Welcome to the NHL FanHouse 2008-09 season preview. While other sites are previewing "30 teams in 30 days," we decided to take advantage of the extra time off before the start of the season to bring you all 30 previews over the next three weeks. We're counting down in reverse order of finish from last season in each conference every weekday from now until October 3. Look for an Eastern Conference preview every morning and a Western Conference preview every afternoon. Click here to read them all.
Who's In:Andrew Brunette, F (FA-COL); Owen Nolan, F (FA-CGY); Marc-Andre Bergeron, D (Trade-ANH); Marek Zidlicky, D (Trade-NSH); Antti Miettinen, F (FA-DAL); Craig Weller, F (FA-PHX)
Who's Out:Brian Rolston, F (FA-NJ); Pavol Demitra, F (FA-VAN); Todd Fedoruk, F (FA-PHX)
What's Changed: Hopefully, the Wild found some stability. General manager Doug Risebrough acknowledged he made a mistake by employing ten players in contract years last year. As a result, there was a lot of player movement over the summer. Rolston should have been re-signed during the previous off-season. Once it was clear he would test free agency, it was also clear he wouldn't be back.
Risebrough tried to make up for his blunders (too many free agents and not re-signing Rolston) by taking a stab at Marian Hossa, placing a bid for Kristian Huselius, and also making a play at a contract extension for Marian Gaborik. None of these moves have been successful, however the potential for a Gaborik deal is far from dead as of this writing.
(Of course, this hasn't stopped fans of other teams from dreaming.)
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With Rolston gone and efforts to sign Hossa and Huselius falling short, Risebrough had to look elsewhere to rebuild his offense. There was no question after the playoffs last year that Minnesota sorely lacks goal scorers outside of Gaborik and Rolston, who were useless against the Avalanche because no one else could do anything to take the pressure off them.
The first move was to bring back Brunette, and effective goal-scorer in Colorado after leaving Minnesota. Brunette gives the Wild a power-play presence, a guy who will go in the tough areas around the net fearlessly, and a superb locker-room guy. Risebrough also signed free agents Nolan and Miettinen, who totaled 31 goals and 66 points last year.
They're not going to replace Rolston's production by themselves, but that's not the design. Instead, Brunette will supply 60-70 point potential, plus he won't be a liability on the defensive end. Nolan and Miettinen should do a pretty good job of adding some pop to Minnesota's secondary lines. Help is needed, as the Wild had to rely too much on contributions from journeymen Fedoruk and Aaron Voros after Demitra began to sink into the abyss of nothingness.
Bergeron and Zidlicky will spark a defensive corps that didn't do much offensively last year. Brent Burns continues to develop into a star, but he didn't have much help last year. Now, the Wild have options on the blue line, though they won't be terribly physical.
Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding return in goal, and there's no reason to think the Wild will suffer at the position.
Who's On The Hook:Mikko Koivu needs to put it together. He's the kind of hard-working two-way player coach Jacques Lemaire loves, and he has the skill to be a major contributor offensively. Injuries limited him to 57 games last year, and he tallied just 11 goals. To make matters worse, Risebrough wasn't really able to address a serious lack of depth at the center position. Koivu is the best of a bunch that includes youngster James Sheppard.
The Wild were second-worst in the NHL at winning faceoffs last year (it's a stat that doesn't mean much, honestly, as Pittsburgh finished last). Because of how small the defensemen are, it stands to reason the Wild would benefit greatly from being much better in the circle, as it would allow them to be more effective at puck possession. To improve, they'll need better performances from all the centers, including Koivu.
Backstrom wasn't terribly great last year, but his numbers were still okay. He's going to see plenty of traffic again this year, as the Wild won't be good at moving players from the front of the net.
Where They'll Finish: Last year's division title run will be next-to-impossible to duplicate. You could argue that Colorado will be better if they stay healthy, and there's little doubt Edmonton will improve. As long as Calgary has Iginla, Phaneuf, and Kiprusoff, they're dangerous. And Vancouver signed Demitra. What more needs to be said there?
Reality is that the Wild are a playoff team, but they're not favored to win the Northwest. Nor should they be.
Blogs To Watch:Russo's Rants, Wild Puck Banter, 18,568 Reasons Why, Hitting the Post, Land of Lakes and Hockey
