It Was a Rough Week…

The last week has been, well, not good for the Minnesota Wild as we’ve dropped our last three games while potentially losing an irreplaceable Joel Eriksson Ek. This past week has been the fire drill scene from The Office where Dwight puts the team to the test by starting the office on fire. Yeah, let’s go with that.

If Ekkers injury is as serious as it sounds, and unfortunately since it’s listed as week-to-week it probably is, this is going to be a HUGE loss to a team that’s about to see the return of Kirill Kaprizov and the debut of trade deadline pickup Gustav Nyquist.

Year after year, we complain about our lack of centers and #14 has done an incredible job at filling the void while having a career year. Again, a loss of Joel would be the biggest gut punch. Here’s another perfectly relatable picture from The Office to explain how I feel:

So, IF this the injury is as bad as it sounds, what next? Would we see the call-up we’ve all been talking about the last few months, Marco Rossi? I mean the kid has definitely proven himself in the AHL, however, we all know the competition is incredibly different between that and the NHL. Has he learned his lesson? Is he going to actually shoot the puck and be the player he’s supposed to be?

If the injury to JEEK is serious enough where it lingers into the playoffs, you have to believe BG gives a lonngg thought to a Marco Rossi call up. You need that 2nd line to stay on the offensive and Steel, Gaudreau, Dewar, or whoever else you put there won’t cut it #mnwild https://t.co/LNXTHVMS4Y

— x – Brett Marshall 🌲 (@B_Marsh92) April 7, 2023

I feel exactly the way Brett does. I believe that if Ek is out, it’s time think hard about Rossi. Get the young center to St. Paul and start building the chemistry. THIS is the time to do it. Don’t wait, just do it.

Updated Central Division Standings

While we patiently await the news on our top center, let’s take a quick look at the current central division standings.

Now you may be wondering, weren’t we just in first place? Yes, yes we were. But then Vegas happened. Three days in Sin City happened which clearly didn’t bring us any amount of luck. The only positive that came out of Vegas was me FINALLY meeting Michael Russo which was a dream come true!

What’s to Come?

While it’s been a rough week we should always look at the positives, right? Only four games remain in the regular season. Blues, Blackhawks, Jets and Predators where we will see the return of superstar forward Kirill Kaprizov and making his debut Gustav Nyquist! LET’S GO CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s almost playoff time Wild fans. Again it’s been a tough week but whatever ends up happening we’ve got this. Positivity is key to success.