Wilderness Walk: Armchair GM Edition

My Coach & GM Plan:
Extend Fletch, he’s brought this team to relevance! Besides the Cam Barker and Matt Moulson trades, he’s made some good moves!
Extend Yeo, I think he’s earned the opportunity to get a few more cracks at the Blackhawks playoff puzzle.
My Draft Plan:
Draft Sonny Milano in the first, I say this solely based on what sounds like a great hockey name. Plus he’s an American. Brenden Lemieux would also be acceptable. After round 1 focus on drafting every Finn and Minnesotan available, the more the merrier! We need more College hockey prospects Fletch!! But try to avoid the overrated, watered down, shit B1G 10 conference!
My Free Agency Plan: Don’t panic and sign Vanek! I’m fine with Vanek on a short 3 year deal at reasonable money, but if we pay another 30 year old mega bucks for 5+ years, I foresee bad things happening. I understand he would add some much needed scoring, but overpaying for aging talent usually spells disaster. We don’t want to become the Maple Leafs of the West!!! Bringing back Gaborik would be a lot of fun, plus I think he’s a superior player to Vanek.
The Goalie Conundrum:

You can’t go into the season with 4 goalies can you? So what do we do? IDK. Can we buy out Backstrom? does he have any trade value? If Bryz nets a 4th round pick than Backstrom must be worth something. Do we sign Bryz after the effort in Chicago? Will Harding recover for next season? Does the front office have faith in a Harding-Darcy starting combo?
Do we drop everyone and trade for Luongo? Is Marty Fernandez available?

On to your Walk

Chuck, can we please resign this guy?!? Bryz is the Man!!!!

Risky Bryzness - The Best of Ilya Bryzgalov (via

Wild News

Wild faces complicated offseason issues | Star Tribune Yes they do, should be interesting to see how Chuck handles all of this.

Chart: Wild's offseason to-do list | Star Tribune

Wild notes: Coyle had two separated shoulders | Star Tribune
maybe all those exploding shoulders have finally caught up to him

Souhan: No more one step forward, two steps back for Wild | Star Tribune
The Wild has behaved like an immature franchise for years, they hopefully are moving in the right direction

Crawford's play key to Blackhawks' run to Conference final
Crawford was outstanding, he's a great goalie. People need to recognize

Showtime Gets The Glory, But Crow Steals The Show - Second City Hockey
Patrick Kane works his magic in OT, but Corey Crawford deserves all the accolades

HockeyBuzz.com - Tony Dean - WildHBcommunity: MNWild’s Season Ends but Future is Bright

Other News

Habs eliminate rival Bruins, advance to conference final
Canada's response to the Habs huge defeat of Boston! The best team in the east has been eliminated

Kings hold on to edge Ducks, force Game 7 in Anaheim
Kings force a game 7, Canada's Response

Montreal Canadiens vs. Boston Bruins - Recap - May 14, 2014 - ESPN
ESPN recap of the Bruins Habs game 7

Canadiens vs Bruins Top Six Minutes: HABS BEAT BRUINS - Eyes On The Prize
Montreal takes a look at the keys to their victory

Anaheim Ducks at Los Angeles Kings - 05/14/2014
Ducks Kings game 7 recap

McDavid: KHL not 'end goal at all' entering 2015 draft year
Hopefully the next Crosby won't leave for the KHL

Off-Season Game Plan: Ottawa Senators
The Sens took a step back this yea, see why here.

Leafs' Shanahan 'realistic' about difficulty of making changes
Nobody likes change.

Report: Penguins ownership favours firing Bylsma
Pens may fire coach Bylsma

2014 NHL Mock Draft | 2014 NHL Draft | NHL Draft
First look at a off-season mock draft for the Wild