Quote:
Originally Posted by metaldude26
It's a solid theory. I think Granlund can have a Nuge-esque effect on the Wild power play but the Wild also need improved special teams coaching. The additions of Parise and Suter will ensure that the puck gets going in the right direction so the Wild generate more offensive chances.
The problem is that the Wild did not sign the Wizard of Oz this summer so I don't know where Heatley is miraculously going to find some courage. Heatley is a perimeter guy at this point and unless that changes Heatley is still going to struggle, regardless of the quality of his teammates.
So for the most part, I just love ribbing you about him.
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I dunno the thing is with Koivu out for a bit of the season, the Wild PP was essentially non-existant (15.1% efficiency), they also lacked a real PP QB. Heatley is the type of player that needs someone to help generate the offense for him so he can finish. The problem with the Wild last season was there wasn't anyone to do that for him, so key defenders were on him like white on rice, which really limited his game.
Hopefully what the additions of Suter and Parise will do is take some of that defensive pressure off of Heatley and Koivu, to let them do their thing and open it back up for them.
Also he has the benefit of dual eligibility as well, so I mean you can easily just pick up the flavor of the week on LW or RW and slot Heater on the opposite side. If you had say Max Pac, you could really only pick up a RW, which is a bit more limiting...
At his position, I might have went with Eriksson or Semin, or maybe a Thornton, but Heatley isn't a terrible option at that spot to be fair.
