Minnesota Wild General Discussion - 2022-23

[MuckOG]

Actually with this draft, I think the top 5 could contribute at least next season. Look at Bernier, McTavish, and Johnson. 2020 draft had Stutzle, Raymond, Sanderson and Drysdale contributing. Kaprizov hasn't really hit his prime either.

This is supposed to be one of the best drafts in a while; you have Fantilli, Carlsson, Yager that have been hyped up for a while. Not to mention Smith and Michkov (though Michkov is questionable due to being Russian).

Short of losing almost every remaining game, the Wild willl not be picking in the top 5 in this next draft. There is nobody between selections 10-20 that would be a key contributor next season. They would need at least another season to develop before they turn pro, best case scenario. Most likely scenario is these prospects would need 2+ seasons before they are ready to be key contributors.

I, for one, don't want to waste the prime years of Kaprizov tanking for the future. And trading him would be a suicide move. Season ticket holders would revolt and the front office would be mocked for years to come.

The Suter/Parise contracts/buyouts are a shit sandwich that the team is forced to eat and its Guerin's job to ice the most competitive team he can during this period, given the cap restraints. As a fan, I just hope that this team can figure out a way to at least get out of the first round and be competitive.

 

[57special]

Sens fan here, I'd trade a 2nd or a 3rd for Dumba. He'd be our 4th best defender easily

A third for Dumba is a joke, and Guerin isn’t likely to get excited about a second, and will keep him instead. Dumba would be better than your 4 th Dman, btw, right now, though I get that your young Dmen should improve in the future.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Short of losing almost every remaining game, the Wild willl not be picking in the top 5 in this next draft. There is nobody between selections 10-20 that would be a key contributor next season. They would need at least another season to develop before they turn pro, best case scenario. Most likely scenario is these prospects would need 2+ seasons before they are ready to be key contributors.

I, for one, don't want to waste the prime years of Kaprizov tanking for the future. And trading him would be a suicide move. Season ticket holders would revolt and the front office would be mocked for years to come.

The Suter/Parise contracts/buyouts are a shit sandwich that the team is forced to eat and its Guerin's job to ice the most competitive team he can during this period, given the cap restraints. As a fan, I just hope that this team can figure out a way to at least get out of the first round and be competitive.

There's probably nobody between 3-20 that would be a key contributor next season.

 

[57special]

The defeatism shown by some here is relentless, and unsupportable. Wild are not “Mild”. If anything they have gone overboard an acquiring toughness. I’d rather that they get “milder”, and more skilled.

They also aren’t “trash”. Take a look at teams like ARI, PHI, MTL and the like….those teams are bad.

This team right now is very average. Probably a playoff team, but average. Last year they were much better, due to role players such as Hartman and Foligno having career years, and Fiala turning into a star, first line player.

This year, those role players have reverted to their former selves and have also battled injury. Fiala was traded for futures who are not helping us on the ice right now. This has resulted in an average’ish team.

You want a nightmare? How about next year. Let’s say that Zuccarello finally shows his age and is either injured or unproductive, Foligno and Hartman continue to fade, Greenway is still hanging around like a bad smell, Faber and Rossi turn out to not be ready for the NHL, and Yurov signs a 2-3 year KHL deal. Gaudreau signs elsewhere for more money. JEE Gets injured. Team starts to tune out Dean.

Now that would be a trashy team.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

The defeatism shown by some here is relentless, and unsupportable. Wild are not “Mild”. If anything they have gone overboard an acquiring toughness. I’d rather that they get “milder”, and more skilled.

They also aren’t “trash”. Take a look at teams like ARI, PHI, MTL and the like….those teams are bad.

This team right now is very average. Probably a playoff team, but average. Last year they were much better, due to role players such as Hartman and Foligno having career years, and Fiala turning into a star, first line player.

This year, those role players have reverted to their former selves and have also battled injury. Fiala was traded for futures who are not helping us on the ice right now. This has resulted in an average’ish team.

You want a nightmare? How about next year. Let’s say that Zuccarello finally shows his age and is either injured or unproductive, Foligno and Hartman continue to fade, Greenway is still hanging around like a bad smell, Faber and Rossi turn out to not be ready for the NHL, and Yurov signs a 2-3 year KHL deal. Gaudreau signs elsewhere for more money. JEE Gets injured. Team starts to tune out Dean.

Now that would be a trashy team.

Don't tempt me with a good time.

 

[Bazeek]

The defeatism shown by some here is relentless, and unsupportable. Wild are not “Mild”. If anything they have gone overboard an acquiring toughness. I’d rather that they get “milder”, and more skilled.

They also aren’t “trash”. Take a look at teams like ARI, PHI, MTL and the like….those teams are bad.

This team right now is very average. Probably a playoff team, but average. Last year they were much better, due to role players such as Hartman and Foligno having career years, and Fiala turning into a star, first line player.

This year, those role players have reverted to their former selves and have also battled injury. Fiala was traded for futures who are not helping us on the ice right now. This has resulted in an average’ish team.

You want a nightmare? How about next year. Let’s say that Zuccarello finally shows his age and is either injured or unproductive, Foligno and Hartman continue to fade, Greenway is still hanging around like a bad smell, Faber and Rossi turn out to not be ready for the NHL, and Yurov signs a 2-3 year KHL deal. Gaudreau signs elsewhere for more money. JEE Gets injured. Team starts to tune out Dean.

Now that would be a trashy team.

I think the bolded is what makes this year tougher than it'd normally be. They're not terrible and they'll probably push for a playoff spot. At that point you can't rule out winning a round. That's not very satisfying after seeing the same thing so many times, but normally you could at least consider it a stepping stone into next season.

It's harder to do that when the cap situation just gets worse and the internal solutions to your largest problems (namely Rossi) aren't really trending the right way. I do think some of the negativity is overblown... but I get it.

 

[57special]

I think the bolded is what makes this year tougher than it'd normally be. They're not terrible and they'll probably push for a playoff spot. At that point you can't rule out winning a round. That's not very satisfying after seeing the same thing so many times, but normally you could at least consider it a stepping stone into next season.

It's harder to do that when the cap situation just gets worse and the internal solutions to your largest problems (namely Rossi) aren't really trending the right way. I do think some of the negativity is overblown... but I get it.

I actually like Rossi’s play in the AHL. Definitely improving on last year. Barring injury, he should be a NHL’er, I think? A guy like Petan is almost as good as him offensively down in the AHL (adjusting for age, Petan is better on paper, but…), and we saw what a non factor he was in the NHL. Rossi is more responsible defensively, has way less careless moments, and is far younger/ more likely to improve, but even the thought that he has any similarity to Petan is pretty scary.

 

[MNRube]

JEE is quietly having a huge year. When will we give him a real look with 97? Gaudreau, Steel, Rask, Hartman, Bjugstad … all these guys get more rope at that spot than the guy who is playing at a 70 point pace with Foligno & Greenway at 5v5.

 

[Bazeek]

I actually like Rossi’s play in the AHL. Definitely improving on last year. Barring injury, he should be a NHL’er, I think? A guy like Petan is almost as good as him offensively down in the AHL (adjusting for age, Petan is better on paper, but…), and we saw what a non factor he was in the NHL. Rossi is more responsible defensively, has way less careless moments, and is far younger/ more likely to improve, but even the thought that he has any similarity to Petan is pretty scary.

I haven't seen enough of him in Iowa to have much of an opinion, but I'm not really down on Rossi or anything. He's young, he's had some unique setbacks and it seems like they're giving him the time he probably needs to work on what he needs to work on. I'm not super convinced that he'll pan out at center, but I'd be surprised if he isn't a decent NHLer.

But right now the team's running Ek, Gaudreau and Steel as their top 3 centers, and that sort of weakness down the middle will continue to put a ceiling on the teams' playoff performance. They don't have the cap space to bring in real outside help, and they don't have anyone outside of Rossi to promote into the role in the immediate future.

So in absolute terms I think he's fine. But relative to the team's needs (which is on Guerin, not Rossi) it's not so great.

 

[Minnewildsota]

JEE is quietly having a huge year. When will we give him a real look with 97? Gaudreau, Steel, Rask, Hartman, Bjugstad … all these guys get more rope at that spot than the guy who is playing at a 70 point pace with Foligno & Greenway at 5v5.

About 3 months ago...

 

[bicboi64]

A third for Dumba is a joke, and Guerin isn’t likely to get excited about a second, and will keep him instead. Dumba would be better than your 4 th Dman, btw, right now, though I get that your young Dmen should improve in the future.

I agree. I'd expect to have to give up a prospect like Thomson in addition to the 2nd and a depth player at the least. Only reason I'd hope we don't get him is because his next contract might not be worth it

 

[DigitalBoldy]

About 3 months ago...

Kap-Eriksson Ek-Zucc has 22 minutes total together at 5v5 for the year.

JEE is quietly having a huge year. When will we give him a real look with 97? Gaudreau, Steel, Rask, Hartman, Bjugstad … all these guys get more rope at that spot than the guy who is playing at a 70 point pace with Foligno & Greenway at 5v5.

I agree. I said this before/in another thread, that I think Dean purposely plays Kap, Boldy and Eriksson Ek on separate lines to try and make three lines that are a threat.

 

[thestonedkoala]

The defeatism shown by some here is relentless, and unsupportable. Wild are not “Mild”. If anything they have gone overboard an acquiring toughness. I’d rather that they get “milder”, and more skilled.

I don't think it's defeatism; fans are getting tired of the one and done and the paper tiger that Minnesota presents during the regular season. The fact that they got stomped by St. Louis last year when they had half of their defense out was really a strong indication of the team Minnesota presents. Even more so, a lot of fans were making the excuse that Fiala disappeared in the playoffs was a good reason why to trade him.

Finally, Minnesota brought in Middleton and Fleury to help bolster their team and they did pretty much nothing to help.

A lot of fans were concerned about the career years that a lot of Minnesota players were having and what would happen if they regressed back to their normal play and what that would do to the team? We're seeing that now.

Minnesota Mild isn't about their play on the ice; it's about how the team presents itself to the league. I think last year was one of the best chances Minnesota had to make a run and a lot of fans were excited as the team gained the most points in team history. There was a lot to be excited about, similar to the Vikings this year, but when you really boil down the analytics there were some concerns about how they were winning. Minnesota in most of their history has never been seen as a legitimate Cup Contender. They've been seen as a dark horse or a team that could win a series - maybe two - at best. But for most of Minnesota's history, they've been seen as a mediocre team or a regular season darling. They are mild at best; not great, not bad. Just a meh team and this year is a really good indication.

You want a nightmare? How about next year. Let’s say that Zuccarello finally shows his age and is either injured or unproductive, Foligno and Hartman continue to fade, Greenway is still hanging around like a bad smell, Faber and Rossi turn out to not be ready for the NHL, and Yurov signs a 2-3 year KHL deal. Gaudreau signs elsewhere for more money. JEE Gets injured. Team starts to tune out Dean.

Now that would be a trashy team.

You want a nightmare? This team is treading water, they don't make the playoffs but don't get a high enough draft pick. Foligno, Hartman walk and Zuccarello is signed back to a 3 year 5 million contract and then he fades hard the following season. When the cap penalties are off, Minnesota signs a bunch of free agents because none of their prospects have done anything except be borderline NHLers. Rossi is good in the AHL, but mediocre in the NHL. Yurov stays, Ohgren is a middle 6 guy like Johan Larsson. Meanwhile Chicago gets Fantilli and curb stomps Minnesota every time they meet. Minnesota is never good enough or bad enough and then Kaprizov leaves.

I think some fans saw these next three years as time to retool the team and cast dead weight or dying weight off the team. When the cap hits come off in two years, Minnesota would have a fully stocked and bulging prospect group to trade or use to fill in holes and then they would really go at it. With Wallstedt at goal and guys like Khusnutdinov, Yurov and a few top picks in the 23 and 24 draft, Minnesota would be led by a guy like Kaprizov, Spurgeon and JEE.

 

[Minnewildsota]

Kap-Eriksson Ek-Zucc has 22 minutes total together at 5v5 for the year.

I agree. I said this before/in another thread, that I think Dean purposely plays Kap, Boldy and Eriksson Ek on separate lines to try and make three lines that are a threat.

No. I meant they should have tried it 3 months ago lol

 

[DigitalBoldy]

No. I meant they should have tried it 3 months ago lol

Oh, I see! Definitely mixed that up lol

 

[Minnewildsota]

I don't think it's defeatism; fans are getting tired of the one and done and the paper tiger that Minnesota presents during the regular season. The fact that they got stomped by St. Louis last year when they had half of their defense out was really a strong indication of the team Minnesota presents. Even more so, a lot of fans were making the excuse that Fiala disappeared in the playoffs was a good reason why to trade him.

Finally, Minnesota brought in Middleton and Fleury to help bolster their team and they did pretty much nothing to help.

A lot of fans were concerned about the career years that a lot of Minnesota players were having and what would happen if they regressed back to their normal play and what that would do to the team? We're seeing that now.

Minnesota Mild isn't about their play on the ice; it's about how the team presents itself to the league. I think last year was one of the best chances Minnesota had to make a run and a lot of fans were excited as the team gained the most points in team history. There was a lot to be excited about, similar to the Vikings this year, but when you really boil down the analytics there were some concerns about how they were winning. Minnesota in most of their history has never been seen as a legitimate Cup Contender. They've been seen as a dark horse or a team that could win a series - maybe two - at best. But for most of Minnesota's history, they've been seen as a mediocre team or a regular season darling. They are mild at best; not great, not bad. Just a meh team and this year is a really good indication.

You want a nightmare? This team is treading water, they don't make the playoffs but don't get a high enough draft pick. Foligno, Hartman walk and Zuccarello is signed back to a 3 year 5 million contract and then he fades hard the following season. When the cap penalties are off, Minnesota signs a bunch of free agents because none of their prospects have done anything except be borderline NHLers. Rossi is good in the AHL, but mediocre in the NHL. Yurov stays, Ohgren is a middle 6 guy like Johan Larsson. Meanwhile Chicago gets Fantilli and curb stomps Minnesota every time they meet. Minnesota is never good enough or bad enough and then Kaprizov leaves.

I think some fans saw these next three years as time to retool the team and cast dead weight or dying weight off the team. When the cap hits come off in two years, Minnesota would have a fully stocked and bulging prospect group to trade or use to fill in holes and then they would really go at it. With Wallstedt at goal and guys like Khusnutdinov, Yurov and a few top picks in the 23 and 24 draft, Minnesota would be led by a guy like Kaprizov, Spurgeon and JEE.

Then why is everyone moaning about Fiala leaving? He had .5/ppg in that series against a terrible defense. All 3 points were assists. I mean, if people want us to do well in the post season, it seems like jettisoning someone that didn't show up would be a wise move.

(of course, we have to get to the post season first)

 

[TaLoN]

Then why is everyone moaning about Fiala leaving? He had .5/ppg in that series against a terrible defense. All 3 points were assists. I mean, if people want us to do well in the post season, it seems like jettisoning someone that didn't show up would be a wise move.

(of course, we have to get to the post season first)

Playing bad in 1 post season series doesn't mean he's always bad in the post season.

First playoffs for us, he had 3g, 1a in 4 games.
The next, he had 1g, 1a in 7 games
Then he had 0g, 3a in 6 games.

He's been PPG in a sweep, terrible in a 7 game series, then mediocre only half PPG in the 3rd.

Gaborik once had 17pts in 18 playoff games for us, another with 4pts in 5 games, then a couple of bad runs with 1pt in 6 games and 2 pts in 5 games.

Go figure, playoff performance can vary. Kap in his first run had only 3pts in 7 games, should we have dumped him for lack of playoff performance? He followed it up with 8pts in 6 games the next time around.

Not everyone can be Joe Sakic in the post season every run.

 

[thestonedkoala]

Then why is everyone moaning about Fiala leaving? He had .5/ppg in that series against a terrible defense. All 3 points were assists. I mean, if people want us to do well in the post season, it seems like jettisoning someone that didn't show up would be a wise move.

(of course, we have to get to the post season first)

Koivu, Spurgeon, Brodin and Zuccarello have not done well in the playoffs and yet, here we are and they were or are still on the team.

 

[57special]

I also seem to remember Fiala looking good, or at least semi-good, and either getting passes in his skates, hitting iron, or just missing on chances. Just a couple of those chances go in and it’s a completely different story. In a very short sample size, I am not going to draw conclusions, and Fiala was hardly the only guy who failed to make a mark last year.

I don’t need to see any more of him to know that he is an elite talent scoring at an elite level. I would rather him, and Walker/Rossi on the team than Greenway, Foligno/Reaves, and Goligoski( I bet Mermis can make popcorn just as well). Not an exact dollar in, Dollar out scenario, but we have cap space anyway this year.

 

[AKL]

I also seem to remember Fiala looking good, or at least semi-good, and either getting passes in his skates, hitting iron, or just missing on chances. Just a couple of those chances go in and it’s a completely different story. In a very short sample size, I am not going to draw conclusions, and Fiala was hardly the only guy who failed to make a mark last year.

I don’t need to see any more of him to know that he is an elite talent scoring at an elite level. I would rather him, and Walker/Rossi on the team than Greenway, Foligno/Reaves, and Goligoski( I bet Mermis can make popcorn just as well). Not an exact dollar in, Dollar out scenario, but we have cap space anyway this year.

It also didn't help that it was Boldy's first playoff experience because we decided not to give him a taste in 2020-21. And Gaudreau isn't an offensively inclined player.

At the end of the day, Fiala has 4 goals and 9 points in 17 playoff games for Minnesota, Zuccarello has 1 goal and 8 points in 17 playoff games for Minnesota. So if Fiala is bad, Zuccarello is awful.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Then why is everyone moaning about Fiala leaving? He had .5/ppg in that series against a terrible defense. All 3 points were assists. I mean, if people want us to do well in the post season, it seems like jettisoning someone that didn't show up would be a wise move.

(of course, we have to get to the post season first)

As for me, I just liked watching him play. Made the games more entertaining. Playoff success is secondary.

 

[thestonedkoala]

As for me, I just liked watching him play. Made the games more entertaining. Playoff success is secondary.

Plus he gave the Minnesota a bit more depth.

 

[MNRube]

Plus he gave the Minnesota a bit more depth.

I also think it put unnecessary pressure on Rossi when Guerin didn’t sign anyone to replace Fiala’s production. Everyone and their mother knew Foligno, Hartman, Goligoski etc weren’t going to reproduce their anomaly seasons either.

 

[DeagleJenkins]

For one, core players like Ek, Boldy and Kaprizov can taste some postseason success, which they can use to build on going into the next season.

Outside of Bedard, there is no player in this draft that would likely be a key contributor for a few years at least. We shouldn't waste Kaprizov's prime years trying to tank games for the future. If thats the plan, then just trade Kaprizov now, because he wont want to stick around for that.

one year of missing the playoffs and he breaks down and needs to leave? interesting I didnt know he was going to be so fragile not to mention getting a taste of the 2nd round just to get blown out and go home somehow is going to help this entire team improve? We need much more than 3 players to "taste" playoff success

Actually with this draft, I think the top 5 could contribute at least next season. Look at Bernier, McTavish, and Johnson. 2020 draft had Stutzle, Raymond, Sanderson and Drysdale contributing. Kaprizov hasn't really hit his prime either.

This is supposed to be one of the best drafts in a while; you have Fantilli, Carlsson, Yager that have been hyped up for a while. Not to mention Smith and Michkov (though Michkov is questionable due to being Russian).

With that said, will Minnesota be terrible enough to be in the top 5/7? Probably not.


You can move up 10 spots and the odds of moving up from 16 to 6 is tiny like less than a percentage point. It's less than 4% to move 10 spots for any teams outside the top 10. They have better odds moving to the 2nd round.

i will take the odds of us moving up 10 spots over us making the 2nd round.

 

[Webster]

It also didn't help that it was Boldy's first playoff experience because we decided not to give him a taste in 2020-21. And Gaudreau isn't an offensively inclined player.

At the end of the day, Fiala has 4 goals and 9 points in 17 playoff games for Minnesota, Zuccarello has 1 goal and 8 points in 17 playoff games for Minnesota. So if Fiala is bad, Zuccarello is awful.

Except that Fiala was healthy, Zuccarello was not. How many times do we have to remind people about that. Zucc should be respected for trying to help the team despite being hurt, not bashed