At least the Wild got Faber.

[Protec]

He was solid against Dallas. +3 through six games, never victimized. Should be a nice part of the future for MN.

Who's gonna be the defensive group next season? Will Guerin cut some guys loose? Will Dumba be back?

Is Spurgeon getting worn down? Will his contract age well?

Who is the next best defense prospect for the Wild? Is there an AHL defenseman even close, and will Addison be around next year?

I see #46, #5, #25, and #7 in the top 4. The rest is pretty up in the air if you asked me.

[Jon]

8 hours ago, Protec said:

He was solid against Dallas. +3 through six games, never victimized. Should be a nice part of the future for MN.

Who's gonna be the defensive group next season? Will Guerin cut some guys loose? Will Dumba be back?

Is Spurgeon getting worn down? Will his contract age well?

Who is the next best defense prospect for the Wild? Is there an AHL defenseman even close, and will Addison be around next year?

I see #46, #5, #25, and #7 in the top 4. The rest is pretty up in the air if you asked me.

That top 4 looks great if you ask me. They were left on an island in the playoffs though. I swear I’ve seen Brodin enter the zone left side and fire a shot on net more than I’ve seen half the fwd group even get a shot through. Not good enough

I REALLY like Dumba as a player and person. But, and it pains me to say this, I do not trust him to be between his man and the net. In this league, you will be exploited for leaving your man open. Dumba comes to mind when I see open passes for the chip-in. He does everything well MOST of the time. Cant see him coming back, unless he dedicates himself to continuing his improved defensive play at a discount. Wish him well and he deserves success, probably won’t be with the Wild anytime soon.

[Will D. Ness]

Faber is the one bright spot of this whole fiasco called the postseason.  Thrown into the gauntlet and looked solid.

Defensively, I like our outlook for next year with the third line pairing up for grabs with the vets battling it out with the rooks.

Addison?  That is a tough one.  If we sign him for bottom dollar it makes sense.  I think it's worth giving him another shot.

Dumba?  Man he looked really good lately.  He will get a good offer elsewhere and signing Gus is priority.

Spurg?  It's a little early to say he is cooked, although that contract is looming.

I think we are good defensively.  Sign Gus and then go to work on the offense.

 

[Pewterschmidt]

11 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

Faber is the one bright spot of this whole fiasco called the postseason.

Agree.  With the exception of Faber, this Wild group looked uninspired and sad this post season.  Regular season vs Post season are so night and day it's almost not the same sport.  I've come to the conclusion that coaching is the biggest difference between regular and post.  It's more than just physicality.  Coaching staffs research an opponents tendencies/strength/weaknesses to a much greater degree heading into a playoff series vs a random game in January.  once a coaching staff has the 'book' on an opponent they coach their team to exploit that information.  I'm convinced Deano is over his head in this dept.  He'll get one more year for continuity sake and because what high end coach wants to take over this team in the middle of cap hell.  But Dean and his band (sounds like there will be some sacrificial asst coach lambs slaughtered in next weeks) is not long for 7th Street.

Oh yah, Faber is a lock for top 4 D man.  Welcome aboard young man. The type of player a good scout squad drafts late in 1st/early 2nd.  I'll give BG credit for demanding this in the Fiala trade.

Edited April 29, 2023 by Pewterschmidt

[Beast]

Ok, but we traded Fiala to get Faber.  We didn’t find him in the couch cushions.  I’m not going through all the contract issues, that’s addressed in another article, and it’s a different issue entirely.  

Before an injury, Fiala had 3 points in 2 playoff games.  Many wanted him gone because he couldn’t play in the playoffs.  Meanwhile, Kaprisov and Boldy, the reasons we had to make that trade, combined for 3 points in 6 games here.  The well is clearly poisoned here in some way when it comes to these skilled guys and our playoff approach.  We all thought Fiala was the issue.  I think we were dead wrong.

We’ve had offensively punchless, but very good defenders here for years.  Suter, Spurgeon, Brodin, etc.  Where’s that gotten us?  For all these great defenders we have, we’ve been absolutely lit up in the playoffs 3 years in a row now.  And, we can’t score a damn goal.

Faber was +3.  That’s great.  But, was that because of his play, or the way they deployed him with Klingberg?  They weren’t exactly locking down the Stars top line.  He was playing against nonfactors like Domi and Glendenning.  I like Faber, but let’s not crown him as the worlds best defender quite yet.

Faber is a decent complimentary piece.  But, we shouldn’t be looking forward to years of success because we got a pretty good second pairing, all defense, defenseman for one of the elite scorers in the league.  Faber isn’t getting us anywhere.

Edited April 29, 2023 by Beast

[Protec]

Quote

Faber isn’t getting us anywhere.

I think you are missing the big picture. Having Faber and a pick for Fiala means the Wild a return for a player they couldn't afford to pay. One of the players, Faber is going to be a steady top 4 defenseman. That means the Wild can allocate their picks or assets elsewhere. In the grand scheme that is important because perhaps Addison or a prospect can be traded to get a player who helps. "get you somewhere."

Quote

let’s not crown him as the worlds best defender quite yet.

Not the World's perhaps but it looked like he could've been the Wild's best defender. That's important for the future. Just saying the Wild have some positives while being the biggest first round chokers in the NHL.

Maybe this draft they can focus on getting a center who will make it to the NHL instead of everything else. Or maybe they can trade Rossi & Addison to another team who want's little guys who don't do what they're supposed to in the NHL and get some better scoring talent in return.