The Wild Roster and the 2012 NHL Entry Draft

This year, the Wild are pretty set for the #7 NHL Entry Draft pick. They didn't get quite bad enough to vie for a number one pick, but top five still means we're at the bottom of the league. But about to pick up some fresh talent, so maybe we're not in such a bad place. Hopefully.

What the Wild roster really needs is a super scorer - similar to the year that they picked up Marian Gaborik. In order to do this, they really need to get that number one pick - something that could be very costly to nab in the end. The last time that a number one pick was traded to another team was in 2003 when the Florida Panthers traded both the #1 and #73 picks to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for the #3 and #55 picks AND a strong player from their roster, Mikael Samuelsson. For the Wild to get the Oilers to consider trading away their number one pick, they would have to get rid of multiple picks of their own AND a strong player from the roster. I'm just not so sure that that is something the management is willing to do.

I guess only time will tell - we'll have to wait and see what happens over the coming weeks...

Three Players on the Wild Roster to Have Surgery

Interesting news in the now off-season for our Minnesota Wild roster: three of our team members are scheduled to have surgery this summer. Niklas Backstrom will be having ankle surgery. Devin Setoguchi will also be having ankle surgery. And Dany Heatley will be having knee surgery. Hopefully these guys are planning for early summer surgeries so that they have all of the off-season to recover and are ready to hit the ice in September!

Minnesota Wild News...

I really don't have a lot to report on in Minnesota Wild news this week...

Let me tell you what I DO know.

1. They lost their last game of the season to the Phoenix Coyotes. Meh.

2. They DO have the seventh draft pick in the NHL Entry Draft this year, which means that we do have a chance at rebuilding a little bit early this summer.

3. The Wild roster needs to be changed up. They need to trade Heatley. He's not doing what he should be doing for this team.

4. We need a REAL game changing scorer to add to the Minnesota Wild Roster before the UFA Deadline in July. Then I will be WAY more comfortable with our prospects for next season.

That's all. Happy rainy Friday!

LAST Game on the Wild Schedule This Season

Ahhh yes. Sadly, we have the last game on the Wild schedule for the season - THIS Saturday! While it is a little bittersweet, I do have to say that I'm ready to get out and enjoy some nice sunshiney weather. And the last game of the season is always a blast! There are some great priced Wild tickets out there for Saturday night's game, which means you have room left in your budget for a babysitter for the kids. Or you could always bring the kiddos to the game, too! And if you're a super hockey fan, you definitely don't want to miss out on this game - otherwise you're going to be left waiting until OCTOBER to check out another professional hockey game this year. Well, that is, unless you nab some NHL Playoff tickets or something. Anyway, cheers to another season AND to summertime weather!