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This is Michael Russo's 18th year covering the National Hockey League. He's covered the Minnesota Wild for the Star Tribune since 2005 following 10 years of covering the Florida Panthers for the Sun-Sentinel. Michael uses “Russo’s Rants” to feed a wide-ranging hockey-centric discussion with readers, and can be heard weekly on KFAN (100.3 FM) radio and seen weekly on Fox Sports North.

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Posts about Wild off-season news

NHL, NHLPA still at the bargaining table; Granlund pulled from Aeros lineup

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: January 5, 2013 - 9:37 PM

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Despite tweets by a handful of former NHL players earlier today that the lockout had ended, there were still a "few significant issues that need resolution," a source close to negotiations told me an hour ago.

The good news is both the NHL (Commissioner Gary Bettman, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and a few lawyers) and the NHLPA (the Fehr Brothers, Don and Steve, lawyers and a number of players) are still trying to hammer it out.

"The parties have been meeting since approximately 12:45 pm today," Daly emailed the Star Tribune just before 7 p.m. CT. "Slow progress is being made. We hope to continue meeting to resolve as many open issues as we possibly can in pursuit of an agreement."

Update as of 10:37 PM ET: Parties are still meeting. Good dialogue and give and take, still work to be done.

I am told there is good reason for my favorite phrase, cautious optimism. I am also told that the "motivation on both sides is that we could get a couple of more games in if we finish this weekend."

But again, nothing is done until both sides say the deal is done and a new collective bargaining agreement is ratified.

Originally, the league said a deal must be done by Jan. 11 for training camp to start Jan. 12 and a 48-game season Jan. 19.

But the league and players would love to get in a 50- or 52-game schedule in at minimum. As of now, players have missed six paychecks and the league has lost, according to Bettman, $20 million a day in revenue.

As of 5 p.m. CT, the player vote concluded to give Don Fehr the authorization to file a disclaimer of interest and dissolve the union. He hasn't pulled that trigger with talks gaining traction.

More to come (and more info on the previous blog).

BREAKING #mnwild news: Mikael Granlund pulled from #Aeros lineup after warmups; Wild doesn't want to risk injury in case #nhl camp on horizon. GM Chuck Fletcher said the Wild came close to doing so last night. Granlund is slotted as the No. 2 Wild center in camp.

NHL, NHLPA back at the table with optimism in the air

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: January 5, 2013 - 2:23 PM

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The NHL and NHLPA have been brought back to the table for a critical face-to-face meeting this afternoon in New York by federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh.

Beckenbaugh has been shuttling back and forth the past two days between the NHL's offices and the NHLPA's hotel as he tries to bridge the gap. The process lasted 12 hours yesterday and began this morning until the mediator brought the two together at 1:15 ET.

This has caused an immense amount of optimism in the Twittersphere.

The New York Post's Larry Brooks just reported that he's told that the league is willing to move off its $60 million 2013-14 cap figure to somewhere in the middle of the NHLPA's $65 million desire.

There has been reports of progress with the complex pension issue. The league has previously been looking for six-year max deals (seven if you're re-signing your own player), the union wants eight. This doesn't seem too difficult to bridge.

Previously, it has been reported that they’ve both basically agreed on a 10-year CBA, the league will do the two 2013-14 per team compliance buyouts the union wants, the NHL has changed the variance from an original 5 percent wish to 30 percent, revenue sharing is agreed upon.

Looming large is that Executive Director will be able to dissolve the NHLPA by filing a disclaimer of interest as soon as 5 p.m. CT.

So while there have been early reports of traction and optimism, we've seen that before. Don't get your hopes too up until there's a deal in principle and a vote to ratify.

Is that coming? We will see.

More to come.

USA snags second world junior gold medal in four years, beats defending champion Sweden

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: January 5, 2013 - 10:02 AM

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In a remarkable turnaround after one-goal losses in the preliminary round to Canada and Russia, the United States reeled off four consecutive victories and capped it off with a 3-1 win over defending champion Sweden today to win the gold medal at the World Under-20 Championship in Ufa, Russia.

The gold is the Americans' second since 2010 and third in history.

Just a tremendous job by coach Phil Housley (South St. Paul, Stillwater High), who juggled the lineup around, found the magic formula and helped this team jell in wins over Slovakia, Czech Republic, Canada and Sweden.

"They inspired a nation today," Housley told NHL Network after the game. "We're bringing home the gold, guys!"

Housley's group continued to grow game by game.

Congrats also to Minnesotans Mike Reilly (Chanhassen, Gophers) and Mario Lucia (Wayzata, Notre Dame) and Housley's staff, which included Grant Potulny (Gophers assistant) and Mark Osiecki (Ohio State).

(You can read quotes from Reilly, Lucia and Potulny from a few nights ago on the previous blog).

University of North Dakota redshirt freshman Rocci Grimaldi was the offensive whiz today, scoring two goals, including the winner. This came after Grimaldi was relegated as the 13th forward four games ago.

"He played unbelievable these last three games," Housley told NHL Network. "My hat goes off to him. He took [the 13th forward slot] the right way."

The world junior All-Star team was selected as John Gibson (USA) in goal, Jacob Trouba (USA) and Jake McCabe (USA) on the blue line and Ryan-Nugent Hopkins (Canada), Johnny Gaudreau (USA) and Filip Forsberg (Sweden) at forward.

Rock-solid Gibson was named tournament MVP and top goalie. Trouba was top defenseman and Nugent-Hopkins top forward.

I will be on KFAN at 10:35 a.m. to talk world juniors, Gophers and NHL lockout (mediation today after 12 hours yesterday, 5 p.m. CT deadline for NHLPA disclaimer of interest vote to be concluded).

NHL update: Parise says it'll be 'pretty stupid' if talks blow up"

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: January 4, 2013 - 1:29 PM

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As has been the case during this topsy-turvy NHL lockout, just when there appeared to be traction toward a new collective bargaining agreement after a late night bargaining session Wednesday, things came to a screeching halt Thursday.
 
Both sides failed to meet in a big, formal bargaining session as more mistrust came to the forefront (more on this below). The players then began a 48-hour vote last night to again give authorization to the union to file a disclaimer of interest and essentially dissolve. As of this moment, both sides have met today with a federal mediator, but no bargaining session has been scheduled despite the league’s request.
 
Remember, Commissioner Gary Bettman has said a deal must be reached by Jan. 11 for training camp to begin Jan. 12 and a season to start Jan. 19.
 
Down in Edina this morning, more than two-dozen NHLers skated with purpose as they hope we’re days away from a new CBA and training camp. “Cautiously optimistic” was the way most described their feelings (we’ve heard that before), and as one player said, there’s some relief because at least we know we’re a week away from some kind of conclusion to this madness – lockout ending or the season being canceled.
 
“I’ve been the eternal optimist, so in the grand scheme of things, with how close everything really is, I can’t imagine that it’ll blow up and they’ll cancel everything,” said Wild forward Zach Parise. “It’ll be pretty stupid to do that.”
 
On Thursday, the NHLPA essentially accused the league of doing a bait and switch – adding new language to the section of hockey-related revenue and how teams would be punished if they were caught hiding HRR after the midnight Jan. 2 deadline expired for Don Fehr to inform the league the union was disclaiming interest.
 
The league completely denies the accusation.
 
The way league sources have explained it to me is that on Dec. 27, the NHL emailed a 300-page proposal to Fehr directly. There was a 21-page synopsis and then 200-plus pages of the pertinent CBA articles.
 
Under Article 50 and throughout the articles, any change in language was underlined and put in bold like any changes would be in a legal document.
 
Whether the NHLPA lawyers didn’t catch it or not, there have been subsequent counteroffers or responses back and forth and that language was no longer underlined or put in bold because the language was no longer new.
 
On Thursday, the NHLPA apparently discovered this changed language from previous proposals and the perception was the league hardened its stances conveniently after the threat of the disclaimer had passed.
 
Regardless, the NHLPA brought this to the league’s attention, this language has been changed back and the situation is rectified, according to league sources. Nevertheless, on last night’s conference call between NHLPA leadership and players, the players were ticked, believing the league tried to slip something by them.
 
“I would hope that it’s a misunderstanding,” Parise said. “I would hope that there’s a little more trust involved and a little more honor in the negotiating process, so I would hope that it was just a misunderstanding.”
 
Parise echoed what a lot of players that have been skating in Minnesota have told me: “I try not to follow it too closely. It gets too stressful. Too much of a roller coaster. You know, tell me when it’s over.”
 
(Many of the players skating in Minnesota have not involved themselves in the NHLPA/NHL bargaining sessions and no Wild players other than Zenon Konopka have attended any).
 
So, it sounds like this was a misunderstanding at worst, yet it’s blown up into a trust issue and threatening the process again. Now the players are tossing on the disclaimer threat again.
 
And, I’m telling you, if the players file a disclaimer of interest, I believe the season is over. There is no chance whatsoever that the league would sign a waiver to allow Fehr to represent the players as a trade association. And if that were the case, would the players feel comfortable bargaining without Fehr at the table?
 
Doubtful. And once this gets into the courts, things are off the rails and a whole world of uncertainty about the future enters this mess.
 
So as has often been the case in this lockout, we’re at another fragile juncture.
 
Mistrust has cropped up again, as you can read in this story by the New York Post’s Larry Brooks on how Bettman apparently ticked off the players yesterday.
 
But to echo what Devils beat writer Tom Gulitti (@tgfireandice) wrote perfectly on Twitter: “My 2 cents: Bettman says things that anger players. Fehr does things that anger league/owners. Get over it, be adults and negotiate.” And “Are you seriously going to cancel a season because someone wasn't nice to you in a forum in which things often get contentious?”
 
As Parise said, these two sides are close. Just get it done. They’ve both basically agreed on a $10-year CBA, the league will do the two 2013-14 per team compliance buyouts the union wants, the NHL has changed the variance from an original 5 percent wish to 30 percent, revenue sharing is agreed upon.
 
The open issues: The players want a $65 million upper limit in 2013-14, the league wants $60 million (meet in the middle), the league wants six-year max contracts (seven when you re-sign your own player), the players want eight. A very complex pension situation must be rectified.
 
That is it! These two sides really going to risk this league/careers over these tiny details?
 
Wake up, get back to the table, get back on the ice and repair the damage caused.
 
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Former North Stars coach and GM Wren Blair has died at age 87. Here is his obituary from assistant sports editor Chris Miller. I have spoken with Lou Nanne and Tom Reid and have a call into Bobby Orr. I will have that in Saturday’s newspaper.
 
I will also blog later on the world junior championships. The U.S. plays Sweden at 7 a.m. CT Saturday (NHL Network, NHL.com). I spoke late last night to Minnesotan players Mike Reilly and Mario Lucia and assistant coach Grant Potulny in Russia.

Don Lucia on Haula, Notre Dame; Bjugstad, Wilcox honored; NHL update

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: January 3, 2013 - 4:45 PM

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The No. 1 ranked Gophers face the No. 2 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Tuesday night at Mariucci Arena.
 
The Gophers held availability today and coach Don Lucia addressed a number of subjects, including the injury to leading scorer Erik Haula, how the Gophers plan to overcome the loss, playing his alma matter and his son, Mario.
 
On Haula’s injury, it’s an upper-body injury and he’ll miss at least the next three games, most likely. The hope is he will return vs. North Dakota on Jan. 18-19. Haula was slashed across the right hand early in the third period against Boston College.
 
It appears as if Nate Condon will move from first-line right wing to second-line center. Condon played center for much of his life before coming to the U and played there at times during his freshman year.
 
“It impacts us in every phase,” Lucia said of Haula, the team’s most consistent forward this year, being out. “It impacts the power play, penalty killing. Really, every situation, he’s a key guy. But the good thing it’s not something that’s going to be two months or three months.”
 
Lucia said the Gophers are experimenting in practice whether or not to use Condon or maybe Christian Isackson there, but it certainly sounds like it’ll be Condon.
 
I will be doing a big Don Lucia-Mario Lucia story for Tuesday, but I’ll provide a few quotes from Don below (Mario Lucia, after being named CCHA Rookie of the Week recently, was named CCHA Rookie of the Month today). Here is Lucia on a number of subjects:
 
Freshman Mike Reilly will play in Saturday’s gold-medal game at the world junior championships in Ufa, Russia, against Sweden. Will Reilly play Tuesday against Notre Dame? “He gets back Sunday night, which is the following morning Ufa time. It’s something we’re wrestling with right now whether to play him or not. Originally when we set this up, we thought it’d be three guys (also three guys for Notre Dame) and that was a concern. Now that it is only one, I don’t feel the same necessity. I want to do what’s best for our team, but also what’s best for him. So we’ll gauge that. The good part is we have six good defensemen that can play, so the question becomes, he gets back Sunday night, he’s going to be fatigued, we play Friday, Saturday league games [against Alaska Anchorage]. Is it going to help him and help our team more not to play him on Tuesday and we’ll give him Wednesday and Thursday to get some rest? I mean, this is a long grind they’re going through, the travel as much as anything, not the mention they’re only back Sunday night. It’s a 12-hour time change, so what are his legs going to be like? I don’t know. Maybe we’ll gauge that when he gets back on Monday. We have not made a decision one way or the other. It’s a hard decision to make to be honest. … They leave Sunday morning and they get here Sunday night, but that’s really 8:30 Russia time the next day. So what’s your sleep going to be like the first couple days? It’s not like he’s just coming back from Edmonton or Ottawa.”
 
Will Mario play? “That’s their call what they end up doing. That’s their decision. One reason why we set this up [against Notre Dame] was because he was going to be playing there, but at the same time we knew we’re setting up to play a good opponent, too. If he plays, great. If he doesn’t, I understand it.”
 
(Russo note: Trust me, Mario Lucia is playing vs. the Gophers on Tuesday).
 
Have you watched the world juniors? “I’ve taped them. I have not gotten up at 3 o’clock in the morning. That’s a little bit too early for me. If it was 5 or 6 I can handle that. It’s been a great experience for [Mario]. He’s in a whole new role he probably hasn’t been in, but that’s all part of the growth. The team’s done great and now they can play for a gold medal.”
 
(Russo note: Don Lucia is referring to the fact that his son has become the 13th forward, meaning he hasn’t played the past two games. Lucia sent an email to his son this morning to keep his head up and to let him know this is all part of the growing process, how three months ago, who knew he’d even be in the tournament after breaking his leg. I will write a world junior advance for our web site and this blog on Friday. I will have more on Mario Lucia in there).
 
What’s Mario Lucia think of Russia? “He says the food’s getting better. We sent him over with some protein and peanut butter and some things. He and Mike Reilly are roommates. They lived together in Penticton, so it’s nice he’s got a roommate he’s familiar with and gets along with. They’re like Oscar and Felix.”
 
On Condon: “He’s played center all of his life. … So this will be an easy transition for Nate to make to move back to center. Notre Dames got two [high-end centers] in [Edina’s Anders] Lee and [T.J.] Tynan and Nate’s speed can help us defend there.”
 
On playing Notre Dame: “It’s always your alma mater. I’m looking forward to play an elite program. I’m still trying to figure out how they were ranked ahead of us, they don’t play and now we’re ahead of them. [Assistant coach] Andy [Slaggert] texted me after our [8-1] win [over Boston College] and said, ‘You’re going to be No. 1,’ and I said, ‘No, not a chance.’ That doesn’t matter. We’re playing a top team, the best team at least right now in the CCHA, a team that obviously will be contending at the end. It’s another good opportunity for our team to play an elite opponent.”
 
How they Irish compare to BC: “They’re more methodical in how they play, they don’t beat themselves, they’re a very difficult team to play against, they haven’t given up more than three goals in a game all season long, they’re scoring a little more than they did at the beginning. They’re a big, strong, physical team. I’m looking forward to it.”
 
By the way, Lucia reminded that in 1977, the Irish won the national title in football during his freshman year, so maybe they’ll do the same during Mario’s freshman year.
 
I’ll have a lot more on Don and Mario Tuesday, but Lucia said, “The ideal scenario: he has a great game and we win.”
 
Nate Condon: “Going from wing to playing center, I’ve got to play a lot more defense. Lot of puck movement, you see a lot more of the ice going up the middle, keep your head up in the neutral zone, faceoffs. Not too much changes. Played with Budish before.”
 
Captain Zach Budish says it’s been a great few days around the program after creaming BC and they’re looking forward to the Irish. On losing Haula: “He’s a big player for us, he plays in every situation, he’s one of our top guys, and it’s definitely a loss, but it’s an opportunity for someone else to step up.”
 
Also, Nick Bjugstad was named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week after scoring six points, including a career-high four in the BC win, as the Gophers won the Mariucci Classic. Adam Wilcox, who stopped 50 of 51 shots, was named WCHA Rookie of the Week.
 
--------------
 
Lastly, not a good day in NHL/NHLPA bargaining. There was no formal bargaining session, and the NHLPA will begin a two-day vote tonight to again authorize the union to file a disclaimer of interest.
 
I've been all Gophers today. Here is the TSN story with today's events.

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