MN Wild 2017-18 Official Thread

homerk wrote:

Jets are making LV looking like JV

Byfuglien what can’t this guy do

He’s a hell of a fisherman too. Ran into him on lake winnipeg this year.

Was he drunk?

mplspug wrote:

Was he drunk?

No comment. Cough… cough….

Jeez. That guy drinks as much… as me.

Boy the caps are playing a pretty flawless game. Gonna be tough for Tampa to win this series, but it ain’t over.

Absolute @ss whipping laid on Tampa by the Caps. 6-2 with no empty netters.
Nothing but a Caps highlight video from the 2nd onward, Tampa looking dazed and confused on both sides of the puck.

Looking for this to be a much better series, but now we head back to Washington for two games. This is going to be over quick unless Tampa gets it back on the rails in G3.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Absolute @ss whipping laid on Tampa by the Caps. 6-2 with no empty netters.
Nothing but a Caps highlight video from the 2nd onward, Tampa looking dazed and confused on both sides of the puck.

Looking for this to be a much better series, but now we head back to Washington for two games. This is going to be over quick unless Tampa gets it back on the rails in G3.

Grouse

Big/Fast/Tough will win most of the time, especially in the Playoffs…just ask the Wild

Slabhunter wrote:

Big/Fast/Tough will win most of the time, especially in the Playoffs…just ask the Wild

I’ll agree with that assessment. Especially the last 3 seasons.

You mean like the Penguins?

No, like Chicago.

Chicago did have Buf for one of those cups.

Not their best game last night, but they got it done. No win game #4 and start planting those seeds of doubt in their heads.

mplspug wrote:

Not their best game last night, but they got it done. No win game #4 and start planting those seeds of doubt in their heads.

Interesting how this series has had high win margins on both sides. I would have thought this was going to be more of a 2-1 or 3-2 deal.

Tampa looked better last night but the Caps had lots and lots of chances. Keep giving up that many prime chances and the Caps are going to find the net more than twice in a game and it’s going to be tough sledding.

This is a terrific series though. Both teams stacked with talent.

Who’s the new Wild GM going to be? Should be naming one any day now I’d think. It will be interesting to see the new GM’s view reflected in who stays and which players get dealt in the off season. I have to think aggressive moves are in store.

Grouse

I’m all for the Nashville assistant GM, he’s made good draft picks and been really good at swinging trades that actually work out… (Johanson, Forsberg, Suban)

There’s another part of me that wants an ex-player (Bill Guerin) that understands the game more because he’s actually played it…

We’ll see, but I agree that this GM has some big decisions on some key players to make right away…

There was a rumored 3rd individual in the running, but no one has been able to determine WHO that 3rd is.
So, as we know its down to Fenton and Fitzgerald. I think early on Fenton was a shoe in, but as time has gone by I am starting to doubt that. I have heard from Russo and others that Fitzgerald is a no nonsense guy and he isn’t going to tell you what you want to hear and he would go ALL IN in the interview detailing exactly what needed to be done.
Apparently Fitzgerald is meeting with Leipold today. Fenton was in earlier this week, Tuesday.
Both of these guys have had prior dealings with Leipold.
I do appreciate what Fenton has been able to accomplish in Nashville, but he has been the #2 guy for how long? There has to be a reason. I mean, Leipold could have hired him over Fletch, but chose not to. No doubt the guy is capable of scouting, grooming, etc, but is he capable of being the guy? That will remain to be seen if he is hired here or elsewhere.

Fenton or Fitzgerald, both would seem to be good “on paper” choices. I guess with these GM changes there will be some immediate actions, but with drafts and player acquisitions there’s more of a slow burn.

As CM says, it’s hard to know if either is “the guy”, because the owner and the coach they work with are part of the equation. IF Fenton would manage along similar lines as the existing GM he’s under in Nashville, then he’s significantly more aggressive than Fletcher was, but… That’s a big IF.

And will Leopold allow more aggressive deals and let’s be honest, hitting the “eject” button on existing non-performing players, I would think, has to be part of the mix. A new GM can’t make a new omelet without breaking some eggs.
Question is will Leopold allow it even if it costs the Wild money near-term and involves lopsided deals just to dump underperformers.

The Wild are going to have to deal hard to make any deals at all with such limited cap space. Cullen is (probably) done, but Dumba will be getting a raise. Coyle needs to get gone, but that will cost the Wild as we’ll get nailed for part of his salary, no way is anyone giving us full money for Coyle. So he either gets packaged with a higher value player, or the Wild retain a significant part of his salary just to move him.

From there things could get a lot more interesting. Is this Koivu’s last year and possibly is there a joint Koivu/Staal retirement party coming after this year?

It was a shame to have to give up Tuch and Haula to Vegas when Haula could have been protected by exposing Coyle, who Vegas wouldn’t have touched anyway.

Grouse

I don’t know Grouse, Haula didn’t look that great as a Wild player much like Coyle. I seriously think the coaches never gave Haula a decent chance to prove himself here, but once he got on a team that said show us your stuff, he blew up pretty good for the Knights. Coyle might be in the same situation, might just need a new team and a new coach to turn into a pretty darn good player. Be nice if we could send him somewhere and they take his salary.

sticker wrote:

I don’t know Grouse, Haula didn’t look that great as a Wild player much like Coyle. I seriously think the coaches never gave Haula a decent chance to prove himself here, but once he got on a team that said show us your stuff, he blew up pretty good for the Knights. Coyle might be in the same situation, might just need a new team and a new coach to turn into a pretty darn good player. Be nice if we could send him somewhere and they take his salary.

That’s exactly it hauls was never given much of a chance…yeo clearly had something against him…i can’t remember exact year but I believe it was the year yeo was canned and torchetti took over…haula was given a chance on the top 6 and he was easily our best player at the point in time…why he wasn’t never given a chance to retain that role over guys like Coyle I’ll never understand…koivu needs to get gone…i never saw how lazy of a skater he was until the end of the year…hopefully staal has a couple good years left and they can hammer out a deal wether it be a 1 year at a time thing…he has easily been the heart and soul the last couple years…no reason he shouldn’t be wearing an A or a C every night on this team wether everyone is healthy or not….
Meanwhile at the worlds…nino and granny look good…imagine that to little to late..and that krill kid…man I can’t wait to see him in the nhl

Haula would have still been the #3 center here. He still amassed only 57 points on Vegas’s line. That being said, he was sorely missed here for his defense and speed.

I can’t figure out Vegas. They are fast with a hell of a goaltender. They are making me believe you don’t have to have a top tier defence and should spend the money on forwards.

They are definitely an example of the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts.

Vegas can’t possibly be a contender for a cup without a superstar.

Blow it up.

William Karlsson

I guess having 6 20+ goal scorers means we shouldn’t be surprised. That’s the deal, this team payed big money to have their top six be legit 20+ goal scorers. They are all 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b players.

So in regards to Vegas, are you annoyed or do you think it is a great story?

I’m annoyed. Allowing them to be competitive in their first year is great, but this is ridiculous. Leap frogging over 14 established teams in the West to get to the finals. I get no one could have imagined this, but come on. I am guessing with all the deals they made they are loaded with draft picks and prospects too.

I won’t feel so bad if next year they come back down to earth and we find out this was just a very motivated team.

There should be a lot of nervous GM’s out there. There are a lot of owners asking their GM’s “how can Vegas do this and we can’t?”

And maybe a lot of coaches who can’t get the most out of a prospect.

You know who really is to blame?
Fletcher and Dale Tallon (Panthers GM)

Panthers gave up 2 top 6 forwards and the Wild gave up a top 6 and an eventual top 6. Most teams just sacrificed 1 player.

How Vegas Was Built

Redwings look like geniuses

The Wings traded forward Tomas Tatar to the Vegas Golden Knights just before Monday’s deadline, in exchange for a first-round pick in 2018, a second-round pick in 2019, and a third-round pick in 2021. The Wings are not retaining any salary, so it clears a contract that had three more years at $5.3 million per year off the books.

I think the whole Vegas thing is a cool story for a lot of guys that feel like they were castoffs at their prior organizations, but yes Pug, I do feel a bit annoyed too.
I would hazard a guess that there is NO WAY this happens again with Seattle.
Vegas is loaded with picks, its going to be crazy. They are not going to be set to win now, they are going to be set to win for a LONG time!

mplspug wrote:

So in regards to Vegas, are you annoyed or do you think it is a great story?

I’m annoyed. Allowing them to be competitive in their first year is great, but this is ridiculous. Leap frogging over 14 established teams in the West to get to the finals. I get no one could have imagined this, but come on. I am guessing with all the deals they made they are loaded with draft picks and prospects too.

I won’t feel so bad if next year they come back down to earth and we find out this was just a very motivated team.

My guess is the “They gave up on me so i’ll show them” vibe will wear off next year, but they do have a good young solid core to build around, and name another expansion team to have a starting goalie like Fleury? He’s a big reason they are where they are…

Vegas came into the league at the perfect time when alot of teams were cap strapped and saw an easy way to make quick changes. Remember that Vegas paid something like $500 million to get their franchise and demanded a good pool of players to select from because of it, so any owner crying Wolf needs to give their check back…

I’m happy for them! it also shows how many players just need to be given a chance to shine (Karlson, Haula, Tuch, etc) Maybe it opens teams up to giving some players who’ve struggled a chance at a bigger role to see how they respond instead of trading them off for nothing? (like Coyle)

I’m annoyed. They should have to suffer 50 years without a cup like everyone else. It’s undeniable that they inherited a lot of very good players. Or should I say bought? No other team had that opportunity.

Yes, I forgot to mention Fleury. Without him, this my reply never happens. He was absolutely their biggest score.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

It was a shame to have to give up Tuch and Haula to Vegas when Haula could have been protected by exposing Coyle, who Vegas wouldn’t have touched anyway.

Grouse

Protecting Haula or Coyle was irrelevant… Dumba or Stall would have been selected regardless. So had the Wild not made a move, they were giving away their best forward or a 23 yr old defenseman who put up 50 points. Either one would have been VGK’s best player at their position, hands down.

In hindsight Coyle should have been the one traded rather than Haula, but at the time of the trade Coyle had more value.

mplspug wrote:

You know who really is to blame?
Fletcher and Dale Tallon (Panthers GM)

Panthers gave up 2 top 6 forwards and the Wild gave up a top 6 and an eventual top 6. Most teams just sacrificed 1 player.

Let’s not forget the Blue Jackets who gave up a 1st and 2nd round pick to ensure VGK would take 43 goal scorer Wild Bill Karlsson.

Vegas annoys me, they shouldn’t be this good this year.
Their surplus of draft picks scares me for the future.
The Tatar trade gives me hope though… trades don’t get much more lopsided than that.

True, I don’t think anyone saw Karlsson coming. And it was just one player, granted it would be hard to replace those 40+ goals.