The month of December is a perfect crystallization of the season so far. Coming in at .500 (10-10-3) the Wild limped through an ugly road trip at 1-3-1. They returned home for one game and laid an egg against Buffalo to fall to a season-high four games below .500. But a win on Long Island provided a spark that turned into a 7-3-0 run to finish the month, and they ran that to 9-4-0 in the first week in January. However, they never climbed out of the basement in the division, and never got to the 8th spot in the division either during the run.


There have been highlights. Manny Fernandez has been outstanding. Kurtis Foster has been a revelation. Brian Rolston has been everything hoped for and more.


There have been disappointments. Marian Gaborik has been injury-prone and streaky. Filip Kuba, Nick Schultz and Andrei Zyuzin have been in and out of Le Chateau Bow Wow all season. Dwayne Roloson has played better than his 5-14-1 record indicates, and he has received terrible offensive support, but his game stealing play of his All-Star year was been conspicuously absent all season.


Lemaire seems to be having more trouble than usual keeping the team focused on playing his specific style. They will put together a few perfect games in a row and look like a sure playoff team. But then they’ll let the next opponent dictate the style of play and lose which will cause their chronic lack of confidence to take a staggering hit and it will be three games and a grueling practice or tongue lashing from Lemaire before it gets sorted out. There have been enough wins against quality opponents to argue that Lemaire’s defense-first style won’t work in the revamped NHL. But that raises that possibility that his message and delivery style have worn our their welcome with the players. Lemaire is the highest paid coach in the NHL.


Compounding all this is the situation with Fernandez and Roloson. Both are unrestricted free agents after the season. There is almost no chance that both return to the Wild next year. Fernandez seems to have been tapped as the de facto #1 right now, though it remains to be seen whether he’s been anointed the chosen one (for the first time in both his and the franchise’s history) or he’s being shopped (the idea being that since he’s younger than Roloson he’d command a higher return in a trade.) Add Josh Harding’s spectacular play in the AHL to the mix and you have a thorny situation that will require decisive resolution.


But this issue goes beyond trade rumors. It will be a key leading indicator of exactly how the team views its status in My New NHL. If Doug Risebrough trades Fernandez is he indicating that they’re pulling the plug on the season? If he trades Roloson does he bring up Harding and risk stunting his growth by having him ride the pine, or does he sign a career backup for the league minimum and deal with Harding next year?


Timing is also both critical and fraught with danger on both sides. Resolving this as soon as possible would be better in terms of minimizing any possible distraction to a young team. But waiting as long as possible would be better in terms of letting the team’s play dictate whether they move into solid contention for the playoffs or fall out of it (the latter of which would make it easier to trade Fernandez.)


Wild fans have been both patient and generous since day one. But they’ve earned the right to get at least a clearer indication just what kind of team they are rooting for. And the novelty of a new team in a great building (consecutive sellout streak is still intact) has to wane at some point. Unrest is growing, and many fans are imploring the team to “fish or cut bait” with “projects” like Kyle Wanvig and Stephane Veilleux, “retreads” like Zyuzin, and “last chancers” like Alexandre Daigle. Many fans would rather lose with Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Mikko Koivu and Foster getting the lion’s share of the ice time than maybe win with Randy Robitaille, Todd White and Willie Mitchell.


So what is the state of hockey in the State of Hockey? Who are these guys? Is it still enough for the Wild to come out and give an honest effort every night? Or do they need to deliver on Risebrough’s five year plan (ie: consistently challenge for the Cup, not just hope to make the playoffs in a given year) in order to maintain their hold on their fan base? One thing is for sure: we’ll know soon enough.