A pillar of Minnesota sports traded

Nick Schultz was the longest tenured Minnesota athlete saw his title taken away from him today. He was shipped to the conference rival Oilers for Minnesota native Tom Gilbert. Schultz has been with the team since they came to be in 1999. It's an offensive defenseman for a defensive defenseman.
Now with Schultz gone, the longest tenured member of the Minnesota Sports Scene is former teammate Pierre-Marc Bouchard, then Justin Morneau and Kevin Williams.

The New Jersey Devils are like this dog

Fleeced.

The Wild sent Marek Zidlicky to the Devils for three players (including former Wild players Kurtis Foster and Stephane Veilleux, noted pong pong enthusiast) AND two draft picks, a 2nd rounder and a conditional third rounder. Zidlicky had asked out, and the Wild weren't using him much. They turned a lump of garbage into 3 usable components and two draft picks. I'm stunned. I'm not used to being on this end of a lopsided trade. Not since Pierzynski, really.

My personal top 5 rivalries

Last night, Dick Vitale spent much of the evening saying how there was no argument that Duke-UNC was the greatest rivalry in the world. Well, I think there is an argument. First off, it depends on your definition of what makes a rivalry great. Is it the number of people involved with a rooting interest? Well, then it's probably an international soccer rivalry, like China versus Japan. Lots of people in both countries, and historic animosity. And really, more people hate both teams than pick a side with Duke-UNC. Is it the level of animosity between the two sides and their fan bases? More than 70 people were killed after a match in Egypt this past week. When was the last time there was that kind of an incident at Duke-UNC? (This is a good thing that this hasn't happened, for the record).
No, the greatest rivalries are all personal. I couldn't care less about the Yankees and Red Sox or Duke and North Carolina. These are rivalries I actually care about. Matchups that, when they occur, really get my blood boiling, because of my own personal experience.

5) Purdue vs Wisconsin (college football): This is a matchup that will likely only ever appear on my own personal list, but since I grew up in Minnesota and learned to hate Wisconsin, and then had the team rip out my heart in 2004, thanks to a Kyle Orton fumble and subsequent Wisconsin touchdown return, they have always been a source of anxiety, every time I see them on the field.

4) Purdue vs Indiana (college basketball): Purdue is a basketball school, first and foremost, and their annual games against the Hoosiers are always a highlight. I learned early that the Hoosiers are not to be trusted.

3) Twins vs White Sox (Baseball): The Twins are my favorite team in all sports, and I have a high level of disdain for all American League Central teams (and the Yankees, but that's not really a rivalry, so much as a complete destruction), but having lived near Chicago for a few years, and having a team that more or less is on the same overall success arc as the Twins over the last decade pushes the Sox to the top of my "greatest rivalry" list. Well, in baseball, anyways.

2) Wild vs Canucks (Hockey): Ever since Matt Cooke, I just can't ever take it upon myself to wish anything but harm on the Canucks. I actually hate Vancouver so much, that I am glad the NHL is realigning, so I don't have to see their ugly faces as much.

1) Colts vs Patriots (Football): I am a pretty mellow sports fan, especially when it comes to the NFL. I am what you might call coldly analytical. I am OK with watching games in silence, because I usually do. That would be the reason for surprise when I yell at my TV whenever the Colts and Patriots play. While this Super Bowl proved to me that I don't unconditionally hate the Patriots, it did prove to me that I do feel that way about Indianapolis. Why else would I feel so passionately about the Colts beating New England? There is no greater feeling than the Colts beating the Patriots.

At least, not in my book. Like I said, this is all about your own perspective.

I think Colton Gillies is my favorite Wild player

I went to the Wild game last night, a night in which the team must have been completely gassed after a barn burner in Winnipeg the previous night. Still, The Wild got their legs late in the game, even sending it to overtime. The best player on the ice was Patrick Kane, who was filthy. The puck wouldn't leave his stick, like there was glue on it. It stood out especially in a sloppy game where the Wild *cough*Dany Heatley*cough* couldn't compose a pass or stick handle or anything.
The guy who stood out in the green sweater, though, was Colton Gillies. He was always high energy on a high energy line (with Kyle Brodziak and Nick Johnson), despite the team having such a brutal 48 hour stretch. Every face off, he tried to jump in, he actually chased down pucks. I was impressed with his hustle, even if he didn't get any points, and only has 2 assists on the season.
Also, he looks a little like Brent Burns, and I feel bad I never warmed up to him.

Will someone feed Guillaume Latendresse

Michael Russo was either using clever word play in his headline, or Guillaume Latendresse could use a bite to eat.

Hey, so that Dany Heatley trade was kinda weird

Interesting things happening in St. Paul tonight. And no, I wasn't talking about my verification of a forecast for St. Paul at Victoria-Weather (though that obviously WAS interesting), I was talking about the trade the Wild made for Dany Heatley. That's... wonky.
Let's review: The Wild needed a goal scorer, and they had already added Devin Setoguchi and they decided to make a big splash, acquiring one of the top scorers in the game in Heatley. Of course, they had one of the best playmakers out there in Martin Havlat to feed him the puck... oh. Right. They traded Havlat for Heatley straight up. Now the Wild are getting short on guys that can move the puck, with Brent Burns, Andrew Brunette and Havlat all gone. So that's weird.
Also, what's the deal with all these trades with San Jose?
Also, why does he spell his name with only the one n?
Also, why is the team only improving via trades with the Sharks, and not, say, adding any free agents?
And why do I already have a Dany Heatley tag?
Strange stuff.

Bang up job, Chuck Fletcher

As I stated many a time, today was the big free agency MANIA in the NHL. Free agency was opened up at noon, and every team went on a feeding frenzy, adding as many new faces as possible, getting ready for the Stanley Cup. It's an exciting time to be a hockey fan. Without further ado, here is a screen cap of today's signings (part of them, just so as to include Minnesota)

(Click to aggrandize)

So, the Wild, with all that hullaballoo, re-signed Josh Harding. Crazy. Fletcher must have really taxed that signature signing hand today. With that one contract. With a mediocre player who was already here. Yay, Devin Setoguchi!