SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Despite a stunning 8-4 victory over the Nashville Predators Friday night, the Minnesota have failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs. This marks the end of a season that was full of disappointment from the beginning, and will likely see the end of tenures in Minnesota for players and management alike.
The Wild entered the evening needing to win against Nashville, and needing either Saint Louis to lose, or for Dallas to beat Anaheim without going into overtime. Saint Louis beat Columbus 3-1, and despite a late rally by Dallas, the game entered overtime, and ended the Wild’s playoff chances. The Wild were left in an unenviable position of hoping for other teams to lose by having a season marked by an inability to put together any sort of real winning streak, and even less ability to play a consistent style of game.
Too often, the Wild would play up or down to the competition across the ice from them, playing well against playoff caliber teams, and yet looking lost and befuddled by lesser squads. All the while, Coach Jacques Lemaire implored his players on the ice, and through the media, to play a simple game. Put the team first, play hard, and play smart. Until Friday night, the team failed to do so.
Missing the playoffs is the latest in a string of disappointments for fans in Saint Paul. The Wild have left the playoffs in the first round the previous two seasons, have lost several key players to free agency, and see little hope coming from outside or inside the organization without major overhauls in the front office, and no playoffs may be the least of the fans worries entering a long offseason.
Contract disputes have made it almost certain that oft-injured star Marian Gaborik will not return to Saint Paul after July 1st. The Wild made an offer reported to be worth $8 million a year to Gaborik before the season, only to be denied by the speedster and his agent. Further complicating the matter are Gaborik missing almost the entire season with a groin injury and surgery, public arguments with GM Doug Risebrough, and a PR campaign that has left Gaborik in the doghouse across Minnesota. Speculation and rumors start to fly very quickly when Gaborik is mentioned, especially knowing that fellow Slovak and close friend Marion Hossa is also a free agent after this season.
Also expected to be gone next season is Coach Jacques Lemaire. Lemaire needed two weeks of prodding and pushing from Risebrough to return this season, stating that he felt he had lost the team and did not feel he could coach up to his standards in today’s game. Lemaire has had an amazing career as player and coach, and made the Wild a tough team and contender every season, despite being given less than stellar talent to work with. The most likely candidates to replace Lemaire will be Assistant coach Mike Ramsey or AHL Affiliate Houston Aeros’ coach Kevin Constantine.
Risebrough will be next in line to be the scapegoat with Lemaire and Gaborik gone. Lemaire received his helping of blame, being the front line of management and Gaborik his because of a belief that his absence cost the team dearly. However, the truth lies at Risebrough’s feet, with the GM being the man who built the team and the organization. Any failings of Lemaire are due to a failure to provide him with adequate talent, and failures of Gaborik are multiplied by the decision to rely on him as the only scoring talent on the team.
Owner Craig Leipold has some tough decisions to make, and little time to make them. If he plans to replace the GM, he likely needs to do so before the draft, and if Lemaire leaves, it moves that decision up further, as no incoming GM is going to want a coach installed by the previous GM. In an email earlier this season, Leipold came across as fiercely loyal to his team and to his General Manager, which is laudable. However, if he wants his fans to remain as loyal as he is, he may be forced to complete an entire overhaul of the front office, and take the team in a new direction.
No matter the decisions made by Leipold, Risebrough, Lemaire, or Gaborik, hockey fans in Minnesota are left with six months of watching and waiting for their team to return to the ice. Those six months are likely to be the toughest they have yet to endure.
The author can be reached at bryan.reynolds@prohockeynews.com
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