Minnesota Wild General Discussion X

[57special]

Yeah, I keep forgetting about Pateryn. He and Seeler certainly seem to be the odd men out. You would think at least one would have to move, and maybe one of Hunt, Brodin, or Dumba. I don't see moving Soucy at his cap hit, and don't think you would get any value for him, though he is, IMO, a top4 Dman. I was very comfortable having him and Brodin as the 2nd pairing.

Once Zucker is back i would think that a forward should be moved, also. Sturm and Mayhew seem to be perfectly viable as call ups if needed.

 

[Mickey the mouse]

Yeah, I keep forgetting about Pateryn. He and Seeler certainly seem to be the odd men out. You would think at least one would have to move, and maybe one of Hunt, Brodin, or Dumba. I don't see moving Soucy at his cap hit, and don't think you would get any value for him, though he is, IMO, a top4 Dman. I was very comfortable having him and Brodin as the 2nd pairing.

Once Zucker is back i would think that a forward should be moved, also. Sturm and Mayhew seem to be perfectly viable as call ups if needed.

I think Pateryn will be hard to move between his injury / not plating and salary/cap hit.
Seeler and Hunt would be easy to move with small salaries and cap hits for this and next season.
No reason to move Soucy as he's a RFA.
Dumba / Brodin gets you the best return. I would try to move Spurgeon before them though

 

[Webster]

Boudreau said he thinks Zucker will play tomorrow, that's great news for the top line.

Pateryn is also ready to go, Russo thinks Hunt will sit.

 

[57special]

No way Spurgeon will waive his NMC.

 

[Mickey the mouse]

No way Spurgeon will waive his NMC.

Maybe to Western Canadian teams or Seattle but I doubt it also

 

[AKL]

None of the remaining games should have any effect on where we're at in the standings now, so at the end of the day, we'll be 7 points out of the WC2 spot, and 7 points out of 30th place.

 

[fentonsbrainchild]

None of the remaining games should have any effect on where we're at in the standings now, so at the end of the day, we'll be 7 points out of the WC2 spot, and 7 points out of 30th place.

Right where we belong

 

[AKL]

Right where we belong

Unfortunately, that would be the 10th overall pick, which isn't exactly going to get us the type of player we need

 

[Wild11MN]

Obviously the hot streak was a mirage. I doubt they finish anywhere near the playoffs at this point.

They had a shot... a huge stretch of home games should have kept them in the race.

 

[AKL]

Obviously the hot streak was a mirage. I doubt they finish anywhere near the playoffs at this point.

They had a shot... a huge stretch of home games should have kept them in the race.

Technically speaking it's not too late to make the playoffs, but BG should make a decision on where this team is going this season before it does get to that point.

Was talking to KSU the other day, if they only get 4-6 points during this 6 game stretch before the break (including today), Guerin should make the call to start moving guys like Pateryn/Hunt/Seeler, Zucker/Donato, Greenway/Foligno, and shutting down guys who are playing through injuries.

Doesn't do anyone any good to keep treading water like this in the 10-14 range.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

We’re currently one point ahead of a tie for picking 6th (hold draft lottery results). As @AKL said, we’re 7 points away from 2nd last, and also 7 points away from WC2. An interesting way to put this in perspective is: finishing 6th worse, we have roughly a 23-27% chance of winning a top 3 pick depending on who else wins the lottery (based on last year’s lottery percentages). That’s probably about the same chance we have of making the playoffs. In fact, Dom Luzcyzyzyn had us at 29% playoff odds before the loss today, which puts us directly in that window. His model also favors teams like MN who limit high-danger chances, but that’s not super important. What I’m getting at is that we essentially have the same chance of making the playoffs as we do of winning the draft lottery, give or take a small margin.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

Technically speaking it's not too late to make the playoffs, but BG should make a decision on where this team is going this season before it does get to that point.

Was talking to KSU the other day, if they only get 4-6 points during this 6 game stretch before the break (including today), Guerin should make the call to start moving guys like Pateryn/Hunt/Seeler, Zucker/Donato, Greenway/Foligno, and shutting down guys who are playing through injuries.

Doesn't do anyone any good to keep treading water like this in the 10-14 range.

I think Guerin gets it. Russo seemed to give the impression earlier in the year that Guerin would absolutely be fine with a bad season if it means a high draft pick. He also seems like he knows that we need an injection is skill.

 

[Wild11MN]

Technically speaking it's not too late to make the playoffs, but BG should make a decision on where this team is going this season before it does get to that point.

Was talking to KSU the other day, if they only get 4-6 points during this 6 game stretch before the break (including today), Guerin should make the call to start moving guys like Pateryn/Hunt/Seeler, Zucker/Donato, Greenway/Foligno, and shutting down guys who are playing through injuries.

Doesn't do anyone any good to keep treading water like this in the 10-14 range.

Yeah, I think that's a pretty good timeline for a decision. Regardless, it's got to be clear to Guerin that the team is nowhere near contention at this point, so it's just a matter of how soon things start happening.

I think you have to explore what you can get for Zucker again, and I'd definitely look at moving someone like Greenway. I've never been high on him, but you get the feeling some GM would bite and think there is monster potential there and give up something valuable.

 

[AKL]

I think Guerin gets it. Russo seemed to give the impression earlier in the year that Guerin would absolutely be fine with a bad season if it means a high draft pick. He also seems like he knows that we need an injection is skill.

Just trying to figure out when he's going to do something, though I recognize there isn't a lot he can do that would make a huge difference at this point.

 

[AKL]

Yeah, I think that's a pretty good timeline for a decision. Regardless, it's got to be clear to Guerin that the team is nowhere near contention at this point, so it's just a matter of how soon things start happening.

I think you have to explore what you can get for Zucker again, and I'd definitely look at moving someone like Greenway. I've never been high on him, but you get the feeling some GM would bite and think there is monster potential there and give up something valuable.

These would be my two choices as well. Shop Zucker and Greenway because I think those are going to bring the highest return compared to Donato and Foligno.

 

[fentonsbrainchild]

Unfortunately, that would be the 10th overall pick, which isn't exactly going to get us the type of player we need

Hopefully we suck more

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

On a more general note, if we do consider the winning streak a mirage and say that we are a team more likely to finish in the 6-9 range, how far away are we from contending? Is this a situation where we can turn it around and come back next year and contend? I’d lean towards no, but I think we could make the playoffs next year. The way I see it, Guerin has 2 options:
Option 1- end year picking 6-9, recharge this summer and add a 2C filler like haula, as well as a goalie through FA such as Lehner. At this point, I think enough of the deficiencies have been taken care of that we reassert ourselves back into the 10-20 range in the league. Depending on how our 1st this year turns out, this path may be a fine long-term solution that brings us a cup. If we draft a star player (Ppg or above) I think we could win a cup down this path, but if we end up just a very good player NHLer (I.e. 60 point center/ 70 point winger) I don’t know that the team is really doing anything that it hasn’t done before in terms of trying to win with 4 solid lines and no superstars. So in order for this to path work, we really need to hit on our pick this year or hope that someone in the system already can be that superstar we’ve always been missing.

Path 2- 2/3 year rebuild. This is pretty self-explanatory. Draft high for a few years, increasing your chance of getting a superstar.

 

[AKL]

On a more general note, if we do consider the winning streak a mirage and say that we are a team more likely to finish in the 6-9 range, how far away are we from contending? Is this a situation where we can turn it around and come back next year and contend? I’d lean towards no, but I think we could make the playoffs next year. The way I see it, Guerin has 2 options:
Option 1- end year picking 6-9, recharge this summer and add a 2C filler like haula, as well as a goalie through FA such as Lehner. At this point, I think enough of the deficiencies have been taken care of that we reassert ourselves back into the 10-20 range in the league. Depending on how our 1st this year turns out, this path may be a fine long-term solution that brings us a cup. If we draft a star player (Ppg or above) I think we could win a cup down this path, but if we end up just a very good player NHLer (I.e. 60 point center/ 70 point winger) I don’t know that the team is really doing anything that it hasn’t done before in terms of trying to win with 4 solid lines and no superstars. So in order for this to path work, we really need to hit on our pick this year or hope that someone in the system already can be that superstar we’ve always been missing.

Path 2- 2/3 year rebuild. This is pretty self-explanatory. Draft high for a few years, increasing your chance of getting a superstar.

I don't think path 2 is going to happen, even if it should. I think they're going into every year expecting to compete for the playoffs, and they'll only reconsider if they're clearly out of it. I mean, just look at this season, we still can't commit to writing off the season when we're just as close to a top 2 pick as we are to the playoffs in mid-January.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

The more I’ve been looking at the last cup winners, and in particular the teams that have created dynasties, something has started to pop out at me. All of the teams to win a cup since I’ve been watching the NHL have had a 1C, a 1D, and a 1G. Many of the teams have had very elite players at that position as well.
Boston (1 cup, 2 appearances)
-Bergeron, Chara, Rask
Chicago (3 cups)
-Toews, Keith, Crawford
Pittsburgh(3 cups, 4 appearances)
-Crosby, Letang, Fluery/Murray
LA Kings(2 cups)
-Kopitar, Doughty, Quick
St. Louis(1 cup)
-O’rielly, Pietrangelo, Binnington
Washington(1 cup)
-Backstrom, Carlson, Holtby

it’s the way to build your team, and Perhaps the most deflating part of this season has been Dumba’s play as he was tracking well to be a 1D for us long-term. I think either one of Suter or Dumba can be a 1D for us long-term still, but it has been discouraging. One of Jones or Kahkonen may be our long-term 1G as well. It’s for that reason that I think hitting on a 1C could give us the potential to win a cup, and if we got a superstar 1C, maybe even win a few. We have decent help on the wings with players like Kaprizov, Fiala, Boldy, Beckman, and Kunin potentially being good NHL players as well. There is some signs of encouragement for this team, but I can’t stress enough how important getting a 1C could be for setting this team up.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

I don't think path 2 is going to happen, even if it should. I think they're going into every year expecting to compete for the playoffs, and they'll only reconsider if they're clearly out of it. I mean, just look at this season, we still can't commit to writing off the season when we're just as close to a top 2 pick as we are to the playoffs in mid-January.

And maybe it shouldn’t happen. I mean, it’s always the approach I take on NHL20, but there’s so much that goes into that I understand not doing that. I just can’t help but wonder if it’s not what would be best for the team. I’m glad I don’t have to make that decision.

 

[AKL]

And maybe it shouldn’t happen. I mean, it’s always the approach I take on NHL20, but there’s so much that goes into that I understand not doing that. I just can’t help but wonder if it’s not what would be best for the team. I’m glad I don’t have to make that decision.

Like you just said, the most important thing for this team going forward is hitting on our top 6 centers. A legit 1C, a legit 2C, and then guys like Kaprizov, Boldy, Fiala, Beckman and Kunin hitting their potentials, and we have a solid chance to finally go somewhere in the playoffs. But the longer we wait to fill those top 6 C roles, the more painful it's going to be.

 

[Sarge58]

Let's say you were in a gambling move,,, would you trade Fiala and Kaprizov for Detroit's 1st ?

 

[AKL]

Let's say you were in a gambling move,,, would you trade Fiala and Kaprizov for Detroit's 1st ?

No, because if it ends up being third or fourth overall, it wouldn't be worth it.

 

[BuiumSaveUs]

Russo’s “gamer” was interesting today. Mid season meetings just finished up. Guerin has been saying lots of his players are highly valued by other teams. This seems to be the time that a move could be made. I wouldn’t be surprised if a move is on the horizon.

 

[AKL]

Russo’s “gamer” was interesting today. Mid season meetings just finished up. Guerin has been saying lots of his players are highly valued by other teams. This seems to be the time that a move could be made. I wouldn’t be surprised if a move is on the horizon.

Should be taking advantage of that fact. Looking at players like Zucker, Brodin whose positions we could fill internally, or guys like Greenway, Donato who we have the capacity to lose. Wonder who else is being highly valued. Would like to see him make a splash soon.