2021 MN Wild/NHL Thread

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I agree big trades are unlikely this season (limiting the Canada teams due to covid quarentine) The Columbus/Winnipeg trade the exception… but with picks in the mix it obviously has to happen before the Draft…

The Seattle expansion draft is mixed in there too. Laine/Dubois happened because 2 players of similar age & value publicly asked for trades at the same time.

Anyone read the expose on the Coyotes? It’s as damning as Russo’s Fenton article, but worse because it’s about the current ownership and management. It’s a long read and paints a brutal picture of the organization.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>
Curious how you think BG has made his mark so far. He has turned over a roster but don’t see anything yet that he can put a stamp in to say I accomplished this.

The Zucker trade for starters. Got a top D prospect and a 1st round pick in return. Not signing Koivu and the Staal trade also. Everyone has complained about the age and stagnant roster and those were two cornerstones for years. Yeah, the return may not have been phenomenal, but in exchange getting expiring contracts (roster flexibility) that will garner some interest by playoff contending teams makes a ton of sense. He dished out Dubnyk, signed Talbot which is an obvious upgrade.
He did give up on Donato, but we have young depth at forward and he just wasnt going to get top 6 minutes on the Wild.

So not resigning a player that has since retired. Pretty sure any GM would have done that. Stall trade for Johansson I would not say we won that trade at this point.
Zucker trade remains to be seen. Currently they have a D prospect that doesn’t have space to play in a top four role.

Not saying Bill G isn’t doing a good job so far but more so that in order to make his mark remains to be seen like Joe mentioned. If he fails to get a legit number one center without giving up the farm will be a statement. I think this still remains to be seen.

tswoboda wrote:

Anyone read the expose on the Coyotes? It’s as damning as Russo’s Fenton article, but worse because it’s about the current ownership and management. It’s a long read and paints a brutal picture of the organization.

That was eye popping for sure. Katie Strang is one of the best most organized and professional writers not just in sports, but period. The fact she was threatened was an obvious unfamiliarity with who he was dealing with. What a jerk! I suspect the NHL to intervene in that ownership situation for sure.

How haven’t the Coyotes been contracted yet?

Ripjiggen wrote:

So not resigning a player that has since retired. Pretty sure any GM would have done that. Stall trade for Johansson I would not say we won that trade at this point.
Zucker trade remains to be seen. Currently they have a D prospect that doesn’t have space to play in a top four role.

Not saying Bill G isn’t doing a good job so far but more so that in order to make his mark remains to be seen like Joe mentioned. If he fails to get a legit number one center without giving up the farm will be a statement. I think this still remains to be seen.

You’re reading too much into my “making his mark”. All I meant is he has been active and making moves to get more aligned with whatever his vision is. He has created greater roster flexibility and got good return for a few of the trades he made. Not saying that what the roster looks like now is better or worse, he is making moves which is making a mark, one way or another.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

How haven’t the Coyotes been contracted yet?

Or relocated, its beyond me. The new owner made some promises and didnt hold up to any one of them and the biggest one is probably the promise of a dedicated arena. I cannot see how they stay there long term with him retaining ownership interest.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>
So not resigning a player that has since retired. Pretty sure any GM would have done that. Stall trade for Johansson I would not say we won that trade at this point.
Zucker trade remains to be seen. Currently they have a D prospect that doesn’t have space to play in a top four role.

Not saying Bill G isn’t doing a good job so far but more so that in order to make his mark remains to be seen like Joe mentioned. If he fails to get a legit number one center without giving up the farm will be a statement. I think this still remains to be seen.

You’re reading too much into my “making his mark”. All I meant is he has been active and making moves to get more aligned with whatever his vision is. He has created greater roster flexibility and got good return for a few of the trades he made. Not saying that what the roster looks like now is better or worse, he is making moves which is making a mark, one way or another.

Just playing a little devils advocate here honestly. Just saying dumping older players or not resigning one and bringing in UFA isn’t earth shattering by any means. I just haven’t seen him do anything yet that any GM wouldn’t have done.
This team has been stagnant in mediocrity for several years now and are basically in the same spot but have two wingers on there team that have some pretty high end talent that Bill G honestly didn’t have much to do with.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Just playing a little devils advocate here honestly. Just saying dumping older players and bringing in UFA isn’t earth shattering by any means. I just haven’t seen him do anything yet that any GM wouldn’t have done.

If you’re being transparent you know Fenton would have made only “hockey trades”. LOL

Well he did make a trade for one of our best players.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Well he did make a trade for one of our best players.

which was also widely ridiculed at the time and even to this day for not getting more in return sooooo….
Dumba looks good so far.

Addison looks like he could be Ron Jeremy’s son or Ron himself! Unreal!

mahtofire14 wrote:

Addison looks like he could be Ron Jeremy’s son or Ron himself! Unreal!

who is that?! Asking for a friend LOL but you’re right.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mahtofire14 wrote:</div>
Addison looks like he could be Ron Jeremy’s son or Ron himself! Unreal!

who is that?! Asking for a friend LOL but you’re right.

HA HA!

Gotta say he looked awful poised on the first PP on the point. Nice passes right on the tape of his teammates.

Agreed! The hedgehog can move the puck. He looks really good. The other call-ups are doing well too I think. Mayhew has been playing hard on both ends and a bit physical for his stature which is great.

They sure looked like a team who hasn’t played in 2 weeks and only 2 practices under their collective belts.

Couple of positives:
1) Addison looked real calm and confident out there! Looked like he belongs in the NHL

2) Kaprizov was shooting the puck!

3) I’m all in on combining our offense on the same line, Fiala & Kaprizov are fun to watch together!

You can really start to see this team taking shape on paper for the future. As we talked about at nauseam, if we can get a #1 center for next year and beyond, this team is looking pretty good with ideal NHL line combinations:

Line 1 – Fiala/tbd #1 center/Kaprizov
Line 2 – Boldy/Rossi/Parise
Line 3 – Greenway/Ek/Foligno
Line 4 – Mayhew/Sturm/Zuccarello

D1 – Spurgeon/Brodin
D2 – Suter/Addison
D3 – Soucy/Mennel

* this assumes Dumba and ? is traded for some level of player who fills the #1 center role.

* this projection really shows how there’s zero spots for Zuccarello, do you stunt Boldy’s development just to not put a $6 million salary on the 4th line?

* I put Mennel in the list because we own his rights and no other D prospects are ready for the NHL, my guess is he wants a shot at a top 4 pairing somewhere else, so the Wild likely fills this spot in FA with a more physical player.

* I didn’t factor in who the Wild will lose in the xpac draft.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

You can really start to see this team taking shape on paper for the future. As we talked about at nauseam, if we can get a #1 center for next year and beyond, this team is looking pretty good with ideal NHL line combinations:

Line 1 – Fiala/tbd #1 center/Kaprizov
Line 2 – Boldy/Rossi/Parise
Line 3 – Greenway/Ek/Foligno
Line 4 – Mayhew/Sturm/Zuccarello

D1 – Spurgeon/Brodin
D2 – Suter/Addison
D3 – Soucy/Mennel

* this assumes Dumba and ? is traded for some level of player who fills the #1 center role.

* this projection really shows how there’s zero spots for Zuccarello, do you stunt Boldy’s development just to not put a $6 million salary on the 4th line?

* I put Mennel in the list because we own his rights and no other D prospects are ready for the NHL, my guess is he wants a shot at a top 4 pairing somewhere else, so the Wild likely fills this spot in FA with a more physical player.

* I didn’t factor in who the Wild will lose in the xpac draft.

What, no Victor? I think Zuccarello takes Parise’s spot as age catches up with Parise more each season. I’m on the Eriksson Ek bandwagon more and more each game – he’s been the best 200′ forward almost every game and he’s been getting chances and scoring goals.

Wild looked brutal last night against a bad team. It’s not from the covid break, it’s from having 5 of 7 NHL defensemen out of the lineup. They couldn’t start a clean breakout from anywhere on the ice.

Edit to add: Suter was really good last night!

JoeMX1825 wrote:

3) I’m all in on combining our offense on the same line, Fiala & Kaprizov are fun to watch together!

I agree. The team as a whole struggles to create offense so while guys are finding their game, put the ones together who have generated offense together and let the others figure it out. Zuccarello didnt look horrible, but as expected he will need some time to get his game going. Most of these guys were either injured or recovering from Covid so no wonder they were fighting it. I thought Ek was playing with his hair on fire for much of the game. Very physical. They HAVE to mic him up for a game. I want to see what he says to get under everyone’s skin. LOL

tswoboda wrote:

Wild looked brutal last night against a bad team. It’s not from the covid break, it’s from having 5 of 7 NHL defensemen out of the lineup. They couldn’t start a clean breakout from anywhere on the ice.

Edit to add: Suter was really good last night!

Yeah, they really struggled getting out of their own end all night long. Hopefully that improves with guys coming back and the young ones who are playing getting more time. They only had 1 or 2 practices after being off for 2 weeks so that should improve.
The other glaring thing that continues is faceoffs. Lose it in the offensive zone and right down the ice the other direction almost every single time. THAT has to get much better.

Agree was pretty evident the young d were chipping it to the wing every time. LA didn’t bother blowing up the wing they just intercepted or took the pass away.

tswoboda wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
You can really start to see this team taking shape on paper for the future. As we talked about at nauseam, if we can get a #1 center for next year and beyond, this team is looking pretty good with ideal NHL line combinations:

Line 1 – Fiala/tbd #1 center/Kaprizov
Line 2 – Boldy/Rossi/Parise
Line 3 – Greenway/Ek/Foligno
Line 4 – Mayhew/Sturm/Zuccarello

D1 – Spurgeon/Brodin
D2 – Suter/Addison
D3 – Soucy/Mennel

* this assumes Dumba and ? is traded for some level of player who fills the #1 center role.

* this projection really shows how there’s zero spots for Zuccarello, do you stunt Boldy’s development just to not put a $6 million salary on the 4th line?

* I put Mennel in the list because we own his rights and no other D prospects are ready for the NHL, my guess is he wants a shot at a top 4 pairing somewhere else, so the Wild likely fills this spot in FA with a more physical player.

* I didn’t factor in who the Wild will lose in the xpac draft.

What, no Victor? I think Zuccarello takes Parise’s spot as age catches up with Parise more each season. I’m on the Eriksson Ek bandwagon more and more each game – he’s been the best 200′ forward almost every game and he’s been getting chances and scoring goals.

Wild looked brutal last night against a bad team. It’s not from the covid break, it’s from having 5 of 7 NHL defensemen out of the lineup. They couldn’t start a clean breakout from anywhere on the ice.

Edit to add: Suter was really good last night!

Both will be old in 2-3 years

Ripjiggen wrote:

I think Zuccarello takes Parise’s spot as age catches up with Parise more each season.

Both will be old in 2-3 years

Both are old right now! Just that Parise is a few years older and he’s looked worse than Zucc this year… give Zucc a few more games and that’ll probably change.

yes, they will be old, with NTC’s and unfortunately with several more years of untradeable term remaining, so they will need to have a spot on this team somewhere, but at which young players development expense?…buyouts would only be a possible option the last year of their deals to limit the dead cap space.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

yes, they will be old, with NTC’s and unfortunately with several more years of untradeable term remaining, so they will need to have a spot on this team somewhere, but at which young players development expense?…buyouts would only be a possible option the last year of their deals to limit the dead cap space.

Agree they are both likely with the team until their contract is over. I was just saying I think Zucc gets more top 6 time than Parise after this season. Zucc can be traded after next season, assuming the Wild are willing to include picks/prospects to move him.

yes, I don’t see anyway out of not trading Zuc asap (either him lifting his ntc or it expires) and also eating a chunk on his salary with it…I believe the max salary you can retain is %50, so are there teams out there who would want a 34+ year old Zuccarello for $3 million? Perhaps Settle, New York Rangers or Ottawa would want a vet to mentor their younger teams?

IF Foligno is lost in the xpac draft, then perhaps you start Boldy on the 3rd line next year giving Zuc 2nd line shifts to hopefully get some worth out of him or boost his trade prospects?

https://twitter.com/marcorossi2383/status/1362073405835669507?s=20

tswoboda wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>

I think Zuccarello takes Parise’s spot as age catches up with Parise more each season.

Both will be old in 2-3 years

Both are old right now! Just that Parise is a few years older and he’s looked worse than Zucc this year… give Zucc a few more games and that’ll probably change.

Agree just think how old both will be in 2 years or so especially with these wonky seasons they have. They may be shorter seasons but this season is going to be a grind for both.

Suter had to of loved playing half the game last night.

Well back at her again tonight with a LATE one. Not happy, but hopefully I can make it through the game.
Lines juggled and D pairings as well since some more guys are available.
This should hopefully lead to more success coming out of our own end.

Zuccarello-Eriksson Ek-Fiala
Parise-Bjugstad-Kaprizov
Greenway-Johansson-Foligno
Sturm-Bonino-Hartman

Suter-Addison
Mermis-Dumba
Cole-Spurgeon

Oh man, good to see Spurgeon back. Having a starter on each pairing should definitely help.

And Bonino so we can actually win some draws.

I like that they kept Addison with Suter…the forward lines are kind of a joke when they list them pre-game as Deano changes them after the 1st poop anyways, anxious to see more Kaprizov and Fiala together.