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Wednesday, November 8, 2000
Despite excitement, expansion is tough
By George Johnson
Special to ESPN.com
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Up Front with the Wild
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Team page | Roster
Minnesota Wild message board
ESPN.COM PROJECTIONS
MVP: Jamie McLennan
Most Improved: Stacy Roest
Biggest disappointment: Sergei Krivokrasov
Better or worse: Worse before better.
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The inimitable Tommy McVie, coach of the Washington Capitals their first season in the NHL, once remarked:
"War is hell. Expansion is worse."
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Wed., Sept. 27
The Wild's management group is a bunch of winners. Coach Jacques Lemaire and GM Doug Risebrough are old buddies who are on the same page. They are not there just there to be an expansion team; they are there to win. That kind of leadership from the top will be a great example for the players.
Minnesota's forwards are pretty good. Sergei Krivokrasov will be able to use his experience with the Predators in their expansion year to help the Wild. They'll also look to Scott Pellerin, who brings a wealth of experience and a lot of regular-season wins in St Louis. Jeff Nielsen is another very quick guy up front.
The Wild have done a great job of selling season tickets, luxury suites, and the corporate community has totally bought into the franchise. Minnesota is not just another expansion city; the people there know what hockey is all about. They've had successful NHL hockey before, and their demands will be higher than what Columbus can expect. When the demands are higher, then you're going to have to be better. |
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By mid-April, coach Jacques Lemaire and general manager Doug Risebrough will know exactly the agony Foghorn Tom was speaking of all those years ago. Being the usual expansion amalgamation of cast-offs, rejects and maybe-down-the-roads, this should be a team more than willing to listen to what Lemaire has to say.
The Wild certainly aren't going to drive Minnesotans dizzy with delight at their razzle-dazzle passing. They won't be scoring many goals, or holding teams to under 30 shots many nights, or winning many games – 15 to 18 would be a successful first season.
But in ponying up for 15,000 season tickets, the fans in the Twin Cities have shown they missed the NHL product since Norm Green up and moved the Stars to Texas seven seasons ago.
Here's hoping they're a patient lot.
As with most expansion teams, the opening-night roster is just a project in the making. There will be many, many, many changes over the next year or so as Risebrough and Lemaire tinker with the lineup in order to find the right chemistry. As is, their entire roster of forwards scored a total of 60 NHL goals last season. Blessedly, no one in the Wild front office is talking lunacy about perhaps making a playoff run or anything of that sort. The newness of the situation for the players and the euphoria of either just being in the NHL or having been given a larger role than ever before is an advantage Minnesota will enjoy in its first season.
This will be a team out to put in as close to a maximum effort as possible most nights and to show a degree of improvement from the season opener to game No. 82.
What they do possess – a commodity absolutely essential for a team of this sort – is good young goaltending. Both Jamie McLennan (9-5-2, 1.96 GAA and .903 save percentage in St. Louis) and Manny Fernandez (11-8-3, 2.13 GAA, .920 save percentage in Dallas) played for superb defensive teams last season and now get to strike out on their own. Good luck, guys. This will be trial by fire, for sure.
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Bottom Line on the Wild
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Strengths
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Weaknesses
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Goaltending
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Everywhere else
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Coaching
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SEASON OUTLOOK: Grim. Their leading NHL goal scorer of last season is the enigmatic Sergei Krivokrasov, who hit for 10 splitting time with Nashville and Calgary. Curtis Leschyshyn and the massive Sean O'Donnell are the only two defenseman on the roster with any real big-league experience. So, the game plan looks to be – McLennan or Fernandez and pray. |
George Johnson covers the NHL for the Calgary Herald. His NHL National column appears every week during the season on ESPN.com.
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ALSO SEE
Vancouver Canucks preview
Edmonton Oilers preview
Calgary Flames preview
Colorado Avalanche preview
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