2021 MN Wild/NHL Thread

15% capacity in Vegas tonight! Will be strange watching a game that has actual fans in the arena.

Bummer about losing Staylock, but sounds like nothing could be done.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Lastly they talked about the xpac draft and how Wild fans are freaking out over it, he made a simple point of just protecting the guys that you can and then just accept and “take your medicine” and lose the 1 required player, don’t over think it and lose several like the Vegas draft, he said most GM’s learned that hard lesson last time…

Based on the Wild’s long history of sub-par GMs making poor decisions like the Fletch did in the last xpac or not making the moves in advance to minimize the loss, it’s understandable fans are nervous. Finally in Gurin we have a GM that operates at a higher level than any previous GM, so as you say, I think we’ll be fine and the loss will be minimal.

CaptainMusky wrote:

15% capacity in Vegas tonight! Will be strange watching a game that has actual fans in the arena.

The wild has actually has had some select fans in the suites and club level. Had no idea until a coworker sent me a picture from the last game.

We could lose a very significant player, but limit the losses to one player I think was Lawton’s point. I mean, we could lose Talbot, Dumba (if not moved prior), Soucy, Greenway, Ek or a few others. I dont know how they are determining the draft order and I believe they have to have their protected lists in prior to setting the order, but how high they are up on the list might change who Seattle takes. I mean, there are only so many goalies out there and there probably aren’t going to be a ton of good ones exposed so Talbot could be targeted. It would suck to lose Dumba for nothing, but it is what it is. If Dumba is left available I think he would be the one they would grab out of the rest of our players, but who knows what they will have already picked up by the time our turn rolls around. Sure will be interesting to see it shake out for sure.

Ripjiggen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>CaptainMusky wrote:</div>
15% capacity in Vegas tonight! Will be strange watching a game that has actual fans in the arena.

The wild has actually has had some select fans in the suites and club level. Had no idea until a coworker sent me a picture from the last game.

I want to say they were allowed 250 “fans” into the game from now on, but 210 of those were player family and guests, I think there was a STH raffle for the remaining 40… I can’t wait until they stop playing that annoying crowd background sound…

CaptainMusky wrote:

We could lose a very significant player, but limit the losses to one player I think was Lawton’s point. I mean, we could lose Talbot, Dumba (if not moved prior), Soucy, Greenway, Ek or a few others. I dont know how they are determining the draft order and I believe they have to have their protected lists in prior to setting the order, but how high they are up on the list might change who Seattle takes. I mean, there are only so many goalies out there and there probably aren’t going to be a ton of good ones exposed so Talbot could be targeted. It would suck to lose Dumba for nothing, but it is what it is. If Dumba is left available I think he would be the one they would grab out of the rest of our players, but who knows what they will have already picked up by the time our turn rolls around. Sure will be interesting to see it shake out for sure.

Interesting point that they have to pick in a particular order? I didn’t realize that’s how it goes? I thought each team puts their unprotected list out and then the xpac team just selects who they want, the actual selecting is likely just a formality for TV as they will already know who’s available to pick from and who they want to select.

When you have more than 1 team selecting (like the Wild & Blue Jackets) then you would need a defined selection order process…

Everyone rips on what Flectcher did in the Xpac draft after Tuch broke out that first season. Curious what other’s would have done different, considering the circumstances. Remember, the Wild were coming off their best ever season and had pretty much everyone coming back. They were in the closest thing the franchise has ever had to a cup window. So they gave up a bottom 6 forward and a prospect.

So who do you want Vegas to take; Staal, Dumba, or Brodin? Remember Staal was on a bargain contract and with a 42 goal season, the only “legit #1 center” the Wild have ever had. Dumba and Brodin were young and already locks in the top 4 for the forseable future.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Interesting point that they have to pick in a particular order? I didn’t realize that’s how it goes? I thought each team puts their unprotected list out and then the xpac team just selects who they want, the actual selecting is likely just a formality for TV as they will already know who’s available to pick from and who they want to select.

That could be that its all decided in advance, but I just remember watching it live and it was in an order, but wasn’t sure how it was determined. Come to think of it, Fleury was the first selection so perhaps it isnt based on teams at all, I just had it in my head that it was that way since it was formatted just like a regular draft.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Interesting point that they have to pick in a particular order? I didn’t realize that’s how it goes? I thought each team puts their unprotected list out and then the xpac team just selects who they want, the actual selecting is likely just a formality for TV as they will already know who’s available to pick from and who they want to select.

When you have more than 1 team selecting (like the Wild & Blue Jackets) then you would need a defined selection order process…

Joe, what you thought is correct. There’s no real order and the draft process is just for show.

tswoboda wrote:

Everyone rips on what Flectcher did in the Xpac draft after Tuch broke out that first season. Curious what other’s would have done different, considering the circumstances. Remember, the Wild were coming off their best ever season and had pretty much everyone coming back. They were in the closest thing the franchise has ever had to a cup window. So they gave up a bottom 6 forward and a prospect.

I remember ripping it myself, but if he hadn’t done that no doubt Vegas would have taken a player that meant more to the team at that moment because Tuch hadn’t done anything yet. I think it was more around the frustration of losing 2 players than anything, but I certainly would love to have Tuch now LOL.

CaptainMusky wrote:

15% capacity in Vegas tonight! Will be strange watching a game that has actual fans in the arena.

I was wondering about that too, watched the UMD Bulldogs whoop up on my SCSU Huskies this weekend and there were a few hundred people in attendence it looked like. Half students and half adults it looked like, I guess they are allowed 250 people currently…?

tswoboda wrote:

Everyone rips on what Flectcher did in the Xpac draft after Tuch broke out that first season. Curious what other’s would have done different, considering the circumstances. Remember, the Wild were coming off their best ever season and had pretty much everyone coming back. They were in the closest thing the franchise has ever had to a cup window. So they gave up a bottom 6 forward and a prospect.

So who do you want Vegas to take; Staal, Dumba, or Brodin? Remember Staal was on a bargain contract and with a 42 goal season, the only “legit #1 center” the Wild have ever had. Dumba and Brodin were young and already locks in the top 4 for the forseable future.

yeah, we were screwed with our top young players all being outside of the protected age and because we had Pommer on a NTC and couldn’t move him until AFTER the expansion draft when we unloaded him back to Buffalo…

I remember hearing that the Wild was the gold mine team for Vegas to pick from but give their GM credit for manipulating our GM (and other GMs) decisions…for all we complain, ultimately it was the owners who sold their teams/GMs out by demanding such a huge entry fee into the league…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

yeah, we were screwed with our top young players all being outside of the protected age and because we had Pommer on a NTC and couldn’t move him until AFTER the expansion draft when we unloaded him back to Buffalo…

I remember hearing that the Wild was the gold mine team for Vegas to pick from but give their GM credit for manipulating our GM (and other GMs) decisions…for all we complain, ultimately it was the owners who sold their teams/GMs out by demanding such a huge entry fee into the league…

The Wild absolutely were a gold mine for Vegas. A very deep team with a lot of players entering their prime and veterans on NMCs. Even if Pomminville waived it then came down to Dumba or Brodin. Did any players around the league waive NMCs for that XPAC draft? Everyone talks about guys waiving but it just doesn’t seem like a realistic option.

I’ve always thought Fletcher made the right call on Haula + prospect, he just picked the wrong prospect. It should have been Kunin (who was the better but younger prospect at the time) instead of Tuch, but hindsight is 20/20.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
at least it gives them a little more wiggle room cap wise…honestly I wasn’t the biggest fan of Stalock, he’s gotten better, but his craziness wanting to always handle the puck drove me nuts watching from home…

Yeah, he gave me fits too, but I thought he settled down a lot the end of last year, but I agree with you he was too active. He is just a good guy and was a real positive in the locker room, but you don’t keep him around just because either. This will be good for him.
I dont know how these waivers work, but I thought that the worst teams get first chance right? I am surprised that Buffalo didnt go after him.

X3 Some people say he was fun to watch but he always drove me nuts how he just looked like he was a flopping fish out of water while trying to make saves and some of his long passes had me looking like a fish while watching him.

Does suck to see a good guy go but he had no place on the team.

Stalock is an average NHL backup that takes way too much heat for his playing style. He’s small and athletic so his style takes advantage of that and is different than modern NHL goalies. He’s not 6’5″ so he can’t just sit back in the net and let pucks hit him like 90% of NHL goalies. He has to play out on top of the crease or he’d get sniped all the time, and that gets him out of position a lot.

His aggressiveness playing the puck is risky but a net positive for sure. It’s just that the few times he gets burned by it are so much more obvious than the multiple times he starts a breakout each game.

Stalock is what he is. With his size and skill, he wouldn’t be in the league if he tried to play like all the other NHL goalies. He would have been a luxury to have on the Wild for depth this season, but he was not going to take a seat from Talbot or KK34.

Holy Hell! For those with a subscription to the Athletic, check out this breakdown of the COVID-related roster troubles the Wild were in.
https://theathletic.com/2418558/2021/03/01/minnesota-wild-roster-salary-cap-covid19/

Here’s an excerpt from part of it that shows how unprecedented this was for the Wild, but its a great article that explains why Mermis and Addison had to be sent back to Iowa because they essentially had no choice.

“The big thing the league permitted was the use of the Section 50.10(e) roster emergency exception that was amended this season to allow teams to recall players making no more than $1 million and place them right onto their rosters with zero charged cap hits as long as the club had less than 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies on account of them being unavailable due to COVID-19 protocol. In previous seasons, a team would have to play one game short a player before it could take advantage of the emergency exception.

How unprecedented was the Wild’s situation?

When the Wild returned against the Kings, they had six players in their lineup on 50.10(e) exceptions. This season, the 50.10(e) emergency exceptions have been rampant throughout the league because of the pandemic, but MacLeod confirmed to The Athletic through an NHL spokesman that since the rule was put into the collective bargaining agreement in 2013, he only recalls three times where a team had to pull the emergency exception lever.

“That’s three times total in eight years, something we had to do six times in one game,” O’Hearn stressed”.

Pretty Wild (pun intended) but how they navigated that is impressive for sure.

other than god forbid a plane or bus crash, when (other than a viral pandemic) is a sports team going to lose 6+ players at one time for a prolonged period? Strange times we’re living in for sure…

tswoboda wrote:

Everyone rips on what Flectcher did in the Xpac draft after Tuch broke out that first season. Curious what other’s would have done different, considering the circumstances. Remember, the Wild were coming off their best ever season and had pretty much everyone coming back. They were in the closest thing the franchise has ever had to a cup window. So they gave up a bottom 6 forward and a prospect.

So who do you want Vegas to take; Staal, Dumba, or Brodin? Remember Staal was on a bargain contract and with a 42 goal season, the only “legit #1 center” the Wild have ever had. Dumba and Brodin were young and already locks in the top 4 for the forseable future.

Mostly just Grouse.

Ripjiggen wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>tswoboda wrote:</div>
Everyone rips on what Flectcher did in the Xpac draft after Tuch broke out that first season. Curious what other’s would have done different, considering the circumstances. Remember, the Wild were coming off their best ever season and had pretty much everyone coming back. They were in the closest thing the franchise has ever had to a cup window. So they gave up a bottom 6 forward and a prospect.

So who do you want Vegas to take; Staal, Dumba, or Brodin? Remember Staal was on a bargain contract and with a 42 goal season, the only “legit #1 center” the Wild have ever had. Dumba and Brodin were young and already locks in the top 4 for the forseable future.

Mostly just Grouse.

He has? LOL

Need to stay out of box. Great game so far. Good pace. Vegas really gets back up ice quick on neutral zone turn overs. Damn as I’m typing this Folingo with a snipe.

I have never seen a battle level from a Wild team since they started. I don’t know what Eveson or Geurin has done but they are playing TOUGH. Gritty goals tonight other than that Foligno snipe! Great to see.

That PK is starting to scare me though.

You can fix a penalty kill. Especially with their d core.

Tying goal was 100 percent on ZP for not getting off the ice and trying to get an empty netter.
Fun game to watch.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Tying goal was 100 percent on ZP for not getting off the ice and trying to get an empty netter.
Fun game to watch.

yep, selfish move on his part, he looked really bad all game, something is really wrong with him and the scary part is alot of it is mental mistakes which makes no sense for as long as he’s been playing in the league, he’s panicking with the puck and turning it over all the time…
We also saw the danger in putting Greenway out in OT, if he gets stuck out on a long shift he cant move that big body around anymore and is basically a pylon.

I couldnt stay up anymore. I went to bed when they were up 4-2. Its my fault. I take full responsibility and will try and do better next time.

I can’t believe they are putting Kaprizov with Greenway out there when you have him and Zucc playing so well together. Kaprizov Zucc and Brodin would be almost unbeatable 3 on 3 and then you follow it with Fiala, Eck, and Spurg. Having Greenway out there slows everything down which is exactly why they were so bad the last two seasons in OT.

A little disappointing to lose a 4-2 lead after two but you gotta lose your way up the standings too. That’s two games in a row now with blown leads of at least 2 goals.

mahtofire14 wrote:

I can’t believe they are putting Kaprizov with Greenway out there when you have him and Zucc playing so well together. Kaprizov Zucc and Brodin would be almost unbeatable 3 on 3 and then you follow it with Fiala, Eck, and Spurg. Having Greenway out there slows everything down which is exactly why they were so bad the last two seasons in OT.

Yeah, that makes zero sense. I havent watched the third period and OT yet, but reading a ton about it on Twitter.

Zuc did get clipped with the puck in the face at the very end of the game, I think he was getting repairs at the time of the OT goal…

I believe this is correct.