Minnesota Wild General Discussion 2024-25

[Wabit]

Zuccarello in the top six is a hole. Rossi isn't a winger. Hartman is. Foligno is a fourth liner. Lauko, Trenin are here today, gone tomorrow players. Same with Bogosian.

The idea is that Ohgren, Yurov, Khusnutdinov, etc fill some of those holes, but by the time they adequately fill those holes, players like Hartman, Middleton, Kaprizov, Spurgeon, Brodin might or will be gone. Bogosian and Zuccarello will definitely be gone.

Our long term core is Kaprizov (if he stays), Boldy, Ek, Rossi, Faber, and then Ohgren, Yurov, Buium if they make it. Everything else is a hole.

Hartman is a better center than Rossi.

Rossi doesn't have the physical attributes to be a center. He doesn't have the size or the speed/skating. It's like watching Granny play center all over again. His abilities are that of a NHL winger and he's just a placeholder at center until something better comes along. Heck as soon as Yurov joins the team Rossi is bumped to 3C according to most of the forum here.

Foligno is fine on a 3rd line, Trenin should be also.

For as much as you say gone tomorrow these are multiyear contracts for a lot of players. This year and next year should be all in years for MN. I don't really care about 3 years from now, because I think Kap is gone as a UFA. Then it'll be back to the years of crying about making the Playoffs then getting killed by a Patty Kane type of player and getting bounced.

Zucc in the top-6 will still put up 60-70p (or at least pace) next year. Just get him away from being on a line with Rossi.

 

[Owen Nolan]

1C, top-4 LD and RD those are the 3 roster holes (not counting goalie). So really it's one thing of greater importance.

The construction of the team is flawed. Most contenders have a 1c that resembles; A. Matthews, Crosby, Barkov, McDavid, Stamkos, Eichel, Kopitar, Geztlof…. The Wild have TBD. Ek is a 3rd line (likely league best) center on a contender.

A #1 D who resembles; Doughty, Pietrangelo, Ekblad, Hedman…. We have Spurgeon.

A #1 Goalie who resembles; Prime Jonathan Quick, Vasilevskiy, Bobrovsky, Jean-Sebastian Giguere and/or a stacked team with incredible depth and a confident A. Hill/Crawford/Kuemper….. We have a rookie with great potential, a 40 yr old former great, and a guy we’re openly shopping.

Top two lines typically utilize large % of the cap, bottom two lines are generally cost controlled pieces cultivated in a variety of ways. These pieces are generally treated as expendable in order to preserve “the core”….. We have a plethora of no-trade/no-moves guys who are at best 4th liners on a real contender.

 

[Owen Nolan]

1C, top-4 LD and RD those are the 3 roster holes (not counting goalie). So really it's one thing of greater importance.

A more direct response to your assertion that “it’s of great importance”.

It might be kind of important if the Wild were actually trying to make a run at the cup. But let’s be honest, this roster isn’t getting past the 1st round.

Middleton should be a 5. The Wild are playing and paying him as a 4. If you consider all the dumb contracts BG has signed, this is kind of Meh…. It goes sideways when guys are hurt and he plays top pairing minutes and match-ups.

BG’s preponderance for “the known” is a character flaw that he’ll either learn to mitigate or it’ll get him fired. It’s how we got locked in long term to a Middleton 2nd pairing in spite of our defensive prospects representing a ton of draft equity.

 

[Wabit]

The construction of the team is flawed. Most contenders have a 1c that resembles; A. Matthews, Crosby, Barkov, McDavid, Stamkos, Eichel, Kopitar, Geztlof…. The Wild have TBD. Ek is a 3rd line (likely league best) center on a contender.

A #1 D who resembles; Doughty, Pietrangelo, Ekblad, Hedman…. We have Spurgeon.

A #1 Goalie who resembles; Prime Jonathan Quick, Vasilevskiy, Bobrovsky, Jean-Sebastian Giguere and/or a stacked team with incredible depth and a confident A. Hill/Crawford/Kuemper….. We have a rookie with great potential, a 40 yr old former great, and a guy we’re openly shopping.

Top two lines typically utilize large % of the cap, bottom two lines are generally cost controlled pieces cultivated in a variety of ways. These pieces are generally treated as expendable in order to preserve “the core”….. We have a plethora of no-trade/no-moves guys who are at best 4th liners on a real contender.

Well Spurgeon isn't the 1D (he's just paid like it) on the team and never has been. He hasn't even been the 1RD since the Suter buyout. Dumba and now Faber have been the 1 RD. Brodin has been ahead of Spurgeon for years too.

JEE is an average to good 2C for Playoff teams. Some are stacked at center, like the Crosby/Malkin combo for years, but TBF most 1C in the league would be a 3C on that team.

Most of the West last year were 1 line (and good PP) teams, DAL and VGK were the exceptions, not the norm.

You don't need a great goalie to win the Cup. You just need a good goalie that gets hot at the right time. Murray x2, Binnington, Keumper, Hill, Holtby, Crawford x2, Bob, Vas x2, and Quick x2. Vas is the only goalie I would put as at/near the top of the goalie list for those years those teams won the Cup. Maybe Quick in LA's first Cup run?

MN does need 2 top-4 d-men, no argument. Maybe Zeev can fill one of those spots, but I don't know if he has the physical game that MN really needs in it's d-corps.

I agree the team has been mismanaged since GMBG took over.

 

[57special]

The construction of the team is flawed. Most contenders have a 1c that resembles; A. Matthews, Crosby, Barkov, McDavid, Stamkos, Eichel, Kopitar, Geztlof…. The Wild have TBD. Ek is a 3rd line (likely league best) center on a contender.

A #1 D who resembles; Doughty, Pietrangelo, Ekblad, Hedman…. We have Spurgeon.

A #1 Goalie who resembles; Prime Jonathan Quick, Vasilevskiy, Bobrovsky, Jean-Sebastian Giguere and/or a stacked team with incredible depth and a confident A. Hill/Crawford/Kuemper….. We have a rookie with great potential, a 40 yr old former great, and a guy we’re openly shopping.

Top two lines typically utilize large % of the cap, bottom two lines are generally cost controlled pieces cultivated in a variety of ways. These pieces are generally treated as expendable in order to preserve “the core”….. We have a plethora of no-trade/no-moves guys who are at best 4th liners on a real contender.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Hartman is a better center than Rossi.

When Hartman was Rossi's age, he had 31 points and took 62 faceoffs. Played a decent amount with Hossa too.

 

[Poacher]

Ohgren-Granlund-Fiala would coincidencely be a fun line to watch.

 

[Wabit]

When Hartman was Rossi's age, he had 31 points and took 62 faceoffs. Played a decent amount with Hossa too.

So you're saying you agree that Hartman is a better center than Rossi?

I'm not understanding what age 22 Hartman has to do with anything about who is the better center on the team.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

So you're saying you agree that Hartman is a better center than Rossi?

I'm not understanding what age 22 Hartman has to do with anything about who is the better center on the team.

The possibility that Rossi passes Hartman up, and maybe in short order.

I'm saying that 29 year old Hartman is a better center than 22 year old rookie Rossi. I don't know if 30 year old Hartman is a better center than 23 year old 2nd year Rossi. He still might be. It depends on Rossi.

 

[AKL]

The possibility that Rossi passes Hartman up, and maybe in short order.

I'm saying that 29 year old Hartman is a better center than 22 year old rookie Rossi. I don't know if 30 year old Hartman is a better center than 23 year old 2nd year Rossi. He still might be. It depends on Rossi.

If one thinks that Rossi can't be a center under any circumstance due to his size, one might believe that a 39 year old Hartman is a better center than a 26 year old Rossi, and nothing would change that.

I don't agree with that. Rossi showed he can handle those responsibilities, and that he's eager to do so, with his performance last year. Now it's just a matter of continuing to improve as a player overall, as it is for any guy coming off a rookie year. I have no concerns about him as a center, just about how good he can get as a player.

I've said it before and I'll keep saying, there may be two guys on the team that have as good or better a work ethic than Rossi, and that work ethic is what carries guys to continue to improve into their mid and late 20s. Eriksson Ek is a shining example of that, and Rossi is better than Eriksson Ek was at this age. Both offensively and defensively.

 

[Sweetnut]

If one thinks that Rossi can't be a center under any circumstance due to his size, one might believe that a 39 year old Hartman is a better center than a 26 year old Rossi, and nothing would change that.

I don't agree with that. Rossi showed he can handle those responsibilities, and that he's eager to do so, with his performance last year. Now it's just a matter of continuing to improve as a player overall, as it is for any guy coming off a rookie year. I have no concerns about him as a center, just about how good he can get as a player.

I've said it before and I'll keep saying, there may be two guys on the team that have as good or better a work ethic than Rossi, and that work ethic is what carries guys to continue to improve into their mid and late 20s. Eriksson Ek is a shining example of that, and Rossi is better than Eriksson Ek was at this age. Both offensively and defensively.

I'm hoping Öhgren can take notes from Rossi and the way he handles adversity. Öhgren coming back from his back problems and the way he progressed throughout last season impressed me.
He looked good physically in the recent video.

 

[Digitalbooya]

The possibility that Rossi passes Hartman up, and maybe in short order.

I'm saying that 29 year old Hartman is a better center than 22 year old rookie Rossi. I don't know if 30 year old Hartman is a better center than 23 year old 2nd year Rossi. He still might be. It depends on Rossi.

So maybe Hartman should be 2C and Rossi should be 3C until such a time that Rossi proves he is better than Hartman. Agree or disagree?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

So maybe Hartman should be 2C and Rossi should be 3C until such a time that Rossi proves he is better than Hartman. Agree or disagree?

Depends on how you want to fill the winger spots I guess.

 

[Digitalbooya]

Depends on how you want to fill the winger spots I guess.

If it were me, I’d pick one of Rossi or Khusnutdinov to play on the wing (basically Khusnutdinov) and try to keep as much size in the middle as we possibly can. That doesn’t necessarily mean Hartman plays center either.

 

[Wabit]

If it were me, I’d pick one of Rossi or Khusnutdinov to play on the wing (basically Khusnutdinov) and try to keep as much size in the middle as we possibly can. That doesn’t necessarily mean Hartman plays center either.

Rossi to top-6 wing Marat K (he just doesn't impress me) in the AHL.

 

[Sweetnut]

Rossi to top-6 wing Marat K (he just doesn't impress me) in the AHL.

Come on, he just got his first taste of the NHL. KHL is nothing compared to the NHL. Now he knows what it takes to play in the greatest league in the world. Cut him some slack, I'm sure he will be a lot better next year.

 

[Wabit]

Come on, he just got his first taste of the NHL. KHL is nothing compared to the NHL. Now he knows what it takes to play in the greatest league in the world. Cut him some slack, I'm sure he will be a lot better next year.

He wasn't good in the KHL last year either; which was his 3rd season in the league. He was in the pressboxed in St Pete (0p in 6 games) then shipped out Sochi (20p in 49 games there) a dozen games into the season.

 

[AKL]

He wasn't good in the KHL last year either; which was his 3rd season in the league. He was in the pressboxed in St Pete (0p in 6 games) then shipped out Sochi (20p in 49 games there) a dozen games into the season.

Year before that though he was a top six center and scored 41 points in 63 games as a 20 year old

 

[Sweetnut]

He wasn't good in the KHL last year either; which was his 3rd season in the league. He was in the pressboxed in St Pete (0p in 6 games) then shipped out Sochi (20p in 49 games there) a dozen games into the season.

You're just being the negative Nancy. He's older, more experienced and now he knows what it takes to play in NA. Don't forget the cultural transmisson from Russia to USA. That's not easy for a young guy, to get to know a different culture and a new language. I can imagine it overwhelms you, and takes some time to get used to.

 

[Wabit]

Year before that though he was a top six center and scored 41 points in 63 games as a 20 year old

Yep and St Pete saw fit to place in in the pressbox the very next season. Top-6 to pressbox, reminds me of Steel and Rask here in MN.

3 seasons in the KHL and he went:
.375 ppg, .651 ppg, and .364 ppg. Total of 22g in 162 KHL games, 2g in 32 KHL Playoff games.

Really what makes Marat K a NHL player over 12 other FWDs the team has signed? I don't see him as any better than Bckman, Walker, Petan, or the L's from last year's team. He wasn't as good as the 4th line staples of Dewar or Duhaime. The only thing that has him on the roster is the fear he bails to the KHL.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

He got a taste, and now he has an offseason. We'll see.

 

[Digitalbooya]

Rossi to top-6 wing Marat K (he just doesn't impress me) in the AHL.

I have no problem with Rossi playing center. He plays exactly like Eriksson Ek does. Just needs to keep adding muscle weight.

 

[Wabit]

I have no problem with Rossi playing center. He plays exactly like Eriksson Ek does. Just needs to keep adding muscle weight.

I mean if you completely discount the physical aspects of the game. If I close 1 eye and squint with the other I couldn't tell the difference between them at all.

Every complaint you have about Spurgeon holds true for Rossi as a center.

 

[Owen Nolan]

Bergeron/Krejci/Seguin 2011
Kopitar/Carter - 2014
Crosby/Malkin 2016 & 2017
Stamkos/Pointe 2020 & 2021
Landeskog/Kadri 2022
Eichel/Karlsson 2023
Pavelski/Hintz/Benn 2023 & 2024
Reinhart/Bennet 2024
McDavid/Draisaitl 2024

Please tell me who slides down the line up for Ek.

 

[Digitalbooya]

I mean if you completely discount the physical aspects of the game. If I close 1 eye and squint with the other I couldn't tell the difference between them at all.

Every complaint you have about Spurgeon holds true for Rossi as a center.

This is a false comparison.

Bergeron/Krejci/Seguin 2011
Kopitar/Carter - 2014
Crosby/Malkin 2016 & 2017
Stamkos/Pointe 2020 & 2021
Landeskog/Kadri 2022
Eichel/Karlsson 2023
Pavelski/Hintz/Benn 2023 & 2024
Reinhart/Bennet 2024
McDavid/Draisaitl 2024

Please tell me who slides down the line up for Ek.

I don’t believe that Landeskog, Pavelski, Benn, or Reinhart actually played center. For instance, Pavelski played on Hintz’s line. Landeskog is a winger; are you thinking of MacKinnon?