Wilderness Walk: 5-10-2013: Post-Mortem Edition

This is the way the season ends

This is the way the season ends

This is the way the season ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.

Well, there's the series.

Peek behind the curtain here- I was in rehearsals most of the night tonight, and by the time I was done, the Wild were down 2-0. I didn't have the heart to see the rest of it. I figured it was over. Since, at the time of this writing, I've yet to see the recaps I can't speak to the kind of effort that was put in, whether they gave their best and were just outplayed by the opposition, or if they appeared to be defeated and sluggish. I'll find out soon, I guess.

But it looked bad. Really bad.

And we're going to spend a lot of time focused on the bad. When you're suffering through a playoff drought, you tend to forget certain things. Like how it feels just as bad being eliminated in the playoffs as in the regular season. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade making the playoffs for anything that happened the last four years, but it does suck. The finality of the season.

Like I said, we're going to focus on this bummer. In the next few days, we're doubtlessly going to dissect the events that took place this year. What went wrong, how things can be improved, who won't be retained. There will be moments of painful self-reflection, thinking about missed opportunities (Grrrr... edmonton game), and some good-byes.

But I don't think it's a Trail Guide's job to show you what sucks. Or at least, only what sucks. So, before we start the hard stuff, here's some of the things that I loved about this season:

• Playoffs- The Wild are on the right track
• Parise- Good as advertised
• Suter- Even better than advertised
• Brodin is magic
• Coyle and Zucker- Not bad, either
• Scandella providing a glimmer of hope for an improved defense next year
• Wild were nothing in 2009, are one of the up-and-coming teams now
• Josh Harding coming back from MS to pwn the Blackhawks for three games

What are your favorite things/moments concerning this season? Think about them. Cherish them. Because I don't think the Walk is going to be all that fun.

Wild News

Game Recaps

Wild blown away in Chicago in decisive Game 5 | StarTribune.com

Minnesota Wild: Season over after 5-1 loss to Blackhawks - TwinCities.com

Blackhawks eliminate Wild in five games, advance to second round | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports

2013 Minnesota Wild season over with 5-1 loss in Chicago

The Else

Another Wild season comes to an end; Backstrom had sports hernia | StarTribune.com- Still blown away that Yeo's job could still be in jeopardy, even after making the playoffs and winning a game. Careful what you wish for RE: Dave Tippett. I think he's a good coach, but if you didn't like watching Jacques' style- and there were plenty who didn't, even when it produced wins- you're gonna not love Tippett's very much.

Scoggins: Wild needs to find finishers to reach next level | StarTribune.com- Here's the problem with this: The Wild's going to need to do this developing from within. Trading prospects for a Thomas Vanek, for example, puts a clock on this team, with Suter, Parise, Koivu, Pominville, and Vanek forming the core of the team, along with Brodin. That's what, a 5 year window? I agree that the Wild need to get bigger and faster, but I think that the core of this team can produce enough goals between them to do well. Do the Blues, for example, have that much more in the way of "natural goal scoring" up front? They nearly won a President's Trophy last year, and are going toe-to-toe with the Cup Champs from last year.

Scoggins: Wild's Harding keeps raising MS awareness | StarTribune.com- The best part about this series: Josh Harding has spread a lot of hope, and I'm running out of ways to say how cool that is.

Corey Crawford’s unsung playoff heroism for Chicago Blackhawks | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- It's a very underrated part of this series. There's been nothing to indicate that he isn't an elite goalie this season, except for how awesome his team is.

Tending the Fields

The Third Intermission: And In The End- John at T31 says goodbye.

The Third Intermission: Putting a bow on it- So does Ms. Conduct. Andrew Ferraro does his last post today. They'll be missed. Good luck to all of you.

Prospect Watch: Minnesota Wild Sign 2012 2nd Round Pick Raphael Bussieres to Entry-Level Deal - Gone Puck Wild- All aboard the Raphy Buss!

Off the Trail

Conacher, Senators rout Canadiens in Game 5 to finish off Round 1 series | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- Congrats to @Kassassination, who picked up a couple assists on his way to eliminating his foe.

Sidney Crosby scores incredible Lemieux-like goal in Penguins’ Game 5 win (Video) | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- He put da team on his back, dude!

Stanley Cup Beard Watch: Sharks, Capitals lead the power rankings | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- At least the Wild did something right this postseason.

Miracle Sur Glace: France stuns Russia at World Hockey Championships | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- Perhaps the Russian team spent too much time seeing the naked ladies dance?

Eulogy: Remembering the 2012-13 Vancouver Canucks | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports- Will Canucks schadenfreude help you get through this elimination?

Questions abound for Canucks after sweep - ESPN- How about some more?

Despite having no money, Garth Snow has built the New York Islanders into a competitive franchise | Backhand Shelf- Crazy-good story for the Isles.

It looks like we'll be maintaining the Walk throughout the offseason, but likely with less frequency and content. But don't fret! There'll be plenty of content coming from us to you this offseason. Stick around, keep following us on HW and Twitter, and we'll hold up our end of the deal.

Also, I'm very grateful for you all. Your reading, your comments, your discussions, your hilarious gifs. It's been a pleasure to write for you guys, and I hold this community in very high esteem.

Have a good offseason, Wilderness. You earned it.