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

lmao good to know

Russo just said on KFAN that Kaprizov did get an MRI on an area he said was bothering him, but it returned normal…so I guess that’s good…

I was listening to KFAN on Wed when Russo was on with PA.

He said that the purpose of this trip has taken a complete 180. The original intent was to make it fun, have team bonding time, mingle with the locals, etc. Instead its been turned into nothing but 100% business and work because of how poorly the team has recently played. He also said that if they don’t come out of it at least .500, there are going to be “major changes.” He didn’t elaborate as to what that meant when pressed by PA.

gimruis wrote:

I was listening to KFAN on Wed when Russo was on with PA.

He said that the purpose of this trip has taken a complete 180. The original intent was to make it fun, have team bonding time, mingle with the locals, etc. Instead its been turned into nothing but 100% business and work because of how poorly the team has recently played. He also said that if they don’t come out of it at least .500, there are going to be “major changes.” He didn’t elaborate as to what that meant when pressed by PA.

yeah, the problem is the only real changes they can make are firing a coach(s) or trading away one or some of our bottom guys who don’t have trade protection…hardly a move that could jumpstart anything… I think the part were Russo said the team should just play the season out as-is and see what the players do, worst case they fail and get a high draft pick, this team just doesn’t have a realistic shot at the cup right now (if you think they do you’re fooling yourself)

The worrying aspect of the Russo interview was his suggestion that its possible some of the players know due to the Wild’s Cap and NMC’s that GMBG really can’t make any moves, so they are kind of safe to play however they want to… He calrified he’s not saying that’s the case, but all of the factors are there that could cause it…He mentioned the Wild’s lack of shot blocking (we’re near the bottom of the league) is a hint of that…

I think the part were Russo said the team should just play the season out as-is and see what the players do, worst case they fail and get a high draft pick, this team just doesn’t have a realistic shot at the cup right now (if you think they do you’re fooling yourself)

I hate this line of thinking. It is a loser mentality and a sure fire way that KK leaves when his contract is up.

Ripjiggen wrote:

I hate this line of thinking. It is a loser mentality and a sure fire way that KK leaves when his contract is up.

Agreed

Ripjiggen wrote:

I hate this line of thinking. It is a loser mentality and a sure fire way that KK leaves when his contract is up.

Did you read the part that explained there’s really no moves GMBG can make to improve anything?

So its on the players to determine how the season goes, if they stay as-is and don’t improve they’ll be looking at a high draft pick…

I did.

Ripjiggen wrote:

I did.

and your plan to fix things if they keep losing is?

The same thing they did to fix things last year. Play better

Not my job.
What I hate is they have no shot at winning so just stay the course and get a high draft pick mentality.
If this team tanks for the next two years I don’t see how KK would want to stay.
Then I don’t see how fans will stay engaged with the BG “plan” when he lost two of their better players in franchise history and the team is no closer or better than they were before he took over.

Sure maybe it’s an empty threat by BG. If that is the case then it’s a pretty silly statement IMO.

I always hate the tank mentality. THey were saying the same thing about the Vikings when their season started poorly. I dont want to watch a loser, I want to watch a competitive team. I really want a championship at some point but I am not a fool to know how dang hard that is to achieve.

irregardless of what anybody (fans/GM) wants to do, there’s no moves to be made other than firing coaches…that’s my point…it’s all on these players to improve or not…

You can’t threaten Vets with AHL assignment, they’d need to pass through waivers so you risk losing them for nothing (I don’t see any players other teams would want to take their contract on)…sure you could give some pressbox passes, but that only works once and could backfire…

These are the players we COULD trade (i’m not including obvious guys we obviously won’t trade) without getting their permission or dealing with limited team ntc’s:

Middleton
Merril
Mermis
Duhaime
Dewar
Letteiri

Do you see anybody here we could get impactful return for that would also then fit in our cap?

For as much as I praise GMBG, he’s really painted himself in a tough corner now and the next 2-3 years with the extensions he’s handed out…These are the players that will need to figure it out, there’s no “or moves will be made” threats that have actual merit to them…

CaptainMusky wrote:

I always hate the tank mentality. THey were saying the same thing about the Vikings when their season started poorly. I dont want to watch a loser, I want to watch a competitive team. I really want a championship at some point but I am not a fool to know how dang hard that is to achieve.

Tank mentality isn’t even an option with the Wild, they can’t sell off players UNLESS the players want out and good luck finding a team that can afford them and their multiple years remaining contracts…The Wild are basically in a locked roster position for the next 2-3 years…they can only afford to shuffle around a few bottom 6 roster spots (unless you don’t mind playing 3rd & 4th liners making $4+ aav’s)

You dont have to sell off players to tank you just want to lose. Which is dumber.

CaptainMusky wrote:

You dont have to sell off players to tank you just want to lose. Which is dumber.

I don’t think the coaches or players EVER WANT to lose…we’ve seen numerous times where a team will win games late in the year that actually puts them in worse lottery luck…on the flip side we’ve seen teams (Chicago last year) where management sells off players and replaces them with inexperianced AHL callups, thus making it tough for the team to win NHL games, but that’s not even an option for GMBG and the Wild…

I agree on Chicago, but the Wild are definitely not going to do that.

CaptainMusky wrote:

I agree on Chicago, but the Wild are definitely not going to do that.

My whole point is I don’t even think they could if they wanted to (it’s upto the players to lift their NMC’s and even if they did, do teams even want them with term left on their deals?) (outside of Flower)

so tanking really isn’t even an option…

Mermis on waivers, wonder if the Wild are worried about possibly losing him? He’s played relatively well for a guy only making $775k in a cap strapped league…

Tanking is not an option for the Wild unless they just plain play bad and that is not going to happen. We had this same conversation a year ago when they struggled and what happened? Didnt they finish 2nd or 3rd in the division? Its the same thing as the Vikings. People were panicking about their start, but I am sitting here this roster is NOT that much different than last year and they were 13-4, correct the turnover issue and they will be fine. Guess what, they seemed to have done that and now won 5 in a row.

The problem is that the league continues to reward teams who ARE willing to go with the Suck Your Way to Success program. Yes, there is a small chance that a team like the Blackhawks could have lost Bedard in the lottery, but the chance isn’t even near big enough to discourage them from going (again) into full-on tank mode and once again, the league proved they were right to tank by rewarding them with Bedard.

So as long as there are teams willing to scuttle the ship, the Wild aren’t the Wild just hurting themselves by being the team that plays it straight and battles to the bitter end at the cost 5-10 draft positions?

Also, IMO the shine is starting to come off of GMBG’s apple. For a guy that had both buyout guns blazing to push out the past-their-sell-by vets, he sure has locked the Wild into a ton of long, NMC/NTC-locked, deals with aging vets. What gives? You look at the contracts that GMBG has us locked into now, and I’m not sure the light at the end of the buyout tunnel isn’t the oncoming train of being locked into some of the recent contracts BG has signed.

And also if tanking isn’t an option since GMBG has us locked in as far as any/all flexibility to do with players, he’d better have a damn good Plan B when it comes to what his move is going to be if this coaching staff doesn’t turn this sucky-ass PK around.

And you may as well throw the PP in there as well, because even if the PK does get better, that’s only going to cause everyone to shift focus to how bad the PP still is. In all honesty, how the hell is that King guy still here? We’re almost a quarter of the way through the season and the thinking is this clown is somehow going to bring improvement NOW? Fire his buttski, admit it was the wrong choice, and move on.

Also, knowing full well that Deano was NOT GMBG’s first choice when he thought he had to replace Bruce, isn’t it about time that Deano gets the message that his time is limited? By that I mean, limited by about the all star break?

I think the problems plaguing this team can be fixed. They are mostly defensive issues. Goal scoring doesn’t seem to be a major issue.

They don’t block shots, they’re out of position, their penalty kill is atrocious, and goal tending isn’t great either. But all of those items can be fixed too.

I don’t see them winning a Stanley Cup or even contending for it but there’s no reason they can’t be a playoff team again. Being competitive year after year is pretty tough in the NHL, there is pretty good parity.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Yes, there is a small chance that a team like the Blackhawks could have lost Bedard in the lottery, but the chance isn’t even near big enough to discourage them from going (again) into full-on tank mode and once again, the league proved they were right to tank by rewarding them with Bedard.

Blackhawks had the 3rd best odds of getting Bedard, a whopping 11.5%

tswoboda wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>TheFamousGrouse wrote:</div>
Yes, there is a small chance that a team like the Blackhawks could have lost Bedard in the lottery, but the chance isn’t even near big enough to discourage them from going (again) into full-on tank mode and once again, the league proved they were right to tank by rewarding them with Bedard.

Blackhawks had the 3rd best odds of getting Bedard, a whopping 11.5%

I want to say their win against Pittsburgh on the last day of the season dropped them from worst overall to 3rd worst right? It also knocked the Penguins out of the playoffs… players & coaches want to win, Management & Owners dont mind losing when it could help longterm…

Didn’t the Vikings Defense Coordinator sue the NFL & Dolphins saying he was fired because he refused to obey the Dolphin’s owners demands they tank and purposely lose games?

For those who want a longer 3-3 OT period, it will never happen as long as the NHLPA has a say in it.

Per an Athletic Article:
“I wish it was longer,” Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald said.

There are a lot of people with him on that. But it’s a non-starter. The NHL Players’ Association has forever fought the notion of extending the overtime session because of the wear and tear it already creates on the game’s top players. Only a handful of players see the ice in overtime, so adding even more to their plates never made sense to the NHLPA…

The Wild’s least talked about prospect Rieger Lorenz scored 2 goals last night for Denver University. He’s now has 5G3A in 11 games this season. He’s a 6’3” 210+ power forward we took in the 2nd round a few years ago… Its tough to get playing time as a young player at DU so that explains his limited role as a freshman last year, lets hope this kid takes off because he’s a beast on the ice….

tswoboda wrote:

Blackhawks had the 3rd best odds of getting Bedard, a whopping 11.5%

And the last-place team had an 18.5% chance of getting the #1 OA. As I said, the chances of NOT landing the pick after a season spent in full-on tank-it mode were clearly not enough to discourage a team like Chicago from trying it. Chicago spent all season orchestrating the scuttle-the-ship maneuver and in the end, they were rewarded.

What if the last 4 finishers all had an equal chance of landing the #1 OA at say 10% with the remaining chances distributed up the chain? Like a lot of things, the league could stop tanking if they wanted to, but clearly, the league wants this to work WHEN they want it to work.

Rossssi and Faber!

Kirill now 0 for his last 11 shootout attempts?