Minnesota Wild General Discussion 2024-25

Am I the only one finding it real hard to stay engaged with this team right now? I have a hard time even sitting through a game with the way they are playing. They aren't showing me anything other than they can't score if their lives depend on it.
Zero chance Kap wants anything to do with this dumpster fire long term and I might actually be ok with that. Hopefully Kap leaving gets Guerin and his clowns all fired. Start over and try to get it right this time
 
Likewise. Team seems in complete disarray. Why does Billy keep adding old useless players? I thought this was the best prospect pool? Could we play these young guys? This season is finished. There is a player or a fan that thinks the wild if they squeak into the playoffs have a snowball chance in hell of doing anything other than looking completely embarrassing.
 
Zero chance Kap wants anything to do with this dumpster fire long term and I might actually be ok with that. Hopefully Kap leaving gets Guerin and his clowns all fired. Start over and try to get it right this time
Here we go again. I thought Billy was the savior. Or Hynes. Back to start all over again.
 
Here we go again. I thought Billy was the savior. Or Hynes. Back to start all over again.
Billy is a dinosaur and a drunk and indignant one at that. He prioritizes everything that makes for an abysmal on ice product. He need to be gone and gone fast
 
Am I the only one finding it real hard to stay engaged with this team right now? I have a hard time even sitting through a game with the way they are playing. They aren't showing me anything other than they can't score if their lives depend on it.
For me it’s like watching a train wreck. This is a perfect tank team, except without the draft picks.
 
Am I the only one finding it real hard to stay engaged with this team right now? I have a hard time even sitting through a game with the way they are playing. They aren't showing me anything other than they can't score if their lives depend on it.
Na not at all.

I'll sit down to watch the game and after the 1st period im usually like "f*** this" and go watch something else.

Teams hard to watch right now.
 
IIRC, Preds fans warned us about Hynes not liking to play or doesnt trust playing young guys. Wonder how much if at all thats making some of the decisions he has been in regards to Jiricek.
 
Part of the reason for my ennui regarding the team is that it seems to be the same thing over and over again. I mean, is this team really any better than the Mikko- MiG- Coyle-Nino -Zucker ones, or the Koivu- Parise- Staal-Suter crowd?

We seem to be stuck in a cycle of ... not bad.... a bit better than mediocrity, but certainly not a team who has achieved anything.

By contrast, my beloved Newcastle have been abysmal, relegated to a lower league, resurrected, earned a Champions League spot, and most recently, a Cup, all in the past 10 years.

Meanwhile...we seem to be in the same place as we were 10 years ago, with our last playoff series in what, 2014?

I am simply finding it hard to get very interested in the team. The best player we have ever had appearing to be injury prone just adds to the mix of meh.
 
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As of the play in 2025 so far either team are better than the current squad. The wild look as dysfunctional as ever with no one interested in going to the net.
 
Am I the only one finding it real hard to stay engaged with this team right now? I have a hard time even sitting through a game with the way they are playing. They aren't showing me anything other than they can't score if their lives depend on it.

I've basically taken this season off. Last year I thought the team was unwatchable unless Kap was on the ice. I've tried a to watch a few games here and there but I just turn the tv off after a few mins.
 
Part of the reason for my ennui regarding the team is that it seems to be the same thing over and over again. I mean, is this team really any better than the Mikko- MiG- Coyle-Nino -Zucker ones, or the Koivu- Parise- Staal-Suter crowd?

We seem to be stuck in a cycle of ... not bad.... a bit better than mediocrity, but certainly not a team who has achieved anything.

By contrast, my beloved Newcastle have been abysmal, relegated to a lower league, resurrected, earned a Champions League spot, and most recently, a Cup, all in the past 10 years.

Meanwhile...we seem to be in the same place as we were 10 years ago, with our last playoff series in what, 2014?

I am simply finding it hard to get very interested in the team. The best player we have ever had appearing to be injury prone just adds to the mix of meh.

The Yeo years the team was better top to bottom. Those teams were just missing the game breaker, they had much better overall depth. Put Kap on those teams and they would have been dangerous. Center was weak back then, but it still seems better than what they've had the last few seasons.

No clue how Kap would have meshed with Yeo (probably terrible).

Really though those teams were Playoff teams without Kap compared to the current team that isn't a Playoff team without Kap.
 
That was a gutsy effort last night , like the Wild were in elimination game mode and the kings were fairly indifferent.

Nyquist has looked decent to me but just isn’t finishing. I think he’s a better player than Marjo and it’s not close.

Hinistroza is worth every bit of a league minimum salary, just his speed and ability to disrupt with that speed is something this team really lacks.

Hartman is having a brutal year but he would be the last of the useless plugs id want to jettison from the team.

Trenin has looked faster as the year progressed , his skating is so awkward I think it kind of masks his straight line speed being at least average.
 
Its MN sports so I get there is very little reason for optimism, but the playoff potential with this team is very different from where they are currently. Getting our guys back healthy with possible additions from Buium, Yurov, and even Jiricek at least has me intrigued about what they could do. I really don't think the West is that scary outside of a Dallas matchup, if we stay WC1 and hit the Pacific Bracket, I wouldn't be entirely shocked to see a bit of a run being possible. This team has at least showed quite a bit of resiliency, and when they were healthy they looked every bit as capable as the top teams in this league.
 
That was a gutsy effort last night , like the Wild were in elimination game mode and the kings were fairly indifferent.

Nyquist has looked decent to me but just isn’t finishing. I think he’s a better player than Marjo and it’s not close.

Hinistroza is worth every bit of a league minimum salary, just his speed and ability to disrupt with that speed is something this team really lacks.

Hartman is having a brutal year but he would be the last of the useless plugs id want to jettison from the team.

Trenin has looked faster as the year progressed , his skating is so awkward I think it kind of masks his straight line speed being at least average.
I've been saying this since game 15 or so. Trenin looks slow, but he is consistently on time on the forecheck and it's not because he's great at timing his zone entries. Close your eyes and time him and suddenly he's fast.

Anyway, I pretty much agree with all of what you said, but the Trenin bit is something I've been blowing the horn about for a while now, so I wanted to do a victory lap.
 
I've been saying this since game 15 or so. Trenin looks slow, but he is consistently on time on the forecheck and it's not because he's great at timing his zone entries. Close your eyes and time him and suddenly he's fast.

Anyway, I pretty much agree with all of what you said, but the Trenin bit is something I've been blowing the horn about for a while now, so I wanted to do a victory lap.
The obsession with Trenin is so odd to me. Especially lately with him being a clear bright spot in what has been a very difficult stretch. Is he overpaid by $1-1.5M? Of course. But he has made our team better and his value will only go up in the playoffs.

The only one of our best players with any sort of a physical edge is JEE. We can’t have a ton of skilled role players with a core like that. Guys like Trenin, Foligno are 100% needed if we are ever going to make a run with this group.
 
The Yeo years the team was better top to bottom. Those teams were just missing the game breaker, they had much better overall depth. Put Kap on those teams and they would have been dangerous. Center was weak back then, but it still seems better than what they've had the last few seasons.

No clue how Kap would have meshed with Yeo (probably terrible).

Really though those teams were Playoff teams without Kap compared to the current team that isn't a Playoff team without Kap.
They may have been better, but they were older. And the young guys we have now have higher upside than the Coyle, Nino, Zucker group. I like the longterm upside of this group. Guerin just needs to get a scoring F this summer to round out the lineup. If one or two of Buium, Yurov, Wallstedt, Ohgren, Jiricek becomes a real difference maker, we will be in business.

The one thing I like about Guerin is that he is aggressive. If Kap isn’t interested in re-signing, he will probably move him early so we don’t have to deal with a whole calendar year of that drama. The earlier we move him, the better the deal. Still unlikely to get a fair return, but it’s better than having a knife to our throat all of 25-26, IMO.
 
The obsession with Trenin is so odd to me. Especially lately with him being a clear bright spot in what has been a very difficult stretch. Is he overpaid by $1-1.5M? Of course. But he has made our team better and his value will only go up in the playoffs.

The only one of our best players with any sort of a physical edge is JEE. We can’t have a ton of skilled role players with a core like that. Guys like Trenin, Foligno are 100% needed if we are ever going to make a run with this group.
Yeah I remeber reading a comment some where on HF Boards, can't remember if it was in the Wild Forum or not. Basically saying that If you don't draft and develop bruisers like Trenin and Foligno you have to overpay somewhat in free agency to get them as virtually every team has a need for them in some fashion(especially playoffs). I think this is true as guys like Deslauriers in Philly , Reeves in Tor and our own Folingo and Trenin all got signed to contracts where people said "What?... they got that much and that long of term?" I'm guessing it kind of comes down to supply and demand.
 
They may have been better, but they were older. And the young guys we have now have higher upside than the Coyle, Nino, Zucker group. I like the longterm upside of this group. Guerin just needs to get a scoring F this summer to round out the lineup. If one or two of Buium, Yurov, Wallstedt, Ohgren, Jiricek becomes a real difference maker, we will be in business.

The one thing I like about Guerin is that he is aggressive. If Kap isn’t interested in re-signing, he will probably move him early so we don’t have to deal with a whole calendar year of that drama. The earlier we move him, the better the deal. Still unlikely to get a fair return, but it’s better than having a knife to our throat all of 25-26, IMO.

looking at the 13-14 team (best team until imo) it was younger than what MN has now (players over 41 games).
ZP (29)/Koivu(30)/Pommer(31)
Nino/Granny/Coyle (all 21)
Heater(33)/Brodziak(29)/Cooke(35)
Fontaine(26)/Haula(22)/Mitchell(29)

Suter(29)/Brodin(20)
Scandella(23)/Spurgeon(24)
Stoner(28)/Prosser(27)/Ballerd(31)

Harding (29)
Kemps (23)
Backy (35)

Next year (I think these are all signed for next season):
Kap(28)/JEE(29)/Zucc(38)
Boldy(24)/Rossi(24)/Ohgren(22)
Foligno(34)/Hartman(31)/Freddy G(32)
Trenin(29)/???/???

Middleton(30)/Faber(23)
Brodin(32)/Spurgeon(36)
Zeev(19)/Jirick(22)

Gus(27)
Wallstedt (23)

It's weird to realize that in comparison in ages of the lockout season to next these players will be the same age: Kap/Parise, JEE/Koivu, Faber/Spurgeon, Zeev/Brodin.
 

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