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

Flames really swapped Tkachuk, Gaudreau, and Monahan for Huberdeau, Kadri, and Weegar in a month – quite the offseason in Calgary

I would say. 7 years from Kadri is a bit risky on the back end.

tswoboda wrote:

Flames really swapped Tkachuk, Gaudreau, and Monahan for Huberdeau, Kadri, and Weegar in a month – quite the offseason in Calgary

They exceeeded all expectations people had for them going into the offseason AFTER Gaudreau left for FA. I thought they were going to get hosed for Tkchuk…

I think Kadri is overrated though…he took FULL advantage of the Avs loaded lineup…

Good for Kadri. He had an amazing regular and postseason, so he finally gets his payday. Calgary is still a very competitive playoff team for at least the next season.

tswoboda wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
If I see that Funeral expenses commercial one more time i’m gonna snap…

IT’S EVERY SINGLE COMMERCIAL BREAK. SOMETIMES TWICE!

“I love you mom!” It does kind of hit home for me since my mom just passed away 2 weeks ago and we just wrapped up her services this week, but that is an annoying commercial for sure.

Sorry to hear that Muskie. Thoughts and Prayers to you and your family.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Sorry to hear that Muskie. Thoughts and Prayers to you and your family.

Thanks man! Its been tough. Cancer sucks!

Russo just tweeted the Athletic is adding another writer “one of the best in the World” to cover the Wild. Any guesses as to who it is? Sounds like they are from out of market so that is interesting.

Sorry for your loss Capt, thoughts and prayers to you and the whole Musky family.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Russo just tweeted the Athletic is adding another writer “one of the best in the World” to cover the Wild. Any guesses as to who it is? Sounds like they are from out of market so that is interesting.

Here’s my guess…

Joe Smith is very good. That would be a big loss to TB if true. I was sort of thinking a female writer would be good and there are some amazing ones out there. Will be interesting to see who it is regardless. I saw there was an ad posted for the opening, but I sure hope this doesnt lead to Russo leaving! Man, that would suck. I know Vegas has a secret spot is in heart as does the Isles.

I’m pretty sure he said it was a guy in his most recent podcast. Referred to “him” or “he” as one of the, if not thee, best hockey writers multiple times.

Cool, thanks for the info. I havent listened to the podcasts recently. Will have to catch up.

Seeing Joe Smith is from Michigan the move to MN would really make sense.

Russo prepping his replacement before he moves to a top3 market?

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Russo prepping his replacement before he moves to a top3 market?

I sure hope not! It does seem a little suspect to have 2 in MN, but there is a ton of hockey in this state for sure. Its odd teams like NJ dont even have a dedicated writer I dont think.

Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver all have multiple local writers for the Athletic. Those are all way bigger hockey markets than Minnesota in general, but if you look at articles the Russo stories get just as much or more engagement (comments) as articles from those monster markets. What I’m trying to say is that to The Athletic, Minnesota could be considered a big hockey market and warrant 2 writers.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
Russo prepping his replacement before he moves to a top3 market?

I sure hope not! It does seem a little suspect to have 2 in MN, but there is a ton of hockey in this state for sure. Its odd teams like NJ dont even have a dedicated writer I dont think.

They have two writers each for the Twins and Vikings so I’m guessing it’s just to share the load. I’d hate to lose Russo.

Two writers for the Wild will help take the load off Russo. If anything, it keeps Russo from getting burned out and perhaps looking for another venture.

tswoboda wrote:

I’m pretty sure he said it was a guy in his most recent podcast. Referred to “him” or “he” as one of the, if not thee, best hockey writers multiple times.

Well at least that would mean it’s not Gigi Marvin making a career move. Because broadcasting sure wasn’t her thing…

Russo making the move to more TV time? I recall seeing him fairly regularly on the Pre game shows.

hop307 wrote:

Russo making the move to more TV time? I recall seeing him fairly regularly on the Pre game shows.

He does well in those situations, but I think his real passion is as a writer. It will be interesting to hear who the new add is, but Joe Smith makes a lot of sense.

Here is Scott Wheelers write up of each wild prospect in WJC in case you don’t have the athletic. I didn’t watch every game but several. Sounds like Wallstedt and Faber were really the only two that stood out.
Don’t think I missed anyone.

D Carson Lambos (Minnesota Wild): Needed to be a little harder at times in the opener and that one poor performance was enough to lose him his job to Del Mastro, who never gave it back.

D Ryan O’Rourke (Minnesota Wild): Didn’t play much and didn’t notice him much!

D David Spacek (Minnesota Wild): Counted upon. Physical. Steadying presence defensively on the blue line. Caught my eye that way.

F Servac Petrovsky (Minnesota Wild): Good speed. Rounds corners tight and fast. Driven. Applies pressure. Usually F1 on the forecheck. Plays with pace. I thought he was their most consistent forward, so it was nice to see him named on of the team’s top three players of the tournament. He finished with three points and a team-high 14 shots on goal in four games.

D Brock Faber (Minnesota Wild): Did his thing. Quick, balanced footwork. Active stick. Perfect timing in the neutral zone. Heady escapes. Smart atop the zone offensively. When he wasn’t out there with Hughes (or when he was but Hughes was playing hurt), he played a much more active game in transition and inside the offensive zone and looked comfortable doing it (would like to see him play a little freer, period). USA outscored the opposition 10-0 at 5-on-5 with Faber on the ice in the tournament, and that’s exactly what he does.

D Jack Peart (Minnesota Wild): After an up-and-down opener led to a scratch in USA’s second game, Peart came back in and was OK in the second half of the tournament playing a limited role at 5-on-5 and PP2 duty.

F Liam Ohgren (Minnesota Wild): I thought Ohgren played well considering he was a late add to the team and played limited minutes. He was skating well and that’s important for him. He had a few nice moments attacking in control and leading rushes. Liked the effort level he played with.

Jesper Wallstedt (Minnesota Wild): So calm. Just seems to stare down shooters and read them. Makes it look easy and takes everything in the chest. Covers the bottom of the net so well and doesn’t seem to get beat along the ice. Wallstedt was Wallstedt: a puck-stopping robot.

Stastny signed in Carolina for 1 yr at $1.5M. Hard to imagine he wouldnt have been an upgrade for a cheap contract here.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Stastny signed in Carolina for 1 yr at $1.5M. Hard to imagine he wouldnt have been an upgrade for a cheap contract here.

At 1.5 could be worth it, and if its not working out someone at the deadline might bite if we want to move on.

DA#^ it, how did I miss that Da Beauty Leauge was streamed on FloHockey.

Jost is the only wild player playing. They are decent to go watch for an evening can’t imagine taking the time watching them on TV though.

Stasny would have been a good Wild pickup 2 years ago, but father time has caught upto him and while still effective at faceoffs he’s a liability afterwards…. I’d much rather they take a shot on a younger player who just hasnt found his game in the pros yet.. I think GMBG is content with just waiting until camps start and good players start getting exposed for cap/roster purposes.

His 21 goals would disagree with you. For 1 year at 1.5 I too would have taken a chance if for no other reason than to have a veteran to show the young guys how to win. Pretty low risk contract that would not have really held anybody back as I do not believe anybody is ready for a role in the big club outside of Rossi and even Rossi is a question mark.
I also think center depth is a question mark.

Spittin Chiclets shared a fight between Teddy Blueger and Vinny Lettieri in Da Beauty League. Figured Grandpa Lou would have taught Vinny to make better business decisions!

He took a haircut for a last chance at a cup, Carolina was desperate for an experienced PP guy after losing Max Patciorety for the season… as you noted his 21 goals (3 empty netters) is nothing to balk at, he’s always been one of the better front net garbage men in the league… watching him try keep up with the play is painful, he would just slow down our young guys now though…

Again, 2 years ago absolutely…