11/05/24
September 02, 2003
Pay the man!: I've been a fan of Risebrough since being a tyke Flames fan, but this current situation for the Wild is not helping me bring back fond memories. I appreciate the good team vs. good player aargument, to a point. Marian Gaborik is the next big thing, and he's even lucky enough to have been taught how to play D by Lemaire. A point per game in the playoffs for a third year player with practically zero offensive support, less Zholtok. Give the man his money, because he's made more for you than you've paid him.
Marian just bought some land in suburban/rural Minneapolis so I'm assuming this is just stupid agent/GM fighting. Doug is smart enough to know that the guy needs to get paid, and if he holds out, there will be 16,000 very upset season ticket holders.
posted by emoeby at 10:50 AM on September 02, 2003
Hockey has the best names in sports.
posted by rcade at 10:55 AM on September 02, 2003
so, what are the Wild offering (if anything) and thus how far apart are they in contract talks? How about offering him the same money as Richards but lock him in for more years. I've been a non-fan of Risebrough since he started the Flames slide to oblivion with that Gilmour etc for Leeman etc trade.
posted by gspm at 11:56 AM on September 02, 2003
gspm, don't forget the loss of Gary Suter. I chalk up those moves to small town economics, more than bad managment. I still can't believe how good that team was. Al Mac, Suter on the blue line. Vernon in net. Roberts, Neiuwendyk, Hull, Loob, Lanny, Gilmour, Mullen, Otto, Peplinski... At least Joe got the Flames Jarome, and Roberts nabbed Giggy, before he was Giggy.
posted by garfield at 12:08 PM on September 02, 2003
Did you just say Peplinski? Someone should notify him.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 03:13 PM on September 02, 2003
Don't worry, his $0.29 residual payment is in the mail.
posted by garfield at 03:49 PM on September 02, 2003
economics does factor into it and it is difficult to compare then with now but you have to look at what Ottawa and Minnesota have assembled over the years with small town money and compare that with the running start of talent that Risebrough started with and pfffft. I can't be too hard on the guy though. By then I had left Calgary and been living in Ontario where you pretty much can't watch Flames games save for appearances HNIC. so when faced with what eventually developed into a full season of Leafs games one finds it easier to just be a Leaf fan. and then again for the Flames team that Risebrough inherited that had been doing very well regular season-wise since the 1989 Cup win but had absolutely failed to win even a single playoff series since that time so I suppose he had to do SOMETHING to try and turn things around. And I was gonna say "And as good as Hull was he wasn't Hull until he was in St Louis" but looking at his stats he appeared for a few games in the 86-87 season but really started in the next one and played 52 games for the Flames and had 50 pts (26/24) and then got traded to St Louis so I guess he "was Hull" before he went to St Louis so what the hell was that trade about (I recall his lack of defensive attention being a knock at the time)? Hull and Bozek for Ramage and Wamsley? seems like a lousy trade now. (and I guess that is recalled in the Say It Ain't So link I provided earlier but I never read that far).
posted by gspm at 06:11 PM on September 02, 2003
I can't defend the guy too much, since he did have a stellar regular season team, except without punch in the June. That kind of situation creates GMania, a major symptom of which is dumping players/salaries. Oh well, it could've been ownership wanting to slash costs before all the Stanley money was gone, or he could've been just trying to do too much. Who knows?! It was almost 15 years ago. Yipes. I'm all growed up.
posted by garfield at 08:23 AM on September 03, 2003
Scary fact for a canadian : Marian Hossa is from the same home town in Slovakia.