2022/2023 NHL/Wild Offseason-Season-Postseason Thread

JoeMX1825 wrote:

isn’t he from New Jersey though??? The Devils young core is probably 2-3 years ahead of Columbus’s…I agree it didn’t make sense if NJ was serious and offered him a deal…last I heard was him saying “home’s only a 8 hour drive away now” or something to that effect…well, then why not just sign with NJ then?

It sounded like they put in an offer to his agent, but then never heard back from them since they were negotiating with CBJ. I agree it would seem NJ may be further along. The problem becomes signing all those guys when their ELC are up if they pan out.

What shocked me about Gaudreau is the money. I assumed if he went somewhere random it would be because they gave him like $11m+ – but $9.5m seems way low. I hope Billy G gave him a call if that’s really all it took. Fletcher couldn’t go after Johnny Hockey because he gave 5 draft picks and $10m to Risto and Tony D. How that man still has a job is a mystery to me.

Imagine being a Flames fan right now – that’s gotta hurt. And I really hope we aren’t feeling that same thing with Kirill in 4 years.

Yeah he definitely left a lot of money on the table. Plus he could only sign for 7 yrs unlike 8 with Calgary who offered more each year as well. Strange deal for sure.

After winning the cups. Chicago signed Toews, Kane Keith, Seabrook and Crawford to long term giant contracts, that ate about 60 some % of their cap. After being guaranteed $50 to $100 million+ each, they didn’t seem to be as hungry. Kane was the only one to come close earning his keep. That left them unable to sign prospects that showed promise like Panarin and Teravainen to name a couple and many others. Also, since the cup years they have neglected defense. Hjalmarsson, Leddy, hurt Seabrook and divorced Duncan Keith with forwards Kruger and Frolic left a big void in their end that was never properly addressed again. Kruger, Frolic and 2 of those defensemen in their prime could take the best power play in the league to 1 for 30 or worse. 2 goals would win most games in regulation. Well, maybe they will suck bad enough again to draw #1 and #2 in the draft and draw 2 of the best Hall of Fame players ever again. Maybe not!!

The longer Kadri takes to sign the more I think he’s going back to Colorado. They can give him like $8m if they move Girard. JT Compher could be moved to clear space as well.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>tswoboda wrote:</div>
Hunt and O’Rourke are hopefully the future mean and nasty 3rd pairing.

Yeah, they sure like to play the body that is great. Neither of them are particularly big however. It will be interesting to see how the Iowa Wild season goes. It doesnt seem as though they have much in the way of offense because I am pretty sure the majority of these guys just drafted will go back to their former teams and not report to the AHL. I dont think the likes of Haight, etc will be in Iowa this year.

Don’t forget about Brock Faber in that list of D prospects. Is he skating at the camp?

stevenoak wrote:

After winning the cups. Chicago signed Toews, Kane Keith, Seabrook and Crawford to long term giant contracts, that ate about 60 some % of their cap. After being guaranteed $50 to $100 million+ each, they didn’t seem to be as hungry.

What were the Hawks supposed to do, not sign those players? Toews, Kane, Keith, and Crow all won a cup AFTER signing their big contracts. Keith and Crow both signed cheap contracts. Kane has been worth every bit of his contract. Toews has been injury riddled. Yes, the Seabrook contract was brutal.

It’s everything else the team did that put them in the tank. The Panarin trade was a joke and the beginning of the end under Stan Bowman. It wasn’t a cap dump… they traded him for Brandon Saad, who had the exact same AAV (!!!)

tswoboda wrote:

The longer Kadri takes to sign the more I think he’s going back to Colorado. They can give him like $8m if they move Girard. JT Compher could be moved to clear space as well.

My guess is he’s waiting on purpose, he likes the attention, he might get a team that hasn’t done anything yet and is desparate to do a big move to inject the fanbase and will overpay like the Islanders…

Ripjiggen wrote:

Don’t forget about Brock Faber in that list of D prospects. Is he skating at the camp?

Just listening to the Russo podcast right now and he said Faber has been good. The two guys that impressed him most were Wallstedt and Haight. Said his group was the only one out there that was scoring every time they got the puck. Said his skating was impressive, he made a really sick move on a penalty shot he got and roofed a few shots on a drill as well.

To me the biggest prospect is Wallstedt. If he can not be a normal goalie, and what I mean by that not get all weird and in his own head we could have one hell of a netminder for years. Which goes a hell of a long way in this league.

What were the Hawks supposed to do, not sign those players? Toews, Kane, Keith, and Crow all won a cup AFTER signing their big contracts. Keith and Crow both signed cheap contracts. Kane has been worth every bit of his contract. Toews has been injury riddled. Yes, the Seabrook contract was brutal.

It’s everything else the team did that put them in the tank. The Panarin trade was a joke and the beginning of the end under Stan Bowman. It wasn’t a cap dump… they traded him for Brandon Saad, who had the exact same AAV (!!!)
[/quote]
My issue was the duration of that many contracts. Before the middle of all those contracts. Kane was the only one producing at the caliber he was at the start of his contract. The rest were 50% or less. Keith went from 2x Norris winner, 30’s +_- to not even in the conversation. 8-million-dollar defensemens name should come up. The combination of those contracts left them no ability to retain quality new players for years. Something they had a real knack for. Panarin was undrafted in the KHL when they signed him. The rest of the NHL should thank them for finding and developing players they can’t afford to keep. When Panarin went to NY, he signed for over 11.5 million. Blackhawks couldn’t afford a seat at that table. Blackhawks were losing him anyway.

Faber looked pretty good from what I saw of him. Set up a nice goal for Rossi with a slick pass which is one of his strong points. Very good skater. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of these D prospects bundled to get a center. We have added some centers the last couple years but you can never have enough. Haight was just added to the Canadian development camp. That can can straight up fire the puck!

Haight is the #1 prospect on my radar now, this upcoming season will be a huge test for him as he has alot of eyes watching him now, how does he respond to the pressure? I know its very early, but he has the look of a prospect who could turn into something special with his skillsets..

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I agree it didn’t make sense if NJ was serious and offered him a deal…

It would always be interesting to know just what other teams (if any) put forward any offers that were even close to the CBJ 7 years at almost $7 mil offer. I wonder how often it comes down to just wanting to get paid? Basically, with that kind of salary expectation, the buyer pool was going to be very limited so was there even 1 other offer that was anywhere close?

The deal probably makes a lot of sense to Johnny. Lots and lots of dollars and cents.

Huh???it was 7 for 9.5 if it was all about the dollar and cents he would have stayed in Calgary where he was offered more.
He obviously didn’t want to live in Calgary anymore.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Huh???it was 7 for 9.5 if it was all about the dollar and cents he would have stayed in Calgary where he was offered more.
He obviously didn’t want to live in Calgary anymore.

So it’s 7 at $9.75 million average I guess. My mistake I thought I heard 7/7, but Johnny gonna get paid.

Did Calgary offer that long of a term? Hard to figure why he’d go to the CBJ if the term and money were the same. Okay, well I’ve been to Calgary and yes it is the Paris of Alberta as they rightfully claim, but if Johnny is immune to Calgary’s charms, well…

Calgary offered 8 years close to 11 million. If it was 7×7 I think every team would have been in on that price.

I finally had time to really look into all of the new Wild draft picks and I have to say Judd and gang might have put together the best draft class in Wild history! (Yes it helps to have two 1st round picks) but the players they got in rounds 2-6 are all very impressive prospects.. time will ultimately tell if its successful or not, but at least we know this will be a fun class to watch develop!

stevenoak wrote:

When Panarin went to NY, he signed for over 11.5 million. Blackhawks couldn’t afford a seat at that table. Blackhawks were losing him anyway.

Yeah for sure, but they could have kept him for 2 more years in the middle of their cup window. Instead they went with… Brandon Saad.

Keith contract was only $5.5m aav so not sure where $8m comes from. He also won 2 Norris trophies and a Conn Smythe after signing that contract. Guy’s a first ballot HOFer and you’re saying $5.5m AAV is too much

Um they won 3 cups enough said…if they mismanaged there roster then I want to mis manage a roster for 5 years.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Um they won 3 cups enough said…

The Blackhawks are the poster child for the Sucking Your Way to Success method of building a team. The problem is for every Chicago, there is also an Edmonton. Yes, yes, the Oilers may still get there someday, but it sure didn’t work out for them the way it did for Chicago.

I don’t know, maybe teams on the whole benefit in the long term from sucking for years on end to pick in the top 5 for years on end, but man from a fan/season ticket holder perspective, I’d rather have the Wild do it the way they are doing it now and let the chips fall where they may. I can’t imagine sitting through season after season of the Blackhawks hockey before Kane/Towes.

I agree. However there are a lot of fans that complain the wild can never win a playoff round. Always one and done etc…At least they hoisted the cup.

Ripjiggen wrote:

I agree. However there are a lot of fans that complain the wild can never win a playoff round. Always one and done etc…At least they hoisted the cup.

The wild have never been terrible that is the reason. Fletcher traded tons of picks and prospects to go all in with suter and parise and it never panned out. If the wild were terrible we could have hopefully had some good draft picks but we didn’t.

The biggest problem was Fletcher traded picks and prospects away for players well past their prime or for rentals.
They also had the bad habit of playing personel out of position and expecting them to change their game.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>
I agree. However there are a lot of fans that complain the wild can never win a playoff round. Always one and done etc…At least they hoisted the cup.

The wild have never been terrible that is the reason. Fletcher traded tons of picks and prospects to go all in with suter and parise and it never panned out. If the wild were terrible we could have hopefully had some good draft picks but we didn’t.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>
Um they won 3 cups enough said…

The Blackhawks are the poster child for the Sucking Your Way to Success method of building a team. The problem is for every Chicago, there is also an Edmonton. Yes, yes, the Oilers may still get there someday, but it sure didn’t work out for them the way it did for Chicago.

I don’t know, maybe teams on the whole benefit in the long term from sucking for years on end to pick in the top 5 for years on end, but man from a fan/season ticket holder perspective, I’d rather have the Wild do it the way they are doing it now and let the chips fall where they may. I can’t imagine sitting through season after season of the Blackhawks hockey before Kane/Towes.

The Penguins did this too. They were awful for many years before they loaded up on draft picks. Heck, they almost moved out of Shittsburgh because the igloo was falling apart. Only their route resulted in more long term consistency whereas Chicago was really good for just a few seasons. I don’t like the “sucking yourself way to success” either because it means you have to be really terrible for a long time and potentially alienate your fan base. That’s no way to operate an NHL franchise, and it appears the Blackhawks are trying to do just that again.

NHL success recipe the past 15 or so years has been a combination of tanking for 3-5 years, finding superstars with those top draft picks (and getting lucky hitting on a few 2nd-7th round picks (especially at goalie) that turn into core players. Once the young core is in place you plug in the remaining pieces of your previous young core and then sprinkle in veterans to fill the gaps, they pay their dues learning playoff hockey with a few early & late round exits before making their runs. The Blackhawks, Penguins, Lightning and now Avalanche have all followed this recipe and won the cup(s)

The Oilers have failed on 2 parts of this recipe, they only hit on the McDavid and Draisiatl picks (Hall and RNH didnt live upto the hype in Edmonton, Hall had 2 good years AFTER leaving Edmonton) and they NEVER found a goalie…

Every few years an actual “team” with no labeled “Superstars” and based on team play wins the cup (Bruins/Blues) but “Super Core” teams seem to dominate now…

The Sharks are full of Wild castoffs the last couple years. Dubnyk, Donato, Pateryn, Bonino. And now Kaapo and Kunin both signed 2 x $2.75 contracts there. Happy the Wild didn’t end up with those 2 at that price.

Byron Bader just released the NHL Prospect rankings and he has the Wild at #1 and “no one even close”. He goes on to say the Wild’s system is “basically flawless”. We need to lock up Judd Brackett for 30 years. Its amazing what has changed since Fletcher. Remember how the Wild (Fenton) had one of the oldest rosters in the league? Now they arent even in the top 10.

Nice….I am seeing them at 2 behind Detroit but maybe I’m looking at the wrong one.
Heard on KFAN that Russo said Dumba has been quietly shopped and their is not much interest in him right now.

Ripjiggen wrote:

If he can not be a normal goalie, and what I mean by that not get all weird and in his own head

Hey now, as a goalie I take off…. Oh wait, that assessment is correct.
DT