MN Wild 2016-17 – Official thread.

There’s a reason they both make 10+ million a season, they are both probably two of the all time best clutch players. Any team that can put 3 players from the NHL’s ALL-TIME Top 100 list on the ice at the same time has a definite upperhand, I’d argue that Crawford and to some extent Seabrook aren’t that far off from that list as well…

They will be the roadblock to the cup for the next 7-10 years, that’s pretty scary…BUT if you shut them down, you’ll beat the hawks…

What’s frustrating is that nobody ever seems to finish their checks on Kane or Toews (I did see Zucker put a good hit on Toews near the end of the game) Not sure what the deal is on that…watched countless plays last night where a Wild player could have rubbed out Kane or Toews only to circle and skate away…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

What’s frustrating is that nobody ever seems to finish their checks on Kane or Toews (I did see Zucker put a good hit on Toews near the end of the game) Not sure what the deal is on that…watched countless plays last night where a Wild player could have rubbed out Kane or Toews only to circle and skate away…

Exactly my thinking too. If Parise gets near the net, he gets crosschecked in the back 20 times. Yet last night we let Kane and Toews skate all over our end with zero resistance, no finished checks, and no battle. If you let those 2 play their game, they will.

Really a poor defensive effort last night. Crawford had a horseshoe up his backside and was living off luck, but the D effort is what allowed us to beat ourselves, really. Leaving Kane wide open for multiple scoring chances is not going to end well for any team.

Dumba was not on his game and we had other lapses that were the difference. We just need to be MUCH better on D and get back to the shutdown style. I’m afraid the Wild got a little too used to winning by scoring 3-5 goals per game. We need to get back to a mentality where we need to hold the opponent to 2 or less.

It’s a bummer to lose a big game right before a break, but I don’t think Bruce is going to change anything with the way he’s driving this team. Forget the playoffs and all that BS, just focus on winning the next game. What happened last night, last week, last month, last season is irrelvant. The Wild have had a tremendous season by playing the NEXT game and that’s the way their going to be successful going forward.

Grouse

Didn’t Koivu nail Kane early too?

It’s not just the Wild, every Hawks game I watch Kane barely gets touched. There is a reason, he’s too quick and agile and he will burn you. It’s the same reason you barely ever see someone getting a shot on Suter. Which baffles me, because Suter to me looks like he has average speed and is so deliberate. But that’s how good he is, he is so good he makes things look effortless.

mplspug wrote:

It’s not just the Wild, every Hawks game I watch Kane barely gets touched. There is a reason, he’s too quick and agile and he will burn you. It’s the same reason you barely ever see someone getting a shot on Suter. Which baffles me, because Suter to me looks like he has average speed and is so deliberate. But that’s how good he is, he is so good he makes things look effortless.

THIS!
Kane is too damn quick and you have to respect his shiftiness so you don’t get too close to him. Also, he has this uncanny ability of getting rid of the puck just before someone could get a good hit on him. How often do you see him carrying the puck up ice? Not much. Its by design. Quick passes and you are making your defender change focus. He could pass it off, turn on the jets and get the puck back all in a second or so and leave the defender in the dust. This is what the defenders are guarding against and trying to avoid.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Any team that can put 3 players from the NHL’s ALL-TIME Top 100 list on the ice at the same time has a definite upperhand, I’d argue that Crawford and to some extent Seabrook aren’t that far off from that list as well…

Don’t discount Kieth,Jharmelson or Seabrook.

jeff_huberty wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
Any team that can put 3 players from the NHL’s ALL-TIME Top 100 list on the ice at the same time has a definite upperhand, I’d argue that Crawford and to some extent Seabrook aren’t that far off from that list as well…

Don’t discount Kieth,Jharmelson or Seabrook.

Keith is one of the 3 top 100 players of all time list (Kane and Toews) I also said Seabrook isn’t far from that list… Jharmelson has no offensive skill, he’s a good shot blocker and a steady Dman, but nothing special…

Suter is better than Keith. Spurgeon is better than Seabrook. IMHO of course, because it is hard to quantify.

I’m kind of hoping Chicago gets within 1 point of us to keep us on our toes. Also to make the games the rest of the way meaningful. I don’t know how into a game I would be with the wild say 8+ points up on them.

mplspug wrote:

I’m kind of hoping Chicago gets within 1 point of us to keep us on our toes. Also to make the games the rest of the way meaningful. I don’t know how into a game I would be with the wild say 8+ points up on them.

This is where I’ve been ever since the wild took over the lead in the western conference.

Wild get Hanzal from the Yotes. Subsequently, the Wild has laid off it’s scouting staff as it won’t have a pick for years.

Seems pretty steep for the Wild to give up those high picks.
Is it just a Minnesota thing to look at all trades involving picks as risky? On the other hand how many high picks have turned out as planned.

mplspug wrote:

Wild get Hanzal from the Yotes. Subsequently, the Wild has laid off it’s scouting staff as it won’t have a pick for years.

Quite the price to pay for a rental. I wonder if they have any shot at retaining him. I’m guessing he’ll be a $5M+ per year player.

The flip side is that Boudreau seemed to make it clear he didn’t want the chemistry to change either. Our bottom 6 got beefier and better defensively. Not to mention we add a little grit with White.

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mplspug wrote:</div>
I’m kind of hoping Chicago gets within 1 point of us to keep us on our toes. Also to make the games the rest of the way meaningful. I don’t know how into a game I would be with the wild say 8+ points up on them.

This is where I’ve been ever since the wild took over the lead in the western conference.

Chicago’s on a good run, 9 out of 10.

What about the really big move? The pride of White Bear, Ryan Carter is back

I like the depth move, Hanzal will play 3rd line center which moves Haula to 4th line center making it much more dangerous now..I really have no issues with trading away the picks, you can roadmap the Wild out the next 2-4 years and whomever we lose (Pommer, Koivu) will get filled by our top prospects and that still leaves 3-4 of them sitting in Iowa waiting for injury callups. The odds of these 1st & 2nd round picks just sitting in Iowa for several years really makes no sense, strike while the iron is hot. I give kudos to Fletcher for at least putting his chips in the middle…

mplspug wrote:

Suter is better than Keith. Spurgeon is better than Seabrook. IMHO of course, because it is hard to quantify.

I’m kind of hoping Chicago gets within 1 point of us to keep us on our toes. Also to make the games the rest of the way meaningful. I don’t know how into a game I would be with the wild say 8+ points up on them.

U got your wish!!!

Hawks fan here…..

No thanks to Mike Yeo and Martin Hanzel.

willett wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mplspug wrote:</div>

U got your wish!!!

Hawks fan here…..

Thats fine we got games in hand again

I am not expecting much tonight, seems every team loses their first game after their mandated break.

Wow. Fletch sits down at the table and goes all in!

Generally, I’m against giving away first round picks full stop. However… Looking at the draft forecasts and the pick the Wild would likely have, IMO this is a smart move. Most forecasts say that to the extent you can predict, this is NOT a rich draft going below #6 in round 1. Yes, anything can happen, but the Wild are burning a late pick no matter what, so IMO this says Fletch is smart for putting our chips on the “now” space vs the “later”.

Totally agree with Pugster, White brings over a nice little edge as well.

We’ll see if the Wild have the Off Week Curse tonight. I’m at the game, of course, so they’ll have to battle against that as well.

Grouse

Random thought: I wonder how Justin Fontaine is doing? I see he’s Rangers property playing for the Hartford Wolfpack of the AHL.

Seems like a good character test tonight coming off the break. Plus, it’s a good test to see how they will handle a week off after they sweep in the first round and watch the #2 & 3 teams in the league struggle through 7 games.

mplspug wrote:

Random thought: I wonder how Justin Fontaine is doing? I see he’s Rangers property playing for the Hartford Wolfpack of the AHL.

Hartford Wolf Pack 50games 9goals 21assists 30points -3 20
so having a worse season than he ever had for the Aeros

absolutely LOVE the move, as grouse said you are on pace for a late first round pick in a top loaded draft which means you take a kid who MAY make the team in 3-5 years. Hanzal is a big body that plays both ways and white will make people pay attention when he’s on the ice. With this depth and added size I’ll be real curious how a physical team like winnipeg now approaches playing the wild. I have turned my pockets inside out and put all my chips and lint to the center of the table….let’s go!!

But is it enough to nudge the Wild over the Blackhawks?
I believe the past two losses to Chicago opened Chucks eyes and nudged Fletcher into making this deal.
The only way for the Wild to beat the Hawks will be to wear them down with four tough lines,and stellar defensive play.
Despite the Wilds speed, I don’t think they can match up with the Hawks offense.

Here we Go!!

jeff_huberty wrote:

But is it enough to nudge the Wild over the Blackhawks?
I believe the past two losses to Chicago opened Chucks eyes and nudged Fletcher into making this deal.
The only way for the Wild to beat the Hawks will be to wear them down with four tough lines,and stellar defensive play.
Despite the Wilds speed, I don’t think they can match up with the Hawks offense.

Here we Go!!

I don’t think you want to fight fire with fire anyway. Like you said, the best way to beat them will be to wear them down with good d and 4 strong lines. Something we didn’t have in years past. I think the Wild have the upper hand this year. Remember, the playoffs are 7 game series, not one.

biggill wrote:

Remember, the playoffs are 7 game series, not one

The Wild have not won 4 games in the past three consecutive Stanley Cup series against the Hawks.

You’ll have to Pardon my skepticism. The Hawks playoff experience is a formidable hurdle.

All the Wild need to do is do what Bruce has had them doing all season: Focus on the next game. Forget the playoffs and all that, focus on winning the next game and don’t worry about what if’s.

This is the best the Wild have ever looked, IMO. We now have 3 centermen over 6 feet tall and I believe Koivu, Staal and Hanzel and all over 220. That’ll make the Wild very tough to move out of the middle now.

With all that said, get ready for tonight’s game to be a complete cluster. The week off is bad enough, but apparently due to travel issues, Hanzel and White just got in MN late this morning.

To add to the fire drill, Dalpe was supposed to start tonight, but then he got claimed off of waivers by the Blue Jackets so he’s gone. So we’ll be going with the cold turkey approach tonight as both Hanzel and White will start before the new sweater smell wears off and without having had a full practice.

The timing of all these moves is not great with this back to back tonight against LA and then tomorrow against the Jets. Basically it’ll be a let ‘er rip strategy because there’s no choice.

Grouse

Dalpe claimed off waivers. Pulkkinen traded to the Yotes.

They’ll get limited 4th line minutes tonight, maybe the Wild will switch it up and play Keumper tonight and hope to squeak out a win and then go full force tomorrow with Dubs in Winnipeg?

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

All the Wild need to do is do what Bruce has had them doing all season: Focus on the next game. Forget the playoffs and all that, focus on winning the next game and don’t worry about what if’s.

My comments are completely about the Wild Trade and the reason behind it, which IMHO was #1-a direct reaction of watching the Hawks top tier players outplay the Wilds and #2-the Wilds failure to get past the Blackhawks in a seven game series.
Can’t beat the Blackhawks-Can’t win the Cup

I agree, Jeff, but as things stand right now that goal should be to finish first in the central and force Chicago to win a series just to earn the right to play us. Anything can happen in a 7 game series, so my hope would be for the Wild to get to play a Wildcard team, make Chicago play a division opponent, and let the chips fall where they may.

I don’t buy into any “invincible Blackhawks” myth. We beat them 8 of the last 10 meetings going back to when they had a much deeper team. So maybe the lucky stanchion bounces go our way this time? Who knows. What I do know is there are no sure things. The Caps have lost in the playoffs with much better teams than Chicago has right now and the Blackhawks got taken out last year by the Blues.

Grouse