MN Wild 2018-19 Official Thread

Yep if any moves are made Granlund or Zucker gone by end of day. If not trying to make the playoffs with what they have.

lindyrig79 wrote:

Donato- somebody who knows how to shoot and win in OT! What a breath of fresh air!!

He’s fun to watch. I think the Wild are going to make out pretty good with that deal.

It takes a lot of balls to take a shot like that in OT.

All I can say is if Fenton deals Granlund or Zucker, he better think long and hard about it and not eff it up and give away these 2 assets for nothing like he did with Nino.

Neither Granlund nor Zucker are overpaid for their contribution level, so there is no justifying giving them away to free cap space. Both are very solid players and they’re not old players so you don’t make the Wild much younger by trading them.

Fenton’s Hockey IQ GM grade point average is currently a C- at best. He gets an F for the Nino trade and a B- for shifting Coyle for Donato. Not exactly the grades you need for GM of the year.

Don’t get cocky and think you’re better than you are, Fenton. The Coyle/Donato deal was not hockey genius, it was a matter of getting what we SHOULD get for player like Coyle being dealt to a team with playoff ambitions. Fenton needs to remember he’s still a rookie GM with no track record in the actual driver’s seat. Don’t blow it.

I think there’s far greater risk in dealing right now than in standing pat. No team with playoff ambitions is going to unload major current talent for Granlund or Zucker because a player swap defeats the purpose and a team making a playoff run has no high-R1 draft pick to send our way and anyway the Wild can’t afford current contributors for prospects trades, we need NHL ready players.

IMO Fenton should realize he’s in a situation where there are far more ways to lose than to win with deadline trades.

Grouse

Seriously? a B- for the Coyle trade? and yes the Rask trade looks bad because he’s now hurt and Nino is scoring because he’s playing with a young superstar (Aho) BUT Nino looked to be worth nothing a few months ago and the $1.5 million saved off the cap is very nice and Rask is a center, so more trade flexibility in the future. It was a change of scenery trade for both teams, except now Nino gets to play with their best player, we dumped Rask on the 3rd/4th line..

Last I heard the rumor was Granlund + mid-round pick for Fiala AND Toivanen….I’d do that deal in a heartbeat (the only thing that sucks is they are both 5’10 and shoot left)

Granlund is garnering more interest because he’s not just a rental and his salary next year isn’t “bad”. If you don’t make a move like this are you prepared to pay him 7+ million per next contract?

I wouldn’t trade Zucker, he’s shown he can score, he just needs his confidence back, it will cost much more to replace him anyway and if he gets back to previous scoring ways his contract looks very good.

Agree with Joe here. Grouse sounds like he would have been happiest making no changes at all

Sirius NHL radio reported about a hour ago that Carolina is expressing interest in Zucker.

Ice Cap wrote:

Sirius NHL radio reported about a hour ago that Carolina is expressing interest in Zucker.

Russo said the same thing. What garbage will they unload on us now?
Love to see Faulk come this way, but that isn’t happening.
I joked with my buddy last night Zucker for Tuch trade. He said “wouldn’t that be a kick in the nuts”? LOL

Columbus has only 1 of their 2019 draft picks left, plus a 7th rounder they got from Calgary in a previous trade, how would you like to have tickets to that draft party?

just heard Granlund for Fiala…. there BETTER be more to the trade coming our way or else we got fleeced!

Granlund just got traded for Fiala. Not sure how I feel about this.

Looks to be just 1 for 1 according to Russo….

Hmm, this is a bit of a head scratcher. 1 for 1? I was OK with the talk of the trade, but that was when it included Tolvanen. I’m going to have to think on this a bit before I say I like or hate this move.
Projections are 9 FAs after this season with nearly $20M in cap space.
This could provide some seriously different looks to the roster starting next year.

I remember years ago I think it was either the Pomminville or Hanzal trade was announced and the full pick details didn’t come out right away and we though we got him on a good deal, then the additional high pick details came out an hour later and we saw the hefty prize we actually paid, I’m holding out hope that’s the case here…

if it’s not, then Fenton is going for a 180 facelift for this team in Free Agency, we knew it would probably come to this…

Update – it looks like the Preds got Wayne Simmonds for practically nothing as well…kudos to their GM

Rebuilds are never fun……. initially.

ok, all hope is not lost, we got a 7th rounder for Hendricks

Looks like a decent deal to me. Same player, 4 years younger. You just gained 4 years.

Yeah, with the money and term being dumped with these moves, there is going to be a lot of flexibility for sure
could bring some big free agents possibly. I would like to see Staal re-signed this offseason at a reasonable rate.

maybe they throw big money at a Panarin or Skinner now? I hope they stay away from all the 30+ year olds that will be available…

I would like Panarin, but the steam is he and Bob to Florida as a package deal.

Granlund goes to Nashville for Fiala. Hmmm.

Sideways move at best. Not sure unless there are more details to come where the advantage was in this move for the Wild. The Wild should be getting the better of these deals, not moving sideways.

Was there a draft pick involved here?

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Granlund goes to Nashville for Fiala. Hmmm.

Sideways move at best. Not sure unless there are more details to come where the advantage was in this move for the Wild. The Wild should be getting the better of these deals, not moving sideways.

Was there a draft pick involved here?

Grouse

it now looks like a 1-1 trade, the more I think about this deal, the more i’m ok with it…we lose Granny who’s a year away from UFA status and likely headed to a $7+ million per payday (I would hate to make that long-term contract decision) We get a younger player we have contractual control over, we lose playmaking ability, but gain speed…This also opens up the pocketbook to spend on a top FA this summer…

I’m also really surprised we didn’t move Staal as a rental and then just resign him this summer UNLESS there was an agreement for him to re-sign at a lower number to avoid the hassle of being away from his family the rest of the season?

I also have to keep telling myself that Fenton wants to make this HIS team, not Fletcher’s, so he’ll either succeed or fail, but at least it’s with the players he wants…

lindyrig79 wrote:

Grouse sounds like he would have been happiest making no changes at all

Ummm, you’re only lagging by about 3 years. I’ve been calling for changes that eventually got made including trading Coyle for at least that long. Go back and read the threads.

I wanted Yeo gone 2.5 seasons before they fired his water-sipping buttski.

I was calling for Coyle’s trade for the past 3 seasons. Nice that so many now finally acknowledge that it was a good idea…

So much for your “Grouse wants no changes” theory. And see above, I didn’t say “don’t trade Granlund or Zucker,”, I said if we trade players like that, we better GET something for them. Dealing players to teams trying to make a playoff run should involve us selling high, not taking a bath.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Seriously? a B- for the Coyle trade?

What? It’s more than a passing grade. Boston got what they wanted and Coyle has a track record that they can bank on. He’ll be a big body that scores occasionally and makes few mistakes. A solid 3rd line guy. We took all the risk on a player with future potential, but with only a short track record. Perhaps advantage to the Wild, perhaps not.

I will certainly revise Fenton’s grade should things move one way or the other.

So you’re saying the Coyle trade deserves an A? Talk about grade inflation! A little early to be declaring that kind of victory, I think.

Grouse

Stone gets a 8 year deal with Vegas that averages $9.5 million per season! good lord, prior to this season he averaged 23 goals per season…

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

Ummm, you’re only lagging by about 3 years. I’ve been calling for changes that eventually got made including trading Coyle for at least that long. Go back and read the threads.

I wanted Yeo gone 2.5 seasons before they fired his water-sipping buttski.

I was calling for Coyle’s trade for the past 3 seasons. Nice that so many now finally acknowledge that it was a good idea…

So much for your “Grouse wants no changes” theory. And see above, I didn’t say “don’t trade Granlund or Zucker,”, I said if we trade players like that, we better GET something for them. Dealing players to teams trying to make a playoff run should involve us selling high, not taking a bath.

I’ve been following along. I know you’ve wanted Coyle gone (as have I) which is why I’m surprised your so critical with this particular trade. Donato has already done what Coyle never could.

I don’t have much of an opinion on the Granlund trade. But like I said before, rebuilds aren’t fun initially but with a focus on the future. If this is what’s needed to revamp the team so be it.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I’m also really surprised we didn’t move Staal as a rental and then just resign him this summer UNLESS there was an agreement for him to re-sign at a lower number to avoid the hassle of being away from his family the rest of the season?

Russo had tweeted that Fenton had met with Staal’s agent for quite some time today and at the end of the meeting it was agreed that he wouldn’t be traded. I have a feeling there was some talk about after this year and whether he would sign for a decent number and term because he wants to stay here.

CaptainMusky wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
I’m also really surprised we didn’t move Staal as a rental and then just resign him this summer UNLESS there was an agreement for him to re-sign at a lower number to avoid the hassle of being away from his family the rest of the season?

Russo had tweeted that Fenton had met with Staal’s agent for quite some time today and at the end of the meeting it was agreed that he wouldn’t be traded. I have a feeling there was some talk about after this year and whether he would sign for a decent number and term because he wants to stay here.

Hope so. Staal is one of the few veteran players I wouldn’t mind sticking around.

for Fenton.

For taking this team in a new direction, the trades open up options for moving the Wild on a new course.

Listening to Fenton gush about Fiala, this is certainly Fenton’s Hero or Zero trade. Fenton clearly has felt the love for Fiala, so much so that basically the rest of the league is stunned that Fenton went straight up on a trade.

Russon reports that the consensus among GMs was that Granlund was worth a player/pick combo, some said as high as an R2 pick.

So Fenton has cast his lot. There’s no way to tell now, but Fiala better be a game-changer like Fenton said multiple times that he is.

Hero or Zero time for Fenton.

Grouse

I like the trade. IMO Granlund was an upgraded Pierre Marc-Bouchard. I don’t think he was having an off season as much as I think his size is a factor in his lack of production. He seems to get tossed around like a rag doll out there. I am ready for the faster version of the Minnesota Wild.
Also, now that they extended Stahl’s contract will Fenton please slap the “C” on his jersey. Koivu is no guarantee for next season and Parise and Suter are as good at leading the Wild as Mauer was at leading the Twins. (Insert cricket sound here)

Staal was just extended 2 more years at 3.25 million per season