Former Wild Forward Devin Setoguchi signed by the Calgary Flames

Former Minnesota Wild forward Devin Setoguchi has been signed by the Calgary Flames. It would appear that the Flames got a bargain signing Setoguchi for $750,000. One could make the argument, that his is a smart contract, especially if he recovers from the miserable season that he had last season and scores 20 goals. That would be a big win for the Flames.

CGY signs Devin Setoguchi. One year. $750K AAV.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) August 23, 2014

Top-10 UFA's?

#478263087 / gettyimages.com

According toLuke Fox of Sports Net, these are the top-10 available UFA players.

10. Andre Benoit, Age: 30, 2013-14 team: Colorado Avalanche
9. Devin Setoguchi, Age: 27, 2013-14 team: Winnipeg Jets
8. Martin Brodeur, Age: 42, 2013-14 team: New Jersey Devils
7. Mike Ribeiro, Age: 34, 2013-14 team: Arizona Coyotes
6. Lee Stempniak, Age: 31, 2013-14 team: Pittsburgh Penguins
5. Derek Roy, Age: 31, 2013-14 team: St. Louis Blues
4. Michael Del Zotto, Age: 24, 2013-14 team: Nashville Predators
3. Tomas Vokoun, Age: 38, 2013-14 team: Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Steve Ott, Age: 31, 2013-14 team: St. Louis Blues
1. Daniel Alfredsson, Age: 41, 2013-14 Team: Detroit Red Wings

Minnesota Wild fans react to the Matt Cooke Signing...

The Wild signed Matt Cooke. Bye. pic.twitter.com/kGuVseF62o
— Abby (@ybba2215) July 5, 2013

Minnesota Wild Won't Earn Any New Fans By Signing Matt Cooke - Rant Sports http://t.co/eDMaOi42xY
— Minnesota Wild 24x7 (@MinWild24x7) July 7, 2013

Since initial shock I have decided to give matt cooke a chance...plz surprise us wild fans, we cud use some positivity right now
— Tyler Martin (@wildgeorge12) July 7, 2013

Sick of this Wild franchise. Fans have nothing to be excited about. Matt Cooke?? I have absolutely zero interest in this bum.
— mleegwater (@mleegwater) July 7, 2013

Still extremely upset about Matt Cooke😣
— Rachel Herbert (@dustyherb) July 7, 2013

@braja57 @Russostrib From Pens' HR and a Matt Cooke superfan. Good guy off the ice? Sure. The point is, he played the wrong way for years.
— Jordan Hansen (@JordanBHansen) July 7, 2013

There is way too much emotion flying around over Matt Cooke. Try using common sense folks.
— Giles Ferrell (@gilesferrell) July 7, 2013

If you are comparing Heatley, Cooke and Clutterbuck or any two thereof, just stop. Don't care what your personal feelings of each are. Stop.
— Jeremy (@knowsknothing) July 7, 2013

Devin Setoguchi's epic fail.

Minnesota Wild forward Devin Setoguchi scored the game tying goal with ten seconds  remaining in the third period of last night's game against the Montreal Canadians. Setoguchi's goal tied the game to send the game to overtime. The Wild and the Canadians didn't score during the extra session.

Setoguchi was able to go from hero to goat in about ten minutes in time with this epic failure. Fast forward to the shootout, the Wild forward  Setoguchi has a chance to extend the shootout, but he falls flat on his face during his failed attempt in the shootout.

Related articles

• Devin Setoguchi Falls On His Ass In Season's Worst Shootout Attempt [Video] (deadspin.com)
• Minnesota Wild falls to Montreal Canadiens in shootout after Devin Setoguchi ... - Toronto Star (thestar.com)
• Minnesota Wild Video: Watch Devin Setoguchi's Epic Fail in Shootout vs Canadiens (bleacherreport.com)
• Wild Night in Montreal (insidehockey.com)

Pierre-Marc Bouchard high stick on Matt Calvert

This incident happened during last night's Wild and Blue Jackets games apparently Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Scott Arniel was less than pleased that Pierre-Marc Bouchard only got a double minor. Just for the record  Bouchard has already had a call with the NHL.

It looked like a baseball swing in live action, but the Wild contended Bouchard’s stick was lifted into Calvert’s face.

The Jackets didn’t buy it. Bouchard was given a double-minor, but the Jackets wanted a five-minute major.

“It’s definitely an attempt to injure,” Arniel said. “Our whole bench saw it. Their whole bench saw it." [Blue Jacket Extra]

After looking at this high stick do you think Bouchard's high stick worthy of a suspension? Remember; Bouchard is not some untalented goon and Bouchard doesn't have a reputation of being a dirty player either. My question is, do the fans, players and coaches expect the NHL to suspend each and every major penalty and questionable infraction that happens on the ice? Not every major penalty requires a suspension. While I think this was a blatant high stick but probably "not worthy" of a suspension.

Related articles

• Heatley leads Wild to 4-2 win over Blue Jackets (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Ex-Sharks Heatley, Setoguchi lift Wild in opener (sports.espn.go.com)
• More of the Same: Columbus Blue Jackets Continue to Play Without Passion, Drive (bleacherreport.com)
• Healthy returns: Minnesota Wild will rely on Latendresse, Bouchard, Harding for key depth (thehockeynews.com)

There is a God; Wild trade James Sheppard.

Image via WikipediaWow! This summer has turned out to be pretty good for the Minnesota Wild, they have made another note worthy trade, the Minnesota Wild finally unloaded Wild waste of a serviceable uniform James Sheppard.

Sheppard once labeled untouchable by former GM buffoon Doug Risebrough has been nothing less than an utter disappointment with the Minnesota Wild.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose and Minnesota have made their third trade of the off-season, with centre James Sheppard going from the Wild to the Sharks on Sunday for a third-round draft pick in 2013.

Sheppard was the ninth overall pick in the 2006 draft, but the native of Lower Sackville, N.S., never performed up to his first-round potential. He missed all of last season after breaking his left kneecap in an off-ice accident. Sheppard has 11 goals and 38 assists in 224 career games.

Sheppard was a restricted free agent, but he has already a signed contract with the Sharks.

In June, San Jose sent Devin Setoguchi as part of a package to Minnesota for all-star defenceman Brent Burns. Last month, the Sharks traded Dany Heatley to the Wild for Martin Havlat.

Related articles

• Sharks acquire centre James Sheppard from Wild for a 2013 draft pick (thehockeynews.com)
• Sharks acquire centre James Sheppard from Wild (theglobeandmail.com)
• Sharks acquire C James Sheppard from Wild (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Sharks Acquire C James Sheppard From Wild (abcnews.go.com)
• Sharks Acquire C James Sheppard From Wild (nytimes.com)

conference finals predictions

Boston Bruins vs Tampa Bay Lightning: i find this series to be really interesting. Tampa Bay has the firepower to match any team with guys like Vincent Lacavailer and Martin St. Louis. the Boston Bruins have gotten good goaltending throughout the playoffs from Tim Thomas and Tampa Bay has as well with Dwayne Roloson. If Boston wants to win the series they will need to activate their defenseman into offensive zone and to take advantage of Chara's rocket shot from the point. the bruins need to break down Tampa Bay's 1-3-1 trap and to get their big guys like Milan Lucic and Michael Ryder in front of Roloson who is very good at stopping the first shot and doesn't give up a lot of rebounds. If Tampa Bay wants to win they will want to keep getting points from guys like dominic moore and teddy purcell to help out the big guns and for Roloson to shut down boston's top line of Lucic,Horton, and Krejci. I like the Bruins in 6 games because of the play of Tim Thomas in these playoffs, he has been amazing and i think the Bruins top line is going to have a big series.
Guys to Watch in this series: Krejci, BOS and Martin St. Louis, TB

San Jose Sharks vs Vancouver Canucks: in the western conference we have a battle of two teams that at times in the playoffs have been very inconsistent and have giving up big leads in previous series. I think we haven't seen the best of the Sedin Twins yet and expecting them to have a big series. the MVP of the playoffs so far has been Ryan Kesler, who seems like he is a man on a mission so far and is dominating every facet of the game. He is seen as one of the best two-way players in the NHL. The key for the Sharks to win this series is too shut down the Sedins and Kesler. The play of Dan Boyle of SJ in the playoffs has been amazing and he has made some key defensive plays as well as setting up a lot of offensive chances. Devin Setoguchi has also had a great playoff run so far and look for that to continue in this series. Anetti Niemi had a great series vs the Red Wings and that save he made vs Datsyuk in game 7 was just awesome. this series is going to come down to goaltending and i think Niemi has the advantage over Roberto Luongo in this series because Luongo has been very inconsistent throughout the playoffs and i think Niemi is coming into this series with a lot of confidence after taking down the red wings. i like the San Jose Sharks In 6 games because of the play of Niemi
Guys to Watch in this Series: Joe Thornton, SJ and Ryan Kesler, VAN