Craig Leipold takes over majority share of Wild

This is major news for the sporting world in the state of Minnesota. As a tried and true Wild fan since their inaugural season back in 2000, I hate to see Bob Naegele go, but from what I've read about Craig Leipold, it seems as though this decision is for the best. Leipold, the founder of the Nashville Predators and former owner of the team, takes over as the majority owner of one of the most successful hockey teams in the NHL. Leipold sold the Predators in November of 2007 citing rising operating costs and bad fan attendance (yet another argument as to why there should not be teams near or below the sun belt), and claims to have lost upwards of $70 million while owning the team. I can definitely see why this guy decided to get out of Tennessee and come up to the State of Hockey.

Leipold won has won the respect of virtually the entire hockey world while working to bring a salary cap and other restrictions on teams so that small-market teams can compete with the big boys. I'm assuming that Leipold, looking to make a splash in his first season with the Wild, will do his best to lock up future superstars that the Wild have (Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Nick Schultz), and trade guys that are on the down-swing of their careers (Brian Rolston and Pavol Demitra). The Wild are currently a good team, but in the wicked competitive Western Conference, they really need to figure out how to get more defense and one more superstar into this city to really be a team to be reckoned with (maybe Mike Comrie?). Just over halfway through the season, the Wild are sitting at a very uncomfortable 48 points, barely good enough for the 7th spot in the conference. With the second half of the season already upon us, it is imperative the Wild focus on defense to be able to stay afloat for the playoff race. I believe that Leipold will do his best to make the Wild a better team, and I think that he is a guy that is willing to take a chance on a big trade or a big signing to see how it may work out (Peter Forsberg in Nashville). Hopefully Leipold will do what he needs to do to make the Wild a perennial contender within two or three years.