Minnesota Wild General Discussion XIX

[TaLoN]

Aww....Heatley....Mr. Turtleneck. Good times.

The f***ing All Star!

NSFW language...

 

[MK9]

Y'know, you'd think the comedy clubs in Denver could be a booming business. What with all the Avs fans being unintentionally hilarious like they are they could pack the s*** out of those places for out of town hockey fans wanting a laugh.

 

[Minnesota]

Wild have been a wrecking ball against other teams lately.

Warenski is still day-to-day after Middleton’s hit, and now MacKinnon is out after scrapping with Dumba.

 

[f7ben]

I might concede that Gabby was a more talented player than Fiala but not by much. Fiala has had his 24 and 25 year old seasons shortened and he hasn’t had any talent on his line until Boldy and now he’s blowing it up and driving games.

 

[Nino Noderreiter]

Wild have been a wrecking ball against other teams lately.

Warenski is still day-to-day after Middleton’s hit, and now MacKinnon is out after scrapping with Dumba.

Good - this is the kind of team we need to be. Teams will fear playing us in a 7 game series versus the reverse.

Goligoski, 2 year.. 2m extension.

Merrill extended for another 3 years. Kulikov through next season. Assuming Middleton gets a 2-3 year extension on a similar AAV.

I will say... certainly in a position to move on from Dumba given that Addison is knocking at the door and other D prospects certainly by the end of that window if not sooner.

This is either a vote of no confidence for the young players or a signal that the Wild are positioning to have NHL caliber D depth to at least open the possibility of keeping Fiala.

 

[Spurgeon]

Middleton - Spurgeon
Brodin - Addison/Goli
Kulikov - Merrill/Goli

Dumba’s gone

 

[Bazeek]

Middleton - Spurgeon
Brodin - Addison/Goli
Kulikov - Merrill/Goli

Dumba’s gone

Going into next year with two top-4 defensemen is a, uh... bold enough move that we can hardly rule it out.

 

[f7ben]

No way they trade Dumba

 

[Spurgeon]

Going into next year with two top-4 defensemen is a, uh... bold enough move that we can hardly rule it out.

Brodin & Spurgeon are elite defensemen that should be able to carry a pairing. This team has absolutely no replacement for Fiala. They have tons of options they can try in the Top 4 though. The advanced analytics show that Goli - Spurgeon has not been a bad pairing either (despite Middleton playing that role now). There’s a lot more flexibility on defense pairings than our Top 6 imo.

 

[57special]

Screw analytics. Goligoski is slow and weak.

 

[f7ben]

Screw analytics. Goligoski is slow and weak.

And I’ve watched him dump pucks up the boards as much or more than make crisp breakout passes and smart plays. He is washed up and whatever he had is gone. This is another really poor move by Guerin

 

[TaLoN]

I might concede that Gabby was a more talented player than Fiala but not by much. Fiala has had his 24 and 25 year old seasons shortened and he hasn’t had any talent on his line until Boldy and now he’s blowing it up and driving games.

By a lot actually. Gaborik was an NHL caliber player at 18yrso because of his raw talent. Fiala wasn't event close. At their peak? I don't think Fiala could keep up with Gaborik in today's style of play, let alone the clutch and grab dead puck era Gaborik started in.

 

[Spurgeon]

Screw analytics. Goligoski is slow and weak.

He may not be great, but he’s definitely a #4/5 guy & he is worth $2M at the very least.

This gives the team a lot of options to try out in the Top 4 next season @ a cheap price. Also means Fiala is very likely coming back. Still very confused why Dumba would’ve bought a home recently since that feels like management would’ve told him he’ll be staying here.

 

[f7ben]

By a lot actually. Gaborik was an NHL caliber player at 18yrso because of his raw talent. Fiala wasn't event close. At their peak? I don't think Fiala could keep up with Gaborik in today's style of play, let alone the clutch and grab dead puck era Gaborik started in.

I disagree....Fiala drives possession and play in ways Gabby never did. Gab had elite speed and shot and was largely a floater aside from that. Fiala is far more complete of a player and i have zero doubt he will put up 100pt season somewhere. How many times did Gaborik kill penalties or back check consistently ?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Dumba isn’t gone.

 

[TaLoN]

.Fiala drives possession and play in ways Gabby never did.

Huh?!?!?

Having watched Gaborik for most of his games here, I will disagree with you all day long on that one!

Don't confuse the defensive scheme employed by Jacques Lemaire as Gaborik not driving possession!

 

[Spurgeon]

Dumba isn’t gone.

I really don’t see how he isn’t going to be the odd man out here. Trading Kuli doesn’t make much sense since he’s a good D at his price & helps bridge that Russian gap with Kap.

Maybe Middleton is flipped instead, which seems like the only other scenario I can think of.

 

[GordieGallant]

Screw analytics. Goligoski is slow and weak.

The +34 must be smoke and mirrors

 

[Bazeek]

Brodin & Spurgeon are elite defensemen that should be able to carry a pairing. This team has absolutely no replacement for Fiala. They have tons of options they can try in the Top 4 though. The advanced analytics show that Goli - Spurgeon has not been a bad pairing either (despite Middleton playing that role now). There’s a lot more flexibility on defense pairings than our Top 6 imo.

Fiala is gone regardless of what happens with the defense. I know it'll make many here unhappy and I'm not pleased about it either, but at this point Guerin's done everything but take out a billboard in 35E to telegraph that one.

Now, whether signing Goligoski bears on what happens with Dumba... hard to say. Can't exactly rule it out, but I'm stumped as to why it'd make sense.

 

[GordieGallant]

And I’ve watched him dump pucks up the boards as much or more than make crisp breakout passes and smart plays. He is washed up and whatever he had is gone. This is another really poor move by Guerin

BBB has done a great job. How can you criticize the man?

 

[Spurgeon]

Fiala is gone regardless of what happens with the defense. I know it'll make many here unhappy and I'm not pleased about it either, but at this point Guerin's done everything but take out a billboard in 35E to telegraph that one.

Now, whether signing Goligoski bears on what happens with Dumba... hard to say. Can't exactly rule it out, but I'm stumped as to why it'd make sense.

The plan may have been for Fiala to not be here. His success with Boldy could have very well changed that trajectory. These moves that BG has made in the past week do not seem to indicate that Fiala is the odd man out. We’re not going to roster 8 NHL defensemen next season & we need Addison’s cheap cap.

 

[GordieGallant]

I really don’t see how he isn’t going to be the odd man out here. Trading Kuli doesn’t make much sense since he’s a good D at his price & helps bridge that Russian gap with Kap.

Maybe Middleton is flipped instead, which seems like the only other scenario I can think of.

Can't see it. Middleton is here to stay. I am a bit surprised with the potential signing Goligowsk signing. Just means that Dumba will be in Calgary next year.

 

[AKL]

The plan may have been for Fiala to not be here. His success with Boldy could have very well changed that trajectory. These moves that BG has made in the past week do not seem to indicate that Fiala is the odd man out. We’re not going to roster 8 NHL defensemen next season & we need Addison’s cheap cap.

I mean if you really wanna get into it, they absolutely don't need Addison's cheap cap hit. They can easily ice a full roster without Addison and still give Fleury 5M.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I really don’t see how he isn’t going to be the odd man out here. Trading Kuli doesn’t make much sense since he’s a good D at his price & helps bridge that Russian gap with Kap.

Maybe Middleton is flipped instead, which seems like the only other scenario I can think of.

The other scenario is Addison continues to be held back from the NHL.

 

[Spurgeon]

The other scenario is Addison continues to be held back from the NHL.

True, but that just seems like really bad asset management