In two moves indicative of the compassionate side of a warrior-minded sport, the Tampa Bay Lightning drafted an injured player in the seventh round and the University of Denver honored an agreement with the same player.
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The sleeping giant appears to have awakened. The Minnesota Wild traded a third round pick to the Anaheim Ducks for defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron. The move comes after an extremely long lull in any news coming out of the Wild camp, and has sent fans into a frenzy of rumors.
As the Stanley Cup playoffs continue, the Minnesota Wild started sorting out what the team will look like next season. One player has jumped ship, another has begun to shop himself around, while the upper levels have decided to stay the course.
With a very disappointing early exit from the playoffs, the Minnesota Wild, and GM Doug Risebrough can now start making decisions. The total number of free agents comes to 22, and should be enough to keep Mr. Risebrough busy this summer.
Last night at 8PM eastern time, Versus aired the NHL Draft Lottery. For those of you who missed it, Brian Reynolds regrettably watched it for you. Here's his recap of the boring proceedings.
Despite an up and down season for the Minnesota Wild, they are Northwest Division champions, are tougher than last year, set multiple franchise records, and are set to go a long way in this season's playoffs.
The Minnesota Wild have fallen to third place in the tight Northwest division. And while most analysts still expect the Wild to make the playoffs, that desired outcome is far from a certainty.
The Minnesota Wild are still atop the Northwest Division, though their lead varies day by day, with Calgary always within a game. With close games against the cellar dwellers of the league, the Wild are certainly making the push to the second season interesting.
The Wild have given up third period leads in the past three games, and in five of their last seven, though they've pulled out wins in three of those five. A third period collapse is one thing, but against a division rival in the midst of the playoff push, it's unacceptable.
The trade rumors are flying in Saint Paul, as the Wild push towards the playoffs, and fans expect a long spring run. As with any rumor mill, it is difficult to sort fact from fiction, and everything, even Marion Gaborik, is game this time of year.
The Minnesota Wild are proving to be a tough team to predict, playing well against the elite, yet falling to the level of play that weaker opponents offer. And their volatile play is directly attributable to the performance of their blueliners.
