Does Former Gopher Goon Stu Bickel have a Chance of Making the Wild

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If former Minnesota Gopher Goon Stu Bickel is going to make the Minnesota Wild out of training camp, it’s going to be as a fourth line punching bag.  You're probably wondering why I say punching bag? Bickel isn't a very good fighter, and he's definitely not a feared heavy weight. But he would fill a roll that the Wild need.

Chad Graff, Pioneer Press -- Bickel, who has played about one-third of his games in the NHL at forward, is hoping to show the kind of versatility that could earn him a spot on the roster.

Bickel, a 27-year-old former Gopher from Chanhassen, continues to climb up the depth chart in training camp. If he shows he can play forward Thursday night, it'll be another step in making the Wild out of camp.

"The more versatile a player is, the more opportunity is there for him," coach Mike Yeo said.

Bickel got into two fights during the Wild's 2-1 exhibition loss in Winnipeg on Monday, and he would add physicality and grit that the Wild lack without him.

He played 67 games with the New York Rangers in 2011-12 and 2012-13 -- and got into 28 fights.

Bickel has played in 67 NHL games and has scored an paltry (0g-9a—9pts), but has racked up an impressive 157 minutes in penalties. If Bickel makes the Wild out of training camp, it will not be for his offensive skills, which he obviously lacks.

If Wild decide that Bickel is going to be their designated punching bag, then he has a chance to play a few games with the Wild this season. Meh. Currently, the Minnesota Wild have no "real" punching bag/goon. So far in the preseason, the Wild have been in three fights. Bickel has been in two of those fights, Wild forward Jason Zucker was fought Simon Despres and didn’t fare so well. That being said, Zucker isn’t a pugilist and his job is to generate offense and score goals.

NHL Free Agency signing

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Campbell, Andrew, D, Los Angeles, Phoenix, n/a, n/a, n/a

Conner, Chris, RW, Pittsburg, Washington, n/a, one year

McKenna, Mike, G, Columbus, Phoenix, n/a, 1, n/a

Goc, Marcel, C, Pittsburg, Pittsburgh, 1.2M, one year

Biega, Alex, D, Vancouver, Vancouver, $600K, one year

Bickel, Stu, D, NY Rangers, Minnesota, $600K, one year

Desjardins, Cedrick, G, Tampa Bay, NY Rangers, $1.2M, two years

Jones, Blair, C, Calgary, Philadelphia, n/a, one year

Conner, Chris, RW, Pittsburgh, Washington, n/a, one year

Skille, Jack, RW, Columbus, NY Islanders, n/a, one year

Quincey, Kyle, D, Detroit, Detroit, $8.5M, two years  

Jason LaBarbera, G, Chicago, Anaheim, $750K, one year

MacIntyre, Drew, G, Toronto, Carolina, $600K, one year

Leggio, David, G, Washington, Islanders, n/a, one year

Chorney, Taylor, D, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, $550K, one year

Jones, Blair, C, Calgary, Philadelphia, n/a, one year

Skille, Jack, RW, Columbus, Islanders, n/a, one year

Ranger re-sign slow footed Bickel to contract

Looks like the New York Rangers plan on holding on to the NHL fighting Major total this season again. The New York Rangers have re-signed former Gophers hack defenseman Stu Bickel to a modest contract.

NEW YORK (AP) --- The New York Rangers have added grit and experience to their lineup by reaching a deal with forward Arron Asham on the first day of NHL free agency.

A 13-season NHL veteran, Asham spent the past two years with Pittsburgh. He had five goals and 11 assists in 64 games last season. Overall, he has 92 goals and 206 points in 756 career games split between five teams.

Asham broke into the NHL in 1998 with Montreal, and has also played for the Islanders, New Jersey and Philadelphia.

Earlier on Sunday, the Rangers agreed to re-sign defenseman Stu Bickel, who had nine assists in 51 games in his first NHL season last year. New York had acquired Bickel in a trade with Anaheim in November 2010.

It’s no mystery why Bickel is playing with the New York Rangers - the slow foot defensman Bickel played minuscule minutes during the Rangers playoff push and was seen as a defensive liability at crucial times.

One of Bickel’s redeeming strengths is that he is willing drop the gloves and be a punching bag is probably the main reason Bickel was inserted into the Rangers line up this past season. Bickel was third on the Rangers in fights and dropped the gloves 12 times during 51 games for the New Yorks Rangers. Brandon Prust lead the Rangers with 20 fights but signed a contract with the Montreal Canadians.

Rangers and Devils spill over.

The Rangers and the Devils started out their game the other night and the war of words has continued. I hope these two teams play each other in the playoffs, they are going to beat the crap out of each other, that what a rivalry is. Nice to see a player like Stu Bickel who has little talent but to fight; can actually win a face off...

Personally, I don't have a problem with visiting coach handing in a line up card like that, it sends a message to the other team that your team is not going to be pushed around and be bullied.

Ranger Rants --- DeBoer handed in a starting lineup with pugilists Eric Boulton, Ryan Carter and Cam Janssen, to which Tortorella said he felt compelled to counter with a starting line of Stu Bickel, Mike Rupp and Brandon Prust. That, of course, turned into a staged, three-on-three line brawl that resulted in 40 penalty minutes with the game just three seconds old. After the game, DeBoer said of Tortorella, “I guess in John’s world you can come into our building and start your tough guys but we can’t do the same in here. He’s either got short-term memory loss or he’s a hypocrite.”

“I read it,” Tortorella said of DeBoer’s comment. “I think Peter needs to jog his memory as far as the starting lineups that I’ve put in over in their building and really, basically, just shut up. And I need to also. I think the situation last night is disrespectful to players and I think we took a backwards step. I get put in a position when he puts a lineup like that out - and I’m not sure what’s going to happen if I put my top players out - so I have to answer the way I need to answer. Really, just look at the two lineups and some of the things he’s done through the games here, again, I don’t want to coach his team, but just shut up.

“Fighting’s part of the game, that’s a big part of the game,” Tortorellla said. “But it doesn’t need to be manufactured. In that type of game, Jersey and the Rangers, there were going to be fights. But it’s really gotten old for me, the staged fights, it doesn’t need to be manufactured. Nowadays in our league, if a guy gets hit hard, clean, everybody’s looking to fight. Where hard checking and hard hitting is part of the game. And that crap at the beginning of the game, to try to manipulate it into it, I just don’t think it’s right for the game. I think there’s enough of it, and there always will be and there should be. I’m certainly not one of the pacifists that think fighting should be out of the game, that’s a big part of our game. But let the players decide. I just don’t think coaches should be putting players in situations that basically dictates fighting.”

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Rangers and Devils start the game off with a brawl

I guess the New York Rangers didn't want to let the Boston Bruins beat them in Fighting Majors tonight, so the Rangers decided to have three to start the game off.

This was the opening face-off for tonight's game between the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils. That is a crazy way to start to a game, I haven't seen something like that for a very long time. Three fights by six different players fighting on the ice at one time. Former Golden Gopher's and current Rangers defenseman Stu Bickel broke the hockey code when he continued to hit Minnesota State University Mankato Mavericks forward Ryan Carter as he laid on the ice. Bryce Salvador got a 10 minute misconduct for trying to get Bickel off of Carter.

00:03	NJD	Cam Janssen : Fighting (maj)  - 5  min
00:03	NYR	Mike Rupp : Fighting (maj)  - 5  min
00:03	NJD	Eric Boulton : Fighting (maj)  - 5  min
00:03	NJD	Bryce Salvador : Misconduct (10 min)  - 0  min
00:03	NYR	Stu Bickel : Fighting (maj)  - 5  min
00:03	NJD	Ryan Carter : Fighting (maj)  - 5  min

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• Worst fight of the year... Subban vs. Wheeler (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

Worst fight of the year... Subban vs. Wheeler

Far be it from me, to stick up for Blake Wheeler because I think he is a big bodied player that plays like he is 5'9" but P.K. Subban was trying to elbow Wheeler in the head. I am surprised that the Canadian's fraud Subban didn't turtle from this fight as well. I guess he saw Wheeler as not being much of a threat.

Now compare and contrast, former Gopher and current New York Rangers defenseman Stu Bickel is making quite a name for himself with the Rangers.

Apparently, the other night the former Gopher defenseman got in two fights in a game against Philadelphia Flyers. One of his fellow combatants Flyers cement head Tom Sestito got into three fights. I got to give Bickel credit, and he is a much better fighter than former fellow Gopher team Blake Wheeler. Unlike some of the fighters around the league and Bickel respects the hockey code and doesn't hit an opponent once he hits the ice. I have to respect that.


 Here is the other fight. -  Bickel vs. Wayne Simmonds

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Color me surprised, Stu Bickel mixing it up in the NHL...

Gopher fans must be pleased that one of their former players is making an impression in the NHL preseason, albeit in a negative way. One of my least favorite Golden Gopher hockey players of all time; Stu Bickel. I suppose that this will be one of the only ways this guy will be able to stick/play in the NHL, being a third defensive pairing and having to fight on a regular basis to stay in the line up.

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