MN Wild 2018-19 Official Thread

I’m good with the Grandlund deal I was hoping he would go before Zucker. Always felt Grandlund was one of the Euro hockey studs whose game never could quite translate to the NHL. He’s a bit too small. He can be slippery and work his magic if he has the time and space. Two things you rarely get in the NHL.

I’m hoping Staal can exhale and unpucker now knowing he can stay where he wants a couple more years and probably retire and go on a goal scoring tear the rest of the season. Same with Zucker.

The Wild have become interesting again.

The Wild got a little younger and the two most noteable players are Donato and Fiala who are restricted free agents. That means they’ll have some room with free agency and changed the make up of the team. Seems like the beginning of a good retool and you don’t have to go through a rebuild.

I just hope they don’t go big on just 1 player this offseason if thats the intentions is ro swing big. They need a few more pieces to become a legitimate contender not just a playoff perennial. They have a decent young core with the likes of kunin greenway and I do have to say ek has deff uped his game. I just don’t think they can pull a Vikings and think 1 guy will solve the problem

Been reading and listening to multiple sources on this Granlund trade.

Majority of hockey writers by a significant margin say the Wild totally got taken to the cleaners on this one. They say they should have gotten more regardless of what Fiala turns out to be when he grows up.

Has anyone seen any writer or broadcaster who say the Wild were the clear winners on this one?

There’s no way to tell and the deal is done, but this team is clearly Fenton’s now so all this is on him. To me, today’s deal does nothing to improve his grade point average, at best I’d call this trade a C+ with potential to go either way. The plus is for slightly bettering the Wild’s cap position and avoiding a situation where Granlund probably would have to be given a raise in the next contract.

Grouse

I now look at this trade as getting Fialla + whoever we sign in free agency with the cap savings… I saw an interview where Fenton said Fialla was his guy and he was basically going to get him no matter what, so he negotiated from a weak position…it is what it is, Granny was a good player, but bottom line he didnt get us any farther in the playoffs and other than 1 playoff year was basically invisible every other year…

I follow your line of thinking too Joe. After next year Granlund was going to get a big deal or move on. All 3 of the guys we parted with Coyle, Granlund, Nino were on their 2nd contract and would be coming up in the next few years for their biggest pay day. These moves give the Wild far more roster flexibility because even though we have to sign the players were received in return (Donato and Fiala) they are on the ELC and will be RFAs so we control them. Undoubtedly we will have these two for far cheaper than those replaced.

Here’s NHL.com’s synopsis of the trade from a Predators point of view.

Nashville Predators (37-23-5, 79 points)
Reason for optimism: The Predators added two significant players to help their power play, which is last in the NHL (12.3 percent): forwards Mikael Granlund and Wayne Simmonds. They also could remake their second line if Granlund and Simmonds play with center Kyle Turris.

Reason for concern: Trading 22-year-old forward Kevin Fiala to Minnesota for Granlund could turn into a decision that Nashville regrets because Fiala has the upside to become a standout top-six forward.

From the Wild perspective.

Minnesota Wild (30-27-6, 66 points)
Reason for optimism: The Wild have won three in a row. They also added youth with the additions of Fiala and 22-year-old center Ryan Donato in the past week. Donato already has four points — an overtime goal and three assists — in three games since being acquired from the Bruins for Coyle.

Reason for concern: Fiala has a chance to be good for the Wild, but he’s not better than Granlund, who was Minnesota’s second-leading scorer with 49 points (14 goals, 35 assists). Minnesota could take a hit in the short term, which could hurt its playoff chances.

So I think the jury will be out on this trade until sometime next season. Fiala could be a big win or a big disappointment. Fenton seems a bit more enamored with him than most Which means he probably negotiated from emotion rather than with logic or he knows something others don’t. But it’s a done deal and we shall see.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Granny was a good player, but bottom line he didnt get us any farther in the playoffs and other than 1 playoff year was basically invisible every other year…

Agree.

Watching NHL tonight last night. They spent quite a bit of time talking about the Nashville acquisitions, but almost entirely talking about Simmonds. They barely even mentioned Granlund.

Ice Cap wrote:

Reason for concern: Fiala has a chance to be good for the Wild, but he’s not better than Granlund, who was Minnesota’s second-leading scorer with 49 points (14 goals, 35 assists). Minnesota could take a hit in the short term, which could hurt its playoff chances.

I would say this is fair assessment strictly looking off of points, but Granlund has played a larger role for us and more minutes. Its a bit tougher for Fiala considering the lineup the Preds have and who is above him. Similar to Nino who wasn’t producing here, but matched up with a playmaker like Aho, he takes off.
It will be interesting to see how this works out, but Fiala was a beast in the playoffs 2 years ago (probably their best player) before he broke his leg and then last year had his highest production.
I do find it interesting his puck possession stats are FAR and away better than Granlund which is important.

Well one thing we know for certain. Grandlund will be a Wild killer every time we play Nashville going forward!

I see a lot of these recent trades as the new toy vs old toy. The only difference at this point in time is the fans haven’t had an opportunity to play with the new toys to discover whether or not they’re bored with them as well.

With respect to these moves: Tell me what you think 4 years from now.

-I really wish we would have received a pick with Fiala but also interesting on how Fenton showed his cards on how much he liked him. I thought Fenton held his cards close to his chest on what moves he wants to make?

-It will be interesting to see how Zucker plays the rest of the year and if he plays with a chip on his shoulder. Apparently, Fenton almost traded him to Calgary but the deal fell off at the last minute of the deadline.

-X2 Now that Stall doesn’t have to worry about being traded hopefully he plays better.

tegg wrote:

I see a lot of these recent trades as the new toy vs old toy. The only difference at this point in time is the fans haven’t had an opportunity to play with the new toys to discover whether or not they’re bored with them as well.

With respect to these moves: Tell me what you think 4 years from now.

This isn’t really about building a team to make a run for the cup now. The Wild need to get younger and free up some cap space.

The Wild team from the first 1/2 of the season (and much longer for most of the guys) simply could not get it done. The writing has been on the wall for quite some time. It’s time to move on and restructure the team. I think Fenton walked into a mess and doing the best he can.

I really don’t see the downside. Unless you like watching the same pathetic outcome over and over again come post season.

Ice Cap wrote:

Well one thing we know for certain. Grandlund will be a Wild killer every time we play Nashville going forward!

What I was wondering is if the d!ck fans in Nashville will now start booing Fiala every time he touches the puck. Because, you know, he didn’t fight the trade all that hard…

Grouse

Ice Cap wrote:

Well one thing we know for certain. Grandlund will be a Wild killer every time we play Nashville going forward!

Smashville is a fun club to watch. Have you ever been to the honky tonk strip on a game night?? It’s pretty awesome to see the atmosphere and they have a great hockey team as well. Kinda envious of the whole thing.

But I agree. Granlund will probably be a Wild killer. Afterall, he’s playing with a much better team now.

KP wrote:

I thought Fenton held his cards close to his chest on what moves he wants to make?

After the Nino trade and bringing in D-berg–errrr—I mean “Aberg”, Fenton is feeling the pressure. He suddenly got very vocal in selling his moves in interviews.

He’s learning. He’s still a rookie and he’s been slow to pick it up, but he does seem to comprehend that you can’t just be the invisible man when you’re the one driving the bus.

Grouse

lindyrig79 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>tegg wrote:</div>
I see a lot of these recent trades as the new toy vs old toy. The only difference at this point in time is the fans haven’t had an opportunity to play with the new toys to discover whether or not they’re bored with them as well.

With respect to these moves: Tell me what you think 4 years from now.

This isn’t really about building a team to make a run for the cup now. The Wild need to get younger and free up some cap space.

The Wild team from the first 1/2 of the season (and much longer for most of the guys) simply could not get it done. The writing has been on the wall for quite some time. It’s time to move on and restructure the team. I think Fenton walked into a mess and doing the best he can.

I really don’t see the downside. Unless you like watching the same pathetic outcome over and over again come post season.

Tough to say, I mean, if you ignore our lack of offensive production, goaltending and defense, we are probably right there with the leaders in the west.

There’s a rhyme and reason for everything Fenton does, he was an assistant GM for X amount of years, so he knows how the game is played. The only thing different now is that he’s ultimately responsible for the outcome of those decisions. He wanted to put his stamp on this team asap, but with the bad contracts and poor play, it made getting any type of value back almost impossible.

I’m reserving any more criticism on him until after Free Agency and the Draft to see what his full vision looks like.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I’m reserving any more criticism on him until after Free Agency and the Draft to see what his full vision looks like.

This offseason could be VERY interesting.

I guess I’m too much of a left brain engineer type. People can talk all they want. All I see is a different starting point that has yet to prove anything.

I’ll wait until I see proof on the ice over the next few years before I say good, bad or indifferent.

The team got slow pretty fast the past 2 years and now we finally have some speed again. So that is one thing to point out that Fenton has done.

only thing is that it’s not the greatest FA class this year…Panarin, Skinner and Duchesne are the prized forwards with a couple of good goalies available as well. I think a player like Wayne Simmonds could be a good player for the Wild as he would bring some much needed toughness and sandpaper to this team…

or stay out of FA and try to trade for good young players teams might need to cut for cap purposes like Kasperi Kapanen or William Nylander in Toronto…

JoeMX1825 wrote:

There’s a rhyme and reason for everything Fenton does, he was an assistant GM for X amount of years, so he knows how the game is played. The only thing different now is that he’s ultimately responsible for the outcome of those decisions.

Yes, well there’s a big difference between being involved as an assistant and being in charge where you’re actually committed and tied to your decisions.

I guess you can think about it in terms of an eggs-and-bacon breakfast. The chicken is involved. The pig is committed.

Grouse

Eggs and bacon are good…mmmm

I have been saying it for the entire season that this club was so inconsistant that the value of the Wilds core players would be diminished and trading them would be difficult for Fenton.I think he has done pretty well given the situation this team was in.

A possible playoff team at the start of the season with very little chance of winning a series if they made the playoffs.
For the past seven playoffs they won 2 series out of 9?
During those playoffs our core players who were being counted on would disappear much as they have done this season. So there was our perceived value -vs- their true value that was played out before the deadline.

For those reasons I think Fenton got as much as he could,I also believe that Fenton will be active in off season trades along with the the upcoming draft. With that being said I do not see him going out and signing any long term free agents in the next few seasons, I see him riding it out past the next CBA and expansion draft.

Hopefully the new additions to the team and the young members of this team jack up the completion level sooner rather than later.

I don’t think the core disappears. Rather the teams they are playing know who they must stop. The core can only do what they can do. It’s the next tier that needs to step up and force the opponent to cover those players. If the next tier can’t step up then you are lost.

Same happens in baseball. Your best players are the ones that must be stopped. When your 7-8-9 hitters step up then you win games.

In hockey if your 3rd & 4th lines can’t play quality minutes you are doomed.

Pretty simply said by the wild coach himself -If your top players are not producing you have no chance to win.

Heres another one from the coach just two weeks ago- our top players are just shells of what they were, we can’t win that way.

Yes their core players disappeared

OK, so who are their core players? Who do they have that can dominate a series?

JoeMX1825 wrote:

or stay out of FA and try to trade for good young players teams might need to cut for cap purposes like Kasperi Kapanen or William Nylander in Toronto…

This would be more my preference vs going after some aging player looking for a big contract. I would have been cool going after Duchesne, but trading for a guy that has some term is probably better than getting in a bidding war.

One other thing Fenton has done was stopped us from talking about “tweaks” and we can focus on “hockey trades” lol