In need of an Offensive Defenceman?

by GooterBaby on Dec 12, 2011 6:34 AM CST

Lots has been said about the Wild and there depth on defense as of late, but are they in need of a more capable offensive defenceman? The obvious answer is yes. Brent Burns is long gone and his net finding shots through traffic and clutch overtime goals will be missed. the power play has been clicking better as of late but is missing that heavy shot from the point. Marty Scandella looks to be exceeding expectations and should be a solid #2 if not #1 guy on the back end. Jonas Brodin seems to posses the same type of game as him with a little better coverage in the D-end (Havn't seen him play). Other than that there isn't much but quality defensive defenceman in the pipeline. Yes Jared Spurgeon plays great for his size but I honestly would prefer not having him manning the number 1 power play unit for years to come. What should the Wild do to fill the whole that Burns and Zidlicky have created?

The opinions posted here are not those of Hockey Wilderness

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Is there really a need for this?

I do like the offensive D players, but how many odd man rushes were put up on shultz when burns carried the puck in deep, surely more times than burns scored (I’m a huge burns fan and hated to see him go) but as long as the wild keep getting production from so many forwards, the occasional chip in goal from the point has obviously worked so far. All of the “experts” have thought this couldn’t last but so far it has! 17 of the last 21!

by jgutz20 on Dec 12, 2011 9:02 AM CST reply actions

Jonas Brodin

He’s definitely not an offensive defensman. He’s nowhere near the same player as Scandella. Brodin can make a decent first pass out of the zone, but he’s really more of a defensive defensman first.
Give Scandella time. This is his first full NHL season. Defensmen take time to develop in the NHL. Be glad his defensive game is there, because the offense will catch up. NHL defense is the hardest thing to teach, so I’m just happy everyone on the team knows how to cover in their own end first.

You know you're a Wild fan if Spam Whoopie Gerald-buns comes up in conversation
Regressing all the way back to high school hockey.

by JDesthubert on Dec 12, 2011 11:43 AM CST reply actions

Pipeline

In my opinion, we only “need” 2 offensive defensemen in the line-up. We have the services of 4 pretty decent ones right now in Scandella, Zid, Spurg, and Prosser, only 2 of which are getting playing time and the team doesn’t seem to be suffering because of it.

Scandella is going to get better offensively, he has a bomb of a shot but needs to be more willing to shoot the puck. But we have already seen both his and Spurgeon’s willingness to jump up into the play. It’s all about comfort, once their defensive responsibilities are 2nd nature, they will be more willing to take calculated risks in their zone. One thing our current guys need to work on is pulling the trigger quicker and getting shots through.

by FinnfortheWin on Dec 12, 2011 12:02 PM CST reply actions

Calculated risk

This, oh so much this. That was the one thing Burns could NEVER figure out. How to take calculated risk and when to pinch. Loved the guy to death and think he is one of the best one-on-one players in the NHL. Its just when you bring in the other 4 players that he starts to make mistakes. One thing I love about the young players is their ability to read the game and their decision making abilities. Sometimes the execution needs to be better, but for the most part the decisions seem to be there.

by eamon17 on Dec 12, 2011 1:22 PM CST up reply actions

Spurgeon's offense has been picking up as of late

And so will Scandella’s with time.

Also, like it or not, Zidlicky’s return will bring more offense too, sadly probably at the cost of defense.

I'm that ''ignorant dumbass'' who writes with the ''whiny idiot homer'' over at Hockey Wilderness.

Twitter: BubbleWild48

by JSLandry on Dec 12, 2011 12:03 PM CST reply actions

I may be alone in this opinion

but I wasn’t that big of a fan of Burns. He allowed a lot of scoring opportunities on us by not filling his position. There was a perfect example in the Sharks game last week when someone sent a pass right through his zone, which was empty, and it turned into a goal. He was always trying to be a hot shot, but it only benefited himself, not the team.
No, we don’t need an offensive defenseman, we need offensive offensemen.

by BlizzardWizard on Dec 12, 2011 2:04 PM CST reply actions

We don't need an offensive defenseman, we need offensive offensemen.

Pretty good sentence. I do love the ‘’score-by-committee’’ thing the Wild have right now. Different heroes every game makes any team horribly hard to defend against.

I'm that ''ignorant dumbass'' who writes with the ''whiny idiot homer'' over at Hockey Wilderness.

Twitter: BubbleWild48

by JSLandry on Dec 12, 2011 4:08 PM CST up reply actions

Not sure I agree that the Wild need more offense right now. 3.77 goals scored per game during the 7-game winning streak isn’t bad offensive output, especially considering the team is missing their top power forward in Lats. Setoguchi is out and still hasn’t really found his groove. Clutterbuck has been dinged up, but has added impressive production from the 3rd line, from the 2nd (when necessary), and has become a dream killer on the PK. Plus, the PP is finally showing some power, and adding a PP specialist like Zids should help the man advantage.

Koivu is scorching the Earth right now with his play (16 points in his last 12 games), Heaters gonna Heat (6-game point streak, 10 points in his last 12 games), Brodziak has found a totally different level of his play (8 points in his last 8 games), Cullen has 5 points in his last 5 games, and PMB has 6 points in his last 5 games.
Honestly, the offense is coming around. The top line is obviously producing, as Heatley and Koivu are seeing each other better and finding each other on the ice. Apparently, they’re playing so well the Wild can plug a Houston Aero on the top line and even the mystery player can produce.
The Wild are getting secondary scoring. PMB and Cullen seem to be clicking. Brodziak is adding extra depth scoring. Nick Johnson has been rewarded for his work recently, with 7 points in his last 8 games.
30 games in, and now the system seems to be paying huge dividends, as one Father Yeo once decreed.

You know you're a Wild fan if Spam Whoopie Gerald-buns comes up in conversation
Regressing all the way back to high school hockey.

by JDesthubert on Dec 12, 2011 4:34 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah, I didn’t mean that to sound like our offense isn’t producing. I mostly just meant that offense belongs to offensemen. I think our D are doing a serviceable job. I also like the score-by-committee thing we have going.

by BlizzardWizard on Dec 12, 2011 7:43 PM CST up reply actions

I laugh every time i read offenseman

by nemo1107 on Dec 12, 2011 11:21 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah, is that even a word?

by BlizzardWizard on Dec 13, 2011 12:03 AM CST up reply actions

we generally go with "forward"

by nemo1107 on Dec 13, 2011 12:12 AM CST up reply actions

Right

but that doesn’t make my zen-like koan sound as good.

by BlizzardWizard on Dec 13, 2011 12:29 PM CST up reply actions

The main point I was trying to get out of this is we need some D-men who are willing to shoot the puck….especially on the power play. If we had this we would be a more complete team that didnt have to really on scoring off of rebounds as much.

by GooterBaby on Dec 12, 2011 7:26 PM CST up reply actions

If Zidlicky is practicing, then expect to see him back very soon.

When he does, you’ll see plenty of shots coming from the blue line. Also Scandella is on pace to break the 100 shot mark, and Spurgeon is right up there, too. It was a Spurgeon shot that got deflected by Heatley, which led to a goal against Phoenix. He won’t get credit for that shot, but he put it towards the net and good things happened. And if I’m not mistaken, that happened on the powerplay.

by nemo1107 on Dec 12, 2011 11:28 PM CST up reply actions

Not really.

I’d love a top defenseman, somebody who plays awesome two-way hockey. Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of guys like that around right now – Chara, maybe Yandle and Ehrhoff.

But if you’re going to have a one-way player, I prefer the defensive. They’re cheaper, more reliable, and harder to replace with production from forwards.

by timprov on Dec 12, 2011 11:41 PM CST reply actions

Shea Weber and Ryan Suter

both UFA’s after this season.

by nemo1107 on Dec 13, 2011 12:12 AM CST up reply actions

I feel like an idiot for missing Weber.

Not quite so sure about Suter, though maybe he’s found a new level this year.

by timprov on Dec 13, 2011 12:21 AM CST up reply actions

He's got 5 G, 15 A and is a +11 on the year so far

by nemo1107 on Dec 13, 2011 1:27 PM CST up reply actions

Thought Weber was RFA

by GooterBaby on Dec 13, 2011 2:06 AM CST up reply actions

I may be mistaken

but I believe that an arbitration contract is the last RFA deal that can be done. Weber got his contract via arbitration, so I believe that puts him at UFA status. I’m not sure, though, so don’t quote me on that.

You know you're a Wild fan if Spam Whoopie Gerald-buns comes up in conversation
Regressing all the way back to high school hockey.

by JDesthubert on Dec 13, 2011 11:48 AM CST up reply actions

according to Capgeek

He will be an RFA when his contract expires.

by eamon17 on Dec 13, 2011 12:22 PM CST up reply actions

Hmmm, ok. Like I said, I wasn’t totally sure.

You know you're a Wild fan if Spam Whoopie Gerald-buns comes up in conversation
Regressing all the way back to high school hockey.

by JDesthubert on Dec 13, 2011 12:25 PM CST up reply actions

Ok, I just checked RFA status

If a player has been in the league 7 years, he becomes a UFA after the 7th year if he’s still under the age of 27. If his 28 games in his first season count, then Weber will finish his 7th year in the league this year. I’ll pop over to On the Forecheck and ask them though, just to find out.

You know you're a Wild fan if Spam Whoopie Gerald-buns comes up in conversation
Regressing all the way back to high school hockey.

by JDesthubert on Dec 13, 2011 12:30 PM CST up reply actions