The Wild were sold
By Tom Grout
January 17, 2008
I have been told by a reader that I have tunnel vision and don’t write about the Wild much. I thought I have added some thoughts on them in the past, but he did make a good point; the Wild were sold and I didn’t write anything about it.
I had heard of the possible sale a few weeks ago but was caught by surprise as I am sure many Wild fans were when the sale had been made mid season. I am a Minnesota sports fan and since that is what I am I could not help be a little leery of a sale of one of my sports teams. It seems that whenever one of our sports teams are for sale or sold it comes with some kind of catch. Either they want a stadium built or they are going to move the team.
With the sale of the Wild I couldn’t see a catch. They already play in the finest arena in the league and have the best fan support in the league. In fact they are the newly crowned Hockey Town USA. The front office has also done a great job in fact they are the most solid organization in town.
So what could this new owner do to ruin this great thing we got going on? Well, for now nothing. After everything I heard about the new guy and after hearing him talk about his intentions there appears to be nothing. No personal agendas, unless you figure trying to win a Stanley Cup is a personal agenda. Craig Leipold, the new owner, is a hockey fan. How refreshing is that. We have an owner who actually likes the sport he owns and is knowledgeable of it.
He says, at least at this point, that he is not going to change anything. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. He owned the Nashville team for awhile and did a great job there and was known as a guy who will spend the money for players if he thought it would help the team win. How about that!
He will have his work cut out for him this off season as the Wild have a lot of free agents coming up and they are all pretty important players on a good team. If his promise of wanting to win the Stanley Cup is that important to him it will be an interesting time for the Wild. Maybe he will ad a player this year if he feels they have a chance to win the whole thing.
As of this writing the Wild are in first place in their division but with the way the division is so tight they could lose a couple of games in a row and be in last place. But they are doing well in the conference and unless they have a total collapse, they will get into something the Twins, Vikings, or Timberwolves could not do and that’s the play-offs.
I don’t always go on and on about the Wild because I really question how many Wild fans there are around this area. I am a huge Wild fan and have been since they started. I also followed the North Stars and Fighting Saints back in the day. I own both Slap Shot movies. But I have very few friends that follow the Wild or hockey for that matter. It’s probably because I come from a small town and we didn’t have hockey in school, I’m not sure.
With that, I would like to find out how many Wild fans are out there reading this blog. I would love to here from you and get your take on anything Wild.
Well, obviously I love the Wild and, win or loose, couldn't be more proud of our state of hockey team. To me, the Wild are the best thing to happen to Minnesota in a very long time and (as Mr. Leipold said in his press conference) the "new standard" for the NHL. I appreciate your thoughts on the sale and your willingness to listen to your readers. I too am a Minnesota sports fan. I love the Wild and love the Twins. I like the Vikings, but hate the "off the field" behavior that the players seem to be unable to avoid in recent years. For that reason, I watch them, but am not a huge fan. I enjoy watching the T-wolves, but find that this year they are unwatchable. That's my two cents I guess. Thanks again for your commentary. It will be interesting to see how Mr. Leipold contributes to, as you put it, "this great thing we got going on."
If you dont like hockey.. and the Wild, you don't need to live in Minnesota.. ok,, maybe a bit much,,but,, yeah, keep the hockey stuff comin Tom.
Another great posting, Tom. Don't know how you do it. Keep the Wild stuff coming. Its great to read something written with passion & you certainly have that for the Wild. And surprise, after two days of this posting being up you have heard from BOTH of the hockey fans. As a life-long Minnesotan, I have a deep and abiding appreciation for the sport, even more than for bocce ball & curling, though that would perhaps change if we had professional teams in those sports. If you are surveying your readership, you may want to ask for a show of hands for televised poker as well, and maybe the National Cheerleading Championships.
Love the new Wild owner. I think he'll surprise us all, or not. And Tom, the Wild might make the NHL playoffs? That would really be a leg up on the Twins and Vikings who each, in 40+ years have never made the NHL playoffs.
Bibsly -- where are you on all of this?
There are two sports that are almost like a religion, hockey and wrestling. Hockey has a professional league and wrestling ends in college. Hockey can't be appreciated until you see it in person, tv doesn't do it justice. Wrestling can't be appreciated until you understand it. Both are great sports but neither will be loved by all because of those limitations. I have come to love them both because of the hard work and fierce competitive attitude required. I would direct any kid to either sport and feel I was doing them a favor. Specifically about the Wild, they're fun to watch, especially Gaborik!
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