Yeah I can see them moving Kulikov now or during season to have Addison play more. I agree on the Middleton front but with having a small D Middleton for the time being makes sense in that he is a pretty straight forward stay at home defense that can help Spurg in front. Agree though would be nice to see some more skill paired with Spurg but going to have to wait on that for a couple years.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
wow…TSN just ranked the Wild with the best Right Wing depth in the league…Who are considered the RW’s – Did they throw Kaprizov and Boldy in as RW’s? I would consider them to be Zuccy, Foligno, and then unknown 3rd and 4th liners and pretty sure that’s not the best group in the NHL – not even top 10.
They listed Zuccy – Foligno – Boldy – Jost as the RW’s
I think Addison should make the team solely to help the PP. They haven’t done anything to help the PP and that’s about the only move they could make that would make a difference other than a complete strategy change.
in three years, I would think the Wild brass projects their 3 D pairs as:
Spurgeon – Middleton/Lambos/Faber
Brodin – Lambos/Faber/Peart
Middleton/Hunt/O’Rourke/Peart
Obviously trades & injuries can derail all of this….
I think Peart is the wildcard of the group, he COULD explode developmentally or taper off, this is a crucial year for him at SCSU…Ryan Healy is another D prospect to watch closely…
Still baffled by Nico Sturm turning down 5 year x $2.5m extension last year. Now he’s in San Jose on a 3 year x $2m aav. Does he expect a big raise after 3 years in California on what is likely a losing team that doesn’t even sniff the playoffs.
He’ll definately get more minutes and offensive opportunities than had he stayed in MN, but guys like him are a dime a dozen in the NHL, he probably should have taken the 5 year security to remain in the show…he’s a rebuild gap filler in San Jose…
He’ll definately get more minutes and offensive opportunities than had he stayed in MN, but guys like him are a dime a dozen in the NHL, he probably should have taken the 5 year security to remain in the show…he’s a rebuild gap filler in San Jose…
Guys like that only get paid when they have a big playoff performance a la Nick Bonino getting 4 x $4m after winning cups in Pittsburgh or Barclay Goodrow last year. Sturm had his golden chance this year and kinda blew it by being one of their worst forwards in the playoffs. I guess he bet on himself and it backfired.
Wouldn’t be surprised to see Brodin and Spurgeon play together again once Dumba is gone. They were outstanding together the years before and after Dumba tore his pec.
Have to imagine they’ve been trying to unload Kulikov all summer but he inexplicably has a partial NTC. I had a bad feeling about that dude all last year even though he was really good all season. My gut instinct was finally justified in the playoffs when he had the 2 worst individual playoff games I think I’ve ever seen.
Good chance Merril starts season on injured reserve so Addy should get a look early on. Hopefully they can unload Kulikov during season if Addy is playing well.
$10.5 aav x 8 years for Huberdeau?!?
$10.5 aav x 8 years for Huberdeau?!?
I mean he DID have 115 points last year. If he puts up those numbers for a couple of years this looks like a good contract. However he’ll get paid 10.5 Milly a year until he’s 38, which could probably age poorly.
That trade with Tkachuck is looking better and better for Calgary.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
$10.5 aav x 8 years for Huberdeau?!?I mean he DID have 115 points last year. If he puts up those numbers for a couple of years this looks like a good contract. However he’ll get paid 10.5 Milly a year until he’s 38, which could probably age poorly.
we’ll see how much having Barkov helped that total…
That trade with Tkachuck is looking better and better for Calgary.
It really is, especially for the position Calgary was in with Thachuk…
Calgary just gave Huberdeau the contract they offered to Gaudreau… which seems perfectly reasonable considering how similar they are. Both 100+ point playmaking wingers coming off their best seasons and just about to turn 30. The only real concern is how does Huberdeau transition from the run and gun style of Florida to actually playing defense under Sutter.
So Calgary used Tkachuk to replace Gaudreau and got a top pair defenseman thrown in. The 1st round pick is the cherry on top. This is probably the dream outcome for a team who’s two best players said they don’t want to play there anymore.
Florida paid up big but I think they are wayyy better off having 24 year old Tkachuk at 9.5 rather than 30 year old Huberdeau at 10.5
Wow…Daemon Hunt needs an exorcism…. Breaking a bone in your hand blocking a shot in practice on the eve of the WJC tourney starting TWICE in an 8 month span is freakishly unlucky!!!
Have to imagine they’ve been trying to unload Kulikov all summer but he inexplicably has a partial NTC. I had a bad feeling about that dude all last year even though he was really good all season. My gut instinct was finally justified in the playoffs when he had the 2 worst individual playoff games I think I’ve ever seen.
This is why I don’t understand all the trade talk about Kulikov.
After the first 2-3 weeks to get used to the team he played quite well.
Has 2 bad games in the playoffs, not unlike the rest of the team, and he needs to go.
Was he playing injured? In today’s NHL who knows.
There also seems to be a lot of prospects getting written into future lineups. Pretty hard to tell until they actually play against real talent.
Because he is a free agent at the end of the season and they still need another forward.
That and the fact that Addison has to be close and they have 7 D in contract not including Addison.
In my opinion I don’t see Addison as an NHL defenseman, too small. Trade Kulikov or Dumba at the deadline for whatever they can get, whichever garners the best return.
Scott Wheeler just dropped his 2023 NHL Draft preview and if there’s ever a year where it’s ok to miss the playoffs and get into the top 10-15 picks, this would be the year… The top half of this draft is LOADED with centers that in any other draft year would likely all be a top 5 pick…
In my opinion I don’t see Addison as an NHL defenseman, too small.
Yeah I just don’t see someone that size ever being able to play D in the NHL…
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In my opinion I don’t see Addison as an NHL defenseman, too small. Trade Kulikov or Dumba at the deadline for whatever they can get, whichever garners the best return.
Kulikov will be traded this year because of his salary, with the Wild potentially eating 50% of it that opens the possibility of ALL NHL teams having interest vs Dumba being almost 3x the caphit if the Wild eats 50%, that will eliminate a majority of the teams as caps are so tight…
Regarding Addison’s size, pretty much every team has a smaller offensively focused defenseman on their roster, the problem with the Wild is we already have the leagues smallest in Spurgeon locked up for 5 more seasons, so that basically blocks out Addison’s chance imo…everytime Addison has had some NHL time, he’s done well, he’s also getting to the point of being too good for the AHL, so he’ll likely get moved at some point, the only thing keeping him with the Wild sofar was his low caphit and waiver flexibility.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Tom schmitt wrote:</div>
In my opinion I don’t see Addison as an NHL defenseman, too small.Yeah I just don’t see someone that size ever being able to play D in the NHL…
The one thing about those other defenseman you listed is they are all UNIQUE in that they never seem to get hit becuase they are Purple Unicorns in terms of elite skating ability and hockey sense…Spurgeon is above average in those abilities, so he does tend to take big hits quite often. I think Torrey Krug is a good comp for Addison (although Krug has 9-10 added years of muscle & bulk on his smallish frame so that helps him with the wear & tear)
Yeah they’re also winning Norris trophies at age 23, not exactly grinding just to make the league over Jordie Benn.
I like the Krug comp, seems perfect tbh. Krug went undrafted and was basically a nobody as a prospect, no NTDP or WJC. He still ended up as PP1 QB for Boston in his 22 year old season. Addison was a 2nd rounder and #1D on a gold medal winning WJC team, done nothing but produce in the AHL since then. This year is his 22 year old season and his team clearly needs some help on the PP.
Yeah they’re also winning Norris trophies at age 23, not exactly grinding just to make the league over Jordie Benn.
I like the Krug comp, seems perfect tbh. Krug went undrafted and was basically a nobody as a prospect, no NTDP or WJC. He still ended up as PP1 QB for Boston in his 22 year old season. Addison was a 2nd rounder and #1D on a gold medal winning WJC team, done nothing but produce in the AHL since then. This year is his 22 year old season and his team clearly needs some help on the PP.
they are all very special players…i’m convinced if the Wild didn’t already have Spurgeon on the roster then Addison would have been a fulltime player last season and moving forward, I just think GMBG and Evason cringe a bit when forced to play both players up as they are pretty much identical and that’s not the type/style of player they want on the 3rd pairing…imo
it’s a problem they will likely solve this season as Addison’s contract is up and they likely won’t want to invest the limited capspace on a fringe roster player moving forward, especially with Spurgeon locked in for 5 more seasons…maybe we can regain a 3rd round pick we gave up for D-Lo?
there’s a guy on youtube who posts Kaprizov shift recap videos for pretty much every game, he does a great job, here’s a link to his channel – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH7G_zr7AUITXBrKMsQoBpg
Watching these videos it’s AMAZING how much offense Kaprizov generates each game, the kid is just an offensive machine. The only bad thing about these videos are watching the number of blown scoring chances that happen off of Kaprizov feeds to other players…if we can ever get him another elite linemate (sorry, Hartman just aint it) this kid could be up with McJesus leading the league in scoring every year!
Russo was on NHL Network recently and they put up a graphic of projected lines and they had Rossi on the 4th line? I dont like that at all. I suppose its just because he is a rookie coming in, but still.
Russo was on NHL Network recently and they put up a graphic of projected lines and they had Rossi on the 4th line? I dont like that at all. I suppose its just because he is a rookie coming in, but still.
Gaudreau will be the 4th line center, he’ll also be on the PK to get his minutes up…. They wont play Rossi on the 4th line just like they didnt with Boldy.
I bet Freddie hockey starts at C/W on Boldy line. Probably with Rossi.
Went to DB league tonight. First game was a blowout. Second game was close and had some good intensity. Third the goalies were standing on their heads and some decent d play.
Guentzel was just toying with some guys. Haula still has jets. Brady Skjei can really skate too.
Jost didn’t really stand out much.
Fun atmosphere style of game to watch Stallock playing the puck all over.
Didn’t catch who shot but someone shattered the glass in warmups. Bjugstad tried to get them to play cross ice while they fixed and none of the guys wanted to do that.
Kiddo had fun and snaged a couple autographs. No idea who’s because they are impossible to read. Work on your signature boys.
Jost/Rossi/Boldy makes too much sense so they’ll probably have Freddy in Jost’s place and Jost at #4C again. I’m excited for camp and preseason when we spend 20 pages talking about projected lines and then they go into the blender after 4 games.
Jost/Rossi/Boldy makes too much sense so they’ll probably have Freddy in Jost’s place and Jost at #4C again.
Sign me up for that line as well. There would be speed and a lot of creativity. Give Jost a chance to show something that earned him a first round pick.
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