Wilderness Walk: World Champions Editions

WE DID IT!

The US Women's National Team are World Cup Champions for the third time, defeating the defending champions Japan 5-3 in a dominating performance.

I know this is a "hockey blog" but this is a big deal. The US were brilliant, and Japan didn't give up, despite using 2/3 of their substitutions in the first half (nigh unheard of save in the case of injuries).

Just a great showing. See highlights below.... but it's worth noting that, the overall "winner's pot" for the Men's world cup last year was 358 Million dollars, the pot for the Women's cup was only 15 Million. Similarly, the German team that won the World Cup last year received 35 Million dollars, the US Women's team will only receive 2 Million. Which is ridiculous.

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Stick Taps

The List | High Heels and High Sticks
Wade Belak. Derek Boogaard. Rick Rypien. Steve Montador. The situation is untenable.

Rich Clune and the addiction of hockey culture (Puck Daddy Interview) | Puck Daddy - Yahoo Sports
Really interesting interview.

Minnesota Wild Lock Up Mikael Granlund | Gone Puck Wild
The good folks at GPW take a look at Granny's New Deal.

Minnesota Wild: Niklas Backstrom's Injury May Be Blessing | Gone Puck Wild
And GPW looks at Backy and what's going on there.

The Season In Ten Games - Game 10 | Wild Xtra
Charlie at Wild Xtra puts a cap on their "season in 10 games" series.

Reaction Still Pouring In Over Reilly's Decision | The Hockey Writers
Some players were not thrilled with Reilly going to MN.

Erik Haula Files For Salary Arbitration | The Hockey Writers
"But teams that go through arbitration have a second buyout window open in August. If the team can get Backstrom cleared by team doctors prior to that second window and winds up going through arbitration with Haula, they may have the opportunity to buyout Backstrom’s contract. Though, it’s not clear that Backstrom would be cleared at that time. There are indications that the surgery may leave him unable to be cleared in August, making him ineligible for a buyout still."

Haula files for arbitration; Columbus forward fires Twitter darts at Mike Reilly | StarTribune.com
Some updates, and some #Drama.

From the Frozen Pond

Off the Trail

Holtby, Stepan, Nyquist among 23 players to file for salary arbitration | theScore
#OfferSheetSubban

Maple Leafs sign Kadri to 1-year contract extension, worth reported $4.1M | theScore

Will Cody Franson finally cash in on unrestricted free agency? | Puck Daddy - Yahoo Sports
#OfferSheetFranson