M.I.A.

It's been, like, forever since I've written anything.  Unlike the NHLPA is soon to be, I'm not being locked out.  All is well in the DEEICING camp of blogging, no worries on that front. 

I just have a problem with the NHL and the NHLPA and this whole CBA negotiation nonsense.  Millionaires bashing it out with Billionaires doesn't make any kind of sense in my head when there's so much economical strife in the real world.  I've always said this is a little boys' game being played by grown men getting paid for it.  I've always asked, aloud and to no one in particular, "how many millions of dollars in salary is enough?"  

That's not to say I'm blaming one side of the table over the other.  Owners are greedy bastards who perpetuate the market for overpaid players by getting around the loopholes in the existing CBA in order to get the big name players.  This allows them to charge insane prices for tickets, merchandise and concessions which we fans then willingly pay.  Players, who claim they just wanna play the sport they love, really just wanna buy another mansion on a lake in Canada, or get a bigger SUV, or put more bling on their baby mommas.  They get themselves agents who teach them the finer art of marketing themselves so that even if they are not one of the truly talented players in the league they almost always end up with a ridiculously long and lavish payout.  Hate on Bettman and/or Fehr (and I do, ever so much) all you want but they're doing what their employers are paying them to do.  Okay, Fehr is an idiot for not negotiating a contract for himself that guarantees his pay regardless of lockout/strike, but he's just as shrewd and weaselly as Bettman.  C'mon, they're lawyers, they're icky.  

Here's today's NHLPA Presser:
 

Followed by the NHL's presser:


So who do you hate more, blame more, point the finger at more when CBA time rolls around?  Who will ultimately get to say they 'won' when all is said and done? 

And what will you, the fan, be getting out of this year's 'labor' negotiations?  Will it be cup holders on your seats?  Perhaps hot water in the restrooms in the upper level?  Or how about an HD jumbotron?  Maybe even a real organ to replace the cheesy electric keyboard?

Make no mistake, when all is said and done the only thing that really changes from one contract to the next in the NHL is how much more the fans will be paying for their hockey experience.  Oh, the ticket prices may remain the same or even go down for one season in the smaller markets as a "Welcome Back" gesture but check your jersey prices and the prices of your favorite concession beverages and treats.  Or perhaps the cost will be factored in by a multiple year contract requirement on season ticket packages.  Ultimately it's the fans who pay the price of every contract negotiated in every major league sport.  And yet, we go.  We attend.  We show up as buzzing crowds, anxiously awaiting for the gates to open.  We are idiots.   

Yes, I will be one of them.  Because, as it's been so aptly marketed: This Is My Game.  I love this game.  This is the one sport I give a crap about, am passionate about.  Okay, OBSESSED and STALKERISH about.  **is that a word, stalkerish? 

All I know is that the following tweet made me tear up at the thought: 

From: robert bell‏@come2butt_head: If this place is empty all season I will die
To: @Dsetoguchi10 @Russostrib pic.twitter.com/tG3n0jw1                     

 

9:59 AM - 13 Sep 12        

 

So, millionaires vs billionaires going at it every 3-5 years is something we fans have to endure in order to watch the chosen sport we support.  Leave the battle to the lawyers and the bickering to the players and the owners.  The deal will get done eventually.  In the event of a lockout/strike there's always high school, college, AHL, ECHL...all is not lost.  And don't feel too bad for those players or owners.  They're living off of the money we've handed over for the last 7 years.  If they're too stupid to have invested that for their futures then they deserve to eat Hamburger Helper - right along with the rest of us poor slobs. 

 

What you should be feeling is sympathy for the venue and ancillary workers who are looking at being newly unemployed because millionaires and billionaires can't seem to agree on how many millions of dollars is actually enough.               

      

Is It October Yet?

Defining Moment In Wild History  
I'm still giddy.  I'm still in shock.  I'm still grinning from ear to ear.  I'm still getting teary-eyed just thinking about what signing Zach Parise and Ryan Suter means to our franchise.  I wanted to write a post almost immediately but all it would have read was WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!  And isn't that pretty much what everyone else was saying anyway?

I remember how I felt when MN learned it had been awarded a new NHL franchise.  I remember how I felt when I confirmed my season tickets three years before the team ever took to the ice.  I remember how I felt when Jacque Lemaire was announced as the head coach.  I remember how I felt when I stepped through the gates of the Xcel Energy Center for the very first Minnesota Wild game.  I remember how I felt when our new team stood on the blue line for the very first time.  I remember all these and many more defining moments in the WIld's brief history.  What Chuck Fletcher and Craig Leipold did for this team on July 4, 2012 is yet another defining moment.  It may very well go down in history as the second most defining moment for the franchise since being awarded to MN.  It is certainly what this team needed with only one true playoff run to boast about, waaay back in 2003. 

With existing season ticket holders exiting by the hundreds and new ticket sales having dried up two seasons ago, owner Craig Leipold was a desperate man.  Don't let anyone fool you into thinking he wasn't.  Craig knew he'd have to spend big and he knew he couldn't tell the remaining season ticket holders, once again, nobody wanted to come here.  Chuck Fletcher had to know his job was on the line regardless of a contract extension signed earlier this year.  He needed to present the sales pitch of his life to even put MN on the short list.  Mike Yeo had to know he wasn't too much longer in his job regardless of what young talent may be waiting to impress in this year's development camp.  You can't coach a Cup run with a bunch of kids in their late teens and early twenties supplemented by the occasional once-was-a-scoring-threat-not-so-much-any-more veterans.  You can't fire players, you can fire the head coach.       

The Wild were, and still are until the season begins, a sinking ship trying to get to port before it takes on any more water.  After three straight free agency summers of failing to entice any NHL player even remotely considered to be 'elite' or 'top 6' Leipold, Fletcher and Yeo finally caught a break.  Hell, they caught the break of the century, let's be honest.  And to give credit where it's due, you have to thank the current CBA for the cap limit and the player contract language, specifically: front-vs-back loading of money.   

Wild fans, players and management must give the biggest credit to both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise for deciding to make MN their long term home.  They could have gone anywhere, together or singly.  They could have had more money than Leipold offered.  Their decisions to play for the Wild came down to where they wanted to call HOME.  You know, the place you want to be when the ice is out and the season is over.  Home, where you want to raise a family and be a part of the community.  Parise and Suter wanted a chance to play together and to make an impact on the future of a franchise.  BOOM!!  Impact made, just by having put pen to paper and signing those matching contracts. 

I have a ton of thoughts on the Wild now that the Parise/Suter Era has begun.  I'll post them in the days to come.  Right now let's continue to bask in the sunlight and warmth of knowing we're legitimate contenders going forward.  Get ye to the Church of Yeo and pray for one thing...

IS IT OCTOBER YET?   

Free Agency Frenzy and Re-Signings

Crazy Contracts Being Handed Out
Free Agency, July 1, is still two days away but GM's across the NHL are already showing signs of being off their prozac.  Quick gets a 10 year contract?  I'm actually okay with the pricing, $58 million, but 10 years??  Does anyone outside of the Kings' management think this guy is the next Brodeur or Roy?  I think not.  And for the love of frozen vulcanized rubber discs, what are the Penguins thinking giving Sidney "Perennial-Mush-Melon" Crosby a 12 year, $104.4 million dollar deal?  Geez, I thought the Wild paying Bouchard's salary for being perennially disabled is outlandish.  Good luck with your cap space in the coming years Pens, you're gonna need it.  Oh, and just stay the hell away from Zach Parise.  The Wild need him waaaay more than you do.  


Speaking of the Wild...
With much sadness the puckbunny in me says au revoir to Guillaume Latendresse, better known as Let'sundress.  He's decided to enter the free agent market, looking to sign with a team in Canada which is home to his rock star girlfriend and 4 year old daughter.  Let us take a moment to drink him in one more time:

Nick Johnson was not offered a qualifying offer by the Wild so he'll enter the free agent market as well.  I had such high hopes for Nick but he fell short. 

Kris Fredheim was not offered a qualifying offer by the Wild. 

Much to Alex Daggett's dismay the Wild will let Mike Lundin go to free agency.  

Kurtis Foster, Jeff Taffe, Jeff Penner, Jon DiSalvatore (can go to Europe), Warren Peters, Jed Ortmeyer and Erik Christensen (KHL-bound) will all go to free agency on Sunday.   

According to Russo, "the Wild is working on an extension for Justin Falk, but it's not done yet, so he was officially given a qualifying offer to retain his rights. Chad Rau agreed to terms on a two-year deal last week. Others to have qualifying offers tendered are Chay Genoway, David McIntyre, Nick Palmieri, Jarod Palmer and Carson McMillan."  Qualifying offers mean these players are restricted free agents, not unrestricted. 

Cody Almond, who decided to sign a contract in Switzerland without so much as a howdy-doody to the Wild's management, was tendered a qualiftying offer so the Wild hangs on to his rights.  The Wild did the same thing for Dennis Endras who will play in Germany next season.

Stephane Veilleux has been signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Wild along with Chad Rau.

Matt Kassian got himself his first one-way deal.  It's a 2 year deal for $550,00 and $600,00.


Wild In The Market
The Wild's interest in signing Ryan Suter has been for naught since the Flames traded for his rights. 

The quest for Zach Parise is ongoing and as many of you know the Wild aren't the only ones on the bidding sheet.  The Devils may very well work to get him re-signed and then there's the Penguins who have to be absolutely salivating at the thought of Parise permanently attached to Crosby's hip as his number one winger.  Sally will go into overdrive to officially recruit me if that happens. 

One thought that comes to my mind with Latendresse being gone is the Wild possibly going after Dustin Penner.  A girl can dream on behalf of her team. 

My Eastern Conference Crush
Most of you know I'm a Washington Capitals fan and you probably think it's soley based on my adoration for Alexander Ovechkin.  Y'all would be wrong.  Adam Oates is the reason I'm a Caps fan.  Adam was one of my first hockey crushes, my first admission of puckbunny feelings in my tummy.  I've followed Adam's career from his rookie year in Detroit, to the Blues where he played with Brett Hull (Hull and Oates line), to the Bruins where he played with Cam Neeley and Wes Walz...hmmm, how many degrees of separation was that on Wes?  Anyway - I really connected with the Caps during the time Oates played with them and it's stuck ever since.  Back to Adam - the Blues traded him to the Caps in 1997 and he changed his number to 77 in homage to Ray Bourque, further cementing my undying respect from that point on as a true hockey fan in addition to my puckbunny love for him.  Adam went on to play a season each in Anahiem and Edmonton before retiring in 2004. 

Oates has coached with the Lightning and Devils (assistant under Lemaire).  Now he returns to the Caps as the head coach for the 2012-2013 season.  I couldn't be more excited for my Capitals this coming season.  This will be a salve for me being stuck here in the eastern conference.  Oh, and he got some other kind of small recognition this week - induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.  

Note to Vicki: Adam also played lacrosse so there's that connection with Emily ;) 

Here's one of the best NHL commercials ever:


I hear my MN family and friends are having some very Georgia-like heat and humidity in the early stages of this summer.  Can't say as I feel your pain because you know I'm soaking it up for all it's worth down here.  In addition, Georgia yellow peaches are in season and I'm eating my way through half of the state's harvest all by myself.  Very Yummy.