Hey guys. I am 1st a Hurricanes fan, but have been a Wild fan since 2008. My goal is to move to Minnesota at some point, so I get as involved as I can with the way the area reacts to things. I live in NC and go to Canes games all the time, and expect to be at Xcel all the time when I move. I just started here on HFBoards and I want to make a few comments.
Minnesota has had a lot of struggles the last few years in the sports world. Timberwolves lost Love, Twins lost Span and are in rebuilding mode, the Vikings gave some hope, but that was quickly washed away. Now we have the Wild back. Parise has been amazing. Suter has not. I can't really complain right now. The fact that our top line is a TOP line is just awesome. We haven't had that in years, since Gaborik was with Koivu. So, no complaints there. However, Suter's struggles have been worrysome. It's hard for me to go into panic mode very quickly, so I'm not giving up on Suter yet. I just think he needs a solid D partner again to get going. Spurgeon cannot come back soon enough. The bottom lines are struggling. I'm glad we didn't trade PMB after all, as he has been better than most of our other pieces, being Setoguchi and Cullen. (Also, no, we will not give you the other JF for Cullen.) I want to see people get called up as well, but not 5 games in. As for Goaltending, Hackett should come up and play a game or two. Harding has been fine, Backstrom has been pretty mediocre. Last night's game he had a few unlucky bounces, but he needs to be better. Hurricanes fans are very excited that we now have a capable backup to Cam Wad after one game. Dan Ellis was wonderful against Buffalo. I think Hackett could be that guy, maybe better.
I know some of this is kind of scattered, and also talked about earlier in the thread, but being a fan of Minnesota sports really is hard. I suggest we all try to not go into panic mode very quickly. I'd wait until game 15 to decide. If we are under .500, i'd get worried. If not, i'm sure we will be fine. I look forward to making more posts here and being active in both the Canes and Wild community.