Let's Put It All On the Table

My twitter feed from the last week reads like this:  Fire Yeo. Fire Fletcher. Get Rid of Backstrom. Get Rid of Kuemper. Where's Harding? Vanek Sucks. Suter is minus 19 and Parise's Dad.

There, every topic on the Minnesota Wild has been covered.

The bottom line however is that none of these are going to fix the Wild this season. At least not just one of these is the problem. 

It's gonna take more than a miracle to right this ship right now. 

Sure the Wild could go on a hot streak, finish in the playoff hunt and even still make a deep, competitive run. But it's not likely going to happen, not at this rate. 

However let's dig a little deeper into the team's woes.

Goaltending: Any playoff contender needs good goal tending, and early in the season the Wild had it. Darcy Kuemper looked like a stud, coming out hot to begin the 2014-2015 Season. With Niklas Backstrom looking like a capable back up it seemed that the goalie woes of last season were gone. Consider that Ilya Bryzgalov was also in the mix through training camp for a position, it seemed that they might be in the clear. But of course, the Wild have somehow found a way to screw up such a great situation. 

Oh, and by the way, Josh Harding is still with the Wild... the Iowa Wild development team that is. While he is one hell of a story, he will likely continue to be a non-factor the remainder of the season.

Backstrom

Coaching/ front office management: Mike Yeo needs to go. Everyone in their right mind is saying it. I like the guy, he's a good coach, he's a good person and he's respectable. But bottom line is he isn't winning hockey games. That's what he's paid to do. It doesn't help his cause when he continually gives the generic "We gotta keep working" and "We know we are better than this" responses. We know it too Mike. If you can't get the players inspired then your time is over. 

As far as Chuck Fletcher goes (Wild General Manager), I wish he would just go ahead and do it. Get rid of Yeo, It's nothing personal, just business, end of story. However, I like Fletcher over all. He's done more good than bad here in MN and he deserves to stay.  It won't be surprising if Fletcher makes a move for a goaltender at the trade deadline or sooner. He may also look to get an additional defense men.

It's Suter and Vanek's Fault: I'm not going to get too deep in to the Vanek and Suter stuff. Vanek has played better lately while everyone else seems to struggle. Suter is minus 19 because he continues to be on the ice more than anyone in the league. Part of that is coaching staff leaning on him too much, part of it is he generally is just that good. 

 My sincere condolences to the Parise family as well. JP was a great hockey player and great individual. Any time a player and organization loses one of their family members, it is tough. Kudos to Zach for his continued play, I know it's not easy for him. Especially with a team struggling like it is.