2021 MN Wild/NHL Thread

Parise on with PA on Kfan right now! I’m sure PA won’t ask any hard questions but could be an interesting listen.

mahtofire14 wrote:

Parise on with PA on Kfan around 10 this morning! I’m sure PA won’t ask any hard questions but could be an interesting listen.

He’s on right now!

What a game by the Wild!

Friday night home game on the Vegas strip will be absolutely BONKERS… I’m thinking the game will go one of two ways, either Vegas uses the energy of the crowd and rises to the pressure or they completely cave to it. I think it’s going to be a blow out either way, I don’t see a close game at all…

Game 7’s are typically a coin-flip with the home team having the slight advantage due to line matchups, if the Wild win or lose i’m happy with the progress the team made this year and the heart they showed the state and each other, they are poised to improve on their glaring deficiencies this offseason.

Nice interview by Parise. Gave a good inside look on how the team was feeling throughout the series. PA actually asked him how tough it was to sit out the first three games and you could tell Parise wanted to say a few things but he kept it professional and just talked about how incredibly hard it was.

Agree Joe win or lose to take this series to game 7 after being down 3-1 to a team that very well could have won the presidents trophy (lost it in a tie breaker rule) is something they can build off of.

Would not surprise me if the flower is on the bench for game 7.

Would love to be in that GM room to hear the discussions that have happened this year and what has changed over the course of the year and even in this series. Never a great time for a team to get a player plucked for the xpack draft but this off season seems like a real tough year for them to do it for the wild.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Best case scenario for the Wild getting the Penguins 1st round pick after Penguins had the #1 seed, should be the 22nd or 23rd overall pick

I think i’m wrong on this now because it looks like the NHL changed the draft slotting rules this season and the Division winners from the regular season are pre-slotted towards the end of the round even if the lose in the 1st round of the playoffs. I think the BEST slot the Wild could get from the Pittsburgh pick is #26 overall, but they could get upto the 28th pick depending on who else loses in the 1st & 2nd rounds?

JoeMX1825 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
Best case scenario for the Wild getting the Penguins 1st round pick after Penguins had the #1 seed, should be the 22nd or 23rd overall pick

I think i’m wrong on this now because it looks like the NHL changed the draft slotting rules this season and the Division winners from the regular season are pre-slotted towards the end of the round even if the lose in the 1st round of the playoffs. I think the BEST slot the Wild could get from the Pittsburgh pick is #26 overall, but they could get upto the 28th pick depending on who else loses in the 1st & 2nd rounds?

LAME!!

waldo9190 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>tswoboda wrote:</div>
Speaking of the media… How much does the NBC crew freaking love Parise. Not too mention Carter and Wes constantly gushing about him as well. He played a very Pariseesque pest like game tonight, nice to see.

That was one of first things I noticed after flipping on the game mid-way through the first…Parise was playing like a man with his hair on fire!

Well he’s made a pretty dam good career out of playing that way, so it’s nice to see him back in the playoffs. He’s always been at his best in the playoffs.

The thing that fans seem to miss with Parise is that his regular season wasn’t ALL bad. He started the season with KK and was absolutely terrible. 1st half he was brutal and looked completely washed up. Then he had that covid break and when he came back played on the 4th line with Sturm and Bonino. That line was hot during a 2 weeks stretch and Parise was playing “fine”. Not great but about as well as he could in that role. Then something happened in game 1 of 3 game series against the Blues where all of the sudden his minutes were cut to almost nothing until he was finally a healthy scratch. What was it that happened? We may never know, but whatever it was almost ended his tenure in Minnesota. His play in the 2nd half was certainly good enough to keep him in the lineup though.

TL;DR: Parise sucked 1st half of the season, but his 2nd half was good enough to be in the lineup going into playoffs. Something happened behind the scenes.

The problem with Parise now is that he’s a 4th line guy with a 1st line salary who still thinks he deserves 1st/2nd line minutes. The Wild have a short window this offseason to buy him out with a substantial 1st year cap savings they would lose if they wait…

Yes, he’s shown he can be effective in certain situations when he’s given alot of time off and then played with limited minutes, but what team in the NHL would want that with a flat cap and a limited roster size? The NHL is a speed game now, if you can’t hang, you’re replaced with a younger/cheaper player who can…

tswoboda wrote:

Rask and Hartman should be swapped for the 3rd, neither line has much chemistry right now.

Bjugstadt looks disinterested… Chips, flips, or ices the puck every time it gets near him.

Well this post aged like milk.

I wouldn’t look too much into the Bjugstad goal, that was all Sturm and a terribly failed poke check attempt by Fleury for some reason….

Hartman’s play has been decent in the playoffs, but he’s 2 for 8+ on premium scoring chances setup by linemates and has like a 35% faceoff percentage.

He’s a 4th line wing being asked to play a #2 center position…

Another big future roster/contract decision by GMBG will be Nico Sturm. He’ll be a UFA (because of his age) after next season and he’s going to want more than a #4 center spot on this roster or he’ll go to a different team that will give it to him.

With Ek, Rossi and a likely traded for/signed 1C/2C player solution for Kaprizov or Fiala’s line where is there a top 3 Center spot for Sturm?

Does GMBG trade him at the deadline to get something back if he won’t be able to sign him?

Sturm will be an interesting one for sure. I dont see him as a top 3 either and that 4th line as it is right now is actually playing fairly well.

I dont think we will be able to provide a top 3 Center spot for Sturm either especially with some of the C prospects that will be coming in a few years. Khustinidinov (spelling), Khovanov, etc.

We have a pretty balanced set of lines and scoring which bodes well in the playoffs.
Vegas is really top heavy so if you shut them down they dont produce much.

Vegas has 3 players on the covid list today.
will they get more new positives tomorrow?

Krebs, Reeves, and McNabb. All guys that did not play last night. However Vegas has to be super nervous about testing tomorrow.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Vegas has 3 players on the covid list today (including Krebs who played last night)
will they get more new positives tomorrow?

Krebs played last night? Pretty sure he has a broken jaw

tswoboda wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
Vegas has 3 players on the covid list today (including Krebs who played last night)
will they get more new positives tomorrow?

Krebs played last night? Pretty sure he has a broken jaw

yep, I was thinking of Cody Glass

Cole Caufield looks like a squirt playing in a varsity high school game, he’s sooo tiny!

The kid can shoot the lights out though!

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Vegas has 3 players on the covid list today.
will they get more new positives tomorrow?

I’m sure the wrath will rain down upon me but why the hell is there a covid list? Nonsense.

belletaine wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
Vegas has 3 players on the covid list today.
will they get more new positives tomorrow?

I’m sure the wrath will rain down upon me but why the hell is there a covid list? Nonsense.

Do you know who Marco Rossi is?

You guys really trying to get this 86 page threadlocked on the morning of game 7?

tswoboda wrote:

You guys really trying to get this 86 page threadlocked on the morning of game 7?

I have to admit. I woke up this morning to head north for a nice long weekend and the first thing on my mind was the game tonight. Don’t care what round or what teams game 7’s are helluva fun to watch. The fact that it is Wild vs Vegas is just that much better.

Wild should make a run at Granlund this offseason. He’s the best UFA center available and obviously has history and some friends still here.

I know this won’t happen, but I’d love to see it. My guess is he signs another deal in Nashville. I can’t see them letting him walk.

Sure is nice that they moved the game up an hour. I can deal with an 8pm start on a Friday (with no early game to potentially delay the start either).

He was a hot name heading into the trade deadline. I don’t see Granny as a solution for the wild up the middle though.

Its going to be a Great Game tonight. This is probably the most excited I’ve been to watch a Hockey game in a long time. Also probably the most excited to watch any Minnesota sports team in a long time. Hopefully they can win and move on.

I hope they win but guess i will be tired for 2 more weeks cause im guessing all the AV’s games would be late stupid starts.

Ripjiggen wrote:

He was a hot name heading into the trade deadline. I don’t see Granny as a solution for the wild up the middle though.

I woulda said the same thing until I watched the last few Preds games. My new opinion is based off a whopping 4 games, but Granlund was their best forward. He’s been playing center all through the playoffs and with basically no one as his wings (Luke Kunin).

He’d be a hell of a Victor Rask upgrade, and his AAV this year is actually less than Rask.

Reeves back in, McNabb still out.

Looks like Max Pacoretty may be back in the lineup for Vegas tonight.