Who Will Lead The Wild Out Of The Wilderness?

The NHL Minnesota Wild ended up two points shy of the final Western conference playoff spot, which is quite a comedown from winning the Northwest division the previous season. Then again, they have only themselves to blame.

With or without their franchise player Marion Gaborik, whose injuries kept him away most of the season, scoring had been static with one or two goals being the norm most games. They have had to depend on the generosity of their opponents just to get a point (or two) to keep themselves in the playoff picture in the NHL's convoluted system. Which meant plenty of overtimes and shootouts.

Now the Wild have to face their future, and they will do so without Jacques Lemaire, who stepped down as its head coach Monday. Since the franchise began in 2000, Lemaire's emphasis on defensive play, and his ability to work with the players provided to him, had enabled the Wild to be more competitive than any recent expansion team had a right to be. For that, Lemaire deserves to be saluted.

Then there's Gaborik, who becomes a free agent in July. Even if he was healthy, the Wild would have been pressured to use him as trade bait because they had failed to sign him. It appears Gaborik, who has also been with the team since the beginning, will follow his coach out the door. That is, unless he discovers that other teams aren't willing to spend money on a proven goal-scorer who can't seem to stay off the disabled list.

With a new coach and (possibly) new players taking the ice next season, will the Team of 18,000 dwindle in numbers waiting for the Wild to come out of the wilderness and into the promised land of the playoffs?

Meanwhile, the Stanley Cup playoffs begin Wednesday. The Boston Bruins and San Jose Sharks won home ice in their respective conferences, with this being the first time in ages that the Bruins have been any good. The Columbus Blue Jackets have become the last franchise in the NHL (as currently constituted) to enter the playoffs for the first time, and their reward is in facing the defending champion Detroit Red Wings in the first round. And the Chicago Blackhawks are back in the playoffs for the first time in who knows how long. OK, maybe not that long.

But when it comes time to play for Lord Stanley's Cup in June, we think it'll be the Red Wings and Bruins.

UPDATE Let the housecleaning begin. Wild President and General Manager Doug Risebrough has been given the old heave-ho by owner Craig Leipold. Payback for standing pat and getting nowhere?