2023/2024 NHL/WILD Offseason-Season-Postseason Thread

Lindy Ruff out as Devils coach. What a difference a half year makes.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Chisholm is not playing top 4 if all are healthy.[/quote

If Middleton is traded who moves up? Merril?

Tom schmitt wrote:

If Middleton is traded who moves up? Merril?

Lord help us!

IF Middleton is traded, who cares who fills in for the rest of this season? GMBG has all summer to find a replacement for next season…Middleton getting traded would be all about helping this team AFTER next season because while I agree his $2.45 caphit next season is great for what he provides the Wild (top 4 D with size) maybe his projected next contract is too much for GMBG’s projected lineup thinking down the road?

and again, I think a Middleton trade would ONLY happen if the offer was too good to turn down…perhaps instead of a high draft pick it includes a young stud D coming back to the Wild? for a team in a win now mode, Middleton might look alot more useful than a better young defenseman who’s still 1-2 years away…

I’m just seeing alot of reports that the Defenseman market is going to be pretty bare with ALOT of teams wanting help…

Faber has been fading in the Calder race, but one area that might help him out getting a few more votes is that Connor Bedard is -34 in just 48 games played…and for those who say that Chicago is terrible and that’s why it’s so high, then why is Jason Dickinson (probably their 2nd best player/Center) a +2 playing in all 62 of Chicago’s games sofar?

Faber is +/- 0 in 62 games played…but he has to flip a switch and push through his current drought to have any chance of taking enough votes away…

Agree on the Middleton stuff but the risky part is “big top 4 D” is where a lot of mistakes are made in free agency and trades. Replacing his role would not be easy and they need to be good next year.

Faber is toast in the Calder, just the way it is. Bedard is historically bad defensively and will finish minus a million but none of the voters will care and Faber isn’t doing anything to change their minds. He’s got 1 point and minus 5 in the 10 games since Bedard returned. There’s not even discussion about it anymore.

Agreed on Faber. Rossi might have a better shot than he will at this point.

Rossi or Faber winning the Calder is slightly more realistic than Middleton being traded. Both are close to zero percent.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Rossi or Faber winning the Calder is slightly more realistic than Middleton being traded. Both are close to zero percent.

I hope so on the Middsy part.

tswoboda wrote:

He’s got 1 point and minus 5 in the 10 games since Bedard returned. There’s not even discussion about it anymore.

I wouldn’t go that far… Bedard has 8 points and -12 in his 9 games being back…those stats of course don’t look great for Faber, but Brock also scored 4 points in the 3 games just before that 9 game timeframe…

I think it’s safe to say Bedard has a much greater chance to score points over Faber if that’s the only metric…Faber absolutely needs to pick up his game, but he’s also been the “3rd assist” on alot of PP goals lately, so he’s just missing out on the scoresheet…

IF he can close that 7 point gap and catch Bedard by the end of the season, I think it will be a close vote…

More likely that Bedard wins it unanimous than Faber or Rossi winning it at this point

The only reason a Middleton trade was even mentioned was for the “throw the towel in” brigade. Gotta get the best draft position possible.

Exactly if they are looking to extend BOGO and not trade him they are not looking to trade Middleton.
If spurg can come back healthy I actually don’t mind there 6D next year.
Borodin/Faber
Spurg/Middleton
Chisholm/Bogo

Pick you 7th AHL guy or Merril.

Marat got his expedited VISA meeting set for tomorrow, so he’ll likely fly to MN soon afterwards…

Wonder how long they give him here before putting him in a game? Could be a bit since they’re playing every other day next week so not much for practice. Probably depends on how the trade deadline shakes out too.

tswoboda wrote:

The only reason a Middleton trade was even mentioned was for the “throw the towel in” brigade. Gotta get the best draft position possible.

nah, it’s because he’s the only player (besides Duhaime) who’s actually tradeable with no restrictions, he’s a high demand playoff type player on a good aav and isn’t locked up beyond 1 more season…

I agree the odds of it happening are very low, but if the perfect deal comes across GMBG’s desk, I don’t think he would be afraid to take it…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>tswoboda wrote:</div>
The only reason a Middleton trade was even mentioned was for the “throw the towel in” brigade. Gotta get the best draft position possible.

nah, it’s because he’s the only player (besides Duhaime) who’s actually tradeable with no restrictions, he’s a high demand playoff type player on a good aav and isn’t locked up beyond 1 more season…

I agree the odds of it happening are very low, but if the perfect deal comes across GMBG’s desk, I don’t think he would be afraid to take it…

I’m speaking for myself here bud

tswoboda wrote:

I can see both sides of it but I’m always a proponent for trying to win until the chances are basically zero. Right now it really doesn’t matter what anyone wants because it lies solely on the players, so there’s not really an argument on what the team should do… the team can’t really do anything but run out the same roster. The option of a “re-tool” was signed away back in September.

The only tradeable impact player (without dipping into the core) I see is Middleton. Maybe something similar to the Jake McCabe trade last year. Something like Middleton, Duhaime, (2) 5th round picks for a 1st and 2nd ??

tswoboda wrote:

Wonder how long they give him here before putting him in a game? Could be a bit since they’re playing every other day next week so not much for practice. Probably depends on how the trade deadline shakes out too.

Roster limits lift after the deadline, so they can carry extra guys, but it will be like 11+ days since he likely skated hard, so my guess is he’ll stay in MN and skate with Ness for a few days… I don’t think it will be due to not understanding the systems limitation, he’s had the systems book to read through and this time of year teams bring in College guys the day after their season ends and play them…

I’m really curious to see what his official height is listed at? I’ve seen some sites (mostly prospect sites) list him at 5’9″ and others (NHL.com & Cap Friendly) list him at 5’11”

He’s 5’11” until you see him standing eye to eye with Zuccy

tswoboda wrote:

He’s 5’11” until you see him standing eye to eye with Zuccy

no doubt, but I believe he gets an official NHL physical before he steps on the ice? just like the day before training camp starts…

I know for sure their measurements are exactly captured at the draft combine, but that doesn’t help much for the players who don’t attend it or if they grow afterwards…

I wouldn’t put any faith in any of those. Addison is listed at 5’11” all over the place and he’s shorter than Kaprizov maybe closer to Zuccy’s height

tswoboda wrote:

I wouldn’t put any faith in any of those. Addison is listed at 5’11” all over the place and he’s shorter than Kaprizov

He measured exactly 5’10” at his draft combine

Fair enough, Addy must grind his steel down.

Let’s just say not big. :jester:

Average NHL Player Height & Weight the past 63 years…interesting that weight went down for 15 years and now an uptrend again (all due to removal of clutch & grab resulting in more smaller players?)

cool chart, Average size across all major sports

Ummm, golfers and nascar drivers are athletes? Maybe John Daly can help us out here…

Unfortunately for Faber and Rossi the Calder is ALL about offensive stats.
I haven’t watched Bedard a lot, but from what I have seen he just coasts around when the other team has the puck. He will learn to backcheck eventually, or he won’t stay in the league.
If the Calder was really about the best “all around ” Rookie player it would go to Rossi or Faber.

Scott Wheeler released his Top 15 Goalie prospects list today and Jesper Wallstedt was again #1 overall…he mentioned the rough debut game in Dallas and brutal team in Iowa this year…Yaroslav Askarov was the only other Tier 1 goalie ranked in the list….

Bogosian extended 2 year x $1.25m and it does not include any trade protection