The honeymoon is over.

No longer are the Minnesota Wild the favorite son in the Minnesota market; they can no longer do good no matter what. Its not so much that the team is losing (well, they are which doesn’t help), but for many its that it looks like the Organization is committed to make the playoffs, and that’s it. Not to field a true-blue contender, but just a plucky squad that will make the playoffs year after year, with no effort to show that they want a Cup.

The Chris Simon acquisition was the beginning of the end; not only was it an uninspirational pickup, one that could be considered superficial. Yes, the main culprits for the production (Gaborik, PMB, Rolston, Demitra, etc.) are not necessarily physical players, and their games are predicated on having space to work, and so with a physical (and playoff-tested) presence on the ice, that space would open up for these guys, they can use their skill and score, etc. blah blah blah. I understand it, some others do, but I think the main point of contention is that these guys aren’t scoring even with space. To say their offense is anemic is an understatement. I’ve gone over it before, Demitra and Rolston are better off on the wing, and Demitra himself came right out and said “we need a center”.

And everyone got Chris Simon; who is forever going to be served as the effigy for a revolution, unfairly or not. So, much to the players’ dismay, that is it. But for the fans…

Backlash; the radio station phone lines filled up (for weeks); Message Boards full of complaint threads; the cries of many denouncing their “fandom”. Wild Nation wanted more; maybe not just that marquee player like Olli Jokinen, but maybe just the effort to add to a team that considers itself a contender (an overstatement.) It’s become clear that this team does need the help, and while Simon’s past will always be a point of contention, for many its a slap in the face because of what has become an expensive endeavor to follow the Wild; this isn’t to say that Simon is the cure-all; this team has issues besides being a “soft team.” But the message to the organization is this- we’re shelling out our hard-earned money, to follow, cheer, and live and die with/for our favorite team, and we got what seems like a half-assed attempt to bring home a Stanley Cup. Ticket prices are going up continually, concessions and merchandise is and will always be a racket, and all we get is what many consider a “criminal”?

I know that I wrote that the Simon trade could be worth the gamble; I’m not going back on that stance. I do however feel this:

1. How are we gonna know if Simon is going to help when he’s a healthy scratch? You got him, play him.
2. I find that the excuse that “the management underestimated the fan reaction” or “all the negativity is from casual observers” is bogus. That is sort of a dense idiocy that can’t be used as an alibi; everyone knows who Chris Simon is, and his reputation and past has made National News, to say that you’d be able to bring him in (as the only acquisition no less) without the knowledgeable crowd (”you are the greatest hockey fans in the world…”) having an objection to it. That is near-sighted at best, and the insinuation that the negativity is from those who aren’t familiar with the game is smugness.

Now here we are, 12 games left, doing the high wire act between the division lead and falling out of the playoffs. This is a precarious position even without the firestorm, but now every loss is fuel for the fire and every excuse for heads to roll. To me, I don’t think its necessarily that a disgruntled Wild Nation wants the team to lose, but their ire is manifested into a faltering team, the same team the Brass fielded; so with every loss their point is made.