What if the Kulikov trade was an easy way to clear cap space for next year Guerin always seems to have a plan?
Boldy is due for a raise, Steel and Jost hopefully have big years and earn a raise as well.
This is a move to make room for Addison and I’m sure he has a plan in mind already. He’s been trying to trade him all summer and must have just got to the point where he decided to trade him for nothing.
What if the Kulikov trade was an easy way to clear cap space for next year Guerin always seems to have a plan?
Kulikov was only under contract for this year so it wouldnt have done anything for next year.
I for one don’t think waiting for a team to dump a vet to get camp compliant is a great way to try and build this team either.
A. You don’t know who it will be.
B. That person might not be the right fit versus actually targeting a FA.
I think the main target might be a backup goalie. BG has said he expects Fleury to play 50 games, so that is 32 for someone else. Is this new guy up to the task? Not sure. He was on a trash team so maybe his numbers arent indicative of his ability.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>hop307 wrote:</div>
What if the Kulikov trade was an easy way to clear cap space for next year Guerin always seems to have a plan?Kulikov was only under contract for this year so it wouldnt have done anything for next year.
I thought he had 1 more year after this, so scratch that then.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>
I for one don’t think waiting for a team to dump a vet to get camp compliant is a great way to try and build this team either.
A. You don’t know who it will be.
B. That person might not be the right fit versus actually targeting a FA.I think the main target might be a backup goalie. BG has said he expects Fleury to play 50 games, so that is 32 for someone else. Is this new guy up to the task? Not sure. He was on a trash team so maybe his numbers arent indicative of his ability.
I think there is zero chance he is looking for a goalie. Especially one with any term.
1. Not any available
2. Not paying 3-4 mill for another goalie.
3. He thinks the flower is the greatest goalie of all time.
Steel signing I don’t think was necessarily that. If it was more than a year maybe, but they needed another forward and center is always a position of need. They can easily move Jost and or Steel, and yea Rossi can still go back and fourth which is not a bad thing for a 20 year old.
The Steel signing was about getting a centerman who can win faceoffs. Steel was very promising in that department, so IMO almost no downside to bringing him on board at a modest salary with no long-term commitment. But I agree, it does nothing to block Rossi.
Besides Rossi is not a sure thing to make the club this season. He’s young and he wasn’t that impressive or consistent in Iowa last year. He’s nowhere near Boldy in terms of hockey maturity and I think Bill & Co are rightly erring on the side of caution when it comes to pushing Rossi too soon and too hard.
If you are only getting guys for faceoffs you will be upside down. He was like 50.7 percent. So yes better than any other wild player but it is not like he is some magician on the dot.
It was more about there current centers and center depth that the wild have been searching for, for many years.
If anything it protects Rossi not hurts him. As it allows for Rossi to go down if he struggles at all. Which at 20 is bound to happen.
Rossi is long term. Steel is not.
Besides Rossi is not a sure thing to make the club this season. He’s young and he wasn’t that impressive or consistent in Iowa last year. He’s nowhere near Boldy in terms of hockey maturity and I think Bill & Co are rightly erring on the side of caution when it comes to pushing Rossi too soon and too hard.
Rossi was very good for about 3/4 of the season. He was around a PPG during that stretch. He slowed at the end likely due to no meaningful hockey and likely wearing down.
I think there is zero chance he is looking for a goalie. Especially one with any term.
It can’t be zero LOL I agree it certainly wouldnt be one with any term.
Just to clear a misconception, Rossi had the BEST year a rookie has ever had in Iowa, of course he was going to hit a wall after playing that many professional games after missing 12+ months of limited physical activity with covid/myocarditis. He also took a cheapshot that led to one of his injuries last year, hard to guard against that. Rossi was widely regarded as being the most pro reading prospect in his draft class, I expect him to get between 40-50 points with the Wild this season, that would be very successful imo…
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>
I think there is zero chance he is looking for a goalie. Especially one with any term.It can’t be zero LOL I agree it certainly wouldnt be one with any term.
Or money.
Take away the dead cap hits and the Wild are only $3m above the cap floor. Only teams lower are Buffalo and Arizona. Pretty impressive really.
Might be premature to say impressive just yet. 
They will be swimming in cap space after 3 years though. Other players will need to be signed between now and then, but that will be a nice benefit to have.
Impressive assuming they make the playoffs. If you’re insinuating they’ll end with a lot less points than last year – yeah I agree. But to go from 113 points to out of the playoffs pretty much never happens.
It will be interesting to see how this season goes without Fiala around. I really think its going to be tough to have a season very close to what they had last year, but I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised.
It will be interesting to see how this season goes without Fiala around. I really think its going to be tough to have a season very close to what they had last year, but I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised.
If they can put together a decent Powerplay and Penalty kill, that can offset alot of the Fiala offense loss…What worries me is if you look at all of the points they got from last second ties and comeback wins, a majority of those points are going to be tough to duplicate just based on the odds to get them…
I’m just stoked to see what Kirill can do this season if he gets off to even just a average start, oh and what kind of impact Rossi & Boldy together can have…
Impressive assuming they make the playoffs. If you’re insinuating they’ll end with a lot less points than last year – yeah I agree. But to go from 113 points to out of the playoffs pretty much never happens.
Don’t disagree. Was just making the point that we need to see how impressive it is.
What worries me is if you look at all of the points they got from last second ties and comeback wins, a majority of those points are going to be tough to duplicate just based on the odds to get them…
^^^This. The crazy comebacks, outstanding record in 1 goal games, and low number of regulation wins is setting off my “don’t expect it to happen again” alarm. The vibes last season were outstanding but that’s generally not repeatable or sustainable. Still a good team that should be a lock for playoffs, just not expecting 2nd in the West and 110+ points again.
Lets hope that KK97 comes out hot. He was a little slow to start last year and I think with everything settled now, him here training, working out already, etc he should be primed to come out strong. If that happens we can roll with just him going. I expect Boldy to come out and build on his strong first season. Will be interesting to see what others can do. I am hopeful that Rossi makes the team and can form some chemistry with Boldy again like they had in Iowa. Id guess the team is around 100 pts. Marginally better special teams should really help them.
I hope we see Boldy-Ek-Foligno to start the season – The BEEF Line. At least until Greenway is back. The bottom 6 can be a continuous blender until they find something that works.
I’m not holding my breath on Rossi this season. I expect him to make the team full time but not be key piece yet. Something like 35-40 points if he stays healthy, less than 0.5 PPG. Basically do what Freddy Hockey did last year but without Fiala as a linemate.
Top 3 center production of 74 goals – 158 points on a combined AAV of $8.15m is really something. Can they duplicate that this year?
Top 3 center production of 74 goals – 158 points on a combined AAV of $8.15m is really something. Can they duplicate that this year?
It cannot be stated enough that Hartman is a tremendous bargain for his production. $1.7MM for 34 goals and 65 pts?!
It cannot be stated enough that Hartman is a tremendous bargain for his production. $1.7MM for 34 goals and 65 pts?!
Same for Freddy – 44 pts @ $1.2m and that’s coming straight off the UFA market.
Its lightning in a bottle. Can these things all happen again? Possible, but seems unlikely.
Can these things all happen again? Possible, but seems unlikely.
Well if not, Victor Rask is still available on the UFA market. I’m just not sure if the $5m in cap space would be enough to sign him.
I think/hope they keep Rossi and Boldy together, it will give Rossi some familiarity on the ice to build his confidence up and it gives Boldy another player who “thinks” offense to work with (similar to Fiala) vs Ek who’s defensive minded first, burrying him on the 4th line does absolutely nothing…Duhaime is a good compliment player for Ek and Foligno as he can skate well and is physical. Freddy was just a benifactor of being on the ice with Boldy and Fiala, I hope they keep him on the 4th line, perhaps make him a #1 PK guy to keep Deano happy…
I’m fine with Hartman being #1C, but he MUST do better on faceoffs (I honestly just want him to put more effort into draws, I watch him alot and he’s pretty lazy about the faceoff process), we pay Kaprizov & Zuccy to handle the puck, not forecheck to get it back..
I’m fine with Hartman being #1C, but he MUST do better on faceoffs (I honestly just want him to put more effort into draws, I watch him alot and he’s pretty lazy about the faceoff process)
Yeah I have noticed this too. I commented on it several times last year that he appeared disinterested in taking draws with very little effort.
If they can put together a decent Powerplay and Penalty kill, that can offset alot of the Fiala offense loss…
I was going to say this seems about right because I can remember how frustrating the power play was last season. However..
It’s amazing how my perception can differ from reality when you look at the entire league stats.
Last season the Wild were
12th in PPG
18th in PP%
So essentially they were above the middle of the pack in total goals and two places below the middle in terms of % on the power play. That’s not as bad as I would have guessed they were just based on the frustration factor last season.
Improving the power play is always going to be a good thing but I’m not sure we can look to that to make a big dent in the the Fiala goal deficit.
I think a more likely scenario is that a combination of other players is going to have to step up and each score for or five more goals than they did last year. Or a player like Rossi is going to have to come out on fire and just carry the whole weight himself.
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