Wild's leaders ponder team's woes

Coach Lemaire sees plenty of trouble ahead, and GM Risebrough says he doesn't see much that can be done to ease the suffering.

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune

Last update: December 30, 2008 - 7:31 AM

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CALGARY, ALBERTA - With the Wild in danger of sliding to the bottom of the Western Conference as it begins what coach Jacques Lemaire called a "critical" stretch of games, General Manager Doug Risebrough said Monday morning he doesn't anticipate making a roster shakeup.

"I don't see a lot of big options there," said Risebrough, whose team was 3-8-1 this month before Monday's game against the Flames.

Risebrough said his hands are tied because players who are trade bait, such as Marian Gaborik, are "hurt" and because "we have long-term objectives," namely Mikko Koivu and Brent Burns and developing players such as James Sheppard who aren't going to be dealt.

"There's no doubt you can look for changes, but I'm not sure there's a big significant change that's going to make a significant difference," said Risebrough, whose team is 3-9-1 this month after Monday's 2-1 loss to the Flames. "We just have to play better."

In the meantime, Lemaire admitted deep concerns going forward, especially since five of the Wild's next six games, including Monday's, are against contenders San Jose, Detroit, Boston and Philadelphia.

"Look at the teams we're going to play -- all teams we struggle against. We have to play them all now one after the other," Lemaire said. "But to give you hope, you have to play well. Even if you lose, you have to play well. We don't play well right now."

Lemaire said the Wild must play a team game because of the lost firepower of Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra.

"If we don't play team game, we'll win the odd game," Lemaire said.

Asked if that's because of a lack of talent, Lemaire said: "Part of it is talent. Part of it. Look at the lines. Look at how many goals we're going to get. We're better on defense. We're not as good as last year on offense. That's where the team is at now. We lost 60 goals and [Gaborik's] not back, so that's the reason why we have a hard time to score.

"We're among the worst teams in the league in goals for [28th in the NHL]. ... The good teams, everyone gets goals."

On Lemaire's assertion of a lack of talent, Risebrough said, "I think that's fair," but the GM pinned the lack of scoring on injuries, particularly Gaborik, who has missed 29 games.

"I know if we were playing Calgary without [Jarome] Iginla, they'd look at it differently, too," Risebrough said.

Sunday night, Koivu called out his teammates for a lack of effort against Chicago. Picking up where Koivu left off, Lemaire used Koivu and Cal Clutterbuck as examples.

"You wish everyone would be like this. Then for sure your team would be better," said Lemaire, adding "some guys look for loose pucks" or "don't battle as much, and it just keeps the team down."

Lemaire said some guys are working too hard and some not enough.

"Z [Marek Zidlicky] played really bad [Sunday], but you know what? He's working harder than he ever did," Lemaire said. "The difference is he's trying to do things too much. He's trying to do things that are not there. He's trying to do things by himself.

"Then you get other guys that have dropped 15, 20 percent. ... [Pierre-Marc Bouchard], last game, tried harder than other games, but he played 20 minutes and got no shots -- nothing."

Uncharacteristically, the Wild blue-liners are routinely turning the puck over or having trouble breaking out.

"Because of the lack of scoring, they're trying too much," Lemaire said. "They get caught out of position because they want to help the forwards, but team game is let your winger do their job, let your center do their job, let your defensemen do their job. If they're trying to do the forward's job, who's going to do their job? It's just going to be worse.

"To do better, we'll have to play better as a team. Everyone will have to do their job. Their job! ... But right now, you can see it. We're not strong enough."

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