2022 MN WILD/NHL THREAD

Fiala’s play will result in him getting paid by somebody… if not by the Wild then at least his trade value is skyhigh and we’ll get a haul in return…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Fiala’s play will result in him getting paid by somebody… if not by the Wild then at least his trade value is skyhigh and we’ll get a haul in return…

If we can’t hang on to him yes. Looks like he is going to land right around 70 points. Not too far behind Zuccarello to put it in perspective. That’s a lot of points to replace. You can’t just say Boldy will replace some or most of his points but then who replaces Boldy’s points.

Let’s remember Fiala ran with like four points for the first 22 games or so. He could be tickling 90 had he been on track earlier. Maybe he does the same thing next year. Or maybe with a new contract and the “prove it” pressure off he doesn’t. It be worth finding out.

Ice Cap wrote:

Just for the record I’m not calling BG incompetent and probably not the right word to use. But as I said if Fiala keeps up his play and even steps it up another notch in the playoffs and BG does not make a serious run at keeping him in the fold a lot of people around the league and fans no doubt would question what he’s thinking. A wtf moment if you will. I say this from the viewpoint of the often strained relationship triangle of Fiala, BG and Evason.

What options does BG have? He has made choices that overturned this roster in a positive way, but also forced their hand on what future deals what happen. Would you rather Parise and Suter still be here and not have the dead cap? Well, then you are probably dealing with a short deal with Kaprizov and he walks. As it sits it may cost us Fiala but I guess Id rather be without him than have those two anchors on this roster and in the locker room.

Fiala will likely return a 1st rounder and a top prospect in a trade, if the rumors are true that Ottawa is hot after him that could turn into a top 10 draft pick and a top Wing/Center prospect like Ridley Grieg who’s ELC hasn’t started yet, for a team in Cap hell the next 3 years, that’s about as good as you could ask for…

CaptainMusky wrote:

As it sits it may cost us Fiala but I guess Id rather be without him than have those two anchors on this roster and in the locker room.

X2 there has been a lot of comments how the 2 of them were like a cancer in the locker room. This team has really come together without them and worth the cap hits.

You can’t just say Boldy will replace some or most of his points but then who replaces Boldy’s points.

I am sure they are hoping Rossi and a cast of others.

CaptainMusky wrote:

What options does BG have?

Oh he’s got options, it’s just that most of them suck!

Zuccarello would have to be traded this summer for Fiala to stay. 10-team NTL starts July 1. There’s plenty of reasons to have that conversation, mostly that he’s 34 and Fiala is 25. But Zuccy is Kirill’s big brother and been really really really good this year, so I see no way that he actually gets traded.

Trading Dumba alone doesn’t create enough room for Fiala, Dumba’s contract is up after next season when the dead cap goes up another $2m – plus Fiala is going to get more than $6m on a deal with any term. It would take moving Dumba PLUS another significant contract, and that doesn’t mean a $2m D-man that will be replaced with a $1m D-man

Bingo… if you trade Dumba and think Addison takes his place are you all comfy with Goose Merril or Kulikov as our number 3 or 4?

But we have Middleton now you say? Well he is do for a raise as well.

So it’s not just a sign Dumba or Fiala.

I agree that keeping Fiala over Zucc would make the most sense. Just not sure BG has the stones to do that with KK.

Just from a hockey perspective (and not factoring the lockeroom issues) friendly reminder that Parise and Suter would still being getting paid $7.5 million each the next 3 YEARS! This 2021/2022 season was always planned out as their likely last one making any meaningful contributions to the team with their last 3 years basically cheap ride off into the sunset years… Who would either replace on our current team for the next 3 years? Nobody…

We’d all love to have many superstars on our team for the future, but there’s that pesky salary cap to deal with. Even if there was a way to sign Fiala, how do you also afford Boldy in 2 years, Rossi in 3, Wallstedt in 4, eventual raises for Hartman & Foligno in 2 years, we need a starting goalie until Wallstedt is ready, etc, etc, etc…

You build around 3-4 top guys and hopefully you also have a couple of ELC guys playing larger roles, then put good $3-$4 aav role players around them and finally plug-in remaining ELC/veteran minimum guys to fill the gaps… try to cash in on a cup(s) during your window until your superstars are too old/expensive for their production and your prospect pool is depleted and can’t fill the gaps anymore and you’re then forced to sell the farm and rebuild….

tswoboda wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>CaptainMusky wrote:</div>
What options does BG have?

Oh he’s got options, it’s just that most of them suck!

Zuccarello would have to be traded this summer for Fiala to stay. 10-team NTL starts July 1. There’s plenty of reasons to have that conversation, mostly that he’s 34 and Fiala is 25. But Zuccy is Kirill’s big brother and been really really really good this year, so I see no way that he actually gets traded.

Trading Dumba alone doesn’t create enough room for Fiala, Dumba’s contract is up after next season when the dead cap goes up another $2m – plus Fiala is going to get more than $6m on a deal with any term. It would take moving Dumba PLUS another significant contract, and that doesn’t mean a $2m D-man that will be replaced with a $1m D-man

You can also factor in that each of the next 3 years the cap is going to go up at least $1 per season (it’s possible it could even go up $2 million in years 2-3) NHL’s financials were MUCH better than anticipated this season and that’s even after dealing with alot of covid restrictions in terms of effectiving revenue…

The only thing that could derail the increases would be another major covid outage in future years…

Ripjiggen wrote:

But we have Middleton now you say? Well he is do for a raise as well.

How much can Middleton realistically expect to get in a raise from his current $725k? Do you think you could get him signed for 5 x $1.5-2aav? I can see a guy like him sacrificing some aav for more term, especially for a defensive defenseman who knows he would likely partner with Spurgeon for the duration…

The Parise/Suter situation had to end as it did when it did. They would have crippled this franchise if they rode out those contracts and we couldnt buy them out after this year because it financially made no sense as there was zero benefit in doing so.
I would love to have Fiala, but I am convinced that ship has sailed based on the last few off seasons with contract negotiations. If BG could have gotten something more longer term it would have happened. Its clear that Fiala’s camp was banking on themselves and looking for big dollars and he’s pricing himself out of here.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

How much can Middleton realistically expect to get in a raise from his current $725k? Do you think you could get him signed for 5 x $1.5-2aav? I can see a guy like him sacrificing some aav for more term, especially for a defensive defenseman who knows he would likely partner with Spurgeon for the duration…

At some point a guy who plays top pairing his entire career you’d think he’d be worth more than that. I mean he’s been consistently playing with Burns, Karlsson and now Spurgeon who all make a ton more than he does. Its sort of like Harman with KK and Zucc.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
How much can Middleton realistically expect to get in a raise from his current $725k? Do you think you could get him signed for 5 x $1.5-2aav? I can see a guy like him sacrificing some aav for more term, especially for a defensive defenseman who knows he would likely partner with Spurgeon for the duration…

At some point a guy who plays top pairing his entire career you’d think he’d be worth more than that. I mean he’s been consistently playing with Burns, Karlsson and now Spurgeon who all make a ton more than he does. Its sort of like Harman with KK and Zucc.

You just need to avoid the Mard Edward Vlasic type of mistake…partially joking…. I’d say Brodin has cemented himself as the top pairing, Spurgeon is now top 4 imo… so what do you pay a 26 yrd old defensive top 4 pairing D who’s career high is currently 12 points?

CaptainMusky wrote:

The Parise/Suter situation had to end as it did when it did. They would have crippled this franchise if they rode out those contracts and we couldnt buy them out after this year because it financially made no sense as there was zero benefit in doing so.
I would love to have Fiala, but I am convinced that ship has sailed based on the last few off seasons with contract negotiations. If BG could have gotten something more longer term it would have happened. Its clear that Fiala’s camp was banking on themselves and looking for big dollars and he’s pricing himself out of here.

Or they bottomed out got draft capital and rebuilt.
This seams more fun anyway.

You just need to avoid the Mard Edward Vlasic type of mistake…partially joking…. I’d say Brodin has cemented himself as the top pairing, Spurgeon is now top 4 imo… so what do you pay a 26 yrd old defensive top 4 pairing D who’s career high is currently 12 points?

Either way if it is 2 mill 3 mill whatever that number is still that million that can’t go somewhere else. Like aka in Fiala’s pocket.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Or they bottomed out got draft capital and rebuilt.
This seams more fun anyway.

Yeah, I dont want to be Ottawa or Arizona either. Ottawa seems to be on the verge possibly, but what a miserable run. There’s a lot to be excited about with this team even with the stressful next few years coming up.
Russo, announce Ben Meyers to MN!!!!!

Ripjiggen wrote:

You just need to avoid the Mard Edward Vlasic type of mistake…partially joking…. I’d say Brodin has cemented himself as the top pairing, Spurgeon is now top 4 imo… so what do you pay a 26 yrd old defensive top 4 pairing D who’s career high is currently 12 points?

Either way if it is 2 mill 3 mill whatever that number is still that million that can’t go somewhere else. Like aka in Fiala’s pocket.

The thinking would be to replace Dumba’s $6aav with Middleton’s $2+ within the top4…again wishful thinking at that aav, but I just don’t see how he can demand too much…

Zuccarello isn’t going anywhere, he’s basically Kaprizov’s billet family….

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Zuccarello isn’t going anywhere, he’s basically Kaprizov’s billet family….

Yeah no chance he’s going anywhere at all! He will ride out his contract here as long as KK97 is here.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Zuccarello isn’t going anywhere, he’s basically Kaprizov’s billet family….

Agreed. Just pointing out that’s the kind of sacrifice it would take to keep Kevin.

Carson Soucy 3x$2.75 is the obvious comp for Middleton. Soucy was pending UFA but Middleton is presumably more valued by the team.

tswoboda wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
Zuccarello isn’t going anywhere, he’s basically Kaprizov’s billet family….

Agreed. Just pointing out that’s the kind of sacrifice it would take to keep Kevin.

Carson Soucy 3x$2.75 is the obvious comp for Middleton. Soucy was pending UFA but Middleton is presumably more valued by the team.

I’d say Saucy has alot more offensive upside though, offense typically drives the $ amount…

KP wrote:

Yeah no chance he’s going anywhere at all! He will ride out his contract here as long as KK97 is here.

It wasnt all that long ago that we all wanted Zucc gone and feared there was no way to move his contract. Remember then? Boy have things changed. That trio is a really good pair. It would be nice to have a more skilled center, but it also can be argued that Hartman is the perfect guy for this two because of his grit.
He gets a $4200 fine and Id bet all of the Wild fans would kick in to pay it. Well worth it.

to be fair, Zuc was terrible his first season…his previous season arm injury likely played a huge role in that, but there’s no denying he was bad and the thought of 4 more years of that at $6aav was scary. Kirill has reinvented his career for sure, same for Hartman…

CaptainMusky wrote:

It wasnt all that long ago that we all wanted Zucc gone and feared there was no way to move his contract. Remember then? Boy have things changed.

I’ll eat crow and admit I was one of them! I think him getting healthy as well also plays an affect in it but KK97 is the main factor of his resurgence. The 2 also have a great bond off the ice which helps.

I absolutely love Hartman’s comments after the game about Kane. Love having a guy like him on the team.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

to be fair, Zuc was terrible his first season…his previous season arm injury likely played a huge role in that, but there’s no denying he was bad.

Absolutely right, but we were still very concerned about that contract. My how things have changed. He setting career marks and he has played with some great players over the years.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
to be fair, Zuc was terrible his first season…his previous season arm injury likely played a huge role in that, but there’s no denying he was bad.

Absolutely right, but we were still very concerned about that contract. My how things have changed. He setting career marks and he has played with some great players over the years.

The 2 shortened covid seasons will definately add a few extra miles of tread on the bodies of older signed players like Zuc…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

The 2 shortened covid seasons will definately add a few extra miles of tread on the bodies of older signed players like Zuc…

I agree. His game doesnt seem like one that is going to fall off a cliff like Parise.

Jack McBain’s 1st game last night for Arizona, 13:45 icetime, 4/8 on faceoffs, -1

CaptainMusky wrote:

He gets a $4200 fine and Id bet all of the Wild fans would kick in to pay it. Well worth it.

Unverified, but I just saw on twitter this might be an actual thing happening…(fans paying $ to Hartman) Hopefully they verified the venmo account