Andrew Brunette

Doug Risebrough is enjoying himself on the beach today, drinking a margarita, while singing this, with a huge grin on his face! Have a listen here! It is now “official”. The Wild have been eliminated of any playoff hopes. Not like the past month has not been “fair warning” enough. It is still a tough day when it becomes a realization. It takes even longer to sink is. 3 more games is what we have left, 3! Then what do we do for 7 months? Fortunate for me I still have The Philadelphia Flyers in there. As a fan equally [...]

Last night the Minnesota Wild lost to the Vancouver Canucks 4-1. Watching the game was one of the most frustrating experiences I’ve had as a fan, not because the Wild played poorly, but because they seemed to be doing everything right. Going into the 2nd break one of the announcers said “The Wild need to turn it on” and my thought was what more COULD they do to turn it on. They were forechecking like mad men, Mikko was possessed, again, and they were creating chances. But the combination of the Canucks defense and some bad puck luck meant the [...]

Some Random thoughts on the Minnesota Wild and the NHL in general: -After a 4 game win streak, the Wild lost 3 straight. They have now come back to win the last two behind the goaltending of Anton Khudobin. One has to wonder how many of those 3 losses would have been wins if Theodore had not been playing hurt or if the coaches had shown more confidence in Khudobin. -Calgary has traditionally been a rough place for the Wild to play, but the last two seasons that has changed. A big reason for that change has been Marty Havlat. [...]

The Minnesota Wild, like all other teams, have to analyze how every move will impact them not only this season, but in the coming seasons. Today Brian Rolston was placed on waivers by the New Jersey Devils and immediately fans began asking if the Minnesota Wild would claim him. The problem is he has a $5m cap hit not only for this season, but next season. Even if he were put through re-entry waivers that’s still $2.5m that would then be unavailable to spend on free agents. I like Brian Rolston and I think he could help the Wild, but [...]

Last night the Minnesota Wild ended their 5 game losing streak whilst, and at the same time, picking up a point in their 3rd consecutive game. On to my thoughts: 1. For the most part I listened to the FSN Arizona announcers for this game. Throughout the game they talked about Phoenix dominating but the Wild getting the goals. While I have a lot of respect for Dave Strader it really didn’t feel that way to me. The Wild were able to create plays and move the puck well. However they were also guilty of some bad turnovers. It was [...]

I’ve been listening to people talk about how Todd Richards needs to be fired ever since the Wild first struggled in early October of 2009. It’s been pitched by everyone from casual observers to total puckheads. While one can certainly make the case that Richards’ tenure has not (yet) been very successful, I’m here to tell you that there might also be some compelling reasons to keep him. No, I haven’t been drinking, and I don’t do drugs. No, I don’t know Todd Richards personally. And NO, Todd Richards isn’t paying me to write this. It will sound completely insane [...]

The future’s in the air I can feel it everywhere Blowing with the wind of change -Scorpions Michael Russo of the Star Tribune reveals today what many of us suspected was coming for the Minnesota Wild. Owner Craig Leipold is unhappy, GM Chuck Fletcher is unhappy, and if things don’t change the team will. “This group needs to execute better and perform better,” Fletcher continued. “If they can do it, nothing needs to be done. If they don’t do it — I’m not sabre-rattling here — we’re into December, we have to look, ‘Do we have the right personnel?’ We [...]

Last night the Minnesota Wild took a 7-4 drubbing at the hands of the division rival Colorado Avalanche. After starting the game great and going into the 1st break with a 2-1 lead, they once again didn’t show up for the 2nd period. The Wild’s 2nd period woes are well documented, but what really got to me was was the actions, or more accurately, the inaction of Head Coach Todd Richards to his team suddenly being down 5-2 and later 7-3. It is easy to sit at a computer desk and criticize the decisions of a coach whether it be [...]