MN Wild 2018-19 Official Thread

Is there any way to do a sign and trade deal with the GM being included in the trade?

NHL.com just reported Anders Lee resigned, so that’s dead.

basseyes wrote:

Is there any way to do a sign and trade deal with the GM being included in the trade?

Yes, but we wouldn’t be willing to give up 5 players, 3 cases of really good scotch, and a sack of unused hockey pucks just to get rid of Fenton.

Although with the way he’s handling things so far, that is starting to seem like a good deal…

Grouse

The Maple Leafs GM is putting on a clinic given his rfa/cap situation, Fenton should be taking notes!

basseyes wrote:

Is there any way to do a sign and trade deal with the GM being included in the trade?

ESPN is doing an NHL free agency tracker with a Winners & Losers list. Certain players and teams have been named as winners or losers. One specific loser is listed as “Wild GM Paul Fenton.” Yikes. Like a lot of others, I guess I’ll see through a little time if things work out….maybe we’ll be surprised? Or maybe we’ll be rebuilding for a very long time since we’re not quite starting yet? At least the food is good at the X?

So Vegas doesnt believe they can sign Nikita Gusev the Russian superstar so they are considering trading him. Apparently he is looking for 2 years around $4MM per. The Wild have $11MM in Cap right now, but have guys to sign. Considering what those players will likely sign for we will have around $5MM left.
Paul Fenton, run, dont walk to the phone and get a trade done!
This guy is elite, then we will have 2 Russian superstars for start of 2020 season and hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2021.

As it stands today; the state of Hockey is in for several sub par seasons this owner should look at his GM and ask which direction are you taking us?
This Zucarello signing for five years @ 6 mil is going to drag the Wild back into the same hole they were trying to get out of.
I do not see any kind of forward progress here. Did the owner have a brain fart and all of a sudden decide he wants Fletcher back?
They are starting to remind me of the Timberpuppies, when you have current top NHL players who look at the Wild as a sinking ship and will not come here, the results are you over paying for 2nd and 3rd tier players to come here. That’s what they had, that’s what they traded away, and now right down the same worm hole!
I was, and still am on the side of developing young talent plan and willing to endure a few growing pains, but come on? Mats Zucarello @ 6 mil
The big question is how long do you keep a GM who is becoming a Les Steckle?
It’s like watching a dog drag his butt across the lawn.

Giving up players for cap space is holding less and less water. Was hoping for 2-3 good players. Now just hoping for a competent center and a decent right handed shot.

Gusev is too young for Fenton’s taste.

basseyes wrote:

Giving up players for cap space is holding less and less water.

Exactly. When is Fenton going to start using all this “cap space” that his terrific strategy generated to do the team some bleepin good?

I said that from the very beginning. Cap space only matters if you spend it.

Grouse

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

When is Fenton going to start using all this “cap space” that his terrific strategy generated to do the team some bleepin good?

I said that from the very beginning. Cap space only matters if you spend it.

Grouse

Thought freeing up cap space there was a plan, or at least a glimmering of a plan to add some good players with maybe a touch more grit and trying some different players to get something to jive. But so far we are doing what the wild has done, giving up stuff for nothing and getting less in return. Would like to get younger and faster, but would take good players in positions we desperately need. Have yet to see a need filled yet with money to spend.

3 good players with some leadership skills, with the youth and vets we have could at least be a step in “A” direction vs lateral moves at best. And it could very easily go sideways if other teams in the division start bulking up their deficiencies.

Trying to stay optimistic, but that’s becoming harder to do the longer this goes on.

Say this tongue in cheek but at least the other F’guy tried making moves, even though they weren’t good ones. He seems like he’s stuck at the kids table on Thanksgiving, while the adults are at a completely different table.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

I said that from the very beginning. Cap space only matters if you spend it.

Not to change the subject, but can you explain that sometime to the Twins fans who still blame Joe Mauer for the Pohlads not spending any money?

According to the St. Paul paper Fenton says he is done making moves this off season and is happy where the team is. The best move he made then is not trading Zucker because he’s not very adept at getting value in return. At this rate Kaprizov may decide to re up with the KHL!

Ice Cap wrote:

According to the St. Paul paper Fenton says he is done making moves this off season and is happy where the team is.

Ive heard this as well, but those comments were made before the Gusev news came up. If he isnt kicking the tires I have lost what glimmer of hope I had with him.
Give Vegas Donato if he is worried about being able to sign all our RFAs and still be able to afford Gusev. Heck, give them a first round pick too. This type of opportunity doesnt come around often and the future implications of having a guy like him on the roster with your franchise hope making a decision after next KHL season is worth its weight in gold.

jeff_huberty wrote:

Apparently the GM is making moves for next the next few years, the changes are finally coming.
It’s like opening the windows for the first time in the Spring.

Fenton

I just couldn’t resist.

Michael Russo said on KFAN this week that Leopold did not want Fenton to trade away everyone and rebuild the team. So this is why they probably signed Zucarello because he was the best they could get.

tank next season by going with the youth movement and unload what you can at the trade deadline, get a top pick in the draft, maybe Parise/Suter then demand to be traded to a contender, get Kaprisov signed and go from there…Koivu is also done after next season so you can truly move in a new direction.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

tank next season by going with the youth movement and unload what you can at the trade deadline, get a top pick in the draft, maybe Parise/Suter then demand to be traded to a contender, get Kaprisov signed and go from there…Koivu is also done after next season so you can truly move in a new direction.

My worry is that is they do exactly what you lay out there, Kaprisov will re-sign in the KHL.

Its already been proven that “stars” arent wanting to come here (ie Kessel, Pavelski), so why would a Russian superstar who can make a ton of money in the KHL come here?

Get Gusev at all costs! They still may not make the playoffs this season, but at least they have one piece to build around and that should cement Kaprisov coming here. Plus he’s a dang right shot for crying out loud.

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>jeff_huberty wrote:</div>
Apparently the GM is making moves for next the next few years, the changes are finally coming.
It’s like opening the windows for the first time in the Spring.

Fenton

I just couldn’t resist.

Welcomeback

jeff_huberty wrote:

Welcomeback

Glad to be back. Looking forward to seeing some more highly insightful chatter about the new and improved direction of this team.

John Scott has a YouTube channel. It’s pretty funny if you like hearing stories from behind the scenes of the NHL like I do. The Phil Kessel one is pretty good.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5F7bKC2j0BhlaZYwLp0BKw/videos

Things are awful quiet as far as the Wild are concerned for off season movement. They must be done. In more ways than one. Maybe Fenton wanted to do more and Leopold put a leash on him, who knows? But either way it’s basically the same team with cap money sitting idle. Zuccarello could be the next Vanek or a 30 goal guy. My guess it’s somewhere in between. It’s a rare thing for someone to really thrive on this team with the anamoly of Stalls 39 goal season 2 years ago.

They are a boring no news team. NHL.com barely has a blurb on them except to mention who they drafted. I can’t remember the last time the Hockey News had anything to say about them. Ho-Hum.

I did not think they would be making any big free agent news, if you consider zucharello FA news. I kind of think they were heading down the rabbit hole for a few seasons. Depending on how next season progresses that may still be the case, it will be interesting TO SEE how this Modano angle plays out. I think Leopoldo had change of heart after all the trades and put the breaks on after the Kassel debacle.

Puttting it to rest until the next 2019-2020 thread/season.

jeff_huberty wrote:

I did not think they would be making any big free agent news, if you consider zucharello FA news. I kind of think they were heading down the rabbit hole for a few seasons. Depending on how next season progresses that may still be the case, it will be interesting TO SEE how this Modano angle plays out. I think Leopoldo had change of heart after all the trades and put the breaks on after the Kassel debacle.

Puttting it to rest until the next 2019-2020 thread/season.

Well then Fenton put on a pretty good head fake by trading off a lot of salary and freeing up cap space. I was expecting much more than the Zuccarello deal. Makes me think somebody reeled Fenton in. Maybe it was the Kessel deal was Fentons brain storm and after Leopold realized even fading NHL’ers didnt want to come here gave him pause to think.

I have been wondering if the idea is not to bring in anybody that will overshadow Parise and Suter. There is so much invested and so much fanfare when these two were brought in that if this team is going to be successful it’s because these two got them there.

Modano is waiting stage left to replace Fenton the way it looks.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

tank next season by going with the youth movement and unload what you can at the trade deadline, get a top pick in the draft, maybe Parise/Suter then demand to be traded to a contender, get Kaprisov signed and go from there…Koivu is also done after next season so you can truly move in a new direction.

^^^ This.

Only so much you can do with the MK/RS/ZP handcuffs anyway. Will be a rough couple years regardless.

Holy cow, its looks as though Toronto GM Dubas is a bleeping genius. Making a trade to take on a contract of an injured player who they will put in LTIR which essentially allows them to be over the cap. This is a move that should get them the ability to sign Marner.

I do believe though that they have to be cap compliant at the start of the season and the LTIR wouldnt go into effect until a period after the start so based on that they wouldnt be able to sign Marner before the season started, if I understand it correctly.

If that is the case, how many offersheets are teams going to put in on Marner. LOL

The real question would be is Marner willing to sign a contract at 10.5 million so that the offering team is under the limit of giving up 4 first round draft picks. I assume the answer is yes but at that point which team can afford to give up both the picks and the 10.5 mil.

IceWack wrote:

The real question would be is Marner willing to sign a contract at 10.5 million so that the offering team is under the limit of giving up 4 first round draft picks. I assume the answer is yes but at that point which team can afford to give up both the picks and the 10.5 mil.

Good point, but for a player coming into his prime I think teams would gamble on it. First Round picks, even top 2 or 3 are a crapshoot at best in most cases, and they take years to develop in most cases with the exception of guys like Laine, McDavid, Mathews, etc. Most times those guys take a few years. You could have someone with an immediate impact.
I wouldnt think a team like Ottawa who is a dumpster fire would do it, but a team like the wild where they are always drafting middle to late first round would heavily consider it.

i’m actually ok with a bad season, it’s really our only way to crawl out of the hole were in as a franchise. We need a top 3 draft pick on a rookie salary that can quickly help turn the franchise around, the Draft’s projected #1 pick this year is that type of player…but the way this team is made up right now, we’re looking at likely missing the playoffs, then we pick a mid-level talent around #10-14 and the cycle repeats itself…

That has been this franchise’s problem since the very beginning. They have never been the doormat of the league and picked in the top 5 multiple years when there was cant miss talent.
They have almost always been middle or bottom 3/4 of the draft, then had plenty of misses too.
Its kinda hard to find a stud to build around if you are not at the top of the draft. Yeah, you can find a gem later in the draft once in a while.

I was listening to NHL Network radio on the way home last night and they were grading the GMs and wouldnt you know it the segment was on the Wild. They rated the Wild 31 as most likely to win the cup in the next 5 years. They actually went on to say 32 because of the expansion team. LOL

Gave Fenton a D- and an F by the two “experts”.
They really grinded him for lack of vision or direction with what he has done, which is warranted. The master plan may not have taken shape yet, but it certainly is a cloudy vision at this point.

I dont think this team is going to win the Cup anytime soon, but I also dont see them falling to the very bottom either.

They said the single biggest factor in determining where this team is going is what is done with Spurgeon. If he is traded that shows full rebuild. If he is signed then they will likely have a tough time getting significantly better because of the aging contracts. Much of this I agree with.

I dont want to see Spurgeon go, but if we could get significant return for him with prospects at this point seeing the makeup of this roster I think they should move him.