Confirmed with Link: Matt Cooke (Released from Wild)

[grN1g]

Failure to make the playoffs is tolerable when you understand the situation back then.

Fletcher was hired for his first ever GM job with no valuable prospects, no attraction to sway big name free agents, and ALOT of pressure to make the playoffs. I don't blame him or anyone that runs this franchise at all for those first 2 years and failing to make playoffs. Imo the fans outrageous demand for playoff hockey with what he had played a major part in decisions that were made.

 

[DANOZ28]

Failure to make the playoffs is tolerable when you understand the situation back then.

Fletcher was hired for his first ever GM job with no valuable prospects, no attraction to sway big name free agents, and ALOT of pressure to make the playoffs. I don't blame him or anyone that runs this franchise at all for those first 2 years and failing to make playoffs. Imo the fans outrageous demand for playoff hockey with what he had played a major part in decisions that were made.

while i tend to agree with you that the first 2 years given the situation it would be unfair to blame new mgmt , after how many years are they finally accountable? 3? 5? 10? ask yourself this would the team be better off now if CF immediatley started a rebuild like buffalo & calgary are undergoing? (think about the even higher draft picks). there should always be pressure to make the playoffs in a league where 50+% make it, this isn't MLB!

 

[rynryn]

are you saying failure is acceptable? what if you paid the same $$ for your corolla vs a porche? these players are making millions of $$$, ownership is charging plenty for tickets but im suppose to wait patiently until things gel. hmmmmm

if you're a short sighted simpleton you're going to have different goals than normal people. don't wait if you don't want to...wait. implying you'd actually buy tickets or something. yes, "failure" is a reasonable expectation under certain circumstances. You expect Kane to be in the top ten in scoring next year. breaks his leg halfway through the season. Failure. technically. also acceptable.

 

[Minnewildsota]

while i tend to agree with you that the first 2 years given the situation it would be unfair to blame new mgmt , after how many years are they finally accountable? 3? 5? 10? ask yourself this would the team be better off now if CF immediatley started a rebuild like buffalo & calgary are undergoing? (think about the even higher draft picks). there should always be pressure to make the playoffs in a league where 50+% make it, this isn't MLB!

Bahahaha! This right here proves you don't know what you're talking about. Calgary was in No Man's Land for just short of a decade.

 

[DANOZ28]

Bahahaha! This right here proves you don't know what you're talking about. Calgary was in No Man's Land for just short of a decade.

are you crazy? calgary didnt start their complete rebuild till the last trade deadline when they dumped iginla what you talkin bout willis?

 

[Minnewildsota]

are you crazy? calgary didnt start their complete rebuild till the last trade deadline when they dumped iginla what you talkin bout willis?

Yeah, but they didn't immediately start a rebuild much like what you had written. As I stated previously, they were in No Man's Land for just short of a decade.

 

[Engebretson]

The DR vs CF horse has been beaten to death, resurrected, and beaten to death again more times than Kenny. After reading the last page, I was surprised to look up and see that this thread was supposed to be about Cooke.

 

[rynryn]

Hates Cooke therefor fletcher is a bad gm so must find more rational excuse to hate fletcher. Or something. But it all stems from Cooke. As someone said pretty much all his teammates think highly of him...can't say that about some others of his peers. And most fans of east teams admit he's reformed. So essentially someone is living in the past in a huge way. Totally acceptable to hold a grudge on Cooke IMO but completely mental to deny the logic of the signing.

 

[Jarick]

It's completely beaten to death but if you guys want to keep talking, nobody's stopping you...offseason and all.

 

[Nsjohnson]

95% of Pitts fans already miss him. They know what he brought, and supposedly his positives far outweighed his negatives. We will find out firsthand and make a conclusion then, but making one beforehand, especially one that doesn't line up with almost any Pens opinions is not very logical.
DanOz you may find yourself only talking to SOH if you keep up this torrent of negativity and keep rubbing others wrong on here- I hope not as this should be an open discussion with diverse opinions, but we all have the ability to block who we want as most of us have done with SOH. I like when others have something different to say, but framing your opinion is as important as the thought itself. Just food for thought..

 

[DANOZ28]

1st im really not worried if nobody appreciates my opinions. 2nd did any of you watch the vid i posted of cooke cutting karlsson? what if that was brodin? suter? parise? i bet none of you would be whistling dixie!

 

[tyratoku]

1st im really not worried if nobody appreciates my opinions. 2nd did any of you watch the vid i posted of cooke cutting karlsson? what if that was brodin? suter? parise? i bet none of you would be whistling dixie!

It was an accident. Aside from that hit, he's been as clean as most other agitating players in the past few years. He's drastically changed since his early head-hunting days.

 

[DANOZ28]

how often does a pro skate hard into a corner with the blade in the air pointing towards an opponant? have YOU ever done that? anybody? bueller?

 

[Ban Hammered]

So you can prove it was on purpose then? Give me a break. Considering Cooke's history, if the league had ANY doubts, he'd have been suspended. The fact he wasn't, should confirm it was an accident. But you will never be convinced of it, so just drop it. You hate him and blame Fletcher, we get it. But Cooke is here, he isn't going anywhere so all you are doing is screaming into the wind. Let. It. Go.

 

[Nona Di Giuseppe]

how often does a pro skate hard into a corner with the blade in the air pointing towards an opponant? have YOU ever done that? anybody? bueller?

You seriously need a list of times players have been cut with a skate ?

You also want to know how often a pro skates into the corner with their blade off the ice a bit. Watch any game. Happens all the time.

Karlson didn't have his skates done up properly. It's a looser method of lacing them up, but it leaves the back ankle exposed.

Cooke was not at fault and it would be amazing if he had the ability to knowledgeably pull off such an attack.

Not to mention... hitting someone really hard is one thing, being reckless, sure. Slicing them with a blade is completely different.

 

[BigT2002]

So you can prove it was on purpose then? Give me a break. Considering Cooke's history, if the league had ANY doubts, he'd have been suspended. The fact he wasn't, should confirm it was an accident. But you will never be convinced of it, so just drop it. You hate him and blame Fletcher, we get it. But Cooke is here, he isn't going anywhere so all you are doing is screaming into the wind. Let. It. Go.

Exactly. He was one of those players (just like Torres) that if they can make an example of him, they are going to do it.

 

[Wild33]

how often does a pro skate hard into a corner with the blade in the air pointing towards an opponant? have YOU ever done that? anybody? bueller?

Funny because TSN showed that night two instances of a player pinning another against the boards just as Cooke did in the 1st period of the late game. It is a common play that went horribly wrong.

 

[this providence]

Ya. But. Did any of you guys see the moving picture of the skate gash?

 

[Beegoalie]

Anyone doubting where CF has brought the Wild to now since the time he took over is seriously confused in the head. We had NOBODY..Koivu and nothing. No prospects no players..no hope. Look at us now..

 

[Beegoalie]

PS get over the Cooke signing people. Everyone is going to love him when they see him play and stick up for his teammates. He is the kind of player everyone will love on OUR team. No matter how much he was hated by our fans when he was in Purple in Van or black in Pitt he will be beloved here.

 

[MuckOG]

while i tend to agree with you that the first 2 years given the situation it would be unfair to blame new mgmt , after how many years are they finally accountable? 3? 5? 10? ask yourself this would the team be better off now if CF immediatley started a rebuild like buffalo & calgary are undergoing? (think about the even higher draft picks). there should always be pressure to make the playoffs in a league where 50+% make it, this isn't MLB!

How has that philosophy worked out for Edmonton? All they do is pick in the top 5 and still miss the playoffs year after year.

The truth is that there is no one single best method to rebuild a franchise. There are many factors that play into how it can be done (current mix of players, budget, market, prospects, etc.) and depending on the situation the GM inherits, some factors are weighted more heavily than others.

To answer your first question, I believe Fletcher is on the hook now.

 

[rynryn]

Not even close. He has a few years of early exits before he feels the heat.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

while i tend to agree with you that the first 2 years given the situation it would be unfair to blame new mgmt , after how many years are they finally accountable? 3? 5? 10? ask yourself this would the team be better off now if CF immediatley started a rebuild like buffalo & calgary are undergoing? (think about the even higher draft picks). there should always be pressure to make the playoffs in a league where 50+% make it, this isn't MLB!

At best, we'd be the Oilers. At worst we'd be the Oilers with marginally less talented young players. Essentially what you're saying is the Fletcher should've have came in the summer of 2010 and traded Koivu, Burns and not have signed Havlat (which everybody was ok with after Gaborik left). Of course, Leipold would've probably never given him the job if that was his grand strategy.

Who knows, maybe our group of nobodies would overachieve and not get the #1 pick, and maybe pick #3 or #4. Then instead of Hall, RNH and Yakupov we have Johansen, Brodin and Reinhart; not a bad group but where exactly would we be?

 

[MuckOG]

Not even close. He has a few years of early exits before he feels the heat.

What I mean by "on the hook" is that this is his team now. The stench of Doug Risebrough has been thoroughly scrubbed away. I don't necessarily think he would be fired if the Wild missed the playoffs, but it's certainly possible.

 

[DANOZ28]

At best, we'd be the Oilers. At worst we'd be the Oilers with marginally less talented young players. Essentially what you're saying is the Fletcher should've have came in the summer of 2010 and traded Koivu, Burns and not have signed Havlat (which everybody was ok with after Gaborik left). Of course, Leipold would've probably never given him the job if that was his grand strategy.

Who knows, maybe our group of nobodies would overachieve and not get the #1 pick, and maybe pick #3 or #4. Then instead of Hall, RNH and Yakupov we have Johansen, Brodin and Reinhart; not a bad group but where exactly would we be?

my rebuild comment was for the poster that said look how far we've come, & my thought was if our new drafting / scouting team was this good with the picks we had think about possibility of better picks. i never said thats what we should have done.