byron Ritchie will make for a nasty counterpart for agitator Matt Cooke; and he will also help out on the penalty kill. An argument can be made that many of the Wild’s acquisitions from last year did not have anything close to their best seasons. Players like Mark Parrish, Pavol Demitra and especially Kim Johnsson did not produce offensively as much as they have in recent seasons and if they perform to their abilities there is little doubt the team could be significantly improved next season despite their milquetoast amount of roster changes. __________________ "Why mess around with PT Boats when you can have a Destroyer?" ~ Al Strachan (Hockey Night in Canada)