wild/nhl

And Sheppard?

"He's not ready," Lemaire said. "He was supposed to play seven minutes. Now he's playing 15 minutes. Makes no sense. Now the only thing he doesn't do is kill penalties."

This Walz situation has gone on far too long. It's been a month, and quite frankly, a handful of teammates find it hard to imagine Walz walking into the dressing room again. He would have a lot of explaining to do.

Clearly, there's something personal going on, but regardless, it's incumbent on management to either address this Walz situation --right now -- or find a proper replacement --right now.

Otherwise, this season could turn south uncontrollably.