MN Wild 2018-19 Official Thread

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>basseyes wrote:</div>
Laying an egg consistently is much different than a a couple clunkers here or there. There’s a pattern of no effort, or effortless games.

The problem is that they haven’t laid an egg consistently.

If that were only true.

With blind allegiance to mediocrity and a nothing can change mentality, let’s just embrace it and celebrate them just getting into the playoffs as our championship, participation trophy. Anything above and beyond that is unrealistic, unreasonable and/or just down right gaudy to expect or hope for.

Things can and do change. Change is constant. Even a stagnant mindset that is to proud and willful to understand that, time changes everything.

RS needs less ice time. Coaches can do that. That will change, and should be forced down his stubborn throat, no questions asked, no apologies. Younger players need the chance to develop and that takes ice time. He’s a selfish, minutes hog. That’s not leadership, that’s ego/pride driven.

You asked what’s the difference between players, some want to win, RS wants ice time.

Could careless about helmet throwing and stick breaking, but he’s listless. His body language is a tell all. No forward in the league worries about playing against his effortless skating and positioning. There’s no fear of camping out in front of the net. Not a huge deal regular season, but playoff time his value is so far overshadowed by his numbers vs his actual on the ice actions that help win games.

tomr wrote:

Philly just tied the game as I sit here zombie like forming no opinions. Zen like

Ok… that is funny!!!

basseyes wrote:

With blind allegiance to mediocrity and a nothing can change mentality, let’s just embrace it and celebrate them just getting into the playoffs as our championship, participation trophy. Anything above and beyond that is unrealistic, unreasonable and/or just down right gaudy to expect or hope for.

Accepting the fact the team is trying to make a profit somehow gives you this impression? It doesn’t matter how you put it it’s making people very rich. As long as there are owners and investors, as long as the keep making the playoffs, nothing will change. I assure you.

Hell, the twins don’t even need to make the playoffs to keep the Pohlads rich.

It’s a hatty for JVR! Let the hats rain down!

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>basseyes wrote:</div>
With blind allegiance to mediocrity and a nothing can change mentality, let’s just embrace it and celebrate them just getting into the playoffs as our championship, participation trophy. Anything above and beyond that is unrealistic, unreasonable and/or just down right gaudy to expect or hope for.

Accepting the fact the team is trying to make a profit somehow gives you this impression? It doesn’t matter how you put it it’s making people very rich. As long as there are owners and investors, as long as the keep making the playoffs, nothing will change. I assure you.

Hell, the twins don’t even need to make the playoffs to keep the Pohlads rich.

Your position has turned embarrassing
Save us all from your BS, you can’t come up with anything other than Finacial interests of Wild owners and investors.
I don’t give a rats A55
Go away and start a Buisness thread.

jeff_huberty wrote:

Your position has turned embarrassing
Save us all from your BS, you can’t come up with anything other than Finacial interests of Wild owners and investors.
I don’t give a rats A55
Go away and start a Buisness thread.

Dodged another question mr president. Shocker. Enlighten us, would ya.

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>basseyes wrote:</div>
With blind allegiance to mediocrity and a nothing can change mentality, let’s just embrace it and celebrate them just getting into the playoffs as our championship, participation trophy. Anything above and beyond that is unrealistic, unreasonable and/or just down right gaudy to expect or hope for.

Accepting the fact the team is trying to make a profit somehow gives you this impression? It doesn’t matter how you put it it’s making people very rich. As long as there are owners and investors, as long as the keep making the playoffs, nothing will change. I assure you.

Hell, the twins don’t even need to make the playoffs to keep the Pohlads rich.

So just accept it and keep supporting/defending the home town team to make the owners rich, when nothing will change as long as they are making money, brilliant. So cool aid drinking fans are more to blame than the owners? I’d prefer to watch good hockey, and go on making fun of people who enjoy watching good, pro hockey vs drinking pee flavored cool aid you’re paying premium prices for and try to convince yourself you’re the smart one.

Sorry, a lot of fans want more. Been a hockey fan for most of my life and would like to see a better product on the ice. Most fans can accept loosing, but the effort on this team is effortless, like RS’s skating.

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>jeff_huberty wrote:</div>
Your position has turned embarrassing
Save us all from your BS, you can’t come up with anything other than Finacial interests of Wild owners and investors.
I don’t give a rats A55
Go away and start a Buisness thread.

Dodged another question mr president. Shocker. Enlighten us, would ya.

How did it go last night Comrade?
Your arrogance exceeds your thought processes.
Spare us all and go burn your accounting books.

I see you woke up and checked the box score this morning.

basseyes wrote:

Sorry, a lot of fans want more. Been a hockey fan for most of my life and would like to see a better product on the ice. Most fans can accept loosing, but the effort on this team is effortless, like RS’s skating.

There’s only one thing you can do to make a difference. Stop watching and buying gear. Stop supporting the sponsors. If you want to watch good hockey then join huberty in his quest to find another bandwagon.

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>basseyes wrote:</div>
Sorry, a lot of fans want more. Been a hockey fan for most of my life and would like to see a better product on the ice. Most fans can accept loosing, but the effort on this team is effortless, like RS’s skating.

There’s only one thing you can do to make a difference. Stop watching and buying gear. Stop supporting the sponsors. If you want to watch good hockey then join huberty in his quest to find another bandwagon.

Dear lost Comrade;
If being able to determine and see the difference between teams that play the game at a higher professional level than the WILD, then yes I accept your bandwagon theory.
Yes; Crosby-Ovie-Toews- are better players than anyone who currently resides on the Wild.
Yes; many othe NHL Stars led their teams and have their names inscribed on that silver chalice; Gretzky-lafluer-Howe-Bossy-Iserman-Hull and many more.
But your continued dribble and refusal to accept that fact clouds your better than everybody,”Hockey Sense Monopoly”

Meanwhile when your burning books if you mistakenly stumble upon a Stanley Cup History book, pick it up and read it.
Then you might be able to come back and post something new,something fresh,something reliable. You may have an aha moment.
-OR-
Take some time and go watch amateur hockey games,you can build a better resume starting there.

Best regards

You see jeff, your problem is that you don’t have a single clue where I stand with this team. Your other problem is when someone doesn’t agree with your shortsighted dribble, you resort to the same old recycled insults. This is all because this club didn’t bring you a Stanley cup when you had tickets. Now you want to see them fail in spite and see the fans suffer. All whil you stand there pointing and laughing.

Whenever you quit the insults will be when I leave you alone. Until then, have a nice day.

I have a feeling Fenton is going to make a big move soon that puts his stamp on this team…just a feeling…then if the Wild are completely out of the playoff picture by the trade deadline, he unloads everything he can…

Reboot what he can this season, evaluate what pieces are needed next season while continuing to get younger and shed bad contracts, make a run starting in 2020/2021

Unfortunately I heard that Fenton’s trademark is “hockey trades”. Meaning he doesn’t dump contracts just because. He trades for assets.

I agree though, I think they are in the top 3 of the oldest teams in the league. If the Wild fall out of playoff contention, I think this is the only opportunity to see Fenton make any kind of splash. If it happens it’ll be a 2 step process assuming they have any tradeable assets at the trade deadline. You’d likely see Staal or Borodin go. Not sure if Dumba would make it back before the deadline but he’s a possibility as well. The off-season is where anything significant will happen.

biggill wrote:

dribble,

jeff_huberty wrote:

continued dribble

Once again your thoughts and posts are copied recycled old news

TRY>>>>>

jeff_huberty wrote:

posting something new,something fresh,something reliable.

I think a lot of GMs would look at Stall as a year end rental asset, his lack of scoring this season has diminished his value.
Granlund,Zucker,or Brodin might get the most return.
Depending on how the remainder of the season plays out I think most changes will be after the season ends. There is not a single member on this team that should be considered safe.

If Fenton has any ideas of how he wants to shape this team, he needs to have as much of a blank page as he can get, otherwise he’s just managing Fletcher’s bad mistakes and taking the heat for them, that’s where I see him shedding what he can.

I have a feeling the following players won’t be on the team next year:

1) Koivu – I think this will become Fenton’s splash move, this move signifies that there will be change to this team, no more same old same old…
2) Nino (if we find a taker) – He’s obviously declining, can’t justify his salary
3) Foligno – Cant justify that salary for a 4th line player.
4) Stahl – Unless he’ll agree to sign a 1-2 year deal for less than $3 million, can’t risk signing him to a 2-3 year extension that will likely require a no trade clause, too much risk getting stuck with an aging player on a bad contract (sound familiar?)

after next season Fenton will have some big decisions to make regarding Granlund, Spurgeon and Coyle and then resigning Kunin and Greenway to long-term deals…I feel the ace in the hole is if Kaprizov signs…it would be like getting a 1st round pick who can contribute immediately on a cheap 3 year deal, we haven’t had that since Gaborik..

You also have the Seattle xpac draft to deal with, but that could be a blessing in disguise as it’s an opportunity to shed an unwanted contract…

So after looking at all of that, the 2020/2021 season hopefully gets back to normal with a younger team looking to make another run.

Sorry jeff. Us adults need to work now.

jeff_huberty wrote:

I think a lot of GMs would look at Stall as a year end rental asset, his lack of scoring this season has diminished his value.
Granlund,Zucker,or Brodin might get the most return.
Depending on how the remainder of the season plays out I think most changes will be after the season ends. There is not a single member on this team that should be considered safe.

The problem I have with moving Granlund, Zucker and Brodin is what exactly are you looking to replace them with that makes the team better? They are all relatively young, on average contracts and fill vital roles on the team that are not easy to replace.

Zucker – is the closest thing we currently have to a pure goal scorer (teams don’t give up players like this because they end up costing way more $$ to sign FA replacements)
Granlund – is the best setup man we have (what could he look like with elite goal scorers to pass to?)
Brodin – maybe i’m a little glossy eyed on Brodin, I keep thinking he has untapped offensive potential and his contract is pretty good for the next 3 years. I think he might be the best of this 3 to trade because he would bring back good value and you could replace him with a much tougher defenseman to up our “grittiness” factor (Seeler like)

To set the financials straight.

Neither the Wild nor the Twins making the play-offs have anything to do with going broke. Neither ownership group could go broke in your lifetime by missing the play-offs. The family fortunes is more then enough to finance their toys (sports teams)

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I have a feeling Fenton is going to make a big move soon that puts his stamp on this team…just a feeling…then if the Wild are completely out of the playoff picture by the trade deadline, he unloads everything he can…

I’d like to see it if only because I’ve been underwhelmed by Fenton since day 1 with the Wild. I keep wondering when this guy who was supposed to be such a key part of Nashville’s team building efforts will show up in MN.

Never been against trades that would make the Wild better, but it’s hard to see many real world options for the Wild. Nino and Coyle are always mentioned, but every seller has to have a buyer and who would want those guys now, at least want them enough to give us something in return that had any chance of being a net plus?

Re Koivu, I believe he might have a no-trade clause?

I think the most valuable players the Wild have that are tradable are Granlund, Zucker, and Dumba. Unfortunately, I think it would have to involve a lot of risk on the Wild’s end as far as the trade including future draft picks to make this work out as a big net positive on our end. Needless to say, I’m not filled with confidence when it comes to the Wild’s draft sense and Fenton didn’t do much to change that based on his rookie draft crop.

Honestly, I thought Staal might be a candidate for an end of season rental, but of course now he goes into a slump… Guys love to talk about the Wild’s need to “do something”, but we’ll have to see what the trade deadline brings.

In the meantime, why has puck possession in the zone suddenly got so hard for the Wild? I just can’t figure out why it suddenly got so hard for us to get the puck through the N zone and get into offense mode. It’s like they’re tryin to do something different no than they were 3 games ago and it’s not working, but they keep trying.

Grouse

I like that Fenton hasn’t over reacted. You need to know and understand your team dynamics before you can make moves. Unless of course you intend to ship 20 players out, then fire away.

Dutchboy wrote:

To set the financials straight.

Neither the Wild nor the Twins making the play-offs have anything to do with going broke. Neither ownership group could go broke in your lifetime by missing the play-offs. The family fortunes is more then enough to finance their toys (sports teams)

There are few owners that view their sports teams as toys. It’s a business to them as much as it is entertainment to us.

My point being they are trying to win, not because they HAVE TO but because they are fans of their sports.

Nobody understands money better then sports team owners who are for the most part billionaires these days.

Dutchboy wrote:

My point being they are trying to win, not because they HAVE TO but because they are fans of their sports.

Nobody understands money better then sports team owners who are for the most part billionaires these days.

Totally agree. This “team owner too cheap to spend the money it takes to win” is put out there a lot. Do the words “salary cap” mean anything to these people?

Also, I’m constantly amazed by the people who claim to be hockey fans that don’t understand that you can’t trade up to a player at a higher salary level unless you have the cap space to cover that higher salary for the duration of his contract. This get really, really complicated based on what are the future commitments that team has in contracts as far as players getting raises.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
I have a feeling Fenton is going to make a big move soon that puts his stamp on this team…just a feeling…then if the Wild are completely out of the playoff picture by the trade deadline, he unloads everything he can…

I’d like to see it if only because I’ve been underwhelmed by Fenton since day 1 with the Wild. I keep wondering when this guy who was supposed to be such a key part of Nashville’s team building efforts will show up in MN.

Never been against trades that would make the Wild better, but it’s hard to see many real world options for the Wild. Nino and Coyle are always mentioned, but every seller has to have a buyer and who would want those guys now, at least want them enough to give us something in return that had any chance of being a net plus?

Re Koivu, I believe he might have a no-trade clause?

I think the most valuable players the Wild have that are tradable are Granlund, Zucker, and Dumba. Unfortunately, I think it would have to involve a lot of risk on the Wild’s end as far as the trade including future draft picks to make this work out as a big net positive on our end. Needless to say, I’m not filled with confidence when it comes to the Wild’s draft sense and Fenton didn’t do much to change that based on his rookie draft crop.

Honestly, I thought Staal might be a candidate for an end of season rental, but of course now he goes into a slump… Guys love to talk about the Wild’s need to “do something”, but we’ll have to see what the trade deadline brings.

In the meantime, why has puck possession in the zone suddenly got so hard for the Wild? I just can’t figure out why it suddenly got so hard for us to get the puck through the N zone and get into offense mode. It’s like they’re tryin to do something different no than they were 3 games ago and it’s not working, but they keep trying.

Grouse

Agreed!

There’s been no real moves, no real rumors of moves and it’s just status quo. Question is why?

The team is bizarre. In years past they might not of had greatly talented teams, but the effort was there. This team seems just stuck in the mud. It’s truly baffling. We all get they aren’t riddled with goal scorers and sniper talent and have contract issues. What team doesn’t? Nut when they can play so well against good teams, yet loose to the redwings and Philly, because of a total lack of effort, that’s mental.

I agree, anything can happen in the playoffs, but this team plays with no urgency. There’s no drive or fire. That’s why the fan base or bandwagoners don’t have any faith, trust or blind loyalty based off just effort, grit and drive of scrappy players. This team does have talent, but has mental problems. We were sold a bill of goods, whether it’s fair or not, ZP and RS carry that burden more so than MK.

biggill wrote:

Sorry jeff. Us adults need to work now.

Glad to have steered you in the right direction, trades and changes are needed for this club to succeed.
Even you are capable of seeing your flaws and moving forward in the right direction.

Your welcome

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I have a feeling Fenton is going to make a big move soon that puts his stamp on this team…just a feeling…then if the Wild are completely out of the playoff picture by the trade deadline, he unloads everything he can

Have that same feeling. Don think Bruce Broudreau is thrilled right now or Craig Leipold.

basseyes wrote:

There’s been no real moves, no real rumors of moves and it’s just status quo. Question is why?

The answer clearly lies with the owner. Remember the Hanzl-white trade. Fletcher admitted it was a mistake that may have actually hurt the team in the short term and most certainly in the long run. After that trade, Fletcher was clearly directed to not mess with the chemistry like that again.

Last years deadline came and went with no moves and as did first round loss against the Jets. Now Leopold brought in a former employee to “run the show”. Many saw the red flags right away.

It’s still too early to tell what direction he is headed and to Dutch’s point, he could still be evaluating what he has before he starts to put his stamp on this team. If the Kaprizov hopes fall through, there’s going to be some hell to pay.

If this team is going to tank for picks, it’s going to be very very brief. No more than two seasons. They have a short window where their top players now will be useful before a few high draft pics and Kaprizov can show us what he has.