This feels very much like a season in which Chuck Fletcher is on trial as the longtime GM of the Minnesota Wild.A thoughtful and cerebral hockey man, Fletcher has been at the helm since May 2009, and his team has made the playoffs four straight years. Hardly an indictment for any GM when you consider how tough it is to make the playoffs in this era of so much parity in the league.But the first-round exit last season was a step backward in some peoples eyes.Ownership has spent to the salary cap for years. This is a hockey-crazy market that wants a Stanley Cup run.In one of his most important decisions with the club, Fletcher hired Bruce Boudreau as head coach this offseason in what I believe was a brilliant move.Yes, the narrative is well established about Boudreaus playoff hiccups. But that also overlooks the manner in which he turned around both the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks during his previous coaching tenures and transformed them into division-winning juggernauts.The task is daunting, however, in a crazy competitive Central Division in which the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators look to have improved, while contenders in the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Dallas Stars arent going away.Can Boudreau work his magic?Best new facesThe biggest addition is July 1 unrestricted free-agent signing Eric Staal, who no doubt enters this season ultramotivated to show people hes not done as an elite center. His numbers have certainly regressed the past few years, and his short tenure with the New York Rangers last season after a trade-deadline deal with the Carolina Hurricanes wasnt very impressive.Staal turns 32 on Oct. 29 and feels theres much hockey left in him. He signed a three-year, $10.5 million deal with the Wild and intends to show that was a bargain. He will likely begin the season on the No. 1 line between Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle, so Boudreau is giving him every opportunity to succeed.The Wild also added veteran winger Chris Stewart (whom Boudreau had in Anaheim), No. 3 goalie Alex Stalock and depth defenseman Victor Bartley.Thomas Vanek was bought out and signed with the Detroit Red Wings, so aside from Staal, the same Wild core returns.Biggest unknownsSee Staal above. Whether he can bounce back and deliver an impact, No. 1-center-type season will go a long way toward writing the script.Is this the season Mikael Granlund takes it to another level? He put up 44 points (13-31) last season in 82 games, which is below what I think his potential should be delivering. At 24, perhaps this is the season he takes that step. Hes got the hands to do it and a coach who encourages offensive talent to shine.Whatever happened to Jonas Brodin? His play has regressed since he was one of the games most promising young defensemen. Hes only 23, so theres plenty of time to recapture that form, but this season he needs to prove he can be a consistent force on the blue line. We didnt see that enough last season.Sure thingsDefenseman Ryan Suter, thats for sure. He was an absolute two-way stud last season, second only to Erik Karlsson in ice time per game, and for my money should have received more Norris Trophy consideration, at least in terms of being in top-five consideration (he finished eighth in the voting). Suter doesnt take a game off. Hes a horse on that Wild blue line, and I dont expect that to change this season.Another sure thing is that Boudreau will improve the Wilds special teams. The Ducks were first in the NHL in both the power play and penalty kill last season, which is unheard of! You can bet the Wilds 27th-ranked penalty kill will definitely improve, while the teams 18th-ranked power play has a chance to get better under the offensive-minded Boudreau.PredictionThe Wild took the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference from the fifth-place spot in the Central, and I think theyll be in that mix again. To me, its going to be a coin flip between the Jets and Wild for that fifth-place spot in the Central, which could be a wild-card spot as well. Sixth in the Central. Air Force 1 Off White Cheap . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. Air Force 1 Yellow Store . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. http://www.airforce1storesale.com/fake-sf-af1-outlet.html .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Air Force 1 Off White Fake . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Air Force 1 Low Sale . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions are adding a quarterback to the practice squad -- as a tight end.Logan Thomas, who played two games at quarterback for Arizona in 2014 and was with the Dolphins and?New York Giants after that, is heading to the Lions with a position switch. For the first time in his NFL career, hell be listed as a tight end.Its been two-and-a-half years of not really getting an opportunity, and I was ready to get an opportunity to play and tried to make the best of what I could do, he said. I think this gives me the best opportunity to do so.Hes an intriguing prospect for Detroit at a new position, particularly because the tight end group on the active roster behind starter Eric Ebron is thin. Clay Harbor has three catches this season, and Matthew Mulligan is primarily a blocking tight end. Brandon Pettigrew is still working his way back from a torn ACL suffered last year.Thomas said he first worked out for the Lions at quarterback and then tried out as a tight end. He said the tight end position is a completely different language, a completely different move.You see things from a quarterbacks eyes way different than you did right beside the guys in the trenches, he said. Its something that youve got to bite your pride a little bit and move on.By moving to tight end, Thomas is making a switch quarterback Tim Tebow wasnt willing to do in the NFL. Thomas said he understands Tebows mindset, but in his case, he is willing to be flexible.I dont fault anybody for not wanting to ggive up on it, he said.ddddddddddddQuarterback is the position in the limelight. Thats the one that makes or breaks games, and thats the one that makes the big contracts, so if you dont want to let go of it, you dont want to let go.I understand completely. But I think it takes a different type of person to understand and make the move too. So I come into it very humbled but excited and ready to go.Thomas said he will go to a training facility after the season so that by the spring he will have a pretty decent grasp and do the best I can rolling into next year.Thomas was a three-year starter at Virginia Tech at quarterback, and he played a few plays at receiver for the Hokies during his redshirt freshman year in 2010. He had two career receptions for 11 yards at Virginia Tech and also rushed 495 times for 1,359 yards and 24 touchdowns as a dual-threat quarterback.The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Thomas was initially drafted as a quarterback by Arizona in the fourth round of the 2014 draft out of Virginia Tech. He appeared twice for the Cardinals as a rookie, completing one of nine pass attempts for 81 yards and a touchdown.Thomas was with Miami in 2015, first on the practice squad and then the active roster. He was waived by the Dolphins in June and was picked up by the New York Giants, eventually landing on their practice squad. He was waived by the Giants earlier this month. ' ' '