Article: An Optimist, A Pessimist and A Rationalist Discuss the Wild's Fate

[Neil Urbanski]

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[IllicitFive]

What you’ll see here today is what happens when three highly rational, completely objective hockey fans engage in a spirited discussion about how the Wild will fare in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs."

Are they saying the commenters here are NOT highly rational and completely objective? Nobody here gets heated and we fan(atics) are all totally rational. 

Seriously well done with the article, good summation of most of what we see in the comments. It boils down to we are all fans and want to see them win and make it to the cup, just differ on opinions on what that will take.

[Dean]

The broadcast last night was to funny. Lapanta actually had to call a game due to tech difficulties and he wasn’t that good. At least it was a break from him and Carter crying about injuries and salary cap. If you watch or listen to a game they are reading from same talking points . All game long it’s excuse after excuse. Then rinse and repeat.  I watch and listen to lots of other teams. No one in league covers there team like the wild and there paid excuse makers. It makes watching/ listening unbearable. Just pathetic. Kinda like the product on the ice. 
    Dallas has injuries to there top end talent just like Vegas and many other playoff teams yet they keep plugging away. It’s obvious the wilds roster just isn’t good. It’s mediocre. It can’t do anything without kappy . That’s bad roster construction. Last year it was because Spurg. , this year kappy.  IMO it’s not the injuries it’s the guys on your roster that’s the problem. . 
    The broadcasters need to call the game like it’s a competition in a sport. Not a manufactured feel good story. . 

[mnfaninnc]

31 minutes ago, Dean said:

No one in league covers there team like the wild and there paid excuse makers. It makes watching/ listening unbearable. Just pathetic. Kinda like the product on the ice. 

Obviously, you haven't been listening to the Hurricanes' broadcast team. Tripp is brutal and a tremendous homer.

[mnfaninnc]

33 minutes ago, Dean said:

Dallas has injuries to there top end talent just like Vegas and many other playoff teams yet they keep plugging away. It’s obvious the wilds roster just isn’t good. It’s mediocre. It can’t do anything without kappy . That’s bad roster construction. Last year it was because Spurg. , this year kappy.  IMO it’s not the injuries it’s the guys on your roster that’s the problem. . 

This is true. But Dallas' injuries are good until the playoffs, so they could use their LTIR money. Vegas does the same thing. We lose Kaprizov or Spurg, we've got no plan B since we're down $15m. The only hope is for an ELC guy to step in and provide value play, and those guys aren't ready yet or here. 

Though, I do wonder, if the medical team is wrong and Kaprizov and Ek don't make it back for the playoffs, what could they have done. I'm sorry, I'm not much of a Rantanen fan and I don't think he plays well in our system. But, could we have gotten a little more aggressive with teams that did not trade their guys? Maybe!

It all hinged on whether or not Kaprizov and Ek were going to come back before the playoffs. As the clock ticks and the rink remains empty for them skating, I have to wonder if 2 games was worth it, or if they just should have sat until playoffs and we get reinforcements we can use in other years.

[Enforceror]

40 minutes ago, Dean said:

The broadcast last night was to funny. Lapanta actually had to call a game due to tech difficulties and he wasn’t that good. At least it was a break from him and Carter crying about injuries and salary cap. If you watch or listen to a game they are reading from same talking points . All game long it’s excuse after excuse. Then rinse and repeat.  I watch and listen to lots of other teams. No one in league covers there team like the wild and there paid excuse makers. It makes watching/ listening unbearable. Just pathetic. Kinda like the product on the ice. 
    Dallas has injuries to there top end talent just like Vegas and many other playoff teams yet they keep plugging away. It’s obvious the wilds roster just isn’t good. It’s mediocre. It can’t do anything without kappy . That’s bad roster construction. Last year it was because Spurg. , this year kappy.  IMO it’s not the injuries it’s the guys on your roster that’s the problem. . 
    The broadcasters need to call the game like it’s a competition in a sport. Not a manufactured feel good story. . 

So which of the three commenters are you? 

[SkolWild73]

45 minutes ago, Dean said:

The broadcast last night was to funny. Lapanta actually had to call a game due to tech difficulties and he wasn’t that good. At least it was a break from him and Carter crying about injuries and salary cap. If you watch or listen to a game they are reading from same talking points . All game long it’s excuse after excuse. Then rinse and repeat.  I watch and listen to lots of other teams. No one in league covers there team like the wild and there paid excuse makers. It makes watching/ listening unbearable. Just pathetic. Kinda like the product on the ice. 
    Dallas has injuries to there top end talent just like Vegas and many other playoff teams yet they keep plugging away. It’s obvious the wilds roster just isn’t good. It’s mediocre. It can’t do anything without kappy . That’s bad roster construction. Last year it was because Spurg. , this year kappy.  IMO it’s not the injuries it’s the guys on your roster that’s the problem. . 
    The broadcasters need to call the game like it’s a competition in a sport. Not a manufactured feel good story. . 

Yes Some of the other teams have had injuries, but nowhere near what we have had to endure.  None of them have missed their top player.  Of Vegas top 6 forwards and top 4 Dmen, none have missed more than 15 games.

Dallas has missed Seguin for a large portion of the year, and a couple of other players miss time, but none more than 20 games. 

We have had Kap miss 35, Brodin, 32, Ek, 30, Spurg, 15 and Zuccy, 13.  And still Vegas only has 9 more points than us.  
 
Also, as I have said many times, we did pretty good without Kap.  Just when you add a couple more top players on the list is when we have struggled. 

[Dango]

If one guy put a 100 dollar futures bet on the Twins every year "75 years "  winning the world series everyone would call him dumb  but he would be up about 40- 50,000 dollars . 

[Citizen Strife]

So am I the optimist or rationalist?

[Citizen Strife]

Russo said Kap and Ek are taking part in the skate today.  LFG!  They should be back soon.

[RedLake]

Torts is available. Go get him Billy.

[Enforceror]

Foligno back tonight as well.

[Pewterschmidt]

37 minutes ago, RedLake said:

Torts is available. Go get him Billy.

This guy has about a 150 game shelf life before the team turns on him.

[MNCountryLife]

Awesome Article!!  Had a good laugh.  It's easy to be an optimist when Kirill is being Kirill.  It is also easy to be a pessimist when we lose Kirill and realize he is 50% of the team.  Other teams do have more cap room so when a star player goes down they have 2 other top performing players to carry the load... We don't.  When Nojo is your best player on the ice that team is in trouble.

[MNCountryLife]

Boldy and Rossi need to step up.  They have both played a ton of minutes and we have been patient.  We have seen glimpses of what they can do.  Now is the time to take that next step.  Force your way to the net.  Battle level needs to be higher.  This is the time of the year to prove your worth... it is what you will be judged on for the entire summer.... Make a statement on the ice that people remember.

[HopelessWildFan]

Yet another season wasted season of just getting in and a likely first round exit. This is all on Guerin and his lack of vision past this year. This wasn’t the year to lock up aging veterans, send away valuable draft picks and not moving aging vets while they still had value… he did none of this. With the lack of skilled forwards, it’s a slow, boring team to watch. They shouldn’t have given the Flower another year and let Wally rot on a bad Iowa team and Jiricek got little NHL experience when he passed the eye test in an earlier stint.