Article: Wilderness Walk: Giving Matt Dumba His Flowers

[Thomas Williams]

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[Protec]

GMBG should try to get Dumba for a team-friendly one along with Gustaffsson. It's possible. MN is a good spot. Does Dumba or Gus really wanna go start over somewhere else? Sure I suppose both have leverage but not really cause GMBG could let them walk. It's looked good circumstancially for the Wild as an organization. I think they've cultivated an environment that players will take a shave to be here.

 

[mnfaninnc]

Let's just say Dumba does walk, looking for a bigger contract.  Just because he's a UFA, doesn't mean he wouldn't resign here. Some players bring back the best offer to see if the old club would match.  

However, let's assume he does move on.  What do we have that could take his place?  Faber is proving himself to be a reliable defender.  I could see him on the 2nd pairing.  But, who then fills in on the bottom?

I simply don't think that Addison is cut out for a role as he continues his stubborn streak of not paying attention to his own end.  I don't believe that Simon Johansson will be ready, though, it appears he's had the best season of the young defenders in Iowa.  Lambos is going to need time in Iowa as will Spacek.  Could Goligoski slide in to that 3rd pairing permanently and just play his off side?

Could a Merrill-Goligoski pairing be trustworthy for 16-18 minutes a night?  Will Goligoski retire?

Personally, Justin Braun on a 1 year deal would be sufficient to plug that hole.  I'd like to see what Johansson, O'Rourke, Hunt could do as injury replacements should we need them.  But I'd really like for our 3rd pairing to be a rugged pair that can clear the front of the net and dominate there on the PK.

[mnfaninnc]

It would be great to come home up 2-0. But, I think it's even more important to come back home pretty healthy and destroying the health of the opponent.  

Attrition is a strategy.

Regardless of what happens tonight, the key is to keep grinding, keep hitting, keep wearing them down.  

Also, note to team: If Suter is going to keep cross checking Kaprizov, 

1. staple Suter to the boards a few times (Reaves, Foligno, Duhaime), he's not that hard to catch.
2. Hintz and Robertson are also fair game (Middleton, Dumba). 
3. Regardless of the score, make life miserable for them!

I keep hearing Evason wanting to go back with Goose2.  He played a great game 1, but I think it's smarter to go back with Fleury.  Dallas really only has the 1 goaltender, and I think he will wear down. The only way to use goalie depth as an asset is to use it. The only way to keep both goalies sharp is to let them see time. But, if I'm Evason, I would talk up starting Goose2 for game 2 and then start Fleury in a battle of gamesmanship. (can we even say that word anymore?)

[mnfaninnc]

Just a reminder, Baby Wild playing the role of warm-up band tonight in Des Moines!

[jgodwin17]

29 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

It would be great to come home up 2-0. But, I think it's even more important to come back home pretty healthy and destroying the health of the opponent.  

Attrition is a strategy.

Regardless of what happens tonight, the key is to keep grinding, keep hitting, keep wearing them down.  

Also, note to team: If Suter is going to keep cross checking Kaprizov, 

1. staple Suter to the boards a few times (Reaves, Foligno, Duhaime), he's not that hard to catch.
2. Hintz and Robertson are also fair game (Middleton, Dumba). 
3. Regardless of the score, make life miserable for them!

I keep hearing Evason wanting to go back with Goose2.  He played a great game 1, but I think it's smarter to go back with Fleury.  Dallas really only has the 1 goaltender, and I think he will wear down. The only way to use goalie depth as an asset is to use it. The only way to keep both goalies sharp is to let them see time. But, if I'm Evason, I would talk up starting Goose2 for game 2 and then start Fleury in a battle of gamesmanship. (can we even say that word anymore?)

I really think punishing Suter for being a dick to Kaprizov (and just being a dick in general, to literally everyone - teammates included) definitely needs to be part of the plan. Keep hitting him with hard, clean hits until he breaks down. We have to let him know cheap shots will not be tolerated. I know the Stars ended up out hitting us, but I thought we were far more physical and our hits were much harder in game 1.

Sounds bad to say, but I wish that Dumba hit had been on Suter, not Pavelski - because by all accounts Pavelski is a good dude and doesn't deserve that kind of injury.

[mnfaninnc]

19 minutes ago, jgodwin17 said:

I really think punishing Suter for being a dick to Kaprizov (and just being a dick in general, to literally everyone - teammates included) definitely needs to be part of the plan. Keep hitting him with hard, clean hits until he breaks down.

Repeatedly hit him hard.  Throw some pucks into his corner and go get him (though he has a reputation of not getting those pucks). Of course, we must include the after whistle face washes and headlocks too!

[mnfaninnc]

CHL update-

1. Sherbrooke took a 3-0 lead in its 2nd round series, Spacek with the GWG
2. Saginaw went down 0-3, Haight with a tough game -3, 2 penalties
3. Winnipeg fell again and is down 1-2, Lambos, the rare -1 game. 8-4 was the final score so must have been a tough night for the Winnipeg goalie.
4. Kamloops plays tonight, they're still up 2-0.

If Winnipeg loses the series to Moose Jaw, this would be a pretty large upset.

[B1GKappa97]

1 hour ago, Protec said:

GMBG should try to get Dumba for a team-friendly one along with Gustaffsson. It's possible. 

 

Unfortunately, looking at the numbers, I'm not so sure it is. We have $9.3M in expected cap space with just 15 skaters under contract. That means we need to sign 8 guys with that $9.3M. 

Unless Goose and/or MAF are going to retire to give us an extra $5.5M combined, I don't think we can afford him. 

[PURPpplEATER]

1 hour ago, B1GKappa97 said:

Unfortunately, looking at the numbers, I'm not so sure it is. We have $9.3M in expected cap space with just 15 skaters under contract. That means we need to sign 8 guys with that $9.3M. 

Unless Goose and/or MAF are going to retire to give us an extra $5.5M combined, I don't think we can afford him. 

I could definitely be wrong, but isn't this the last year of Fleury's contract?

[Tony Abbott]

4 minutes ago, PURPpplEATER said:

I could definitely be wrong, but isn't this the last year of Fleury's contract?

He's got one year left. 

[kapislife]

I wonder if gus would be down for a 2 year deal to free us of the dead cap. Then we could throw him some real money, or trade him if the wall is looking like the next Henrik lundqvist

[Pewterschmidt]

18 minutes ago, kapislife said:

 

I wonder if gus would be down for a 2 year deal to free us of the dead cap.

 

I’m not sure why he’d turn away his payday (well earned at his age after toiling in juniors/minors/back-up) and risk serious injury playing for two years on a handshake promise, but we can dream

#this is not snark

[Beast]

6 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Let's just say Dumba does walk, looking for a bigger contract.  Just because he's a UFA, doesn't mean he wouldn't resign here. Some players bring back the best offer to see if the old club would match.  

However, let's assume he does move on.  What do we have that could take his place?  Faber is proving himself to be a reliable defender.  I could see him on the 2nd pairing.  But, who then fills in on the bottom?

I simply don't think that Addison is cut out for a role as he continues his stubborn streak of not paying attention to his own end.  I don't believe that Simon Johansson will be ready, though, it appears he's had the best season of the young defenders in Iowa.  Lambos is going to need time in Iowa as will Spacek.  Could Goligoski slide in to that 3rd pairing permanently and just play his off side?

Could a Merrill-Goligoski pairing be trustworthy for 16-18 minutes a night?  Will Goligoski retire?

Personally, Justin Braun on a 1 year deal would be sufficient to plug that hole.  I'd like to see what Johansson, O'Rourke, Hunt could do as injury replacements should we need them.  But I'd really like for our 3rd pairing to be a rugged pair that can clear the front of the net and dominate there on the PK.

I mean, I don’t know how we can be so concerned about Addison’s play while we simultaneously play Klingberg without a blink.  Klingberg might be the worst defenseman in his own end the history of the game.

Honest question, if we can play Klingberg why can’t we play Addison?

Not really a fan of either, just thought the Klingberg trade was a head scratcher from the start.

[Beast]

4 hours ago, B1GKappa97 said:

Unfortunately, looking at the numbers, I'm not so sure it is. We have $9.3M in expected cap space with just 15 skaters under contract. That means we need to sign 8 guys with that $9.3M. 

Unless Goose and/or MAF are going to retire to give us an extra $5.5M combined, I don't think we can afford him. 

Those two retiring would sure go a long way to solving the problem.  I didn’t realize that was the case.

I have to think a trade is coming at some point as well.  Finally finding a goalie after all these years then letting him walk would be a disaster.  

[Pewterschmidt]

29 minutes ago, Beast said:

Honest question, if we can play Klingberg why can’t we play Addison?

I am with you on this.  Kling-on is cooked.  So bad we're creating phantom injuries to keep him out of the line up.  I hope that Addison gets some more rope to develop and 'get with the program' as it relates to the Wild org. and BG/DE's trust.  But if they feel Addison's problem's are more mental discipline than athletic ability BG it may already be too late for Addy and his pencil mustache.

[Protec]

^^^ Beast goalie comment.
 

I mostly agree with this in that, Fleury is winding down and Gustavsson is showing he can be the real deal. I realize the Wild need to sign a lot of guys but I would think we’ll see more of the same from GMBG which is to prioritize the important signings. The quality, proven NHL netminder and top 4 defenseman who started out with MN and plays the way Dumba does especially in the playoffs will be a priority, I think. 
 

We’ll see but Guerin has been able to manage it pretty well so far. Not too many of his moves lead to face-palm.

[B1GKappa97]

1 hour ago, Beast said:

I mean, I don’t know how we can be so concerned about Addison’s play while we simultaneously play Klingberg without a blink.  Klingberg might be the worst defenseman in his own end the history of the game.

Honest question, if we can play Klingberg why can’t we play Addison?

Klingberg is better at defending than Addison still, even if he has stupid decisions with the puck. He also has much better size.

Plus they didn't play Klinger in game 1. Maybe they won't. Goose is possibly the next defenseman up. 

I will say that we miss Addison's shot on the power play but man he's just too much of a liability in his own side of the ice. 

[Will D. Ness]

Dumba has played his best hockey in the last 3 months... for what 5 years?  It's like he finally realized a good line between risk/reward d play that he never could find before.

[mnfaninnc]

3 hours ago, Beast said:

I mean, I don’t know how we can be so concerned about Addison’s play while we simultaneously play Klingberg without a blink.  Klingberg might be the worst defenseman in his own end the history of the game.

Honest question, if we can play Klingberg why can’t we play Addison?

1. Klingberg has a better defensive stick
2. Klingberg at 6'3" has a better reach
3. Klingberg gets in the way of the forwards more
4. Klingberg does give effort in the defensive zone, much more than Addison
5. Klingberg has a very good offensive track record, Addison is a rookie
6. Klingberg absorbs hits much better than Addison and gets back into the play faster. I don't know if you've seen behind the play, but Addison gets erased on the boards very often and has trouble getting back into the play.  

At this point, there would be far more trust in Klingberg, as bad as he's been, than would be in Addison because of Klingberg's longterm track record.  Addison has been particularly lousy the last few games he's played, almost as if he doesn't want to be there.  

It is understandable for Addison to feel like he's getting the short end of the stick.  My hope is that there has been communication from the coaching staff.  I suspect that the coaching staff has, essentially, repeated themselves all year because the same mistakes keep coming.  I really believe he needs a trip to the principal's office and Shooter pretty much needs to read him the riot act as brutal as it has to be.  

Proof that Addison simply doesn't get it is when he said "the coaches said I was playing scared" and "I've just got to keep doing the same things I've been doing." This tells me that Addison really doesn't know what he's doing wrong.  

Also, this was an issue late last season in Iowa when Addison got put on the 3rd pairing there too.  It may have been to keep on the ice as he nursed an injury but that was undisclosed.  I feel very certain that Army communicated about the defensive side of the puck, however, I am not convinced that Addison's jrs. coaches did.  If it hasn't been required in the past, then why does he need it now?  Part of this is probably also stubbornness on Addison's part. 

Lastly, you might be able to tolerate this from a 9 year veteran player with a track record.  You will never tolerate this from a rookie, and that attitude needs to be broken.

[mnfaninnc]

1 hour ago, Will D. Ness said:

Dumba has played his best hockey in the last 3 months... for what 5 years?  It's like he finally realized a good line between risk/reward d play that he never could find before.

Something clicked with him when he had to play with Goligoski when Brodin was out.  He realized that Goligoski was not prepared to cover for him, and, he would have to cover for Goligoski.  

[Millante]

I think any Dumba extension became impossible with the Freddy G extension.

So while I was holding out hope for a team friendly Dumba deal, the second the Freddy G signing was announced I knew Dumba was gone. Which is unfortunate (in my perspective).

The only way we hold onto Dumba is if we shift Zucs. Which I've wanted for a year now. But the problem is everyone goes on and on about how Kapriz won't be happy without Zucs... to which I say, are we signing Zucs for another decade to keep Kapriz happy? Absolutely not. Zucs is and will be temporary. He won't be signed again after next year (95% probably, unless it's a 35+ vet minimum contract). We should have traded him at his peak value last year when he likely could have been moved regardless of his M-NTC. We could still possibly move him this year, but it's going to be much more difficult since his value was shown to be with Kapriz.

Any which way, I've resigned myself to a future of no Dumba in his later prime and his current renaissance as a (physical) defensive defenseman. It makes me super sad, but Freddy G just killed any possibility of Dumba as long as Zuc is here.

Edited April 20, 2023 by Millante

[Millante]

22 minutes ago, Millante said:

 It makes me super sad, but Freddy G just killed any possibility of Dumba as long as Zuc is here.

And yes, I do think Zucs is easier to replace then Dumba...

While we may be 'loaded' on RHDs. Most of them aren't coming over, or ready to make the jump, play the physical battle, or even just plain and simple try to play some fricken defense... (yeah, you best believe that's a shot at Addy, IF YOU WANTED TO BE A WINGER, YOU SHOULD HAVE PLAYED FRICKIN WINGER! He annoys me...)

Just saying.

Edited April 20, 2023 by Millante