Wild Slide into Holiday Break

Since my last posting the Minnesota Wild have essentially free fallen. There, I said it. I, as a Wild fan, am not afraid to admit it. We have pretty much sucked. In the last 20 days the Wild went a mere 2-4-2 since December 4th gaining 6 point over the time frame and falling to an overall record of 16-13-3.

As any sports fan should, I have considered the last twenty days a failure. I hate to see a team I've been fortunate enough to cheer for since their founding doing so poorly. Mind you, they do have a winning record, but that's just not going to cut it. Sitting fifth in their division and fourth in the wild card race isn't how most people would have projected the Wild to be sitting around the midway point of the season.

However there are some things to consider, the Wild have pushed a couple games to overtime when they easily could have laid down and died. Look at the Nashville game, while an overtime loss only gets you one point in league standings, the fact that they fought so hard while looking so bleak gives hope.

Unfortunately hope isn't what Wild fans need right now. This team is better than that, I'm sure the players know that. The holiday break couldn't come at a better time. This team has been through just as much as any other team this year. Goaltender problems, loss of key players like Matt Cooke, and the Mumps have cost them. While the mumps has sadly been league wide, the return of Matt Cooke couldn't have come soon enough.

Cooke is probably the one puzzle piece that is most overlooked. Ignore his past, who he was a player 10 or 11 years ago isn't the same player he is now. He's cleaner than he has ever been, smart and on timely occasions he gets on the score sheet. Where Cooke gets the most flack is his history of dirty ad questionable hits. Most recently in the 2014 playoffs, where an ill timed check lead to a knee on knee collision and a few game suspension.

Rarely do I advocate for such a player with an extensive history of bad play. But take one look at Cooke's game lately and you may just consider a change of heart yourself. Forget his years in Vancouver and Pittsburgh, He's put that behind him. Ignore the Achilles play in Ottawa (if you must know look here) and ignore anything he's done before his time as a Wild player. The fact of the matter his, in the last two seasons in a Wild sweater  Cooke has been clean. Not the cleanest but definitely cleaner, and that's what counts.

Watch Cooke's play closely next time you turn on a game, you'll be surprised by how important he is to the Wild. He will be a MAJOR factor in turning this season around starting again on December 27th against the Winnipeg Jets at home. Keep your head up Wild fans, it's a long season and it isn't even close to over yet.