The MN Wild should sell, sell, sell!

What is going on with our favorite hockey team? It has been a very ugly start to the season for the Wild. They have only been competitive in a couple games, and far too often are down by two or more after the first period.

It's hard to tell what is really wrong with the team. We have a coach/system that is built around controlling the puck and maintaining pressure in the offensive zone with the forecheck. I think the problem is we don't have Detroit's or Pittsburgh's level of talent to make this work. However, they are a much better team than they have shown so far. I'd like to give them a chance to get healthy and understand what the coach and system are looking for before hitting the panic button.

But the hand should be hovering over the panic button right now. I don't have much confidence that the Wild are a playoff team, maybe an 8 seed, but that feels very optimistic. I'm starting to think the best option is to start selling. We have a team without much for young talent that is ready to play in the NHL.

Our most valuable asset is Backstrom, and we should be able to get a king's ransom for him. This move would be better to do sooner than later, before his stats drag down his value. There are some teams that are a goalie away from being a contender (Detroit). The Wild should be able to get a top prospect and high draft picks for Backstrom.

I really don't want to trade a Burns or Koivu, they are young and should be the base this team is built around. The timing of signing Havlat sucks if we're going to sell and re-build, but it may be required.

It doesn't really look like there is much else with trade value on this team, they may as well stick with Bouchard, he doesn't have a lot of value. I think moving Backstrom could be a quick way to re-stock the cub bard and get the Wild on track towards being a contender in a couple years. The other bright spot about trading Backstrom is that it would likely result in fewer wins and a better draft position. We need some top-shelf talent to jump start this franchise.