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Michael Russo's Sunday Insider: Does anybody really care?

The Wild says real fans are OK with the team's efforts to "hide" injuries. There's some evidence that's not the case.

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: November 9, 2008 - 12:28 AM

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WILD WEEK IN REVIEW

Record: 1-2

• After a 3-1 loss Tuesday at San Jose in a game it was outshot 49-24 for the game, the Wild won 3-1 at Colorado on Thursday in a game it was outshot 36-20. Krys Kolanos scored his first NHL goal since Nov. 3, 2005, in San Jose and Benoit Pouliot scored his first career power-play/game-winning goal in Colorado. The week finished up with a 2-0 loss at Vancouver on Saturday.

Star Tribune’s star of the week: Niklas Backstrom, goaltender

The Sharks game would have been a true blowout, and the Avalanche victory would have been a different story if it weren’t for Backstrom’s exceptional netminding. In the three games, he made a total of 110 saves.

This week: two games

Tuesday: vs. Phoenix, 7 p.m.; Saturday: vs. Columbus, 7 p.m.

• The Wild plays host to two teams it has had great success against. First, Wayne Gretzky’s Coyotes come to town, and they’ve been beaten by the Wild eight consecutive games, with Backstrom 7-0 all-time. The Blue Jackets then finish the week. The Wild is 11-3-1 all-time vs. Columbus at home, 1-0 this season.

The quote: "You look at him, at times you have so much confidence, you don’t feel that they’ll score against him. It’s a great feeling when you see your goaltender like that." — Wild coach Jacques Lemaire on Backstrom

MICHAEL RUSSO

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Marian Gaborik has been injured since Oct. 15, Owen Nolan since, basically, early October.

But the Wild will not allow Gaborik or Nolan, both paid professionals and adults, to discuss what part of their "lower bodies" are ailing.

The NHL's new injury policy of nontransparency -- adopted last summer and enforced by the Wild to the nth degree -- has been created to protect players from each other.

Like say, Darcy Tucker, the Colorado forward who targeted Nick Schultz's knees unprovoked. Imagine if Tucker actually knew what part of Schultz's aching body to go after.

Of course, if it's true there is such a lack of respect leaguewide, the Wild better be careful that being so vague doesn't cause one of these degenerates to target Gaborik's ankles or knees when he returns rather than what's really hurt -- his groin.

Currently, based on an unscientific poll of beat writers, roughly half of the 30 teams in varying degrees enforce the policy, which states, "Clubs no longer are required to disclose the specific nature of player injuries," although they can't lie or misrepresent a player's condition and they must disclose whether a player is expected to miss a game.

The "upper body/lower body" silliness that has ensued has inhibited the media's ability to provide information to the fans, who are still spending money during this rocky economic climate to pay for tickets, concessions, parking and merchandise.

But the Wild doesn't believe its fans care about the specific nature of injuries.

"Our stakeholders have not given us noise on this," said assistant GM Tom Lynn, who decides how to communicate the Wild's injuries to the media. "We get e-mails from our season-ticket holders, we poll them often, we talk to them -- suite, season-ticket holders, people that actually are the fans that we're trying to respond to -- they like to know if a guy's in or out or some general parameters as to when they're coming back."

Lynn said the only complaints the team has received are from the media and fantasy hockey players, and there's a big difference between them and "a guy buying four tickets on the glass."

The genesis of the new policy was Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland, who disclosed that Johan Franzen suffered a concussion in the second round of last year's playoffs. Holland said Franzen's head was targeted by Dallas in the conference finals and by Pittsburgh in the Stanley Cup Finals, so he got support from 27 other GMs to change the policy.

Interestingly, the Red Wings have given their media and fans full injury disclosure; they're waiting for the playoffs to enforce the policy.

This type of cloak and dagger routine is easier to accept in the playoffs because wins and losses feel like life or death.

But is it unnecessarily paranoid in the regular season? Lynn says no, that he knows of two specific instances in which opposing coaches mentioned Wild injuries in their pregame speeches.

The problem is many teams use "protection" as an excuse to throw off opponents. Even the Wild once listed Wes Walz and his leg injury as day-to-day to force opponents prepare for two eventualities.

"We're trying to win games, and if we can keep the other side guessing as late as possible, that's worthwhile to us," Lynn said.

However, that's not permitted under the new policy and it's unfair to the fans, who spend good money to venture to games and deserve to know who's playing and who's not.

Or, perhaps Lynn's right. Maybe the paying customers really don't care. Maybe it's only fantasy players who do.

If that's the case, I wish you'd stop e-mailing me for Gaborik and Brent Burns updates and calling every radio show I do to complain about the policy.

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