After missing the playoffs for a third straight season, the Minnesota Wild fired coach Todd Richards this past season. While some teams may be satisfied with sell-out crowds and a team good enough to just miss the playoffs and continuously land a early-to-mid first round pick, the Wild should not be. This is the State of Hockey... the standards are higher here. Simply put, the Wild need to put a team on the ice that will not only put fans in the seats, but will contend for the Stanley Cup year in and year out like neighboring hockey mecca Detroit. So the question becomes, how do they get there? Despite a new front office, the Wild have shown an inability to improve themselves via the draft, and they continue to run a farm team in Houston that, while contenting for the Calder Cup, boasts few strong NHL prospects. The question is, how can they turn a roster currently full of over-paid, underachieving role players into a perennial powerhouse. The answer: blow the team up. Thats right, the Minnesota Wild need to shake the franchise from the foundation and start anew. It won't be easy, but here's where I think they need to start.
1. Bring in an experienced, well-known coach
The Wild are in the hunt for their 3rd coach in franchise history. After Jacques Lemaire left his familiar post behind the bench in Xcel, the Wild turned to a fresh face in Todd Richards. Despite no head coaching experience in the NHL level, GM Chuck Fletcher believed the offensive minded Richards would be a perfect fit for a young team trying to develop a new persona. Unfortunately, the players never seemed to respond to Richards' style, and the team fell from Division Champions, to Western Conference cellar dwellers in a matter of 3 seasons. This time they need to do the exact opposite.
What the Wild need more than anything is an experienced, disciplined coach that knows how to develop a young team into a championship contender. One of the first names that comes to mind just happens to be the early favorite for the job, Craig MacTavish. MacTavish has a long history both playing and coaching in the NHL. Before spending 8 seasons behind the Oilers bench, Mactavish was a four-time Stanley Cup Champion, and one time NHL AllStar. MacTavish has been there before, and knows what it takes from both a players and coaches perspective. After 2 years of commentating, MacTavish says he's ready to return to hockey, and it appears Minnesota could be a perfect fit.If MacTavish doesn't happen, the Wild should be fine as long as they go after a disciplined, experienced coach who people will want to play for.
If the Wild decide to go into full blown rebuilding mode, they will need to dump their highest paid players who will likely not be in their prime by the time Minnesota is ready to contend. Additionally, with the exception of goalie Nicklas Backstrom, these players will give the Wild the most in return. Havlat and Koivu, clearly Minnesota's best scoring threats, are set to make $5,000,000 and $6,750,000, respectively, in 2011. While it would be ideal to trade other assets to put players around this duo, the reality is outside of Burns, the Wild have few other options. Without more help on the offensive end, Havlat and Koivu's playmaking talents are being wasted, while taking up nearly 20% of the payroll. Most teams would simply bring in a top flight scorer via free agency, but with only a couple million of useable cap space, their options are greatly limited. While the Wild will be in the absolute cellar for a couple years, trading these stars for early round picks and young, promising talent, could give the Wild a much needed influx of youth and scoring ability. If the Wild are really crafty, they may be able to keep Havlat and/or Koivu and free up cap space by trading Bouchard's $4.8M and Burns' $3.5M salaries. Burns in particular may be able to bring in a decent return. The young, versatile winger turn defenseman scored 17 goals in 2010-11, and is probably the second best defender on the team after Nick Schultz. Burns could be the perfect fit for a team looking to add an offensive defenseman, and they may be willing to part with a top prospect in order to win now.
Bouchard may be a little more difficult, however. Although he is a solid option as a teams #2 center, he is undersized, has been plagued by injuries throughout recent years and he often becomes a non-factor come playoff time due to his lack of strength. The high intensity hits, and rough playing style of the postseason are the exact opposities of how Bouchard plays his game. Problems will arise when trying to sell a undersized center with a long injury history with a $4,080,000 contract (for 2 more years) for anything of value. Not everything is negative about Bouchard, however. He is one of the teams quickest skaters, he is a solid playmaker, and he has great stick handeling abilities, not to mention a highlight reel a mile long of breakaway goals. If the Wild are able to secure a decent pick or a similarly skilled 3rd line forward who is significantly cheaper, and a pick, they should do it. These moves will only further their ability to sign top tier free agents or make significant trades down the road.
3. Bring in a legitimate scorer, and decent defender, via free agency or trade.
If the best case scenario happens, and The Wild can move Bouchard, and Burns for a solid return, they wont be as pressed to sign only young players, and they may be able to contend sooner than you'd imagine. Some of the big name free agents that could help the Wild in next years class include: Joe Thornton, Defenseman Andrei Markov, Brooks Laich, Milan Hejduk and Kevin Bieksa. Now, remember, many of these players will end up resigning with their current team. The ones left will be up to the highest bidder. But with the newfound money, they may just be in the running this time. Surrounded with Koivu and Havlat, the Wild's offense will have improved greatly, while the defense took just a minor step back. Moreover, that defensive slip can easily be filled by our up and coming D men or a FA signing.
If the Wild decide to trade their 1-2 punch of Koivu and Havlat, things aren't quite as exciting. While they will have more money to work with, trading Minnesota's "big two" will essentially be declaring they are rebuilding everything from square one. On one hand, they will have a ton of money to hit a decent free agent class, but they will have no established stars or leaders. Some of the players the Wild got in return will likely help the squad out immediately, giving them lots of playing time and hopefully ample opportunity to maximise their potential. Any newly acquired draft picks will help the Wild replenish their AHL squad in Houston, hopefully by adding some legitimate NHL talent for down the road. The Wild could then pick up some above average free agents to fill out the roster, win a few games and probably finish towards the bottom of the West. However, with a young, potential filled roster, the outcome doesn't look quite as grim this time around. The first seasons may be rough, but if the Wild can land a couple of top 3 picks, their roster may begin to look legitimate again. Suddenly, in less than 5 years, the Wild have a roster of decent young players and hopefully a legitimate star from one of the many trades, and plenty of cap room. Well timed free agent pickups could help take the team from bottom to top in the matter of an offseason or two.
4. Don't fear the trade!
In recent history, the Wild have tended to forgo the trade deadline frenzy, and stay with their roster of mediocre role players. With a little more room under the salary cap, the Wild cant let themselves shy away from that next move that could put them over the top. Although it's way to early to speculate who or when this might be, the Wild need to be prepared and willing to part with some of their (possibly newly acquired pieces) players and picks to land a true superstar.
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