Minnesota Wild General Discussion - 2023-24

[57special]

Play possum, is that a thing?


I still think Klingberg could be so good for a #4

Klingberg is awful. SJS paid to get rid of him last year.

Faber was running around last night trying to fix the unfixable, and it caused him to make mistakes- in his 7th regular season game. This isn't the way it's supposed to work. Even Brodin, who had surreal composure as a rookie, was playing with Suter, who at that time, was a top 5 Dman, and superb defensively.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Why does it matter if they aimed to get one or not?

Because it brings competency into question.

 

[DANOZ28]

i can't stand other good teams are doubling up shots on goal and out playing us. i know we haven't played our best hockey yet. maybe this is the year guerin's geezers tank and we end up with a decent pick. its just with the extensions i can't see open roster spots for the young prospects. 24 draft ivan demidov either isn't playing or is having an off year , hes still at the top of my watch list if we're picking 15th last year 41 mhl gms 19G 43A

 

[AKL]

Because it brings competency into question.

Let's be honest this should already be in question.

 

[Jbcraig1883]

Am I the only one that likes Mermis in the lineup more than Goose and Merril? I didn't see all of his shifts last two games but the ones I saw, I liked what he was doing more than those other two.

 

[f7ben]

Am I the only one that likes Mermis in the lineup more than Goose and Merril? I didn't see all of his shifts last two games but the ones I saw, I liked what he was doing more than those other two.

That’s an incredibly low bar to cross for Mermis

 

[AKL]

I still can't believe Guerin gave Jon f***ing Merrill a 3 year, 1.2M AAV contract

 

[Webster]

Am I the only one that likes Mermis in the lineup more than Goose and Merril? I didn't see all of his shifts last two games but the ones I saw, I liked what he was doing more than those other two.

He was good last night, had a goal and assist. I think they want to keep him, Merrill could end up on waivers or traded for "future considerations" if nothing else. Can't get rid of Goose because of his NMC.

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

Am I the only one that likes Mermis in the lineup more than Goose and Merril? I didn't see all of his shifts last two games but the ones I saw, I liked what he was doing more than those other two.

He made two pretty bad turnovers right at the start of the last game and he got hemmed in repeatedly. He has looked ok overall and it's been mostly just the usual young player mistakes from misreads, but he doesn't look much better than a #6 normally should and usually you want them more polished. If we didn't have 3 other dead weight defenseman on the team, he would probably seem perfectly fine, but in the current moment he is as much of a problem as the rest.

Edit: I think this came off too harshly, I think he has done fine for the tough situations that he has been put in, but he doesn’t move the needle much for me.

 

[TaLoN]

Am I the only one that likes Mermis in the lineup more than Goose and Merril? I didn't see all of his shifts last two games but the ones I saw, I liked what he was doing more than those other two.

I'd rather Mermis play in the top 4 than Addison.

 

[MNRube]

C: JEE, Freddy. Rossi, Khusnutdinov, Bankier, Stramel, Kumpalainen.

W: Kaprizov, Boldy, Zuccarello, Foligno, Hartman. Yurov, Ohgren, Beckman, Walker, Haight, Heidt.

D: Spurgeon, Brodin, Middleton, Faber, Lambos, Peart, Spacek, Hunt, O’Rourke

Bold - core; signed longterm
Italics - prospects
Underline - possible stars or diff makers

=============================

absolutely no reason that Zucc, Hartman and Foligno should be part of any longterm plans but here we are. I hate that all 3 are already slow too.

 

[Wabit]

C: JEE, Freddy. Rossi, Khusnutdinov, Bankier, Stramel, Kumpalainen.

W: Kaprizov, Boldy, Zuccarello, Foligno, Hartman. Yurov, Ohgren, Beckman, Walker, Haight, Heidt.

D: Spurgeon, Brodin, Middleton, Faber, Lambos, Peart, Spacek, Hunt, O’Rourke

Bold - core; signed longterm
Italics - prospects
Underline - possible stars or diff makers

=============================

absolutely no reason that Zucc, Hartman and Foligno should be part of any longterm plans but here we are. I hate that all 3 are already slow too.

This is what it should be (not counting the ELCs):
JEE
Kap, Boldy
Brodin
~$28m

I'd be okay with Freddy G and Hartman if they weren't a long term contracts.

I don't count Middleton as a long term player (rental +1).

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

We're obviously locked into this group until we see what happens with Kaprizov.

Lining up with the (potential) end of Kaprizov's contract:
-Zuccarello's contract ends
-Gustavsson's contract ends
-Foligno's NMC ends
-Spurgeon has only 1 year left on his deal and only has a M-NTC
-Hartman has only 1 year left on his deal and only has a M-NTC

If Kaprizov doesn't re-sign, the summer of 2026 might be a hell of a thing.

 

[JiricekSaveUs]

Seems like a minor detail but I think they see Yurov as a center long term.

xxx-Yurov-Kaprizov
Boldy-Rossi-xxx
Ohgren-Ek-Haight/Heidt/Beckman?
Bankier-Khusnutdinov-xxx?

Feels like not all of our prospects are in the plans long term. Eventually some of them will be used as currency.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Seems like a minor detail but I think they see Yurov as a center long term.

xxx-Yurov-Kaprizov
Boldy-Rossi-xxx
Ohgren-Ek-Haight/Heidt/Beckman?
Bankier-Khusnutdinov-xxx?

Feels like not all of our prospects are in the plans long term. Eventually some of them will be used as currency.

Has he actually played center, or is this just more of the Boldy-like wishful thinking?

 

[Wabit]

We're obviously locked into this group until we see what happens with Kaprizov.

Lining up with the (potential) end of Kaprizov's contract:
-Zuccarello's contract ends
-Gustavsson's contract ends
-Foligno's NMC ends
-Spurgeon has only 1 year left on his deal and only has a M-NTC
-Hartman has only 1 year left on his deal and only has a M-NTC

If Kaprizov doesn't re-sign, the summer of 2026 might be a hell of a thing.

Think they can re-hire Fenton for a season just to clean up the mess, again?

 

[AKL]

Has he actually played center, or is this just more of the Boldy-like wishful thinking?

Well they've talked about Yurov's capacity to play center before. And there are some times when he plays center for his KHL team (he's 22 below)



So I think it's grounded in more reality than wishing Boldy could have been a center.

 

[57special]

Mermis had a good game last night, but he is a 6-7 NHL D at best. He is better defensively than Addison, for sure, and was good down in Iowa, but will make mental mistakes. At his age, his upside is limited, but I could see him being a useful call up for this year. The hope is that ROR, Mermis and Hunt can be called up this year if necessary, and maybe Lambos, Peart, and Spacek next year.

If Mermis were 2" taller and 10' heavier he'd be playing in the NHL. Quite strong and combative, but his lack of leverage and length hurts him a bit.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Mermis would be a fine #7. Too bad we already have 2 of those making a combined $3.2 million.

 

[AKL]

I don't know the actual long term chances of Yurov playing center though. I think a lot of it still depends on what happens between now and 2026-27. if Kaprizov leaves, he might end up as a winger. If Ohgren and Khusnutdinov are bottom six players he might end up as a winger. If Rossi doesn't improve anymore he might end up as a center. If they end up trading some of the prospects for a winger it could go either way. It would be nice to have the flexibility of him being able to play either position though.

 

[Spurgeon]

I still don’t get how Guerin can justify any of the signings. I would’ve been okay with one of them being brought back (Hartman), but all 3 is f***ing insane.

You build up this deep prospect pool filled with NHL-level talent that are 1-2 seasons away from being regular roster players on ELC deals. And instead of using the cap you’d save from those ELC deals to target UFAs like Lindholm, Hanifin, etc; you decide to block 3 roster spots and $12M of cap on replaceable players.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I still don’t get how Guerin can justify any of the signings. I would’ve been okay with one of them being brought back (Hartman), but all 3 is f***ing insane.

You build up this deep prospect pool filled with NHL-level talent that are 1-2 seasons away from being regular roster players on ELC deals. And instead of using the cap you’d save from those ELC deals to target UFAs like Lindholm, Hanifin, etc; you decide to block 3 roster spots and $12M of cap on replaceable players.

All 3 coming off of notably worse seasons than the previous one too.

 

[Sweetnut]

And instead of using the cap you’d save from those ELC deals to target UFAs like Lindholm, Hanifin, etc; you decide to block 3 roster spots and $12M of cap on replaceable players.

This is driving me nuts. So frustrating.

Klingberg is awful. SJS paid to get rid of him last year.

You must be thinking of someone else, he has never played for SJS

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

McDavid out for 1-2 weeks, means we get a significantly weaker but probably motivated EDM club.

 

[thestonedkoala]

This is what happens when a GM is given free reign to do what they want. No one ever questioned Guerin and his free agency moves other than a little grumbling.