MINNEAPOLIS, Minn – The Wild will have an interesting season upcoming regarding the forward position. Throughout their 2010/2011 preseason, the Wild have had trouble finding offensive opportunities, a weakness they had hoped to have fixed by signing center Matt Cullen. For years, the team has lacked a 2nd line center behind captain Mikko Koivu. Matt Cullen is projected to be placed between the duo of Guillaume Latendresse and Martin Havlat, both who have showed successful chemistry with each other.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard is hoping to bounce back from missing the entire 2009/2010 season with a concussion. While it is unlikely he will make opening night, Bouchard’s playmaking skills will be welcomed as soon as he can safely play hockey. His offensive abilities will be gravely needed by the offensively starved Wild.
The departure of Derek Boogaard has spelled an end of an era in Minnesota. Boogaard is one of the most feared pure enforcers in the league and represented the Wild’s lone physical force, with the exception of a one Cal Clutterbuck. With the departure of Boogaard and the arrivals of physical forwards Eric Nystrom, John Madden and Brad Staubitz, Wild fans are hoping to finally see a team with some fight and physical play in them besides relying on just one player.
Defense:
While the top five defensive spots are locked up for Brent Burns, Nick Schultz, Cam Barker, Greg Zanon and Marek Zidlicky, the 6th and 7th spot are still open for grabs. The battle consists of AHL veteran Clayton Stoner, Drew Bagnall, and rookies Justin Falk and Marco Scandella. While Stoner does have a one-way deal for the 2010 season, his poor pre-season play has opened the door for others.
Goaltending:
With the recent injury to Josh Harding and the uncertainty that Anton Khudobin can handle backup responsibilities, the Wild signed veteran Jose Theodore to a 1-year $1.1 million dollar contract to act as Niklas Backstrom’s backup. The previous Vezina Trophy winner is no longer the goaltender he once was, but still offers a solid backup for the Wild.
Strengths:
For the first time in years, the Wild finally have depth throughout the forward depth chart. The Wild are hoping that chemistry between Matt Cullen, Guillaume Latendresse and Martin Havlat will flourish into an offensively dominant line and that its bottom six will provide some defensively solid play.
Weaknesses:
More like unanswered questions, there are many things that will not be known till the season opener. One of the main questions concerning the Wild is its defense. In previous years, under defensive coach Jacques Lemaire, the Wild’s defense has always been one of its strengths. However, playing under the new up-tempo system has seemed to be a rough transition for many of the Wild’s defensemen.
Much like how the defense remained a strength under the guidance of Lemaire, so did the Wild’s goaltending, and much like the defense, struggled with the transition. Backstrom’s drop in numbers worries Wild fans as he remains of the top paid goaltenders in the league.
Outlook
The Wild entered the 2010/2011 preseason with many questions, and none of them were answered optimistically. The Wild lost every single exhibition game against an NHL team, even when using their A team versus the opponents’ B team. It seemed the team only got better with the addition of Matt Cullen and several solid bottom six forwards, however, preseason showed otherwise.
Unless the team can tighten up defensively and find a way to produce offensive chances, the Wild will probably see the bottom of the Western Conference instead of playing during the playoff season.
Contact Daniel.Chan@prohockeynews.com
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