Game #82: Minnesota Wild vs Dallas Stars, Sunday April 10, 2011 at 5:00pm, Xcel Energy Center [GAME PREVIEW]

Yes, once again I’m a bit cynical regarding the end of the season.  The end is here, finally.  My response to the mom in this classic Hockey Falls/Bud Light commercial would be this.  I need a break from the Wild, and to a degree, hockey in general.

This year’s Minnesota Wild has been a team of many faces.  One was never really sure which version of the Wild would show up.  Even when you figured the uninspired version would show up, you then had to wonder just how bad they would play.  Inconsistency easily breeds cynicism.  However, cynicism is always better than apathy.  Minnesota is currently straddling the very fine line between cynicism and apathy.  While the job of the players is finished after tonight’s game, it will now be up to the front office as to how this team proceeds.  It’s up to General Manager Chuck Fletcher and to a degree Wild owner Craig Leipold if Wild head coach Todd Richards still has a job with the team.  Richards has had two years, and there are few fans who believe he should have a third.  Personally, I hope tonight is the last night we see him behind the Wild bench, but hey, that’s just me.  Also, many fans are curious as to what the scouting department will come up with the 2011 Entry Draft.  This will be the first draft where the Wild are without the influence of former head scout, Tommy Thompson.  It is my sincerest hope that they draft a real prospect for once, and not another AJ Thelen kind of pick.  Fletcher and the scouts also need to figure out what to do with the free agent market as well.  One can only hope that the Wild look drastically different come September than they do now.

One area that the Wild cannot afford to ignore any longer is that of physical training and rehabilitation (when injured) of the players.  There have been questions regarding the trainers and medical staff for a long time.  Those questions haven’t been as common since Marian Gaborik left to play with the New York Rangers.  However, the Wild have had enough injuries, especially of the sports hernia version, season after season that one has to wonder if they couldn’t be prevented.  No one is to blame for concussions and broken bones, but there are injuries that have happened that raise the training question.  The Wild have the dubious honor of having lost the most man-games to injury this season.  That is something that no one to have the honor of possessing.  If they choose to ignore the issue of the training regimens of its players, I will question the direction of this team and whether or not the front office really wants to win.

So yes, I am excited for my “vacation.”  I am looking forward to no more late-night West Coast games for a few months, as well as accomplishing some projects around the house.  So it won’t be all frou-frou tropical drinks with my feet up, but not thinking about whether or not the Wild are going to compete night in and night out will be a welcome thing.  Of course halfway through the off-season, I’ll be chomping at the bit, impatiently waiting for the pre-season to start again.

Enjoy your hockey vacation!

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