Wilderness Walk- 02-14-2013: Valentine's GameDay Edition

It's Valentine's Day, people.

I would totally give a shout-out to Alicia, my girlfriend of five years, but as awesome as she is, she doesn't read these, so she'll never get the thrill of me having a self-indulgent moment for her sake, delaying hundreds of people as they try to read their links.

Her loss.

So I'll spread my wishes to you guys instead. I even googled some cards for you. I'm so thoughtful.

Wild News

Minnesota Wild: Dany Heatley gets a night back on top line - TwinCities.com- More line juggling. The Wild have officially gone in a circle trying to fix their offense.

First Round Bust: Another Good Guy Calls It Quits- Nate's take on Brunos retiring.

Analysing The Minnesota Wild's Offensive Woes- The Hockey Writers breaks down the Wild's offense. I couldn't wait to read this one, either.

Tending the Fields

The Third Intermission: Hackett carries Aeros to 2-1 win over Texas- A longer recap of Tuesday night's Aeros game. Hackett shone as brightly as Kuemper did in the NHL.

Has Darcy Kuemper Overtaken Matt Hackett as Top Goalie Prospect? - Gone Puck Wild - A Minnesota Wild Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More- It's phenomenal that we're having this discussion. Whatever order they are, it's 1 and 1A. With a strong 1B playing in Sweden in Gustafsson.

Darcy Kuemper Demonstrates Minnesota Wild Prospect Depth- Very encouraging to see, what with Backstrom's impending free agency, and Harding's tragically uncertain future.

Tyler Graovac's hat trick leads Belleville Bulls past Kingston Frontenacs 4-1 - NHL.com - News- It's really exciting to see Graovac emerge out of nowhere to become a force. He's my pick for Most Improved Prospect, and it's nice to see the Wild continue to unearth nice value in the later rounds.

NHL 2013 draft prospects rankings | Home Ice - SI.com- Get acquainted with the bigger names heading into next summers draft. Or read Dan's rankings from 10 days ago, because they were awesome, too.

Off the Trail

Rest easy, Winnipeg, realignment is coming - Cross Checks Blog - ESPN- Pierre LeBrun had better be right. I'm sick of late division game start times and fake rivalries.

Blue Jackets’ hiring of Jarmo Kekalainen long overdue in the hockey world | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- A good write-up of the Columbus Blue Jacket's new GM. Seems like they're getting a worthy candidate, and good for them.

Defending Norris winner Erik Karlsson out indefinitely after accidental skate-cut to his achilles | Backhand Shelf | Blogs | theScore.com- Other big news of the day, and it's the kind of news you don't want to see.

The Ottawa Senators are trying to keep their tickets out of the hands of Leafs fans | Backhand Shelf | Blogs | theScore.com- Losing Karlsson isn't gonna help that.

Another gun-for-hire, Matt Kassian, on waivers. Might Edmonton native be of interest to Oilers? | Edmonton Journal- Do. Not. Want.

Enemy News

Avs' Erik Johnson joins Gabe Landeskog on injury list with head injury - The Denver Post- Bad news for the Avs. Head injuries are always crappy. Hope for a speedy recovery, followed by no further problems.

Avs withholding captaincy from Ryan O'Reilly is one of divisive issues - The Denver Post- Never a good time when your (arguably) best player is in a nasty contract situation.

Rant Trifecta: the Avalanche/O'Reilly Situation - Mile High Hockey- An explicative-laden rant about the crappy situation the Avs are dealing with right now.

Splitsville: Colorado Avalanche at Minnesota Wild - Mile High Hockey- A look at the Avalanche's past success against the Wild. Surprisingly, no one's really burned them. Hejduk is the closest to a Wild-Killer that they have, and let's face it, he's not exactly Iginla or Sakic.

So, that does it. Have a safe and happy Valentine's Day, everyone, and enjoy the Wild game!