“Wild report: Notes, quotes” |
| Posted: 16 Oct 2010 02:07 AM PDT The Sports Xchange Oct. 16, 2010 Notes, quotes · Roster · Inside shots
--Have rings, will travel. That is the current job description of Chicago executive Al MacIsaac. So how does this relate to the Wild? Well, the 2010 Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks had a salary cap-induced turnover in the roster, losing nine players from their championship team. So it's up to MacIsaac to travel around the league handing out the championship rings -- one each for the player and his wife -- to those dearly departed. Thursday that mean MacIsaac was delivering the hardware to Wild center John Madden as well as Oilers forward Colin Fraser and assistant coach Steve Smith, who were in town to play the Wild. For Madden, it is his third such prize. He owns Stanley Cup rings from winning titles with New Jersey in 2000 and 2003. And he said it never gets old. "It's like having too much fun," said the 37-year-old senior member of the Wild. "Can't happen." For the record, each ring weighs 91 grams and is 14-karat white gold with 404 diamonds and gemstones totaling 8 karats. Everyone from the intern on up to Chicago owner Rocky Wirtz got the same ring, according to MacIsaac. Madden keeps his two Devils rings in a safety deposit box and has never worn them. "They're big and awkward," he said. "Trust me, I'm not putting a damper on it. It's just not something you slip on your finger and forget it's there. Maybe when I'm retired I'll wear them. Madden said that if a player has won multiple Cups, that is indicated on the ring. --Former Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster, now playing for Edmonton, got stuck with the dinner bill Wednesday night when he went to eat with former teammate Mikko Koivu. Foster said Koivu pushed the check over to Foster because, in Koivu's mind, his big-bucks extension doesn't begin until next season, while Foster's new two-year, $3.6 million deal with Edmonton started this year. "Wait 'til next year," Foster quipped. "I'm picking the place, and I'm getting the surf and turf, plus one to go." --Opening night was a chance for the Wild to push their 10-year anniversary season celeb rations into a higher gear. That included having all the players enter Xcel Energy Center via a red carpet set up near the main fan. It also included the pre-game introduction of some of the better known players from the Wild's inaugural season of 2000-01, including Wes Walz, Brad Brown and Minnesota native and current Wild assistant Darby Hendrickson. --Doug Risebrough, the Wild's GM for a decade through the 2008-09 season, is now a consultant with the New York Rangers. As the Wild was heading toward its home opener he reminisced about his time with the Wild, which included starting the team from scratch and leading an organization that made three playoff appearances in its first seven seasons. The most memorable, of course, was the first, which came in the spring of 2003 when the upstart Wild came back from 3-1 deficits against both Colorado and Vancouver en route to the Western Conference final. One of his strongest memories was midway through that magical season when head coach Jacques Lemaire asked for a meeting. The Wild's first coach was tense, worried. You'd better do something, and now, he said, because this thing is out of control. Years later Risebrough remembers the moment with crystal clarity. Lemaire, clearly, was worried that too much success too soon might be a problem. "He said, 'If you want a high draft pick, you have to trade somebody or something, or else we're going to make the playoffs,'" Risebrough said. "I remember I laughed and said, 'Let's run with this.'" The rest, of course, is history. QUOTE TO NOTE Copyright (C) 2010 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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