After watching the Minnesota Wild being dismantled and beaten for the eight time in eight games on the road I am have come to the conclusion that the Minnesota Wild suck worse than I thought they would or possibly could.

Blame to go around

First round busts James Sheppard (10 games, 0g-0a-0pts) and Benoit Pouliot (1g-1a-2pts) both are still with the team and contributing nothing on the ice or on the score sheet. I would bet that James Sheppard is now more untouchable; reason, no one would want this useless waste of a uniform on their team. Again, please remind me why this kid was selected in the first round? If the Wild had to trade Sheppard they probably couldn’t get a late 7th round draft choice for his worthless butt. The Minnesota Wild’s off season acquisition Peter Sykora (11 games, 0g-1a-1pts) and is also a defensive liability at -8. I would love to be able to make a million dollars at my job offering little productivity.

The earth shattering off season acquisition of former Blackhawk Martin Havlat has been an utter disappointment and very unimpressive (1g-4a-5pts) and -10 in 9 games. Last season free agent acquisition Owen Nolan has looked old and is contributing very little (11 games, 1g-2a-3pts) and is also a -5. It won’t be long before the boo birds will be raining down on the Wild from the 18,000+ loyal fans that pay too much to watch a team suck this bad. Nice to see Russo asking questions about player performance. [Wild Player stats]

James Sheppard and Benoit Pouliot will be back in the lineup after being forced to sit with us lowly know-it-all scribes the other night.

Coach Todd Richards wants more from both players. He wants physicality, skating, crashing the net and battling.

Sheppard was real good this morning talking: "It gives me a chance to react and make a positive from a negative."

He said watching from upstairs was like watching a video game, which is what I always say. You don't appreciate the lack of time and space the guys have on the ice from up in the pressbox. Everything's in slow motion, but it does give you a good ability to watch and see how plays develop.

I asked Richards about "why Pouliot?" It does seem the underachiever is finally showing some life, but that isn't enough for Richards. He said when he goes into the corners, he better no longer turn away from bodies and better start finishing checks. Funny, but I pointed that out in LA that Pouliot cost the Wild the winning goal bailing out on a check, and I got a bit lambasted for that observation. But he's been a lot better lately. A lot more physical. [Russo's Rants]