I wonder what Wild owner Craig Leipold would say of the post-lockout NHL if he still owned the Nashville Predators? I started to really ponder this question as I read through my latest issue of the Hockey News, where they had their annual People of Power and Influence rankings. It is a fascinating read because it examines the movers and shakers at all levels of the NHL universe including the media, owners, league and NHL Player’s Association officials, and of course the players’ themselves. I must admit, when I saw pesky agitator (cough turtle-r cough) Matt Cooke on the Top 100 Most Influential people in the game I rolled my eyes but after hearing THN’s reasoning it made sense to me. His hit on Marc Savard did make General Managers around the league step up and unite against head shots and blind side hits. Whether that makes those GM’s “mamby pamby’s” according to HNIC’s / NBC’s and NESN’s Mike Milbury (coincidentally another member of the Top 100 most influential people in the game) is for you to decide. Yet let’s go back to my original question. Leipold also made this Top 100 list, ranked #42 (from not being on the list last year); a man who according to THN is very close with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman (#2 on the Top 100 list) and it is said that his opinions carry weight and it opined he would play a key role in the negotiation of a new collective bargaining agreement which is just around the corner. Just prior to the lockout, it was Craig Leipold, then owner of the Nashville Predators, that was one of the more vocal voices clamoring for “cost certainty” that could only be had through the implementation of a salary cap. Which made total sense since he was the owner of a team in a market that was struggling mightily to finish out of the red each year. The players did their best to avoid this and we had the dreaded lockout of 2004-05 and ultimately it was Bettman and the league’s owners that got just about everything that they had wanted. At the time, THN and other “experts” claimed the NHL players got totally crushed by the new CBA. They gave in to having a salary cap, they gave in to having a portion of their salaries placed into an escrow account where they were placed at the mercy of the league’s take by the end of the season; if the league got its magical amount of money it wanted then the players got that pay back. Players across the NHL took a general percentage cut from their salaries, which by no means put any of those players in the poor house but if it happened to average people like you and myself it would be pretty severe. The lone victory for the NHLPA and its director Bob Goodenow was that unrestricted free agency would be phased in to start at age 27 instead of 31 as it had been under the previous CBA. Little did anyone realize that one victory would turn this into a giant trophy for the players and they’d make a mint in the next few years seeing contracts that are truly obnoxious. The first real sign of this came from a very odd contract which seemed absolutely preposterous when the New York Islanders signed rising star goaltender Rick DiPietro to a 15-year contract. I remember when I first saw DiPietro’s deal and I about fell over in my chair laughing so hard, it appeared to be too ridiculous to be true; something you’d expect to read from the Onion. Yet it was, and as improbable as it seemed there would be more mega-long mega-dollar deals to come along as the league’s general managers scared to death of their still young but getting close to becoming unrestricted free agent talent started committing to long-term deals with the hope of staving an exodus of youthful talent. A 12-year deal for Philadelphia’s Mike Richards, a 13-year deal for Alexander Ovechkin, a 12-year deal for Chicago’s Marian Hossa, and a 12-year deal for Vancouver’s Roberto Luongo who did I fail to mention is making a whopping $10 million dollars this season alone? So was the NHLPA a giant loser in all of this? Also, how did this happen? Well a part of it is sort of an accounting trick as allowed by the CBA to lower the actual cap hit by stretching out the length of the contract so that even though Luongo is making $10 million this season, his cap hit is a far less extreme but still size able $6.7 million. Topping this accounting trick / loophole tactic was the New Jersey Devils attempt to sign Ilya Kovalchuk to a 17-year deal which was shot down by the league and an independent arbitrator who saw it as violating “the spirit of the CBA” to a far more reasonable 15-year deal (a roll of the eyes). Since the lockout, despite the claim that it “could” happen the league’s salary cap has never dropped. In fact the first few years after the lockout the salary cap ceiling took some rather dramatic increases and with that so did the salary floor which is the bare minimum teams could spend on salaries which was an effort to even the playing field by lessening the disparity of salaries rolls which were pretty egregious prior to the lockout. The result of these jumps to the salary floor / ceiling is that teams like the Nashville Predators who were struggling before the lockout to make ends meet now are spending even more on player salaries than they were back then. Probably not what Craig Leipold lobbied for and probably a big reason why he decided to cut his losses and sell the team.
Last summer, Leipold shocked many in Minnesota by saying the Wild lost money last season. This was a team that despite its record still managed to sellout all 41 of its home games, as well as all of its pre-season games yet he STILL lost money? Yes the Wild have a salary that is very close to the imposed ceiling of $59.7 million but imagine what it must be like if he still owned the Predators; a team that rarely sells out games and has had a very difficult time even having a full house for playoff games. I am not saying this to pick on the Predators or to criticize Craig Leipold at all; quite the contrary. Just prior to his sale of the team, Leipold sent a letter to all of his season ticket holders thanking them for their loyalty but explained that from 1999 to 2006 he had lost over $30 million on the team. I truly believe Craig Leipold is a passionate hockey fan, but I also believe he will be hoping for some significant adjustments in the new CBA to re-establish “cost-certainty” that quickly evaporated in the face of these long-term contract deals being awarded to just about any top 6 forward or top 4 blueliner in the league. The last time the Wild played the Predators, the team’s effort was absolutely atrocious. No fire, no energy and the result was a very embarrassing loss at home. Can the Wild find that road warrior mentality it had last week?
Click on “read more” to see the rest of the article…
Minnesota was moving their feet well early on as well as being physical early as they charged into the Predators zone, setting up their first shot; a slapper from the point by Greg Zanon that was snagged by Pekka Rinne. As the Wild tried to race through the neutral zone with speed, Nashville’s Shane O’Brien lowered the boom on Matt Cullen who was caught rather solidly with a big hit as he was looking to receive a pass. The Wild were setting the pace of play in the first few minutes as they were swarming all over the Predators zone taking every opportunity to fire the puck on goal. Moments later, a bad turnover in the Wild zone nearly turned into disaster as Marco Scandella inexplicably just left the puck which was gathered up by Jean-Pierre Dumont who walked in on Jose Theodore who fell over on his side to stack the pads to make the huge save. Nashville was starting to step up their forecheck and while physically they were not dominating against the Wild they were using smart play with the stick to either intercept potential outlet passes or lifting the stick as they attempted to do so to get Minnesota to scrable a bit in its own zone. The Predators were able to get on the scoreboard early as a low lying wrist shot by Marek Svatos was deflected by Theodore by a nice little tip by David Legwand to give Nashville a 1-0 lead and Theodore to be serenaded with the traditional “You Suck” chant from the Cellblock 303. The Wild tried to answer back, as Eric Nystrom pulled the trigger on a quick snap shot that was gloved by Rinne and he tossed it over to his defense who escorted the puck out of danger. The Predators were reaching a lot with their stick and Jerred Smithson earned a slashing minor giving Minnesota its first power play of the game. Minnesota moved the puck well off the initial faceoff where Mikko Koivu moved it down low to Andrew Brunette who fed it out to Antti Miettinen for a one timer that was directed into the netting behind the goal. The Wild were moving the puck quickly from out high to down low and a wrist shot by Matt Cullen created a nice little rebound in the crease but Brunette was unable to get his stick on it. Minnesota would come up empty on the power play and the Predators would go on the attack, where they seemed to be all over the loose pucks as they set up a dangerous chance from the point by Francis Boullion who managed to thread a needle through legs to reach Theodore who kicked it away at the last moment. Nashville’s pressure was causing the Wild to scramble a bit and predictably draw Minnesota’s first penalty of the game, a holding penalty on Cam Barker who tried to slow down former Wild forward Joel Ward. The Predators were working passes from the two point men until they finally tried to move it from the half-wall to the slot where Patric Hornqvist turned and flung a shot on goal that was steered to the corner by Theodore. Nashville were content to set up point shots as they had plenty of traffic in front as Colin Wilson and Hornqvist were attempting to screen the Wild goalie all power play long. Minnesota couldn’t buy a clearing attempt to save its life in the power play as Nashville had control of the zone for nearly the entire two minutes. The Wild kept persisting and after John Madden intercepted a pass near the blueline he took off for the Predators zone where he was stood up by Cody Franson and the puck was taken by Koivu who stepped right around Boullion where he beat Rinne on a pretty backhander that took everyone by surprise as the State of Hockey tied the game at one apiece. Minnesota was starting to ratchet up its intensity but even though they were hustling the Predators calmly were winning many of the races to the puck anyways as both teams were ready for a chessmatch-like game with both sides happy to have a 1-1 tie at the end of one period of play.
The Predators were really flying around early, as they were moving in with a two-man forecheck right from the drop of the puck. Nashville controlled the puck as Ward moved it back out to the point where Kevin Klein fired a wrist shot that Theodore struggled with as he gave up a rebound and Ward skated in and gathered up the loose puck and backhanded it by the Wild goalie to give them a 2-1 lead. Minnesota tried to respond but Nashville was playing well along the wall and the Wild were not able to work the puck into the scoring areas on the ice as a pass by Kyle Brodziak to Bouchard was foiled by Weber who lifted his stick before he could pull the trigger. Dumont would go down with an injury on what looked like a pretty mild hit, and the Predators training staff would help him back to the bench. Minnesota would take a foolish interference penalty when former Predator hit Sergei Kostitsyn way too late and he earned two minutes in the sin bin. The Predators had a great chance early as Colin Wilson found him set up all alone in the slot and his wrister was denied by Theodore. Minnesota’s penalty killers would regroup and Mikko Koivu made a great hustle play to clear the zone and then moments later a blsat form the point by Shea Weber nearly trickled into the goal, hitting the left post before it was swept out of danger by a diving Koivu. Minnesota would earn the big penalty kill and still just trailing by one. The Wild would go back to work for the equalizer as the 2nd line had a nice shift as Havlat ripped a shot that just missed wide but they’d track down the puck and Havlat set up Brodziak for a shot from the slot and he’d knock it down where the puck sat about two feet in front of him for a few seconds before he pounced on it for a whistle. The Predators would counter attack with a hard working rush where Andreas Thurreson was forechecking well and he’d knock down Nick Schultz and then feed a pass out front for a one-timer by Franson that rocketed wide of the Wild goal. Nashville’s aggressiveness would earn them a stint in the penalty box as a race to touch the puck on an icing call, Scandella was tripped up by Smithson and he’d earn a boarding call much to the home crowd’s chagrin. The Wild’s power play had a nice first opportunity as Pierre-Marc Bouchard found a little space so he decided to take his chances and he uncorked a slapper that didn’t miss by much. Minnesota’s power play kept working, as Havlat threaded a pass near the crease that was just whiffed on by Patrick O’Sullivan and the Wild would again come up empty on the man advantage. The Wild kept pressuring and Koivu made a nice play to feed it to Miettinen for a one timer that was stonewalled by the leg pad of Rinne. With the Predators sitting back and defending it invited the Wild to crash the crease and little play where Brodziak had two backhand chances that couldn’t get behind Rinne would draw a penalty anyways as Franson knocked the net off its moorings rather conveniently off its moorings for a delay of game penalty. Minnesota’s power play was fairly static as they tried to fire a few shots with the benefits of screens but the big bodied goalie was able to make the stops. When the Wild did manage to get the shot on goal, with people near the crease he was absorbing the puck and leaving nothing for Minnesota to pounce on. Another power play would evaporate with nothing on the scoreboard to show for it. The Wild did not seem to have much jump in its skates at the end of the period as Nashville was content to play keep away and chip pucks along the boards and move the puck back towards the Minnesota end of the ice. Minnesota had to feel a bit deflated after a frustrating period where they had the opportunities but nothing to show for it, still trailing 2-1.
In the 3rd period the wheels just fell off. Minnesota did not have the jump necessary to stay with the Predators who denied time and space with ease while the Wild labored to find any room at all. Nashville was standing up Wild forwards left and right and Minnesota just couldn’t both get people to crash the net plus create rebounds. When Rinne did give up a rebound no Wild player was within 10 feet of the goal. Theodore would give up two goals to Nick Spaling, one on a deflection and the other on a stuff in goal where the officials waited an eternity until the puck squeezed its way over the goal line and Theodore clearly was frustrated and he’d be pulled. The Wild saved him any further embarrassment and gave Anton Khudobin some time to get his feet wet in the blue paint of NHL ice. Khudobin was jittery, giving up a long range shot by Marcel Goc. The Predators began to press for some ego boosting goals while the Wild were defeated and deflated just floating around the ice as they were decisively routed 5-1.
The Wild just didn’t seem to have enough jump tonight. Martin Havlat especially, looked tired and a bit uninspired all game long. Mikko Koivu was the only Wild player that seemed to really have the initiative and hustle in his skates all night. Even Cal Clutterbuck was hardly noticeable. It wasn’t their worst effort, but Nashville controlled this game from start to finish. They were able to skate with the Wild whenever they were in the offensive the zone and the result was very few quality shots on goal. Perhaps its a psychological feeling they get when they face Pekka Rinne who has had their number the last few games but now the Wild have dropped two games straight and missed another opportunity to advance in the standings. Tonight, team owner Craig Leipold made the trip down to Nashville where you could see him being greeted by fans and others who he probably knew from his time as owning the Predators. I wonder if that question crossed his mind about wondering what it’d be like to own the Predators now crossed his mind. At the very least, I doubt he liked how the Wild played last night.
Wild Notes:
~ Wild roster tonight was as follows: Mikko Koivu, Andrew Brunette, John Madden, Kyle Brodziak, Patrick O’Sullivan, Chuck Kobasew, Antti Miettinen, Martin Havlat, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Cal Clutterbuck, Eric Nystrom, Marco Scandella, Greg Zanon, Clayton Stoner, Cam Barker, Nick Schultz and Brent Burns. Anton Khudobin shared duties between the pipes with Jose Theodore. Brad Staubitz was the lone healthy scratch. Marek Zidlicky is out of the lineup with a shoulder injury, while Guillaume Latendresse continues to rehab from November surgery.
~ The 3 Stars of the Game were: 1st Star Nick Spaling, 2nd Star Joel Ward, 3rd Star Pekka Rinne
~ The State of Hockey News would like to congratulate Wild defenseman Brent Burns on being selected to the 2011 All Star Game in Raliegh, North Carolina. We will find out Friday whose team he’s selected to play on as the league is having a two player captains select who is on their team.
~ Attendance tonight at Bridgestone Arena was 15,311.
High School Hockey Report:
The NHL Central Scouting Bureau has released its Mid-Term rankings and no big surprise but a number of Minnesota High Schoolers have found their way onto the list. Without question, the rest of this High School season as well as their performances on the High School Elite teams will no doubt move kids up and down by the time the Final Rankings are released late in the spring. Here are the respective North American rankings where they stand and the High School they represent.
#30 – LW – Mario Lucia ~ Wayzata Trojans
#60 – C – Joe Labate ~ Academy of the Holy Angels Stars
#65 – D – Mike Reilly ~ Shattuck-St. Mary’s
#81 – D – Max Everson ~ Edina Hornets
#132 – C – Steven Fogarty ~ Edina Hornets
#160 – C – Tony Carmeranesi ~ Wayzata Trojans
#162 – C/W – Tanner Sorenson ~ Shattuck-St. Mary’s
#176 – C – Kyle Rau ~ Eden Prairie Eagles
#179 – D – Neal Goff ~ Stillwater Ponies
#13G – Peter Traber ~ Shattuck-St. Mary’s
#25G – Alex Lyon ~ Lake of the Woods Bears
Hill-Murray Pioneers (Classic Suburban) ~ 8-3-1 record
Most recent game: Hill Murray 4, South St. Paul 2
The Hill-Murray Pioneers are always amongst the top teams in the state and more often than not finds itself in the State Tournament because they have the ability to win big games. Head Coach Bill Lechner is among the state’s best coaches and his squad stumbled out of the gate but had a strong showing over the holidays where they beat arch-rival White Bear Lake, crushed class 1A power Breck and battled well against Edina and Eden Prairie. It is this tough schedule that makes the Pioneers so ready to do a lot of damage in the section playoffs and state tournament. However there is one game that it probably has on its mind, its February 12th outdoor showdown up in Moorhead against the hometown Spuds as part of Hockey Day in Minnesota. Senior forward Ben Bahe (12 goals, 20 points) leads the team offensively, which has a scoring by committee approach very similar to that of the Minnesota Wild. The real ace for the Pioneers is between the pipes in senior goalie Tim Shaughnessy who some Wild fans may remember shined at the team’s skills competition last year including denying Mikko Koivu in their shootout challenge and so far he’s been very good with a 7-3-1 record, a stellar 1.84 goals against average and .908% save percentage.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
