Minnesota Wild General Discussion - 2023-24

[AKL]

Think the goal this season is to run

Johansson-Ek-Boldy
Kaprizov-Rossi-Zuccarello
Foligno-Gaudreau-Hartman
Duhaime-Dewar-Maroon

But that's obviously going to depend on Rossi almost entirely. There's no point in being upset about bringing Johansson back (outside of wishing it could have been Nyquist instead imo), because then even with this best case scenario above, you'd have to move Foligno or Hartman up to the top line, and neither of them should really be there. So what, do you put Walker or Beckman there? Neither of them have proven they can play there either.

If Rossi, Walker and Beckman all come into camp and blow the doors off, you can always move guys like Johansson, Foligno, Hartman, Maroon down the lineup, into the box or to another team, but it's a lot harder to fill those spots if you just hand them to Rossi, Walker and Beckman, they can't keep up, and then you have to move guys like Foligno, Hartman, Duhaime and Maroon up the lineup.

 

[Circulartheory]

Think the goal this season is to run

Johansson-Ek-Boldy
Kaprizov-Rossi-Zuccarello
Foligno-Gaudreau-Hartman
Duhaime-Dewar-Maroon

But that's obviously going to depend on Rossi almost entirely. There's no point in being upset about bringing Johansson back (outside of wishing it could have been Nyquist instead imo), because then even with this best case scenario above, you'd have to move Foligno or Hartman up to the top line, and neither of them should really be there. So what, do you put Walker or Beckman there? Neither of them have proven they can play there either.

If Rossi, Walker and Beckman all come into camp and blow the doors off, you can always move guys like Johansson, Foligno, Hartman, Maroon down the lineup, into the box or to another team, but it's a lot harder to fill those spots if you just hand them to Rossi, Walker and Beckman, they can't keep up, and then you have to move guys like Foligno, Hartman, Duhaime and Maroon up the lineup.

Slightly OT but I think that's going to be an interesting question.

While I think all of us are ready to be more skeptical than optimistic with the last few seasons (majority is ready for a further regression from Zuccarello, Foligno, Hartman, perhaps Spurgeon), there is always someone we don't expect to bring in something more.

In 2021-22 it was Fiala, Zuccerello, Hartman, all have career years
In 2022-23 it was JEE and Boldy

I think there's a good chance Rossi and Johansson will be this year's guys to bring in that extra oomph we didn't expect. But would love if Walker and Beckman could contribute to that surprise but thats a shot in the dark until we see them in training camp.

 

[Wabit]

Slightly OT but I think that's going to be an interesting question.

While I think all of us are ready to be more skeptical than optimistic with the last few seasons (majority is ready for a further regression from Zuccarello, Foligno, Hartman, perhaps Spurgeon), there is always someone we don't expect to bring in something more.

In 2021-22 it was Fiala, Zuccerello, Hartman, all have career years
In 2022-23 it was JEE and Boldy

I think there's a good chance Rossi and Johansson will be this year's guys to bring in that extra oomph we didn't expect. But would love if Walker and Beckman could contribute to that surprise but thats a shot in the dark until we see them in training camp.

Duhaime is the only candidate I can think of.

 

[AKL]

Slightly OT but I think that's going to be an interesting question.

While I think all of us are ready to be more skeptical than optimistic with the last few seasons (majority is ready for a further regression from Zuccarello, Foligno, Hartman, perhaps Spurgeon), there is always someone we don't expect to bring in something more.

In 2021-22 it was Fiala, Zuccerello, Hartman, all have career years
In 2022-23 it was JEE and Boldy

I think there's a good chance Rossi and Johansson will be this year's guys to bring in that extra oomph we didn't expect. But would love if Walker and Beckman could contribute to that surprise but thats a shot in the dark until we see them in training camp.

Yeah I'm not sure I'm on the same page as you. None of these seasons were particularly shocking or unexpected given the context surrounding them.

We all knew Fiala had more than he had previously shown, but he was playing with bottom sixers for the first two years here (and still put up solid numbers). 85 points when he finally got a real linemate wasn't surprising.
Zuccarello didn't suddenly become a better player that year either, his point scoring just increased because he got to play with Kaprizov, I'd even say that was expected.
Same with Hartman, although I don't think anyone expected quite that much offense, but it was due in large part to playing up in the lineup where he shouldn't be under normal circumstances.
Boldy is probably expected to produce because that's what he is. The expectation is he scores at a top six rate because he's expected to be a top six offensive winger.
Eriksson Ek probably depends on who you ask, but there were plenty of people who thought he could produce more offense in the top six as opposed to on a third line with Foligno and Greenway, so getting that opportunity and proving it wasn't unexpected at all.

I guess there may be some distinction between what's expected and what's surprising.
I don't expect Rossi to come in and score 60 points playing top six minutes, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did. I'd probably be surprised if he scored 75+.
I don't expect Beckman to make the team and score 40 points, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did. I'd probably be surprised if he got to 50+.

 

[Webster]

Gym couple of days ago.
Kap & Zucc working on some serious weights, Kap's knees look ready

 

[DANOZ28]

just watched a ytub vid of locked on preds crossover locked on wild. seth toupal said parise may not play for nyi this season and if billy didn't buy him out we would have a 19 mill cap hit from parise alone is that true?

 

[AKL]

just watched a ytub vid of locked on preds crossover locked on wild. seth toupal said parise may not play for nyi this season and if billy didn't buy him out we would have a 19 mill cap hit from parise alone is that true?

Without watching the video I don't know for sure what he was referring to, but ~19M was the amount of cap overage the Wild had banked over the years (the cumulative sum of his total salary minus the cumulative sum of his total cap hit for the years he was here), and is the cap recapture penalty that would have been split over X years had the Wild traded him instead of buying him out, and had he retired before his contract expired.

I don't know exactly how it would work here if he's not officially retiring, but if we pretend he was retiring right now, it would be a dead cap hit of 7.5M this season, 7.5M next season, and the remaining ~4m the following season, iirc.

 

[Obvious Fabertism]

just watched a ytub vid of locked on preds crossover locked on wild. seth toupal said parise may not play for nyi this season and if billy didn't buy him out we would have a 19 mill cap hit from parise alone is that true?

That would be the minimum yes, $19.6MM, but it also could have potentially been higher if they had been traded due to the calculation changing slightly. So for anyone that suggested that trading them was an option, this would have been a doomsday scenario for the franchise that came to fruition.

2019 Article here walks through some of the scenarios at the time: https://hockeywilderness.com/news-rumors/minnesota-wild/how-the-cap-recapture-penalty-could-doom-the-minnesota-wild-r20181/

"However, let’s say that Parise finds a second wind and plays with the Devils through the 2022-23 season. With two years left on his contract, that full value of $19.6 million would be spread over two years for about $9.8 million dollars in cap penalties. If he plays until 2023-24 and retires with one year left on his deal, the full $19.6 million would be due over one year. And remember, if Suter goes the exact same route, you’re looking at potentially double that amount.

The absolute worst case scenario is if both players are traded during the 2020-21 season, and then retire in 2023-24. If they do, the Wild are potentially looking at a cap penalty of... $40,307,692."

Imagine the team this year if we had Suter still and all of a sudden in the last week a $20MM cap penalty for Parise pops up and we have to shed $20MM in the current cap environment. Impossible.

 

[Wabit]

just watched a ytub vid of locked on preds crossover locked on wild. seth toupal said parise may not play for nyi this season and if billy didn't buy him out we would have a 19 mill cap hit from parise alone is that true?

It's false. The math is wrong anyway you look at it.

MN would have had ~$20m recapture if Parise was traded with no retention instead of buyout. Split that between 2 years and it's ~$10m.

The NHL changed the recapture numbers a couple years ago so any recapture wouldn't be more than the original AAV, or something like.

If Parise never had left and "retired" before the season he'd carry a ~$6.5m cap hit this year and next. His cap hit if he was a buyout this year in MN is also something along those lines.

 

[kfan22]

Anyone know anything about Jujhar Khaira??

 

[Minnewildsota]

Anyone know anything about Jujhar Khaira??

Bess you.

 

[AKL]

Anyone know anything about Jujhar Khaira??

What I know is he's a big rugged fourth line center* but he's apparently had concussion issues

*I imagine he'll be in Iowa barring injuries, but I guess I could see him being the 13th forward in the event that Rossi/Walker/Beckman don't push him down

 

[Dakota Sioux]

Three names for potential depth:

Jujhar Kharia....29 year old vet from BC and Michigan Tech. Report by Sportsnet's Elliot Friedman. 6-2 214 history of back injuries. With Chicago last year.

Phil Kessel....35, 5-11 215 working out in Vegas at captain practices. Several outlets link to Minnesota....

Gavin Hain
...23, 5-11 195 training camp invite, Philly selected but passed on this 5-year UND centerman.

 

[Wabit]

Three names for potential depth:

Jujhar Kharia....29 year old vet from BC and Michigan Tech. Report by Sportsnet's Elliot Friedman. 6-2 214 history of back injuries. With Chicago last year.

Phil Kessel....35, 5-11 215 working out in Vegas at captain practices. Several outlets link to Minnesota....

Gavin Hain
...23, 5-11 195 training camp invite, Philly selected but passed on this 5-year UND centerman.

I just don't see Kessel coming to MN unless they guarantee he won't be pressboxed to carry on his ironman streak.

 

[AKL]

I just don't see Kessel coming to MN unless they guarantee he won't be pressboxed to carry on his ironman streak.

He already said he's willing to let it go

But he's not a good player I have no idea where he'd fit with the way Dean likes to play. Plus, what cap space do we have for him? Addison isn't even signed yet.

 

[Wabit]

He already said he's willing to let it go

But he's not a good player I have no idea where he'd fit with the way Dean likes to play. Plus, what cap space do we have for him? Addison isn't even signed yet.

For a Cup contender he said he would. MN is just a retirement home for old PIT players to play out their last days and go for records/milestones.

QO contract for Addison and league min for Kessel would be the GMBG dream scenario.

 

[AKL]

For a Cup contender he said he would. MN is just a retirement home for old PIT players to play out their last days and go for records/milestones.

QO contract for Addison and league min for Kessel would be the GMBG dream scenario.

Sounds like it'd be better for everyone if he went elsewhere then

 

[AKL]

If we were gonna bring a free agent in at this point I would have liked Max Comtois. I like his game even if he never finds the offense again.

 

[Wabit]

Sounds like it'd be better for everyone if he went elsewhere then

It's not something I'd lose sleep over either way. Kessel would at least give PP2 an upgrade. He also push Maroon (hopefully) into the pressbox.

 

[AKL]

It's not something I'd lose sleep over either way. Kessel would at least give PP2 an upgrade. He also push Maroon (hopefully) into the pressbox.

This is what I'm wholly unsure of given the Dean Evason variable. We've seen him (and Guerin for that matter) choose size and grit and no skill over speed and skill, and Kessel doesn't even have much speed and skill left so I can only imagine they'd hate him.

He just seems like a guy that would earn his way into Dean's dog house within the first two weeks and never escape. I mean some around here are ready to jettison Addison into the sun because he's not big or physical, and he's not great at defense, the difference between Addison and Kessel though is that Addison tries.

 

[Wabit]

This is what I'm wholly unsure of given the Dean Evason variable. We've seen him (and Guerin for that matter) choose size and grit and no skill over speed and skill, and Kessel doesn't even have much speed and skill left so I can only imagine they'd hate him.

He just seems like a guy that would earn his way into Dean's dog house within the first two weeks and never escape. I mean some around here are ready to jettison Addison into the sun because he's not big or physical, and he's not great at defense, the difference between Addison and Kessel though is that Addison tries.

I just figure there is almost always a FWD injured in some way, so it's really wouldn't be a choice between Maroon and Kessel most night.

Right now the team's 11-13 FWDs are Maroon, Rossi, and Walker/Beckman/Petan. I'd like to add another FWD into that mix. Kessel is a possibility, but so are a few others via waivers, PTO, UFA, etc.

 

[BagHead]

I just figure there is almost always a FWD injured in some way, so it's really wouldn't be a choice between Maroon and Kessel most night.

Right now the team's 11-13 FWDs are Maroon, Rossi, and Walker/Beckman/Petan. I'd like to add another FWD into that mix. Kessel is a possibility, but so are a few others via waivers, PTO, UFA, etc.

It sounded yesterday like Khaira can be added to that mix of forwards. It sounds like the Wild and his agent have got a deal in place and are just resolving immigration issues. That was per Rick Dhaliwal on Twitter.

Sorry, on X. gon' give it to ya

 

[Wabit]

It sounded yesterday like Khaira can be added to that mix of forwards. It sounds like the Wild and his agent have got a deal in place and are just resolving immigration issues. That was per Rick Dhaliwal on Twitter.

Sorry, on X. gon' give it to ya

I don't know who Rick Dhaliwal is. Also can't say that Khaira rings a bell as a player. So I got nothin bout nothin there. lol

 

[BagHead]

I don't know who Rick Dhaliwal is. Also can't say that Khaira rings a bell as a player. So I got nothin bout nothin there. lol

Rick Dhaliwal is the Canucks' Mike Russo. Jujhar Khaira was the Oilers' version of Foligno until a couple years ago, except he has concussion issues and can play center. The contract was reported to be a 2-way, so he could also end up in Iowa as a call-up type guy.

 

[saywut]

Khaira's a good option on the 4th line if something happens(Rossi not ready, Duhaime moves up line-up rather than someone else coming up, injury to Duhaime/Maroon/Dewar). Iowa's full of small guys or guys who play small(Fogarty/Beckman) aside from maybe Bankier but he'll be in his first year pro, there could be plenty of growing pains and he's coming off injury. Khaira is actually from Surrey just like Bankier too and if Bankier is to become a future NHLer then Khaira could be an ideal mentor for him, as how Khaira plays will be how Bankier makes the NHL IMO. I thought we might be leaving that last "veteran" slot in Iowa for Shaw but if he has no interest in an AHL deal it won't be an issue.