Game #81: Minnesota Wild at Calgary Flames, Thursday April 8, 2010 at 8:30pm (CDT), Pengrowth Saddledome [GAME PREVIEW]

It seems that everyone, including fans, players, coaches, and the front office are starting to reach the point of “decompression” as Wild forward Andrew Brunette calls it.  To reach that state of decompression, we all go about it in different ways.  Some might go for meditation and yoga while others head for the great outdoors doing those popular summer activities like fishing and golfing.  For Brunette, it involves solitary reflection, sitting in his basement.  I’m sure Brunette has a nice finished basement, however the picture I get in my head is him sitting on an old folding chair (like you’d find in a church basement), with a lone light bulb overhead that casts more shadows than light, and perhaps a cold beer in his hand.  During that time of self-reflection, Brunette feels he can pinpoint many of the things that have hampered the Wild this season.  While you wish more of his teammates would engage in the same kind of self-reflection, I doubt that many would get as much out of it.  In fact the only other player on the team I feel who would get as much out of some time thinking in the basement would be Owen Nolan.  Brunette feels that time is running out for him when it comes for a serious bid towards the Stanley Cup.  Considering how this (and the last) season turned out, you can’t blame him for seeming a bit frustrated, and to a degree, morose.  Word of advice however, don’t mention the words “next year” to Brunette.

Of course one of those “things” that Brunette might be thinking about is the vast amount of injuries suffered by the Wild this season.  It’s gotten to the point, where when you pick up the paper or go online, you read of yet another recalled player from Houston or our recent free-agent college signings make their NHL debut.  In a “normal” season, it would have been doubtful that Casey Wellman or Nate Prosser would have seen ice time.  There is a distinct possibility that the eighth player to make their NHL debut in a Wild jersey this season.  With the injury to Nick Schultz, Houston defenseman Maxim Noreau might see his first NHL action.  The plethora of injuries this season has raised many questions about the Wild’s trainers, doctors, and off-season conditioning and training of its players.  Head coach Todd Richards has called for stricter off-season training, because he feels they were already behind the proverbial eight ball when training camp started.  It’s hard to win, when you’re continually playing catch-up, which was the case the entire season.  One can only hope that just acknowledging the problem will get the ball rolling.

Considering how next season pans out, next year’s off-season could be very interesting.  The NHL has announced that St. Paul will hold the 2011 Entry Draft.  While I doubt that many could handle a third consecutive season out of the playoffs, a chance at a first round pick while hosting the event might (notice I said might) be bearable.  Of course we all know a first overall pick fades greatly in comparison to a Stanley Cup.  I know for myself, I’d rather watch a serious Cup run than an abysmal season where the “prize” is a highly touted draft pick.  Besides, a trifecta of championships at Xcel Energy Center would be fun to watch next year.  The months of March and April will be busy times in St. Paul, as first fans will flock to West 7th Street to watch the Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament as well as the WCHA Final Five.  In April, the NCAA Frozen Four will once again return to St. Paul.  If the University of Minnesota can find a way to once again resemble a championship team, it will make that tournament just that much sweeter.  Then if the Wild can make the playoffs as well, it will be a spring filled with nothing but playoff/championship hockey.

With the finale of the Wild’s regular season this Saturday, I know I am too ready to decompress.  It will be a summer in which I get caught up on my reading.  Of course I have housework to get caught up on as well, however that’s not as cathartic as reading.  Don’t worry, the pain of this season is almost over.  We can relax soon.