Article: Bargain Bin Options For the Wild This Summer

[Justin Wiggins]

View full article

[Protec]

Nice ideas! 
 

I’m a “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” guy. Therefore, Steel, Bellows, Gregor, and the like don’t come with big expectations or cost. These can’t really fail for a GM cause if the “change of scenery” is truly the only thing going wrong, the Wild benefit. If the same issues persist there’s little damage. From a planning standpoint, these are tough ones because you have similar guys in your system who have been trying to earn their way. Does a player from another team automatically come in and replace guys???
 

I think if the Wild got Brett Howden(RFA) or Barbashev(UFA) coming off a Cup win, yeah Beckman or Rossi can wait their turn. If you’re looking to plug in San Jose’s 4C, there’d probably need to be a good reason IMO.

Personally, I like some of the inexpensive options available to GMBG apart from trades or who gets contract extensions. There’s a few players I could see the Wild paying more for. I think Guerin has done pretty okay to take advantage of market demand/environment but that has also hurt the Wild to a degree not being able to get Miller or Eichel. Maybe it can play out to retain Dumba cheaply or allow the Wild to sign Gus but at some point the Wild will have to find solutions with full-time NHL guys. The Freddy Gaudreau strategy has worked out so far but I’m not sure that’s the big picture answer to all the questions.

 

[mnfaninnc]

I like signing Bellows to a 2-way deal. Goose2 will be signed, quit worrying about that. But, I also like Blackwood and that could give us depth that we lost when Lindberg jumped ship. 

I also think there are some vets that will get bought out that we might be able to make a decent run at, like Scandella. The bodies we do sign need to be larger. 

With Bellows, maybe coming home would be a good move for him. We'll probably have to wait for the scratch and dent section to open up, but I do think we could have an advantage to some talent who find themselves without contracts but also have ties to the area. I believe there will be value in that. 

With our own guys, almost all of our RFA qualifications are under $1m. All except for Goose2 will probably sign in that category. I still think Goose2 signs on a 2 year very team friendly deal (mainly due to a glut of in the goalie market, and a bear cap market). This is a terrible year to be a free agent, there's simply no money. Some of the bottom dweller teams could really clean up this offseason and seriously advance their rosters.

[MNCountryLife]

Shaw and Duhaime will be signed at cap friendly prices.  If a forward is picked up off the waiver wire they need to beat out Walker and Beckman.  It seems likely that Goose2 will be signed so that only leaves room for a D man that is likely to come from the wire unless the Wild can miraculously sign Dumba.  Strangely enough that leaves our lineup very close to what it was at the end of the season.

My question:  Was BG happy with his roster from last year?  I would think an unhappy BG would look to make bigger changes.  Could we see Zuc head out the door with another high end player in mind?  The draft and qualifying offer deadline will reveal a lot about BG's happy level.

[Protec]

My favorites are Haula, Nosek, Barbashev, and possibly Howden in no particular order. All fit the Wild's needs. for size, speed, grit, etc. None are totally unaffordable and Barbashev isn't far behind Zuccarello in points. Therefore all could be upgrades. MN needs to quit worrying about warm and fuzzy feelings they have towards certain players. If it's about winning, then nobody ought to cry when Hobbits ship out or when energy glue guys are replaced by bigger energy guys who can score.

[Up North Guy]

2 hours ago, MNCountryLife said:

Shaw and Duhaime will be signed at cap friendly prices.  If a forward is picked up off the waiver wire they need to beat out Walker and Beckman.  It seems likely that Goose2 will be signed so that only leaves room for a D man that is likely to come from the wire unless the Wild can miraculously sign Dumba.  Strangely enough that leaves our lineup very close to what it was at the end of the season.

My question:  Was BG happy with his roster from last year?  I would think an unhappy BG would look to make bigger changes.  Could we see Zuc head out the door with another high end player in mind?  The draft and qualifying offer deadline will reveal a lot about BG's happy level.

I am not sure about Duhaime. He has not signed and does not appear to be close. He may get more money if traded and is looking at that. He may fancy himself as a second or third line player versus a fourth line player. Just saying, I am not putting my assumptions down until they are signed. i think BG will resign Goose2 because he really has to. He won't want to put that much wear and tear on MAF as Goalie1.

[MNCountryLife]

29 minutes ago, Up North Guy said:

I am not sure about Duhaime. He has not signed and does not appear to be close. He may get more money if traded and is looking at that. He may fancy himself as a second or third line player versus a fourth line player. Just saying, I am not putting my assumptions down until they are signed. i think BG will resign Goose2 because he really has to. He won't want to put that much wear and tear on MAF as Goalie1.

You may be right.  Obviously I have no inside information to suggest otherwise.  But I think that would be a massive mistake for BG.  Duhaime is one of our very few bigger guys and entering his prime at 26.    Of course that may be the very reason why Duhaime looks elsewhere and is able to get more money.

[HIGGIJ27]

Get rid of dumba

[mnfaninnc]

3 hours ago, Up North Guy said:

I am not sure about Duhaime. He has not signed and does not appear to be close. He may get more money if traded and is looking at that. He may fancy himself as a second or third line player versus a fourth line player.

9 goals, 1 assist. He's not in a very good bargaining position. He's in the type of position that if the RFA team is willing to sign him on a QO 1-way deal, you take it to the bank! Nobody else has any money either....at least nobody who's contending.

[Protec]

I see the Wild having redundancy in that Duhaime, Dewar, Shaw, Beckman, Walker, Milne, and some other guy like Haight being somewhat similar. Maybe not all physically the same or grit-level but interchangeable parts.

Duhaime and Shaw with injury history and missed time. That's hard to evaluate but not the most durable guys IMO.

[Quebec1648]

Blackwood is a decent goalie, but his reputation as a locker room disruptor will likely cause BG to avoid him. I don't see Guerin or Evason wanting to sign such an individual. Just resign the Gus bus and be done with it.

In regards to some of the other names on that list, I would rather just call up the guys down in Iowa and let them spend a year in the NHL showing what they can do. We have two more years of cap purgatory, so might as well see what the Iowa guys can do.

[Will D. Ness]

Duhaime is in no position to hold out.  I would put him behind Shaw and Steel in value.