What are the Wild GMs doing wrong that we struggle to stay under the cap with basically a team of generic players? I mean the Wild couldn’t have added Backstrom for that money and we’re not paying an Ovie or a Kuznetsov…
No doubt. Very poor job of not only management but developing players also. Listening to Russo this morning he was talking about why Greenway should be sent down and it seems to be a mental attitude thing which the whole team has suffered from for a long time.
How the hell do these teams DO it? Add player after player after player at big salaries and never seem to run out of cap space??? How can you have a lineup full of big name, non-entry contract players like Ove, Backstrom, Kuznetsov, Panik, Oshie, Orlov, etc, etc, and never seem to run out of cap space such that you can afford to resign Backstrom to $9 mill a year?
Yeah its interesting to see how some teams are able to navigate things like this and without having to give up NMC/NTC type contracts, while the wild have to overpay for guys AND do NMC/NTC. I think its a clear sign that many dont feel the wild are a contender and dont want to give anything up salary or financial security to come here.
Looking specifically at the Caps situation, they will have 5 FAs after this season now that Backstrom is signed. They still have $10mm in cap space, but Holtby is one of the FAs so that is going to get swallowed up I would imagine. Probably wouldnt get a deal like Vasilevsky, but its going to be big dollars I would think.
It will be interesting to see how the Wild navigate this. Thankfully KK’s contract is an ELC so that is a fixed amount, but he will only be on the cheap for 2 years.
Dropped to 7 pts out of a playoff spot and next two games against Penguins and Lightning. Trades likely coming soon….
Dropped to 7 pts out of a playoff spot and next two games against Penguins and Lightning. Trades likely coming soon….
You missed the last game against Tampa in December where the Wild put up 5 goals on the Lighting and won?
This is kind of the problem. Every time the Wild are against the wall, they go out and wreck a better team the have no business beating. See also Edmonton, Colorado, Jets…
I think if Bill has a strategy–and he better by now–just pull the trigger on it.
Grouse
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>lindyrig79 wrote:</div>
Dropped to 7 pts out of a playoff spot and next two games against Penguins and Lightning. Trades likely coming soon….You missed the last game against Tampa in December where the Wild put up 5 goals on the Lighting and won?
This is kind of the problem. Every time the Wild are against the wall, they go out and wreck a better team the have no business beating. See also Edmonton, Colorado, Jets…
I think if Bill has a strategy–and he better by now–just pull the trigger on it.
Grouse
I remember. Just listening to Russo this morning and he was not painting a very good picture of the current situation. We’ll see I guess.
And either way I agree… Hopefully Guerin has a plan.
The timing of moves could come sooner than in typical years. There are some key long term injuries on teams that have high aspirations this year and the Pens are one of them considering they lost Guentzel for the season. They already tried to get Zucker once, wouldnt be surprised if they try again. If a deal were to work out with them I hope its picks/prospects and not some NHL player already. We need to dump salary and to build up the pipeline.
The nice thing about Billy G. is he has no ties to any of these players. None. I don’t think he will be hesitant because of hurt feelings on a players part or the fans. I’m willing to bet he has seen enough of everybody and anybody could be down the road depending on what the return is. And that’s fine with me.
They already tried to get Zucker once, wouldnt be surprised if they try again. If a deal were to work out with them I hope its picks/prospects and not some NHL player already. We need to dump salary and to build up the pipeline.
You are absolutely right. There are teams like the Pens and Edmonton where it’s basically now or never.
We need to rake these teams over the coals. Especially for a player like Zucker. There’s also been a lot of talk about defensively challenged teams like Edmonton shopping hard for D and goalies to try to make a run before they get crushed by the cap, so there has to be opportunities out there.
Start with a R1 draft pick AND… then work into the top farm system players.. And then go back for more draft picks. Bleed them until the squeal or it’s no deal, that should be Gurin’s motto.
No giveaways of young current roster or farm system players for aging vets! I can’t see ANY value in trading for end of career vets for the Wild. Draft picks and up and coming talent only.
Grouse
This franchise, more than any I’ve ever watched, goes from looking abysmal to looking like they are a playoff team, then back to abysmal. Numerous times each season! It’s quite possibly the most frustrating team to watch year after year.
Wheels are coming off in Pittsburgh tonight. Couldn’t even get the line up card right. Gotta wonder what Guerin is thinking watching these two teams play each other.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>hop307 wrote:</div>
Well the pipe dream of signing backstrom is off the table he resigned, 5yr 46mil.How the hell do these teams DO it? Add player after player after player at big salaries and never seem to run out of cap space??? How can you have a lineup full of big name, non-entry contract players like Ove, Backstrom, Kuznetsov, Panik, Oshie, Orlov, etc, etc, and never seem to run out of cap space such that you can afford to resign Backstrom to $9 mill a year?
What are the Wild GMs doing wrong that we struggle to stay under the cap with basically a team of generic players? I mean the Wild couldn’t have added Backstrom for that money and we’re not paying an Ovie or a Kuznetsov…
Grouse
its because their 4th line and 3rd pair D all make close to the league minimum vs the Wild’s 4th line is almost a $10 million caphit total and our 3rd pair D are at $3 million.
Wow. What a sh/t show in Pittsburgh tonight. 
Yeah, the Pens can certainly move the puck.
DT
How about Bruce’s lineup card gaff?
How about Bruce’s lineup card gaff?
And then just listening to his in-game interview he just gives the impression of a deer in headlights. Starting to think he’s about as washed up as most of the vets on the team.
7-10 million more than most teams and it has nothing to do with #20’s contract. Combine that with koivu 5.5 and you have 12-15 million to spend on your top two centers and that is where the wild are weak. Seams to me trading zucker is not the solution to the problem. The resources are not being spent the same as the top teams in the league. Throw in rask 4million and you could sign Backstrom and Kuznetsov.
A really good case made for the fact that the problem with the Wild is what I’ve been saying all along. It’s not Parise and Suter’s contracts or Koivu’s long tenure that has held back the Wild.
It’s the freaking DISASTROUS mismanagement from the GM’s office for basically the whole life of the franchise! If you want 3 reasons why the Wild are in the spot they are not, it’s not Parise, Suter, and Koivu. It’s Fentard, Fletcher, and Risboro. Collectively, I would challenge anyone to come up with any club that has had a consecutive run of 3 GMs that are bigger duds than this trifecta.
We haven’t had the best players, but in the GM office we’ve had even awful, bad, and even worse. Just look at how ONE bad deal can impact the club. The Fentard’s acquisition of Rask will haunt this club for nearly 10 years! That would be the 5 years that we’ll be massively overpaying him plus 5 more years where we are missing the players we COULD have bought and developed while we were stuck with Rask.
As I’ve said before, for a team that’s had a run of 3 of the worst GMs in hockey, it’s actually astonishing the Wild have done as well as they have.
IMO, the ONLY bright spot is that firing Fentard’s useless @ss MAY indicate that Craig finally has figured it out. To rephrase that great George Carville quote, “[It’s] the GM, stupid.”
Grouse
If I was a GM I wouldn’t spend a ton of money on Dmen. Maybe 1 guy, but there are some really good players who don’t cost a lot and are serviceable.
Gallant out at Vegas. DeBoer in. Bit of a shocker I’d say.
Gallant out at Vegas. DeBoer in. Bit of a shocker I’d say.
Yeah, that is a headscratcher. Gallant has been fired twice under surprising circumstances.
If I was a GM I wouldn’t spend a ton of money on Dmen. Maybe 1 guy, but there are some really good players who don’t cost a lot and are serviceable.
I agree with that other than the superstar offensive d-men like Carlson/Hedman/Burns/Karlson who basically allow you to have an extra scoring forward on the ice at the same time…but you can see with the Sharks not even having two of these guys on the ice at the same time can make a huge difference…
I agree with that other than the superstar offensive d-men like Carlson/Hedman/Burns/Karlson who basically allow you to have an extra scoring forward on the ice at the same time…but you can see with the Sharks not even having two of these guys on the ice at the same time can make a huge difference…
Mainly because on the defensive end they are a real liability IMO. Carlson and Hedman are pretty good, but Chubaca and Karlson are definitely liabilities in the D zone.
I think BG is going to shake this roster up pretty good in the coming weeks. Russo mentioned that his Head of Scouting was with him in Pitt last night which likely means they were scouting someone on the Pens. BG knows that roster well, but probably getting another set of eyes.
Zucker had a bad game, well basically everyone did with the exception of Foligno and perhaps Fiala who has been really great for 2 months, just not getting the pts recently when no one has been scoring well.
If the Wild trade Zucker then they could shuffle up Mayhew or perhaps someone else from Iowa.
IDK what the value of Donato is, but he seems to be a real one dimensional player and not sure he fits our overall scheme. He has a good shot, but skating isnt the best and definite liability on the D end. Doesnt play PK and not much on PP.
only players I heard Pittsburgh are shopping are Galchenyuk and Johnson, not sure I would want either…maybe they are thinking of taking a chance on Galchenyuk to replace Koivu or Rask at center next year, but he’s a UFA after this season and already making $4.9 million…
How is it the GM or coach’s fault the team can look like a legit playoff team one night, then look like a bunch of posers the next?
It’s not the finacial cost of the vet’s that’s killing the team. It’s their inconsistent leadership and playing when they want mentality that’s the biggest cost.
Been different GM’s, coaches, role players, yet 3 players remain through it all. Is it all their fault, nope. But they are the constants.
Sorry but until all the captains are gone, it’ll be the same old same old. No leadership and underachieving talent no matter the gm, coach, rookies, fa rentals or role players. They’ll look godawful for stretches and unbelievably good for others. Leaving the constant perplexing questions of wth and wtf? Why do talented rookies or role players never reach their potential here? It seems like they go backwards once brought up or given a chance to skate with our top players, why? All the gm or coaches fault? Highly doubt it over plenty of time to prove otherwise. How much more time or moving parts need to be added? Why do no good fa’s want to come and play with ZP RS and MK? It’s getting more and more glaringly obvious.
And it is absolutely nothing personal against anyone. It’s just the facts that there’s been something amiss for a while. Yet it seems like it should be fine. But it’s not. Stop holding out hope for this roster. It hasn’t happened. It isn’t happening. And it isn’t going to happen. Move on and start rebuilding. It’s been given enough time and the hope has to be the future, not the past or the present. And I for one don’t want the Russian getting polluted by whatever it is that’s constipating this team.
You guys follow them closer, but I’ve always got the impression that the Wild are a ‘deep’ or ‘balanced’ team offensively. Which I think in hockey terms means exactly what you guys are saying, we don’t have top end talent on our first line, and we’ve compensated by over paying for our 3rd and 4th line players. Which…doesn’t seem like a recipe for success.
This site if it’s reliable, puts the Zucker/Staal/Zuc line at 12th most goals(18) forced of any line combo in the NHL. That’s honestly higher than I expected. That’s 12 fewer goals than the best combo.
https://leftwinglock.com/line-production/
The Koivu/Parise/Fiala line on the other hand…not so good.
Honestly I’m not sure how reliable that is, because it lists Koivu/parise/Fiala as having 6 goals forced, which must limit to non-PP time or something as those guys have more goals than that individually…
Is it all their fault, nope. But they are the constants.
The other constant has been GMs executing bad trades and acquisitions. Fenton’s trades pulled the middle out of the team and the result/return has actually been a backslide over what we had. Improving by getting worse talent? How are the captains going to “leadership” their way out of that?
And then the acquisitions were just gawdawful. Rask, obviously, was a cluster #### in terms of both begin overpaid AND with a lot of years left on his contract, so Fentard, of course, was all over that. Zuccarello would have been OK, except for his contract term will last until he’s 108 in hockey player years. He would have been great on a Staal-type 2 year deal, but I hope he stays good because we’re going to have him until 2094 unless he gets unloaded in a package trade deal and I’d bet against this specifically because nobody will want his contract length.
I have to wonder if any effort will be made to resign Koivu or if he’ll just retire? It’s really hard to see a good on-ice reason to resign him. Also, didn’t the Finns want him back home as part of a Salne/Koivu Times Two coaching staff for the Olympics?
Better learn to love Suter and Parise, they’re going to be here for a while.
Grouse
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>basseyes wrote:</div>
Is it all their fault, nope. But they are the constants.The other constant has been GMs executing bad trades and acquisitions. Fenton’s trades pulled the middle out of the team and the result/return has actually been a backslide over what we had. Improving by getting worse talent? How are the captains going to “leadership” their way out of that?
And then the acquisitions were just gawdawful. Rask, obviously, was a cluster #### in terms of both begin overpaid AND with a lot of years left on his contract, so Fentard, of course, was all over that. Zuccarello would have been OK, except for his contract term will last until he’s 108 in hockey player years. He would have been great on a Staal-type 2 year deal, but I hope he stays good because we’re going to have him until 2094 unless he gets unloaded in a package trade deal and I’d bet against this specifically because nobody will want his contract length.
I have to wonder if any effort will be made to resign Koivu or if he’ll just retire? It’s really hard to see a good on-ice reason to resign him. Also, didn’t the Finns want him back home as part of a Salne/Koivu Times Two coaching staff for the Olympics?
Better learn to love Suter and Parise, they’re going to be here for a while.
Grouse
I’ll defend the Nino/Rask trade a little in that other than the 2 month run immediately after the trade (where Nino and Aho were on fire) Nino has been a worse player than Rask and that’s saying something…Nino gets top 6 minutes and powerplay time playing with a young superstar in Aho and only has 2 more goals this season (he has more assists but who knows how many of those are legit secondary assists on Aho goals) than Rask who’s been mostly on the 4th line with very limited minutes…We save $1.25 million per season and Rask plays the more valuable center position.
Nino was also on the trade block for how long before Fenton finally found a suitor? So we were’t exactly trading from a position of power… Both players suck, but at least Rask doesn’t count as much against the cap and is cheaper to buy out…
A 3rd round pick for Nino would’ve been better than Rask. At least then you free up cap space for a sinking team. This only makes a turnaround that much harder.
A 3rd round pick for Nino would’ve been better than Rask. At least then you free up cap space for a sinking team. This only makes a turnaround that much harder.
it was a our problem for your problem trade, so both teams took what they could get. We got the worse of the two players, they got the worse cap hit. In a perfect world either team would rather get a draft pick and dump the salary.
As bad as dubnyk looked last night, their team defence may have been even worse.
Did anyone catch the B.B. snippet on the news tonight?? He said some of the guys were mentally tired, not physically tired. Talking about giving them a break from practice and ‘time would tell if it was the right decision or not’
Seriously?!? This just totally confirms what a number of us have been saying all along! They don’t have what it takes mentally. It explains a lot, but what a joke. Get rid of these guys!
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