As the NHL training camps begin, and arenas begin to brace themselves for something most of them haven’t had in the last two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic, fans filling the stands.\u00a0 In Minnesota, where state-mandated protocols limited the team to just 3,000 fans were allowed to attend games last spring most people had no choice but to watch games from home.\u00a0 Even as the pandemic seems to be providing a bit of gloom going into the start of a new season I think fans all across North America are crossing their fingers, toes, etc that things will return to normal or at least as much as it can be.<\/p>\n
Whether that is providing proof of vaccination and \/ or wearing masks has yet to be determined, but I think we’re all more hopeful of the opportunity to simply attend a game.\u00a0 \u00a0As fans start looking towards West 7th street in St. Paul I decided it would be good to see what those fans are thinking going into what should be an ‘interesting’ \/ ‘different’ (using Minnesotan parlance<\/a>) year.\u00a0 So I decided to give them the mic \/ keyboard to give their 2 cents on how they perceive this Wild organization to be.<\/p>\n I sent 6 Wild fans and one non-Wild fan six questions about the team.\u00a0 The responses they share are unedited (except for grammar).\u00a0 And the seven-person panel will not have seen the responses of others until they see this finished article for themselves.\u00a0 Yet this year I decided to do something a little different.\u00a0 I realize that not everyone has the want or feels comfortable pouring out their thoughts and opinions so for the first time since I started doing this series about 10 years ago.\u00a0 I also conducted Twitter<\/em> polls that relate to these questions and so we can see the thoughts of even more fans.\u00a0 I should note, I ran these polls before<\/em><\/span> I submitted the questions to the panel. Did their views match that of the panel or were they different?\u00a0 I will embed these polls after<\/em><\/span> the panel members’ collective responses.<\/p>\n Because these articles tend to be rather lengthy, we will break it up into 3 parts, with each article addressing two questions. (once I publish the other parts of this series I will link them to this article)<\/p>\n Wild Fans Speak: 2021-22 Edition: Part 2<\/a><\/p>\n Wild Fans Speak: 2021-22 Edition: Part 3<\/a><\/p>\n So who is on this panel?\u00a0 I asked each of them to provide a short description of who they are, and if they have other work or interests they wish to promote they can share that as well.<\/p>\n Most of all I wish to thank all of them for their time and participation in this article series.\u00a0 Honestly, its an article I look forward to writing each year as I like the different perspectives each of them share.\u00a0 If they are on Twitter<\/em> I will include that as well in case you wish to give them a follow.<\/p>\n Ricky (@Van_city_Nucks)<\/span><\/strong> ~ Hi I\u2019m Ricky Sangha, a born and bred Vancouverite who is a passionate Canucks fan and lover of the game of hockey.\u00a0 I have owned Canucks season tickets for the last 5 years and I look forward to every trip I can make to the rink.<\/p>\n Aaron (@AngryFinn)<\/span><\/strong> ~ I am the\u00a0former host of\u00a0@3InTheBox<\/a>\u00a0and the man behind\u00a0ZMODEM<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Gabber Nullification Project<\/a>.<\/p>\n Justin (@deast2004)<\/span><\/strong> ~ My name is Justin Bakke and I am an avid hockey fan at all levels of the game.\u00a0 I grew up in Duluth watching Duluth East and the UMD Bulldogs play.\u00a0 I spent quite a few nights at the DECC watching UMD in the pre-championship years and love what the program has become.\u00a0 Also, don\u2019t mention the 1996 State Tournament to me, it still stings.\u00a0 I grew up playing hockey which included playing in the Lester Park Jodi (@jodi_halvy)<\/span><\/strong> ~ My name is Jodi, I have been a Minnesota Wild season ticket holder for the last 16 years with my dad.\u00a0 We share a passion for hockey, and even through the ups and downs of cheering for a franchise that tends to disappoint, we are still huge Wild fans!\u00a0 We both fall in to the trap of consistently being overly optimistic about this team and then watching them unravel at different points throughout the season, we will continue to show up for the State of Hockey though!<\/p>\n Johan (@mnjohan)<\/span><\/strong> ~ a native of Sweden but a full time Minnesotan since I went to college at St. Cloud State and graduated in the mid 90\u2019s.\u00a0 I\u2019m a Wild season ticket holder since the beginning.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been involved with hockey basically since I could walk\/skate both as a player, youth coach and even dabbled in the equipment area for a bit.\u00a0 My active playing career ended when I was cut as a walk on at St. Cloud my freshman year.\u00a0 I continued to play in bar leagues both in St. Cloud and later in the Twin Cities area. \u00a0I\u2019ve been blessed with many friends that have made hockey their career which have given me an opportunity to peak under the hood so to say of this great game.\u00a0 When it comes to the Wild I\u2019m mostly an optimist but try to stay as level headed as possible.<\/p>\n Joey (@BravetheWild)<\/span><\/strong> ~ I\u2019m 42 years old, and have been a full time hockey fan since the 1990-1991 season, particularly the North Stars magical run to the Stanley Cup Finals.\u00a0 Like most of us, I was devastated to see my favorite team in the world move away, and was equally frustrated by being teased with the possibilities that didn\u2019t work out with the Oilers, Jets, and Whalers. June 1997 will always have a special place in my heart, as the original birth of the Minnesota Wild.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always seen myself as a radio host and a writer, and I eventually got the Brave The Wild<\/a>\u00a0Podcast started in August 2008, and have been doing it ever since.\u00a0 I became a late bloomer when it comes to hockey writing when I joined\u00a0Gone Puck Wild<\/a>\u00a0just this past fall, not sure what I was waiting for, but better late than never.\u00a0 I also proudly write for\u00a0mnwprospects<\/a>, covering the QMJHL and BCHL, keeping up with Wild prospects in those respective leagues.<\/p>\n Brian<\/span><\/strong> ~ I\u2019m Brian Felska and have been a long time hockey fan at all levels.\u00a0 Growing up in out state Minnesota in the 50\u2019s and 60\u2019s where it was tough to participate in hockey as a school sport.\u00a0 The only school teams were in the metropolitan area or in northern Minnesota.\u00a0 We did spend a lot of time at the rink skating, shooting, and playing pickup games.\u00a0 We had very little formal coaching but did have rec. teams from junior high on.\u00a0 Seasonal high school sports took the spotlight but I did manage to play some hockey in my senior high years.\u00a0 When I was in college the St. Cloud State program was in its infancy just switching from club to a varsity sport.\u00a0 Even then the players shoveled their own rinks.\u00a0 I was lucky enough to coach some peewee teams before starting a family.\u00a0 I have always enjoyed the speed and physically of sports so hockey was I game I loved.<\/p>\n 1.\u00a0 The Minnesota Wild shocked the league by buying out the contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.\u00a0 Now the team will be facing significant dead money under the salary cap for the next 4 seasons after this one because of that choice.\u00a0 Do you think Wild General Manager Bill Guerin made the right move or should he have handled it differently?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Ricky<\/span><\/strong> ~ The writing was on the wall with the Parise and Suter buyouts, back when they signed those massive 13 year deals with Minnesota in July 2012, the Wild had visions of being cup contenders, it never really panned out despite both players having positive impacts on the team.\u00a0 As a Canucks fan, I know how it feels having long cap heavy contracts on the team with the players not really contributing and at the end of their careers (looking at you Loui Eriksson).\u00a0 Minnesota is now looking to the future and the youth, with Calder Trophy winner Kirill Kaprizov in talks with the Wild on a new contract, which I think will eventually get done.\u00a0 Out with the old, in with the new, job well done Bill Guerin.<\/p>\n Aaron<\/strong><\/span> ~ The Parise move was a no-brainer.\u00a0 \u00a0If you’re scratching the guy, you don’t need to take up roster space with him.\u00a0 The Suter one is a little more of a curiosity.\u00a0 He was still productive and a capable defender. He was in no way at risk of being scratched.\u00a0 Was he overpaid at this point? Of course, but you’re going to have to pay him, so why not keep him… Unless he’s a cancer or a prima donna or just a common-place malingerer.\u00a0 It’s obvious he wasn’t playing 30 minutes a game anymore, and maybe that was enough to poison the well?\u00a0\u00a0At the end of the day, it makes sense to move on.\u00a0 They came in together, and they left together. A fitting eulogy.<\/p>\n Justin<\/strong><\/span> ~ I think now was the time to buy out the likes of Suter and Parise.\u00a0 I feel they changed the face of the franchise, and I thank them for that, but Guerin is trying to seemingly get younger and faster.\u00a0 They no longer fit that bill. They\u2019re both good players still, but don\u2019t fit the mold of what we are doing.\u00a0 Doing it now bought us cap space this season.\u00a0 Years 2-4 will be tough regarding the cap, but that\u2019s where entry level contracts and short term deals will come into play until we get through the tough years of the buy outs.\u00a0 We have players like Boldy, Rossi, Addison, Beckman, and others that could effectively fill holes. Another positive is we now avoid cap recapture if we were ever put in that predicament.\u00a0 I think the writing was on the wall with Parise, Suter was a big surprise, but I am ok with Guerin doing it when he did.<\/span><\/p>\n Jodi<\/strong><\/span> ~ I was not shocked at all with the buyout of Zach Parise.\u00a0 It looks as though he has lost a step, and the place where he is best suited at this point in his career, the power play, doesn\u2019t have room for him.\u00a0 I was however, very shocked at first with the buyout of Ryan Suter.\u00a0 But after listening to podcasts and reading articles, I actually completely understand why they did what they did.\u00a0 The risk of either of them getting injured or retiring early was greater than the cap penalty, and I agree with the decision.\u00a0 I was one of the many who were ecstatic when they signed these two in 2011, and no one can dismiss the fact that they made this organization relevant again, but I think it was time to move on from both of them.\u00a0 No one can speculate what happens inside of a locker room when you are just a fan, but it seems like a change was necessary.\u00a0 If the organization drafts and scouts well, they should be able to bridge the salary cap gap for the next 4 seasons.<\/span><\/p>\n Johan<\/span><\/strong> ~ I do think Bill Guerin made the right move, but I was probably as shocked as any by the inclusion of Suter in this buy out.\u00a0 I feel Suter\u2019s game as slipped a bit the last few seasons but he was very productive in the playoffs against Vegas.\u00a0 The main reason for this move must have been the uncertainty of the recapture penalty.\u00a0 Yes, the buy-out will hurt but not as much as a $20 million fine.<\/p>\n Joey<\/strong><\/span> ~ I agree with what Bill Guerin did, mostly because the Wild needed a change in culture, because as the GM said on Straight From The Source<\/em>: “There’s something rooted here that’s not working, it’s something Brian<\/strong><\/span> ~ I was shocked by the buyout but only because it was the full amount of their contracts and because they bought out both players.\u00a0 I can understand Parise being bought out.\u00a0 He has slowed down considerably in the last two years and he doesn\u2019t have the net presence he once had.\u00a0 He was also part of the duo that once caused internal problems by having the ear of management.\u00a0 However, I think Guerin was a little quick on the trigger with Ryan Suter. He is still an above average defensemen who can play significant minutes for a price that\u2019s not out of this world.\u00a0 Also, with Parise gone, I don\u2019t think he would be in any position to influence management. With the loss of Soucy and Cole I think we have left ourselves vulnerable on defense even with the off season additions we made. We should have waited at least one more year on Suter.<\/p>\n #mnwild<\/a> Did the Minnesota Wild make the right move in buying out both Zach Parise and Ryan Suter? Please vote and RT @thoen88<\/a> @BraveTheWild<\/a> @wildbrazuca<\/a> @TheSotaPod<\/a> @mnjohan<\/a> @AngryFinn<\/a> @jodi_halvy<\/a> @HockeyMom_Jody<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Derek Felska (@CreaseAndAssist) August 19, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nand Duluth East system through Bantams.\u00a0 I was a North Stars fan before their departure when I was seven years old.\u00a0 I still have pictures of me wearing my Dad\u2019s North Stars jersey as a kid.\u00a0 I became an
\nAvalanche fan because of Joe Sakic, but quickly switched my allegiance back to Minnesota when the Wild arrived in 2000. With this, I help run a few social media accounts.\u00a0 This includes the Kaprizov Kountdown, UMD Bulldogs Pipeline, co-admin of Wild Prospects & Young Players, and co-host the Sound the Foghorn<\/em> podcast<\/a>. The Kountdown page ended up being followed by Kirill Kaprizov himself, and was featured in a Michael Russo<\/strong> article<\/a>.\u00a0 Now I have a family that includes a wife and three kids. The
\nbeginning stages of teaching my kids to skate have begun, as I look to pass on the passion and Minnesota tradition on to them, and hopefully instill the love of hockey.<\/p>\n
\nin the culture and we need to change it.”\u00a0 When I heard that, my eyes lit up, because it’s nice to hear the truth straight out, rather than just status quo for what has felt like forever.\u00a0 The cap situation is something unavoidable, regardless if they are here or not.\u00a0 Suter is a loss as a player, but what some of us has been hearing, he’s a big part of the culture that needed to change, along with Parise who clearly was not going to be much of a part of things for much longer.\u00a0 Their style of leadership was questionable at best, and some may believe it was hurting the team more than helping.\u00a0 Of course, the formerly called “young guys” lack of true development contributed as well.<\/p>\n\n