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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 trade news

Realignment approved; Zucker out tonight, Bouchard in; Genoway traded

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: March 14, 2013 - 1:17 PM

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UPDATED

NEW YORK (March 14, 2013) -- The National Hockey League's Board of Governors has approved realignment and a division-based format for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, effective for the 2013-14 season. The realignment plan creates two eight-team divisions in the Eastern Conference and two seven-team divisions in the Western Conference. The names of the divisions will be formalized at a later date.

The new alignment will place several clubs in more geographically appropriate groupings and will intensify already-fierce rivalries throughout the League. The new scheduling matrix will ensure that all 30 teams play in all 30 arenas at least once a season.

The new alignment:

WESTERN CONFERENCE EASTERN CONFERENCE

Division A Division B Division C Division D

Anaheim Chicago Boston Carolina
Calgary Colorado Buffalo Columbus
Edmonton Dallas Detroit New Jersey
Los Angeles Minnesota Florida NY Islanders
Phoenix Nashville Montreal NY Rangers
San Jose St. Louis Ottawa Philadelphia
Vancouver Winnipeg Tampa Bay Pittsburgh
                                      Toronto Washington

Said GM Chuck Fletcher: "It’s a big deal for our franchise. It’s a great opportunity for our team to reestablish some of the regional rivalries that the North Stars used to have awhile back. We’ll save on some travel costs, but more importantly, the wear and tear that our players are enduring, the travel should be easier, road games will be on TV at a normal time for the most part at hours where more people can watch them.

"It should be great."

Said Wild coach Mike Yeo: "Travel-wise what it's going to do for us is huge. As much as anything else, I love rivalry hockey and I think that's going to bring that here."

Among the many strategic goals achieved by the realignment plan:

* provides the Winnipeg Jets a more geographically suitable grouping of rivals;

* enables the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings to compete primarily against clubs in their own time zone;

* moves the Dallas Stars out of the Pacific Division to a more geographically appropriate and time-zone friendly grouping;

* changes the Minnesota Wild's alignment to a more historically relevant and time zone friendly grouping;

* ensures that the Colorado Avalanche, as the only U.S.-based team in the Mountain Time Zone, is placed in a more geographically suitable grouping.


NEW REGULAR-SEASON SCHEDULE MATRIX

Western Conference (7-Team Divisions)

Within Conference (Division): 29 games
* 5 games vs. five teams (3 Home/2 Away vs. two teams, 2 Home/3 Away vs.
three teams) AND 4 games vs. one team (2 Home/2 Away). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.
* 5 X 5 =25 games
* 1 X 4 = 4 games

Within Conference (Non-Division): 21 games
* 3 games vs. each team (2 Home/1 Away vs. four teams, 1 Home/2 Away vs.
three teams). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.
* 3 X 7 = 21 games

Non-Conference: 32 games
* 2 games vs. each team (1 Home/1 Away)
* 2 X 16 = 32 games

(Exception: one team from each division plays one less game inside Division and one more game inside Conference outside Division)

Eastern Conference (8-Team Divisions)

Within Conference (Division): 30 games
* 5 games vs. two teams (3 Home/2 Away vs. one team, 2 Home/3 Away vs. one
team) AND 4 games vs. five teams (2 Home/2 Away). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.
* 5 X 2 =10 games
* 4 X 5 = 20 games

Within Conference (Non-Division): 24 games
* 3 games vs. each team (2 Home/1 Away vs. four teams, 1 Home/2 Away vs.
four teams). Teams rotated on a yearly basis.
* 3 X 8 = 24 games

Non-Conference: 28 games
* 2 games vs. each team (1 Home/1 Away)
* 2 X 14 = 28 games


NEW STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF FORMAT

Playoff qualification will be primarily Division-based, with the top three finishers in each Division qualifying for the first 12 spots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (and the first three "seeds" in each Division).

The two additional playoff spots in each Conference, designated as "Wild Cards," will be awarded to the next two highest-placed finishers in each Conference, ranked on the basis of regular-season points and regardless of Division.

"Seeding" of the Wild Card teams within each Divisional Playoff will be determined on the basis of regular-season points. The first-place finisher with the highest number of regular-season points in the Conference will be matched against the Wild Card team with the lowest number of regular-season points, and the first-place finisher with the second-highest number of regular-season points in the Conference matched against the Wild Card team with the second-lowest number of regular-season points.

The Playoffs will proceed as follows:

* #1 vs. #4 / #2 vs. #3 -- winners play each other for berth in Conference Championship
* Conference Finals -- Two advancing teams in the West and two advancing teams in the East meet in Conference Championship
* Eastern and Western Conference Champions will meet in Stanley Cup Final.

The National Hockey League Players' Association has given its consent to play under this new Alignment and Playoff System for a minimum of three seasons, through the 2015-16 NHL season.
 

--------------

Jason Zucker won't play tonight with an upper body injury. He did skate before practice. Yeo anticipates he will go on the upcoming 3-game trip to Denver, Vancouver and Detroit but isn't 100 percent positive yet. If Zucker doesn't, the Wild will need to call up a forward.

Zucker and Charlie Coyle moved into an apartment together yesterday, by the way. All their stuff is still in Houston though. "I just have a suit bag," Coyle said, laughing, quickly adding, "I'm not complaining."

Pierre-Marc Bouchard, scratched in three straight and with two goals and three assists in 20 games, gets in the lineup on the Matt Cullen-Devin Setoguchi line.

"I want to see him come in and not play the type of game where you're afraid of making a mistake, not playing the type of game where you play safe," Yeo said. "I want to see him come in and play with confidence and make a point basically. He has the ability to do that. He has the ability to control the play and create. ... He has to find a way to be a factor."

Niklas Backstrom in goal. Rest of the lines and defense pairs the same. Brett Clark did skate today, but he won't play until he gets a few practices in.

Also, the Wild has traded former University of North Dakota defenseman Chay Genoway to the Washington Capitals for a conditional 2014 seventh-rounder. He will report to Hershey. After the Brett Clark signing yesterday, this puts the Wild back to 48 of a maximum 50 contracts. This allows the Wild more flexibility to either sign college free agents maybe or add players at the trade deadline.

Fletcher said the Wild had 10 defensemen in Houston, meaning four healthy scratches a night. This gives Genoway a chance to move on.

I'll be on Hockey Night in Canada radio at 3:30 p.m. CT on XM and NHL Network tonight from the arena cam at 5:40 p.m. CT

Mike Rupp says goodbye to family, arrives in Minnesota

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: February 5, 2013 - 3:50 PM

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It’s easy to forget when a player is traded how their life is turned upside down.
 
Within 90 minutes of being notified Monday that he was being traded to the Rangers, Darroll Powe was in a cab on his way to the Phoenix airport for a flight to New York.
 
Mike Rupp, the player the Wild got in return for Powe and Nick Palmieri, had to first go home to say goodbye to his family.
 
Rupp and his wife, Christi, have four children, including a 10- and an 8-year-old.
 
“The hardest thing was putting them to bed last night. We all got a little emotional because you know I’m not going to see them for a few months,” Rupp said. “It’s tough, but it’s what we signed up for. But before you knew it, my daughter [Maddie] started drawing pictures of the Wild logo and writing facts about the state of Minnesota.”
 
Rupp, 33, will join his sixth team in 10 years Wednesday morning for his first practice in a Wild sweater. His debut could come Thursday against Vancouver.
 
“It happens so fast, but it’s funny how quickly you just turn your sights to what lies ahead, and that’s coming here and playing in a place where there’s an excitement for hockey all the time and being a part of what’s going on here,” Rupp said.
 
Rupp should feel comfortable stepping into the Wild room. He played with Zach Parise for three years in New Jersey. And coach Mike Yeo, a longtime assistant with Pittsburgh, coached Rupp for one of his two years with the Penguins.
 
Rupp scored a career-high 13 goals that year (2009-10).
 
“My years in Pittsburgh were two of my most enjoyable years playing hockey,” said Rupp, a native of Cleveland, Ohio. “They made it a place where everybody was accountable. It was fun coming to the rink. Playing under Dan Bylsma and Mike Yeo, you were just excited to come to practice every day.
 
“I know that’s just how [Yeo] is and how he coaches and I would expect it’s the same thing here. I’m just looking forward to battling for Mike and my new teammates.”
 
Because the Wild plays a similar system to the Penguins, it shouldn’t take long for the 6-foot-5, 243-pound Rupp to reaccustom himself.
 
“I just remember practices were real up-tempo and the way the game was played was just getting north with the puck as quick as you could,” Rupp said.
 
The Wild acquired Rupp to bring a physical element to the Wild’s lineup and to add a size dimension down low in the offensive zone.
 
“Obviously most people wouldn’t say I play a pretty game or anything, but the one thing my strength has been in my career is my forechecking and holding onto pucks in the offensive zone,” Rupp said.
 
“When you do that, you’re able to create some offensive chances when you get on a line that works well together below the hash marks in the offensive zone. There’s not much better defense than keeping a team 180 feet away from your goal.”
 
 

Thoughts on Mike Rupp trade, what this means for Matt Kassian

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: February 4, 2013 - 2:48 PM

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As you know by now, the Wild traded Darroll Powe and Nick Palmieri to the New York Rangers for rugged 33-year-old veteran forward Mike Rupp this afternoon.
 
Rupp will meet the Wild in Minnesota on Tuesday and practice for the first time Wednesday. He will likely make his Wild debut Thursday against Vancouver wearing No. 27.
 
 
The common theme the last few days around the Wild has been size and specifically the Wild’s lack of it up front. The Wild’s board play has been poor, especially in Friday’s 3-1 loss at Anaheim.
 
So yesterday, the Wild recalled Charlie Coyle to make his NHL debut tonight at Phoenix. Today, it acquires a 6-foot-5, 230-pound versatile forward that will make the bottom-six tougher. He’s also another character guy that’s known as a great teammate.
 
He won a Stanley Cup in 2003 with New Jersey, scoring the Cup-clinching goal against Chuck Fletcher’s Ducks.
 
“I have pretty bad memories of Mike Rupp,” Fletcher cracked. “He wasn’t my favorite player or anybody in Anaheim at that point.”
 
Coach Mike Yeo also coached him in Pittsburgh.
 
“He’s a big guy, he’s won a Stanley Cup and brings a lot of size, experience and grit to our team," Fletcher said. "He’ll bring a presence to our lineup and complement [our skilled players].”
 
Asked if he recognized a size deficiency with the Wild and is trying to rectify that, Fletcher notes that guys like Mikko Koivu, Dany Heatley, Clayton Stoner, Justin Falk are big, that Zach Parise, Kyle Brodziak, Cal Clutterbuck and Zenon Konopka play big, but he said, “When you go on the road, having size is important, the perception of size is important.”
 
He feels Rupp will be able to contribute in multiple ways. He’s also a media darling.
 
Powe was acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers two summers ago and immediately signed to a three-year deal. Fletcher called him a high character player who brought speed and energy to the lineup. He thanked Powe, who was well-liked in the Wild room. He finished second among NHL forwards last year with 91 blocked shots.
 
Still, he was playing a fourth-line role this year, limited minutes, was expendable and frankly his game is limited. As coach Mike Yeo said this morning before the trade, his game hasn’t been sharp this year.
 
Palmieri, to me, is just a non-factor. He held out last summer. He refused to report to Houston initially after being cut from camp. As I wrote a few weeks ago, he was on the outs and had no future in Minnesota. It was just a matter of time before the Wild moved him.
 
In terms of cap hits, Powe had another year left at $1.067 million. Rupp has another year at $1.5 million.
 
Trading 2 for 1 also frees up a contract. The Wild was at the max 50. Now it’s at 49.
 
I haven’t talk with Rupp yet. Powe was on the phone making arrangements when I saw him in the lobby an hour ago.
 
As for Matt Kassian, his future may also be elsewhere at this point. He’s being scratched in his ninth consecutive game tonight. At some point, the Wild either needs to move him or put him on waivers to give him a chance at being claimed elsewhere. He deserves it. He’s a good soldier, a great character guy, etc.
 
But if you need to get grittier on the wall and the Wild’s calling up players and making trades rather than putting Kassian in, it’s clear the writing’s on the wall and the end of his line in Minnesota could be on the horizon.
 
“I’ll sit down with the coaches and see what makes sense,” Fletcher said. “I have to talk to Matt and his representation and see what the coaches think and do what’s right for the team and for Matt going forward.”
 
Asked if he’s got anything else in the works, Fletcher said, “We were looking for some size and this deal presented itself and we jumped on it. We’ll see how players respond. We need a little bit more production from some of our guys. If we want to be a competitive team this year, we’re going to need some diversified scoring, some secondary scoring, so we’ll keep looking for that.”
 
This is all about getting the attention of the team, too.
 
Yeo wants to see how Devin Setoguchi and Mikael Granlund plays on the fourth line tonight with Zenon Konopka, who joked that those two “won the lottery.”
 
“This is kind of a message [to Setoguchi and Granlund] and let’s see how they react,” Yeo said. “We want to see them have a good night.”
 
Yeo said Charlie Coyle coming up without an injury and getting second-line duty should be a message to the team, too.
 
“I haven’t gone in and made a big deal talking about it in front of the group,” Yeo said. “But certainly you would want to read between the lines. We’re committed to winning hockey games and putting the best product on the ice. We’ll do whatever we have to.”

Wild and Sharks swap again; Sheppard sent to No. Cal

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: August 6, 2011 - 10:46 PM

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The direct line between the Wild and San Jose Sharks buzzed again Saturday night when the Wild shipped disappointing former first-round pick James Sheppard to Silicon Valley for a 2013 third-round pick.
Sheppard, 24, was suspended all of last season after breaking his kneecap in an all-terrain vehicle accident. Sheppard, a restricted free agent drafted ninth overall in 2006, had his qualifying offer expire when he didn’t sign a new contract by the July 15 deadline.
However, it’s believed the trade was on hold because just prior to that, Sheppard underwent a second operation on his knee. Sheppard is not expected to be ready in time for training camp.
Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher and assistant GM Brent Flahr couldn’t be reached for comment, but the Sharks confirmed the trade.
The move was the third of the offseason between the Wild and Sharks.
On June 24, Brent Burns and a 2012 second-round pick were traded to the Sharks for Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle and a first-round pick that became Zack Phillips. On July 3, the Wild acquired Dany Heatley for Martin Havlat.
Sheppard, who was rushed to the NHL from Cape Breton at age 19, scored 11 goals and 49 points in 224 games for the Wild. Of the seven players taken in 2006 by the Wild, only Cal Clutterbuck and Kyle Medvec are still in the system.
 

Heatley, Fletcher talk; Koivu, Yeo excited; Updated Wild depth chart

Posted by: Michael Russo Updated: July 4, 2011 - 6:09 PM

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Happy 4th of July everybody. I haven’t even opened my front door yet, so I’m looking forward to getting out of here.
 
Check out Tuesday’s paper for the coverage, but the local media chatted with new Wild sniper Dany Heatley this morning as well as General Manager Chuck Fletcher.
 
I also had a long chat with Mikko Koivu, a Private in the Finland Army, and coach Mike Yeo.
 
On Tuesday, by the way, the Wild’s expected to announce Yeo’s Houston Aeros’ replacement.
 
Like I said, we talked to Heatley this morning, and he certainly sounded motivated and excited about the new chapter in his career. He said his first phone call after talking Sunday night with Sharks GM Doug Wilson and Fletcher was to Devin Setoguchi.
 
“I was sad to see him go last week and happy to be back with him now,” Heatley said.
 
Like I said, check out tomorrow’s story for all the Heatley/Fletcher stuff, but I did talk to Yeo and he said he is looking forward to experimenting in training camp with line combinations. He wants to try Pierre-Marc Bouchard with Koivu and Heatley, but he’s also like to try Setoguchi with Koivu and Heatley.
 
Setoguchi (by the way, the guy is a quote machine, and check out his comments in Tuesday’s story) said he and Heatley have already talked about that and Seto said he’d be willing to move to the off-wing (left wing) and play there. He says he loves taking one-timers from that side, and with two lefties to his right setting him up, that could actually be a neat possibility.
 
Koivu said he woke up to a bunch of text messages, so he knew something big happened. He was very happy with the pickup of Heatley, and as sad as he was to see Brent Burns go, Setoguchi.
 
“You see Dany Heatley is coming to our team, and you’re just so proud,” Koivu said. “He is such a great player who can score goals. And for myself and for the whole team and for the fans and the whole state, I think it should give us a lot of confidence and a lot of excitement. We should be proud to have a guy like that on our team. It’s a great thing for the whole hockey in Minnesota.”
 
He said when he went to work out this morning, he was “just so motivated and happy.”
 
He reiterated how tough it is to see Marty Havlat and Burns go. But he says it shows the Wild’s at least trying to improve after three missed postseasons and he likes the direction.
 
I asked him about Andrew Brunette leaving.

“I’m going to miss Bruno a lot – on and off the ice, we were real close friends,” Koivu said. “I think that’s the tough part, and on the ice we clicked as well. It was a fun three years and our friendship will be forever.”
 
Here are a couple extra Fletcher quotes I didn’t use:
 
“I think there are situations where some hockey players fit into some teams better than others,” Fletcher said of Havlat. “Marty was, I thought [in 2009] and still do, a very good acquisition for our franchise to get a player like that to commit to coming to Minnesota and bring his talents.
“And today, we sit here and now we have the ability to acquire Dany Heatley because of it.”
 
“We’re always looking for the right fit. I think we’re always looking for the right fit. I think there are situations where some hockey players fit into some teams better than others. To add goal scorers like Heatley and Setoguchi is the right decision for this time for this team.”
 
Fletcher reiterated that he traded a “30-year-old skilled offensive winger for a 30-year-old skilled offensive winger. Whether we made the trade or not, we would have had a 30 year-old skilled offensive winger. This doesn’t deviate at all with what we’ve spoken about (youth movement).”
 
Also, Havlat’s agent Allan Walsh said, “When Chuck Fletcher approached us yesterday about a possible trade to San Jose, Marty analyzed the situation and determined that San Jose could be a better fit for him at this point in time. Marty has performed previously at a very high level in the playoffs. While everyone in the Wild organization has been wonderful to Marty, the move to San Jose made a lot of sense for everyone.”
 
Wild Depth Chart
 
Here's a look at the Wild's depth chart for next season as it stands today. The TBDs indicate open spots that either need to be filled through the promotion of Wild prospects or external acquisitions (free agency or trades). Below each player are his 2011-12 salary and 2011-12 salary-cap hit. The salary-cap ceiling for next season is $64.3 million.
 
FORWARDS
 
Line 1: Pierre-Marc Bouchard ($4.25 million salary, $4.08M salary cap hit); Mikko Koivu ($7.29M, $6.75M); Dany Heatley ($8M, $7.5M)
 
Line 2: Guillaume Latendresse ($2.6M, $2.5M); Matt Cullen ($3.5M, $3.5M); Devin Setoguchi ($2.75M; $3M)
 
Line 3: Darroll Powe (RFA); Kyle Brodziak ($1.3M, $1.15M); Cal Clutterbuck ($1.5M, $1.4M)
 
Line 4: Eric Nystrom ($1.4M, $1.4M); TBD; Brad Staubitz ($600K, $575K)
 
TBD; TBD
 
Note: Two or three spots are open depending on if the Wild keeps 13 or 14 forwards, or seven or eight defensemen.
 
Vying for spots: Colton Gillies, Casey Wellman, Cody Almond, James Sheppard, David McIntyre, Carson McMillan, Matt Kassian, Jed Ortmeyer, Jeff Taffe.
 
Restricted free agents: Powe, Wellman, Sheppard, Gillies, Jarod Palmer
 
Unrestricted free agents: John Madden, Antti Miettinen, Patrick O’Sullivan
 
Minor league unrestricted free agents: Robbie Earl.
 
DEFENSEMEN
 
Pair 1: Nick Schultz ($3.6 million salary, $3.5M salary cap hit); Marek Zidlicky ($4M, $4M)
 
Pair 2: Greg Zanon ($2.1M, $1.933M); Jared Spurgeon ($535K, $527K)
 
Pair 3: Clayton Stoner ($575K, $550K); TBD
 
TBD; TBD
 
Note: Two or three spots are open depending on if the Wild keeps 13 or 14 forwards.
 
Vying for spots: Marco Scandella, Nate Prosser, Justin Falk, Drew Bagnall.
 
Restricted free agents: Falk, Jeff Penner.
 
GOALIES
 
Starter: Niklas Backstrom ($6 million salary, $6M salary cap hit)
 
Backup: Josh Harding ($750K, $750K)
 
SALARY BREAKDOWN
 
• Actual 2011-12 payroll (as of today): $52,219,445
 
• Salary cap hit: $50,418,111
 
Notes: Includes bought-out Mark Parrish’s $927,778 payoff and cap hit and soon-to-be-bought-out Cam Barker $541,667 payoff and $375,000 cap hit.
 
This total also includes the 17 of a possible 23 players. So this doesn’t include Powe, the youngsters vying for the team or possible free-agent or trade acquisitions. Obviously the payroll and salary-cap hits are in actuality higher because Powe will be signed and players like Gillies, Scandella, etc., will be on the team.

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