Minnesota Wild General Discussion - 2023-24

[Spurgeon]

I agree that D is a primary concern, even with Middleton and Chisholm playing well, I would ideally have them on the bottom pair and there are always injuries. I would look heavily into a guy like Skjei and see if there’s a possibility there to bring him home.

Skjei is a good option, there’s a couple other intriguing UFA defensemen that will be available in the next two offseasons too. Pretty much going off of name recognition though, it’s hard to evaluate defensemen performance using metrics since they can be easily skewed by overall team performance.

Defense is where I’d be perfectly fine with this team trading away assets though if their pro scouts are confident they’ve identified somebody. Whoever identified Faber should find us a left-handed version.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Yurov and Ohgren need to hit and we need to add a top 4 level defensive prospect.

We could also just sign Konecny when he’s a free agent and keep the prospects.

So ~3 years out from making a move, give or take a year in either direction.

 

[DigitalBoldy]

So ~3 years out from making a move, give or take a year in either direction.

It’s more like 1.3 years.

 

[AKL]

Coyle was 24 when he really broke out
Ek was 24
Niederreiter was 24
Granlund was 24
Zucker was 25
Koivu was 23 or 24
Parise was 22 and then 24
Rossi is 22 and we're still hoping for another level from him
Boldy is about to be 23 and we're still hoping for another level from him

I think it's a bit naive to think Yurov, Heidt, Ohgren at 20-22ish should have us ready to start making big moves to compete. You're either doing it before they've truly gotten established in the league, or you're waiting more like 3-4 years to make these kinds of moves.

That same concept goes for our Cup window. We don't have a real Cup window until those core pieces are at least 23-24.

 

[DANOZ28]

i saw an online article that said rossi could be trade bait this summer because yurov & heidt are looking good. should the wild give up on him so soon? what would you want in return? MSN

 

[DigitalBoldy]

Coyle was 24 when he really broke out
Ek was 24
Niederreiter was 24
Granlund was 24
Zucker was 25
Koivu was 23 or 24
Parise was 22 and then 24
Rossi is 22 and we're still hoping for another level from him
Boldy is about to be 23 and we're still hoping for another level from him

I think it's a bit naive to think Yurov, Heidt, Ohgren at 20-22ish should have us ready to start making big moves to compete. You're either doing it before they've truly gotten established in the league, or you're waiting more like 3-4 years to make these kinds of moves.

That same concept goes for our Cup window. We don't have a real Cup window until those core pieces are at least 23-24.

Yurov for sure will be ready soon. Zucc still has 2 years left. Hartman. Foligno. You know.

Next year:

Kap-Ek-Boldy
Khusnutdinov-Yurov-Zucc
Johansson-Rossi-Hartman
Foligno-Gaudreau-UFA

25-26:

Kap-Yurov-Boldy
Ohgren-Ek-Zucc
Khusnutdinov-Rossi-Hartman
Foligno-Gaudreau-Stramel (heh)

You could swap Ohgren/Khusnutdinov/Zucc around to make it work.

None of them need to “hit” in the sense that they are ppg players. I suspect Yurov will be fast tracking to that, but if he doesn’t you can always put Ek at 1C.

 

[BagHead]

i saw an online article that said rossi could be trade bait this summer because yurov & heidt are looking good. should the wild give up on him so soon? what would you want in return? MSN

I'm not sure why two players who haven't proven they can play in the NHL would put Rossi's job at risk. The same Rossi that has proven he can play at a good level in the NHL. Seems to me it would be smarter to let Yurov and Heidt develop first, and then only move Rossi if there's no room for him. If they were to trade Rossi to make room for Yurov and Heidt, that'd be a classic example of counting their chickens before they hatch.

 

[AKL]

Yurov for sure will be ready soon. Zucc still has 2 years left. Hartman. Foligno. You know.

Next year:

Kap-Ek-Boldy
Khusnutdinov-Yurov-Zucc
Johansson-Rossi-Hartman
Foligno-Gaudreau-UFA

25-26:

Kap-Yurov-Boldy
Ohgren-Ek-Zucc
Khusnutdinov-Rossi-Hartman
Foligno-Gaudreau-Stramel (heh)

You could swap Ohgren/Khusnutdinov/Zucc around to make it work.

None of them need to “hit” in the sense that they are ppg players. I suspect Yurov will be fast tracking to that, but if he doesn’t you can always put Ek at 1C.

I think you're either overestimating how quickly these guys can make an impact in these roles, or you're underestimating what a real Cup contender looks like.

I love Yurov but he is closer to a Boldy level player than a Kaprizov level player, which is what it seems you expect him to be.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Honestly, the whole Konecny thing with me is:

Same age as Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek
Right handed
Good/skilled player
Contract situation fits in our buyout situation

Everything else about Cup windows and whatnot is still just guessing. Wanting to be "sure" about our prospects is going to take longer, and probably through Kaprizov's decision.

But, if we held onto our pick and took Buium at ~#13 and made a run at Konecny in UFA next summer, I wouldn't mind that at all. It's just now you're in competition with a bunch of other teams, and that's if another team doesn't trade for him first.

 

[AKL]

Honestly, the whole Konecny thing with me is:

Same age as Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek
Right handed
Good/skilled player
Contract situation fits in our buyout situation

Everything else about Cup windows and whatnot is still just guessing. Wanting to be "sure" about our prospects is going to take longer, and probably through Kaprizov's decision.

But, if we held onto our pick and took Buium at ~#13 and made a run at Konecny in UFA next summer, I wouldn't mind that at all. It's just now you're in competition with a bunch of other teams, and that's if another team doesn't trade for him first.

For me it's
1) the age thing
2) basically swap the uncertainty/upside of one of the winger prospects for the certainty/upside of Konecny
3) if Kaprizov leaves it still gives us a legit top line winger to ease the blow and not fall off completely through what should be some form of window with Boldy, Rossi, Yurov, Faber, Wallstedt

 

[Spurgeon]

Coyle was 24 when he really broke out
Ek was 24
Niederreiter was 24
Granlund was 24
Zucker was 25
Koivu was 23 or 24
Parise was 22 and then 24
Rossi is 22 and we're still hoping for another level from him
Boldy is about to be 23 and we're still hoping for another level from him

I think it's a bit naive to think Yurov, Heidt, Ohgren at 20-22ish should have us ready to start making big moves to compete. You're either doing it before they've truly gotten established in the league, or you're waiting more like 3-4 years to make these kinds of moves.

That same concept goes for our Cup window. We don't have a real Cup window until those core pieces are at least 23-24.

Yurov, Ohgren, & Khus at 22-23 should all be capable of being impact players if they live up to their potential. Look what Boldy, Rossi, & Faber have been able to do at 21 & 22.

It doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect these guys to come in and be productive middle 6 forwards during the 25-26 season. We don’t need them to be Kaprizov, we just need them to be complementary players.

Not sure how many years they have left of a solid defensive trio of Brodin, Faber, & Spurgeon either. We have a lot of defensive prospects that could pan out, but it hasn’t seemed like any of them are gonna be able to fill a Top 4 role soon. Who knows though, Faber came out of nowhere.

I just think a team has the best chance of making a run when they have players on ELCs that they haven’t had to pay yet. Similar to rookie QB contracts in the NFL.

 

[DigitalBoldy]

I think you're either overestimating how quickly these guys can make an impact in these roles, or you're underestimating what a real Cup contender looks like.

I love Yurov but he is closer to a Boldy level player than a Kaprizov level player, which is what it seems you expect him to be.

Which guys?

I think Yurov can definitely be better than Rossi, even as soon as next year.

I think Ohgren can definitely be better than Johansson due to his (Johansson’s) lack of consistent effort.

Khusnutdinov is here right now.

Russo is talking about Heidt getting a good opportunity to make the team next year (chance at 9 games at least).

Rossi is contributing now after I underestimated his ability.

Faber is a top pair defender and I underestimated his ability.

Boldy was here at what, 20?

Do we think that Kaprizov at 21/22 wouldn’t be able to make an impact in the NHL?

I’ll end this by saying that I’m not talking about prospects that will take awhile to be an NHLer. Guys like Stramel, O’Rourke, Peart, Kumpulainen, Lambos, Spacek (ugh), etc are not guys I’m assuming will be making an impact perhaps ever for this franchise. Guys like Yurov and Ohgren are playing in men’s leagues and looking good.

 

[north21]

I love Yurov but he is closer to a Boldy level player than a Kaprizov level player, which is what it seems you expect him to be.

Still a good thing, anything beyond that is gravy and is still in the realm of possibility. Would kill to have two kaps or two boldys.

 

[AKL]

Still a good thing, anything beyond that is gravy and is still in the realm of possibility. Would kill to have two kaps or two boldys.

I didn't say it was bad, but Boldy last season was still very much a work in progress, and we're still hoping he's not a finished product. The point has always been that expecting these guys to transform this team into a contender in 2025-26 is highly ambitious and/or naive. Not to say it might not be better than where we are today, but it's still not a contender for a Stanley Cup, they're still working through warts, there's still more room to grow.

 

[Wabit]

Yes, but isn’t that proof that you build through the draft? The Wild short circuited the actual retool by signing Parise and Suter and later the Pominville trade. But the base was always through the draft. They just jumped the gun too early with other things.

No it wasn't: Keumper, Harding, Granny, Koivu, Zucker, Huala, Scandella, Brodin, and Dumba were the drafted players. This is a good 2nd line, a good 2nd pair, a starter and a backup goalie, and some depth players.

Koivu (3rd) and Granny (5th) were the only Wild drafted players in the top 12 in points for the 13-14 season. Brodin, Scandella, and Haula were 13-15th.

Harding's MS is what derailed everything.

 

[north21]

Agreed, hopefully 25/26 is the start of something.

 

[f7ben]

If you have Zucc penciled in to the top 6 of a future Wild lineup you do not have a contender. What you have is a gaping hole in your top 6.

 

[MNRube]

Buium-Faber would be an awesome pairing for the next 10 plus years

 

[DigitalBoldy]

If you have Zucc penciled in to the top 6 of a future Wild lineup you do not have a contender. What you have is a gaping hole in your top 6.

If you have Johansson-Rossi-Zucc as a 2nd line, you’re lucky to make the playoffs at all. If you put Ohgren in Johansson’s spot it looks a little better. But that’s assuming he could handle the leap in 1.3 years.

I don’t have a problem with rotating Zucc through the middle 6 to find something that works. People are over the top on disliking him when it’s not really warranted. Especially when they cut players like Boldy/Rossi slack for doing much of the same.

 

[f7ben]

If you have Johansson-Rossi-Zucc as a 2nd line, you’re lucky to make the playoffs at all. If you put Ohgren in Johansson’s spot it looks a little better. But that’s assuming he could handle the leap in 1.3 years.

I don’t have a problem with rotating Zucc through the middle 6 to find something that works. People are over the top on disliking him when it’s not really warranted. Especially when they cut players like Boldy/Rossi slack for doing much of the same.

I like Zucc but he’s in full decline mode right now and he’s a possession nightmare 5v5. The eye test doesn’t lie with this one and it ain’t getting better.

 

[Circulartheory]

If you have Johansson-Rossi-Zucc as a 2nd line, you’re lucky to make the playoffs at all. If you put Ohgren in Johansson’s spot it looks a little better. But that’s assuming he could handle the leap in 1.3 years.

I don’t have a problem with rotating Zucc through the middle 6 to find something that works. People are over the top on disliking him when it’s not really warranted. Especially when they cut players like Boldy/Rossi slack for doing much of the same.

What if you consider that a 3rd line, playing against less taxing matchups? And the 2nd could be Ohgren-Yurov-Hartman.

 

[Sweetnut]

I'm just wondering who we're putting in his spot IF we make the playoffs and his inevitable late season injury pops up. Must be Hartman, right? I think that's an upgrade.

 

[DigitalBoldy]

What if you consider that a 3rd line, playing against less taxing matchups? And the 2nd could be Ohgren-Yurov-Hartman.

I’m game for that. Do you put Khusnutdinov with Rossi and Zucc then? That’s a really small line.

Kap-Ek-Boldy
Ohgren-Yurov-Hartman
Khusnutdinov-Rossi-Zucc

 

[AKL]

Kaprizov-Ek-Boldy
Yurov-Rossi-Hartman
Ohgren-Khusnutdinov-Zuccarello

 

[Circulartheory]

Kaprizov-Ek-Boldy
Yurov-Rossi-Hartman
Ohgren-Khusnutdinov-Zuccarello

The fact we can mix and match and still have 3 useful lines would be nice to have. Or Ohgren-Yurov-Zucc, so you have Hartman provide some size to the other line.