MN Wild 2018-19 Official Thread

Imagine how may cups we’d have won had we traded coyle, Nino and koivu many seasons ago.

mplspug wrote:

Imagine how may cups we’d have won had we traded coyle, Nino and koivu many seasons ago.

Sour Grapes?

Psssttt! They have not traded Koivu

Not sound grapes, sarcasm. I know Koivu wasn’t traded, but he isn’t playing, so imaging if they had traded him.

mplspug wrote:

Not sound grapes, sarcasm. I know Koivu wasn’t traded, but he isn’t playing, so imaging if they had traded him.

Look at us now!
Back on a playoff run and coming to a Tampa arena near you.

Uh oh moment > Parise has lower back spasms

Lineup was all over the place and they still played well last night. Fiala has shown his elite skill set, he just needs to get the monkey off his back, he’s pushing because of Fenton’s buildup and trying to prove to everyone he was worth the trade. I like what he brings… Kunin seems to have upped his game alot too…

It’s just funny how this team looks 180* different now with the young guys getting major minutes…

Is the team different or is the puck going in the net? Are the players playing better or are we happy that they dumped who they dumped?

They are a streaky team and aren’t nearly as bad when on a bad streak or nearly as good when on a hot streak. To me they are the same team they were when the season started. Hot, cold, hot cold.

Dutchboy wrote:

They are a streaky team and aren’t nearly as bad when on a bad streak or nearly as good when on a hot streak.

Totally different attitude on this team; the #1 thing IMO is the fact that they are playing 60 minute games, too many times the Wild previously would maddeningly take a period or two off.

I choose On a hot streak going into the playoffs; “Yes” caution is needed.
But you see the other teams competing for that spot are on cold streaks going backwards with not a lot of games left to turn it around. On the other hand you have a young team in Phoenix that is rolling forward and has a good chance to move ahead of the Wild or Stars.

Hey these rose colored glasses are sweet.

As an outsider who watched some games earlier in the year and the last two nationally televised games, I think the big difference is commitment to defense. I wouldn’t even say they are playing great defense, but when things break down they seem to pick it up and break up plays. And on offense it is apparent why Fenton would bring Fiala and Donato in, the guys shoot the damn puck.

I felt bad for Staal last night. He was obviously gassed from playing the night before and getting in late.

check out this filthy goal by Kaprizov today, kid has offensive talent… – https://twitter.com/i/status/1102613341703467008

JoeMX1825 wrote:

check out this filthy goal by Kaprizov today, kid’s got crazy offensive talent… – https://twitter.com/i/status/1102613341703467008

Sweet goal
The sun is Shining on the State of Hockey.

Grandlund would have those types of filthy goals too until he got to the NHL and he couldn’t translate his game. The NHL is a different game. Maybe this kid can do it it seems the Russians are that much better than most of the other Euro countries hockey players. Let’s hope.

Stop counting eggs.

What a goal by Fiala!

Fiala gives glimpses of elite talent, but thats been his story for years and why Nashville gave up on him (imo way to quickly for a 22 year old) hopefully he makes a huge jump like Dumba did. I think that goal will dull his nerves a bit..

The last two games have been pretty intense. Wins would be nice but playing close to Nashville and getting 2 OT losses, especially with this new-ish group, is pretty impressive. I thought they were done when they went down 4-3 so it was nice to see them tie it up late. Sucks that a Wild goalie fell for the Johanssen trick again.

I can’t stand aberg he looks clueless

Brady Valberg wrote:

I can’t stand aberg he looks clueless

He’s only playing because he’s right handed and we have a lack of better options right now…Rau did nothing when he was up here…Aberg will likely get his walking papers after the season UNLESS he signs a very team friendly 2-way deal…

2 good games against the Preads, too bad that two metallurgy saves were the difference between wins and shootout losses.

Nice to see the Preads douchbag fans at least being consistent, now booing Suter and Fiala every time they touch the puck. Which of course, makes sense, after all Fiala was, ummm, traded… So yeah, booooooo Fiala.

Preadators chances aren’t looking good in the playoffs. Letting bubble wildcard teams like the Wild hang 8 goals on you in 2 games? No good. The Wild were able to dominate below the dots and create plenty of net-front chaos. The Preads are going to need to finish in the top slot to get a very favorable R1 matchup or there won’t be an R2 for them.

The best news from last night’s game for me was Zucker coming back on the ice after that side-knee hit! That looked like a season-ender and possibly even worse. I was having visions of year-long recoveries the way that looked, I thought for sure that was game over. Seeing him back on the ice was a huge relief.

I just don’t want to see too much pressure on Fiala this season where he tries to change everything and all at once. As others have said, he’s 22 and there’s no reason to go the high-risk route of pushing him too hard. If we can make him around a 20 goal guy next season, he will be a tremendous asset even at that level and then there could still be upside left yet, but we’ve all seen what happens when players get locked into a “must score” mentality and fall apart.

Close, but not close enough for the Wild. Very tough stretch of games for late in the season.

Grouse

Since playing the young guns and making the trades, the Wild are a totally different team. They play with effort and energy and that is the main thing I have wanted.

Fiala looked great last night. Another inch to the left and he would have won the game with a hattie in the shootout. Granlund was largely invisible, except for his penalty taken in OT that should have cost his team the game.

As others have mentioned, two good games against Nashville. Yes I am hoping they stay hot and make a run in the playoffs. But even more, I hope they continue getting younger and continue this refreshing style of play.

lindyrig79 wrote:

Since playing the young guns and making the trades, the Wild are a totally different team. They play with effort and energy and that is the main thing I have wanted.

100%, this team looks so much different in just a little over a week. Agreed on Fiala, I don’t know how Rinne even saved that shot Fiala took in OT. That was an amazing shot and used the defender to shield Rinne. Must have been just dumb luck that he saved it, but he is one of the best in the biz.
Nice to see the kid break out a bit against his former team. He did have a few turnovers and Parise had a horrible shift in the 1st that led to a goal because of multiple mistakes he and Bitetto made.
I say sit Bitetto and put Seeler in there. He makes less mistakes IMO.

lindyrig79 wrote:

Since playing the young guns and making the trades, the Wild are a totally different team. They play with effort and energy and that is the main thing I have wanted.

Well, except for Aberg. If you liked Coyle, you’ll love Aberg.

Did I say “Aberg”? I meant Dminusberg… Thank heaven the Wild are not saddled with him long term on a Fletcher contract.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

The best news from last night’s game for me was Zucker coming back on the ice after that side-knee hit! That looked like a season-ender and possibly even worse. I was having visions of year-long recoveries the way that looked, I thought for sure that was game over. Seeing him back on the ice was a huge relief.

Depending on the Wilds remaining games with the playoffs now a distinct possibility, would that have put Fentons off season in a bind.
Still have not heard anything on what Calgary was offering for him?
With the initial success of these trades you have ask,is Zucker still on the off season trade market?
His game seems to have picked up enough where keeping him looks like a better option.

even with his crappy season, Zucker has a good shot at hitting 25 goals, that’s still not bad. My only worry about trading Zucker is that do you really think you can get a better scorer that costs less than his $5.5 million per price? Young scoring forwards don’t come cheap and you’re going to pay a premium to any FA over what their value actually is… I say you stick with him at least another year or two, see what you got and re-evaluate at next years trade deadline.

jeff_huberty wrote:

Still have not heard anything on what Calgary was offering for him?

Michael Frolik (31 year old 1/2 ppg winger who’s MNTC contract expires after next year) and a 2019 [late] 1st round pick. The weird part is Frolik has no ties the Nashville… which is probably why the deal fell apart. Actually it was Calgary who backed out last minute, no report as to why.

It was a salary/contract/player dump. Fenton clearly wanted to obliterate the Chuck Fletcher “young core” by any means necessary.

Huge game tonight. Meaningless game for the Bolts, but a good measuring stick for the Wild to see where they stack up against the Elite from the East.
This will be a fun game. The Bolts are just unreal good.

Donato!!

JoeMX1825 wrote:

even with his crappy season, Zucker has a good shot at hitting 25 goals

3 tonight will help that total.

Good game, good win.

I thought that first one was Donato’s. Either way, great game for him and Zucker. Fiala had another good game, IMO. Greenway is a beast along the boards. Nice shutout for Dubs… lots to like right now.

That was a fun one to watch. I really like that Staal, Zucker, Donato line! they are quick! Fiala is playing good hockey and I’m excited to see what he can bring in the near future. Greenway is a BEAST! I like seeing him use his big frame to keep control of the puck. Something Coyle couldn’t, or wouldn’t do.

Coyle & Granlund have a combined 1 point since the trades.
Donato & Fiala have a combined 11 pts since the trade.
I Like It!!!

lindyrig79 wrote:

I thought that first one was Donato’s. Either way, great game for him and Zucker. Fiala had another good game, IMO. Greenway is a beast along the boards. Nice shutout for Dubs… lots to like right now.

I thought it was Donato’s too, but the one replay it appeared to deflect off Zucker’s stick.
What a game from top to bottom. Dubnyk had the best game of the season. Still didn’t seem like the Wild were “safe” at any point, but defensively even they played great, keeping most everything to the outside.
I just love watching this team right now they keep pushing and pushing regardless of whether they are up or down.