Central Division Talk

[ToddM]

[Troy McClure]

That's not so different from the run the Stars had from 2006 to 2014 going into and coming out of the near-bankruptcy era. Unlike the Blackhawks today, the Stars then were able to improve despite a near decade run of *poo poo* drafting because they had miles of cap space to use to pull off lopsided trades. Unlike the Stars then, the Blackhawks had an empty cupboard because they were trading picks and drafting really low as part of a run where they won three Cups.

[ScubaSteve]

Yeah, our cupboards are both equally bare, except their bellies are full with three Stanley Cups.

[ToddM]

I think probably most Cup-winning teams get into this post-championship funk, where they draft like *poo poo* and trade 1sts at the deadline to recapture their lost glory. For example, over that same time period of 2011-16, here are the Kings' 1st round drafts:

2011: None
2012: Tanner Pearson (traded)
2013: None
2014: THE Adrian Kempe
2015: None
2016: None

or Pittsburgh:

2011: Joe Morrow (traded)
2012: Derrick Poulliot (traded) and Olli Maata
2013: None
2014: Kasperi Kapanen (traded)
2015: None
2016: None

Ironically, now that all three of these teams are now bottom-three lottery teams, one of them will probably get to draft Jack *fargin'* Hughes.

[cdanew]

Wasn't it Mark Cuban who said the worst position to be in as a sports franchise is in the middle?

[ToddM]

[#JTONTFJTGM]

[slaps]

His implant burst?

[cdanew]

Guess I'll put this here since it deals with Minnesota. If you have a subscription to The Athletic, this is a very entertaining story of the day in 2009 when the Wild's equipment truck caught on fire. I had no recollection of this.

https://theathletic.com/749138/2019/01/04/wild-equipment-truck-fire-oral-history-ottawa-senators-tony-dacosta-niklas-backstrom/

Being back in Ottawa always brings back bad memories for DaCosta of nine years ago when the Wild’s equipment caught fire in the back of the Ottawa Senators’ equipment truck during the short drive between the Kanata Recreation Complex and what was then called Scotiabank Place.

It created a frantic 17 hours for the Wild, their trainers and their players, many of whom lost most or all of their equipment.

Martin Havlat, Andrew Ebbett, Cal Clutterbuck, Antti Miettinen, John Scott and Nick Schultz lost everything.

Shane Hnidy lost everything … except two left skates. Mikko Koivu lost everything but his skates. James Sheppard lost everything but his mouthguard. Both goalies, Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding, had much of their gear destroyed.

Every stick was destroyed. All the pants. Medical supplies burned to a crisp. Sets of laundry disintegrated. Players lost personalized sets of protective equipment, like shot blockers and custom knee and foot braces.

[SaintAngerBH]

Did Antti Miettinen ever take on that expanded offensive role?

[ToddM]

Did Antti Miettinen ever take on that expanded offensive role?

Only in that one game where he eliminated us from the playoffs.

[SaintAngerBH]

Did Antti Miettinen ever take on that expanded offensive role?

Only in that one game where he eliminated us from the playoffs.

[ToddM]

That goal still is probably the worst feeling I ever got as a Stars fan. Even worse than the Arnott GWG. Miettinen was like our Fredo.

[ToddM]

For all the *poo poo* we give the Stars (rightfully), the other contenders for the wild card in the Central are somehow even more fucked up. The Avs have won 6 of their last 22, and the Wild's GM said that the team is on "red alert" after the nonsensical Nido trade, and they went out and lethargically limped to a 0-3 loss.

Also, they did this:

[cdanew]

Missed this yesterday - In addition to previously losing Dumba, Koivu is now out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL:

[slaps]

Sucks for him, but good for us in keeping the lead on Minnesota for 3rd in the Central.

[The Frugal Gourmet]

We need some kind of marquee injury to keep pace with Minnesota.

[B Kat]

Mike Modano has been hanging around the Minnesota Wild GM according to Russo, their Athletic writer.

https://theathletic.com/823289/2019/02/ ... on-zucker/

[Troy McClure]

I'm not sure why any team would hire him for anything other than an entry-level job. It's not like he has done anything hockey related in the decade since he retired. I know the Stars were paying him to be Mike Modano for a while, but they cut off that gravy train when he moved to Arizona, which pissed him off. It also wasn't even a job related to scouting, development, or coaching. He was being paid to show up at the occasional fan gathering.

[SaintAngerBH]

Plus, he isn't the sharpest tack in the box.

I've really soured on that guy since about 2005 or so. Used to idolize him growing up. Now, I just think he's a tool who was above average at hockey when he actually tried.

[One_Timer]

He’s been working at this. Most of his recent tweets are pro-Wild. Having heard him speak, he’d be great for a division rival.

[Jason]

[Jason]

[slaps]

That's it?

[SaintAngerBH]

Wow. Ted Donato is kinda old now isn't he?

[Jason]

[#JTONTFJTGM]

[cdanew]

The Wild shut out the Lightning? Seriously?

[ToddM]

The Wild shut out the Lightning? Seriously?

The Avs were the only West bubble team that didn't post a shutout last night.

[cdanew]