Trade and Free Agency - 2024-25

[Dr Jan Itor]

So you're going all offense no defense with the top-6?

The PP should be good on paper, the PK is going to be terrible again.

You can flip Yurov and Ek for year 1 if you'd like.

 

[BagHead]

Open question: if this was our opening 2025-26 lineup, how would you feel?

Kaprizov - Pettersson - Zuccarello
Boldy - Yurov - Boeser
Ohgren - Eriksson Ek - Hartman
Foligno - Gaudreau - Trenin

Middleton - Faber
Brodin - Jiricek
Buium - Bogosian

No picks or prospects lost or gained.

Honestly? I'd wonder if we improved or not.

 

[Luceni]

Open question: if this was our opening 2025-26 lineup, how would you feel?

Kaprizov - Pettersson - Zuccarello
Boldy - Yurov - Boeser
Ohgren - Eriksson Ek - Hartman
Foligno - Gaudreau - Trenin

Middleton - Faber
Brodin - Jiricek
Buium - Bogosian

No picks or prospects lost or gained.

So where is Nelson, Guerins rumored No1 target this offseason?

 

[AKL]

Open question: if this was our opening 2025-26 lineup, how would you feel?

Kaprizov - Pettersson - Zuccarello
Boldy - Yurov - Boeser
Ohgren - Eriksson Ek - Hartman
Foligno - Gaudreau - Trenin

Middleton - Faber
Brodin - Jiricek
Buium - Bogosian

No picks or prospects lost or gained.

I would wonder which version of Pettersson we're getting for 11.6M.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I would wonder which version of Pettersson we're getting for 11.6M.

Very much the same for me.

Essentially, the bet would be: Kaprizov is the best player that Pettersson has ever played with, and Pettersson is the most talented center that Kaprizov has ever played with. And we'd basically be tying the next 9 years to that ship, in order to get at least an outside shot of a real #1C, aka Pettersson's 2022-23 season.

If Pettersson continues to suck, we're sunk. If Kaprizov can't stay healthy, we're sunk. But if neither happens, we might in a pretty nice spot.

 

[DemidovSaveUs]

Open question: if this was our opening 2025-26 lineup, how would you feel?

Kaprizov - Pettersson - Zuccarello
Boldy - Yurov - Boeser
Ohgren - Eriksson Ek - Hartman
Foligno - Gaudreau - Trenin

Middleton - Faber
Brodin - Jiricek
Buium - Bogosian

No picks or prospects lost or gained.

I would be the most excited to watch that team since we got Parise / Suter. Buium, Jiricek, Yurov, and Wallstedt themselves are enough to get me excited. Pettersson would potentially be the best center in franchise history if he gets back to full strength.

 

[Spurgeon]

Open question: if this was our opening 2025-26 lineup, how would you feel?

Kaprizov - Pettersson - Zuccarello
Boldy - Yurov - Boeser
Ohgren - Eriksson Ek - Hartman
Foligno - Gaudreau - Trenin

Middleton - Faber
Brodin - Jiricek
Buium - Bogosian

No picks or prospects lost or gained.

Would prefer more of a look at Jiricek first (which they should’ve been doing all season).

 

[DemidovSaveUs]

Should the Wild go after Marner this summer?

Why?

• This is what all the good teams are doing these days. You go after the biggest fish and make the rest of the money work later. Superstars win Stanley Cups
• Kaprizov Insurance

Why Not?

• The Math can work, but not likely with Spurgeon and Rossi.
• Is it really a winning stradegy to invest close to 30M of your cap in two wingers?

I go back and forth on it. I think the cap will increase even more than is projected and will continue to increase rapidly, so I have more appetite to take risks than when the cap was flat and we had the buyouts. I think it’s unrealistic given how this regime has operated, but it’s at least an interesting thought excercise.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Should the Wild go after Marner this summer?

Why?

• This is what all the good teams are doing these days. You go after the biggest fish and make the rest of the money work later. Superstars win Stanley Cups
• Kaprizov Insurance

Why Not?

• The Math can work, but not likely with Spurgeon and Rossi.
• Is it really a winning stradegy to invest close to 30M of your cap in two wingers?

I go back and forth on it. I think the cap will increase even more than is projected and will continue to increase rapidly, so I have more appetite to take risks than when the cap was flat and we had the buyouts. I think it’s unrealistic given how this regime has operated, but it’s at least an interesting thought excercise.

Pretty sure math works in an either/or situation.

 

[DemidovSaveUs]

Pretty sure math works in an either/or situation.

It can based on what you set the threshold to fill the rest of the lineup out as. What are you projecting Marner and what are you projecting Rossi?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

It can based on what you set the threshold to fill the rest of the lineup out as. What are you projecting Marner and what are you projecting Rossi?

Marner = $13M

Rossi, my opinion is high $7M's is fair long-term, but I'm not against bridging in the $5.5-$6M range.

Rossi out + keep Spurgeon = ~$2M for 1 forward.
Spurgeon out + keep Rossi = ~$9.5M for Rossi + Spurgeon replacement (if that's Jiricek, then just need a 7th defenseman).

 

[DemidovSaveUs]

Marner = $13M

Rossi, my opinion is high $7M's is fair long-term, but I'm not against bridging in the $5.5-$6M range.

Rossi out + keep Spurgeon = ~$2M for 1 forward.
Spurgeon out + keep Rossi = ~$9.5M for Rossi + Spurgeon replacement (if that's Jiricek, then just need a 7th defenseman).

I would have Marner at 14 and yeah, if Rossi is going to be here it’s going to be 7 or under and I think the term is up for debate on that. 5 for me sounds good. Can certainly work.

Kaprizov-Rossi-XX
Boldy-Ek-Marner

Do you think you can win with that top 6?

 

[AKL]

I would go for Ehlers instead. That'll give us a little more money to use elsewhere too while still giving a major boost to scoring.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I would have Marner at 14 and yeah, if Rossi is going to be here it’s going to be 7 or under and I think the term is up for debate on that. 5 for me sounds good. Can certainly work.

Kaprizov-Rossi-XX
Boldy-Ek-Marner

Do you think you can win with that top 6?

I think we have a shot if Buium, Yurov, Faber and Jiricek come close to what we all hope they are.

 

[DemidovSaveUs]

I think we have a shot if Buium, Yurov, Faber and Jiricek come close to what we all hope they are.

I agree… That’s better than what the blues had and I’m not sure it’s even close.

 

[DemidovSaveUs]

@Dr Jan Itor so tell me, if you could sign Marner for 14 and figure out the rest later would you?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I agree… That’s better than what the blues had and I’m not sure it’s even close.

One thing we have to watch for is Gustavsson. If Wallstedt isn't the answer, his leverage goes up and it's kind of hard to separate him from guys like Oettinger and Swayman who got $8M+.

 

[DemidovSaveUs]

One thing we have to watch for is Gustavsson. If Wallstedt isn't the answer, his leverage goes up and it's kind of hard to separate him from guys like Oettinger and Swayman who got $8M+.

I’m not a fan of paying goalies

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

@Dr Jan Itor so tell me, if you could sign Marner for 14 and figure out the rest later would you?

$14M turns my stomach a bit, especially since I kind of have a $15M limit for Kaprizov. He's assist-heavy and plays with Matthews a ton.

 

[DemidovSaveUs]

I would go for Ehlers instead. That'll give us a little more money to use elsewhere too while still giving a major boost to scoring.

Yeah I like Ehlers I just worry about how he ages if the skating falls off a little. He would be to Fiala replacement for Boldy though. Same age too.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I’m not a fan of paying goalies

I think my order of preferences would go like this:

1. Extend Kaprizov; re-sign Rossi to something reasonable; see what the hell happens with Buium, Yurov and Jiricek integrated into the lineup.

2. Rossi for Pettersson + sign Boeser

3. Ehlers UFA

4. Marner UFA

A Kaprizov trade with an awesome return might jump ahead of Marner UFA. Kaprizov trade might also mean Spurgeon trade, Brodin trade, Zuccarello trade, Eriksson Ek trade, depending on returns.

 

[MK9]

Should the Wild go after Marner this summer?

Why?

• This is what all the good teams are doing these days. You go after the biggest fish and make the rest of the money work later. Superstars win Stanley Cups
• Kaprizov Insurance

Why Not?

• The Math can work, but not likely with Spurgeon and Rossi.
• Is it really a winning stradegy to invest close to 30M of your cap in two wingers?

I go back and forth on it. I think the cap will increase even more than is projected and will continue to increase rapidly, so I have more appetite to take risks than when the cap was flat and we had the buyouts. I think it’s unrealistic given how this regime has operated, but it’s at least an interesting thought excercise.

Guess I'm not sure why you'd think he'd be willing to come here. I think they'd have to significantly overpay him to come play in Minnesota. I don't believe this state or the team are what big name free agents are considering otherwise. Is he a very good player? yeah I'd say so, but I can't imagine having to commit the kind of money it would take to get the guy to sign in this market. Of the 32 teams in the league, I'd be willing to hazard a guess that the Wild are not in the top 20 for player preference. Not because the market itself sucks, but the Wild are a constantly middling team. The state taxes are high. He'd be coming from Toronto. So, the cold probably isn't that big a deal, but if he had the chance, I just have very little doubt he'd take slightly less to play in Florida, Vegas, Dallas, etc. or even one of the other cooler weather states that has more of a winning culture. They'd likely have to make him one of the top 10 highest paid to get him to sign in Minnesota. Do I think he's worth that? Nah. But, that's what I think it could take to get him here.

 

[DemidovSaveUs]

Guess I'm not sure why you'd think he'd be willing to come here. I think they'd have to significantly overpay him to come play in Minnesota. I don't believe this state or the team are what big name free agents are considering otherwise. Is he a very good player? yeah I'd say so, but I can't imagine having to commit the kind of money it would take to get the guy to sign in this market. Of the 32 teams in the league, I'd be willing to hazard a guess that the Wild are not in the top 20 for player preference. Not because the market itself sucks, but the Wild are a constantly middling team. The state taxes are high. He'd be coming from Toronto. So, the cold probably isn't that big a deal, but if he had the chance, I just have very little doubt he'd take slightly less to play in Florida, Vegas, Dallas, etc. or even one of the other cooler weather states that has more of a winning culture. They'd likely have to make him one of the top 10 highest paid to get him to sign in Minnesota. Do I think he's worth that? Nah. But, that's what I think it could take to get him here.

I don’t think Minnesota is nearly as far down the list of places people want to play as you make it seem, and this is coming from someone who openly moved away. If they give him the market rate, they’re in as good a position to make the jump to contender status as the other teams that will be in the hunt for Marner.

 

[Wabit]

Guess I'm not sure why you'd think he'd be willing to come here. I think they'd have to significantly overpay him to come play in Minnesota. I don't believe this state or the team are what big name free agents are considering otherwise. Is he a very good player? yeah I'd say so, but I can't imagine having to commit the kind of money it would take to get the guy to sign in this market. Of the 32 teams in the league, I'd be willing to hazard a guess that the Wild are not in the top 20 for player preference. Not because the market itself sucks, but the Wild are a constantly middling team. The state taxes are high. He'd be coming from Toronto. So, the cold probably isn't that big a deal, but if he had the chance, I just have very little doubt he'd take slightly less to play in Florida, Vegas, Dallas, etc. or even one of the other cooler weather states that has more of a winning culture. They'd likely have to make him one of the top 10 highest paid to get him to sign in Minnesota. Do I think he's worth that? Nah. But, that's what I think it could take to get him here.

This is why I'm thinking the FA signings will be Boeser + Nelson this summer. The #oneofus draw for them to play at home.

 

[MK9]

I don’t think Minnesota is nearly as far down the list of places people want to play as you make it seem, and this is coming from someone who openly moved away. If they give him the market rate, they’re in as good a position to make the jump to contender status as the other teams that will be in the hunt for Marner.

Maybe. Dunno. I think the pull to the other places that are going to be bidding for his (or other FA's) services, are going to draw would outweigh coming to Minnesota.

This is why I'm thinking the FA signings will be Boeser + Nelson this summer. The #oneofus draw for them to play at home.

I hate the 'one of us' thing. I don't care if the person is from Uganda. Just get the best available. Unfortunately, I think that's somewhat how the Wild have to play it. I mean sure, if they can build a winning culture here where they're making deep runs or even win a cup, then it's probably not as much something they need to do in the future. As of right now, IMO, might be what they have to do.