Article: Is Next Summer the Time For the Wild To Strike?

[Tony Abbott]

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[Sviginak]

I can only assume that Billy G is on board with this thinking, Tony. There should also be opportunity to be had at the trade deadline in 24-25, as the Wild should be able to trade for players with term that a lot of teams can’t afford to go after.

[Glenn]

Instead of Nylander. How about Ellis Pettersson of Vancouver  he's a pure stud and a rfa 24-25  offer him 10-12 million for 7 yrs number 1 center solved and what a line with him and krill add boldy or Yurov 

[Up North Guy]

I can't speak for the Wild but at my age I am certainly on board with this. What good is it having a top level of prospects if you don't graduate them or move them for better players.

[vonlonster67]

21 minutes ago, Up North Guy said:

I can't speak for the Wild but at my age I am certainly on board with this. What good is it having a top level of prospects if you don't graduate them or move them for better players.

Agreed, I like the idea of using our cap, but also use those prospects and want to strategize the years following. All of these top prospects are going to need contracts, high, bridge, or the glue guy contracts at mid level.

Lets keep being smart with our dollars, unless we can find a 1C or 2C for the money. KK gonna be the first $15 million dollar man or close at say $14/yr

[M_Nels]

Out of the group of UFA vets next year I think realistically the one 2 I see returning are Duhaime & Hartzy. Unless Foglino takes a Hartman-esque short term deal. I also see Hartman signing for decent money again. 
 

As much as I like Zucc it’ll be nice getting that $6mil off the books, his game really regressed last season. Assuming MAF & Goose are going to hang it up after this year as well. 

[Protec]

I think Hartman, having had his best NHL years in MN and having been willing to take a cheap contract previously, along with his age and style of play Guerin should keep him. More than other guys because he can score.

I think the Wild will want to see prospects jump right to the NHL but retaining guys who have been key elements of the Wild's success since Guerin arrived shouldn't be overlooked. The Wild could keep Hartman at Zuccarello price and it would be okay. If he scores 60-80 points this season, he'll have earned a large raise. I'm interested to see what Hartman does being a contract year. If he does really well it paints a picture of him being pretty consistent. I would bet he takes a reasonable but team-friendly deal to remain in MN.

I think Zuccarello, and Fleury are gone. Maybe a 1-year deal but Goligoski too are in the retirement zone. Foligno probably gets an offer to stay along with Hartman. I would think Foligno's number goes down, Hartman up. It won't be like the Dumba UFA situation because the Wild will have some cap to use. Instead of one guy leaving for sure, it will be a scenario where a handful of guys are up in the air or not depending on how the season goes.

[vonlonster67]

2 hours ago, Glenn said:

Instead of Nylander. How about Ellis Pettersson of Vancouver  he's a pure stud and a rfa 24-25  offer him 10-12 million for 7 yrs number 1 center solved and what a line with him and krill add boldy or Yurov 

Glenn, I've been prayin for that to transpire for awhile now. Agreed this would be a solid choice for Swedesota Wild.

[vonlonster67]

46 minutes ago, Protec said:

I think Hartman, having had his best NHL years in MN and having been willing to take a cheap contract previously, along with his age and style of play Guerin should keep him. More than other guys because he can score.

I think the Wild will want to see prospects jump right to the NHL but retaining guys who have been key elements of the Wild's success since Guerin arrived shouldn't be overlooked. The Wild could keep Hartman at Zuccarello price and it would be okay. If he scores 60-80 points this season, he'll have earned a large raise. I'm interested to see what Hartman does being a contract year. If he does really well it paints a picture of him being pretty consistent. I would bet he takes a reasonable but team-friendly deal to remain in MN.

I think Zuccarello, and Fleury are gone. Maybe a 1-year deal but Goligoski too are in the retirement zone. Foligno probably gets an offer to stay along with Hartman. I would think Foligno's number goes down, Hartman up. It won't be like the Dumba UFA situation because the Wild will have some cap to use. Instead of one guy leaving for sure, it will be a scenario where a handful of guys are up in the air or not depending on how the season goes.

Like Hartzy at $2.75/yr for 3 years and Foligno at $2.25/yr for 2 years?

[mnfaninnc]

With 1/2 the team possibly turning over, I'd suggest we try and trade for a top end center, or that large #1D guy. Building that top end sets us up for both the '24-25 and '25-26 season. 

So, in that plan, it would be backfilling with the prospects and Euro guys coming over, and aggressively trying to make that next deal. A guy to keep an eye on may be Lindholm, who I believe fits in perfectly with this group. As Glen mentioned, Pettersson should also be a potential target. Both of these guys may not want to stay with their current teams. There's been a lot of chatter about it. 

The rest of the league also gets that $4m boost, so they'll have a little room to pay their guys, but some teams won't be able to pay all of them. K'Andre Miller has been mentioned before as a defender to target. Anyone else out there that might fit that #1D mold? 

I'd really like that center to be in the 28-31 year old range. A guy who can completely take the pressure off of all the new center prospects to be the guy. I'd love the secondary scoring to be able to play real loose without the pressure to have to score. 

Back on the top, I'm sure Dewar gets a QO, and I'm pretty sure Duhaime gets resigned. Do we really need the gritty guys as we transition into more of a skilled roster? I could see 3 scoring lines and a checking line. With this, I could see us playing more like we did in '21-22 and using speed and skill to drive opponents nuts. Of course, as I see this, I'll still be here to complain about finishing checks. 😁

[Luke Sims]

Willy Styles in Minnesota would be incredible. Just look at this and give him a blank check, eh?

[vonlonster67]

8 minutes ago, Luke Sims said:

Willy Styles in Minnesota would be incredible. Just look at this and give him a blank check, eh?

We could still be SwedeSota.....with Willy Styles..

[vonlonster67]

14 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

With 1/2 the team possibly turning over, I'd suggest we try and trade for a top end center, or that large #1D guy. Building that top end sets us up for both the '24-25 and '25-26 season. 

So, in that plan, it would be backfilling with the prospects and Euro guys coming over, and aggressively trying to make that next deal. A guy to keep an eye on may be Lindholm, who I believe fits in perfectly with this group. As Glen mentioned, Pettersson should also be a potential target. Both of these guys may not want to stay with their current teams. There's been a lot of chatter about it. 

The rest of the league also gets that $4m boost, so they'll have a little room to pay their guys, but some teams won't be able to pay all of them. K'Andre Miller has been mentioned before as a defender to target. Anyone else out there that might fit that #1D mold? 

I'd really like that center to be in the 28-31 year old range. A guy who can completely take the pressure off of all the new center prospects to be the guy. I'd love the secondary scoring to be able to play real loose without the pressure to have to score. 

Back on the top, I'm sure Dewar gets a QO, and I'm pretty sure Duhaime gets resigned. Do we really need the gritty guys as we transition into more of a skilled roster? I could see 3 scoring lines and a checking line. With this, I could see us playing more like we did in '21-22 and using speed and skill to drive opponents nuts. Of course, as I see this, I'll still be here to complain about finishing checks. 😁

I'm betting with all the prospect forwards we have, the Dewey brothers staying means Moose may have to find a new swamp.

How about Noah Hanifin to sign for our D as the exodus continues in Calgary.

[mnfaninnc]

48 minutes ago, vonlonster67 said:

How about Noah Hanifin to sign for our D as the exodus continues in Calgary.

I haven't followed Hanifin much in Calgary, but in Carolina he didn't have much to offer offensively. I think I'd put him into the Spurgeon category as far as potential offense, maybe a little lower. I'd really rather have someone with a bit more offense. To me, Hanifin would be an excellent top pairing partner to a dynamic offensive producing defender. 

 

[Damagedcalm]

5 hours ago, Glenn said:

Instead of Nylander. How about Ellis Pettersson of Vancouver  he's a pure stud and a rfa 24-25  offer him 10-12 million for 7 yrs number 1 center solved and what a line with him and krill add boldy or Yurov 

I'm glad I'm not the only 1 thinking this way. I had my thoughts a little different though. I see two 1c options next year. 1 being petterson but not on an offer sheet, ideally he signs his qualifier of 8.8 with vancouver and do a trade with an extension worked out. Second option sign and trade Draisaitl, you would get 1yr of him at a huge discount. Both are worth trading a bit of the future away to secure a top 10 center. 

[vonlonster67]

25 minutes ago, Damagedcalm said:

I'm glad I'm not the only 1 thinking this way. I had my thoughts a little different though. I see two 1c options next year. 1 being petterson but not on an offer sheet, ideally he signs his qualifier of 8.8 with vancouver and do a trade with an extension worked out. Second option sign and trade Draisaitl, you would get 1yr of him at a huge discount. Both are worth trading a bit of the future away to secure a top 10 center. 

These are great wish lists, but with Yurov,  Khusnutdinov, Ohgren and Rossi we may not have to worry about filling anything and save our money for the trade deadlines

 

[Sviginak]

Doesn’t going after an RFA mean an offer sheet? And doesn’t a 10-12m dollar offer sheet also mean 4 first round draft picks? Not happening. I think we should try and give the best of the prospects some serious looks this season and -plan to use the deserving ones a spot in the 24-25 season and spend only as needed that year. Maybe find a good fit at the TD in 24-25 with decent term so we can do some damage in the post season. And really go after it in 25-26. In Billy I trust. 

[vonlonster67]

15 minutes ago, Sviginak said:

Doesn’t going after an RFA mean an offer sheet? And doesn’t a 10-12m dollar offer sheet also mean 4 first round draft picks? Not happening. I think we should try and give the best of the prospects some serious looks this season and -plan to use the deserving ones a spot in the 24-25 season and spend only as needed that year. Maybe find a good fit at the TD in 24-25 with decent term so we can do some damage in the post season. And really go after it in 25-26. In Billy I trust. 

Sviginak, couldn't agree more.  I really don't want to go on a big spending spree and trust BG to pull the right strings. 

If we can manage a cap $15 million less, imagine what we can do with with the same saving mentality. Cost effective, smart deals and contracts.

"IBGIT"

[MNCountryLife]

I'm a big believer that you build a team through the draft.  We supposedly have a pretty good prospect pool that appears to be maturing to the point that we should see 3 or 4 players move up in the next 2 seasons.  A free agent move can be flashy and popular but you have to be careful not to damage the team for years on end.. (See Parise and Suter).  BG seems committed to this internal building process and I like that.  I'm okay if we snag 1 big free agent name with 3 or less years on it... IBGIT.

[Luke Sims]

18 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

A guy to keep an eye on may be Lindholm, who I believe fits in perfectly with this group.

Hockey Wilderness has something cooking. Don't you worry

[mnfaninnc]

16 hours ago, vonlonster67 said:

These are great wish lists, but with Yurov,  Khusnutdinov, Ohgren and Rossi we may not have to worry about filling anything and save our money for the trade deadlines

And, this is the argument, do you take the sure thing to pair with Kaprizov, or do you develop the talent, likely more inexpensive, and incrementally improve? 

Pettersson is a Brackett guy. I would assume that Brackett would be pounding the table for him. In fact, I just read a little about the contract negotiations for him. They are quiet. Vancouver is eyeing the Aho contract as a comparable. It is believed that Pettersson wants >$10m. $11m was suggested. 

Vancouver gets Pettersson for another year. What would it take for us to bring him in.....now? A key question to ask: Is Vancouver on a lot of player's NTC lists? We would need to shed money and I'd have to think that Zuccarello would be at the top of that list. I could also see Foligno being on that list. Rossi would also have to be on that list as Vancouver is like us, too many wings, not enough centers. 

Timing is everything here. Perhaps Shooter even talks about some parameters for next season if Vancouver shows up on too many lists? My thought on this is simple, if Pettersson becomes available, you have to go get him and deal with the consequences. Finding Zuccarello a home is a must. Don't worry about Kaprizov, bank on the fact that he wants to win, and playing with a world class center in Pettersson is a way to win.

Would Pettersson want to come here? I would have to say yes, absolutely! He knows he'd get to play next to world class wing in Kaprizov and has fellow countrymen all over the roster to also play with. In fact, if the deal is that Pettersson wants to win, I'd say this franchise looks brighter than almost all others. Why? Because we've got cap space coming and an infusion of talent almost ready and we're already winning.

What about Draisaitl? I absolutely believe that Edmonton will find a way to keep him. He's not as disgruntled, as Edmonton has been winning and has advanced in the playoffs. My bet is that Edmonton will trade or let go of RNH before Draisaitl, so I believe he's going to stay, plus, he has a tremendous chemistry with McDavid. I'd love to have him here, but am less optimistic that this could happen.

[mnfaninnc]

14 hours ago, Sviginak said:

Doesn’t going after an RFA mean an offer sheet?

Not necessarily. In this situation, it is about Pettersson and term. If Pettersson doesn't want to give Vancouver term, and is done with them, then they've got to trade him regardless of RFA status. Offersheet is only used in a hostile takeover bid, which I personally would use if I were a GM. The way Waddell used it was perfect!

We were backed into a corner with Fiala and ended up getting a decent return. I would say that Vancouver may also be backed into a corner with Pettersson, and I'd expect the return to be similar but higher for Pettersson due to his position. If we wait a year, we could offer Rossi, our 1st, and maybe a couple of D prospects like Peart and Johansson? Perhaps even Addison fits into that deal? 

[Willy the poor boy]

21 hours ago, M_Nels said:

Out of the group of UFA vets next year I think realistically the one 2 I see returning are Duhaime & Hartzy. Unless Foglino takes a Hartman-esque short term deal. I also see Hartman signing for decent money again. 
 

As much as I like Zucc it’ll be nice getting that $6mil off the books, his game really regressed last season. Assuming MAF & Goose are going to hang it up after this year as well. 

I'm not convinced he regresses, although it could happen. He was hurt the last 1/2 of the season which coincided with the production drop off. I'm hoping for the best.

[mnfaninnc]

1 hour ago, MNCountryLife said:

I'm a big believer that you build a team through the draft.  We supposedly have a pretty good prospect pool that appears to be maturing to the point that we should see 3 or 4 players move up in the next 2 seasons. 

I believe in this too. However, building through the draft can also mean using the players you drafted to obtain what you don't have. What we don't have is that developED #1C that can slide in and be dynamic with Kaprizov. 

I would suggest in this scenario, that Rossi would have to go back to Vancouver because he's the most ready center we've got. Vancouver is also bleeding cap. A deal like this probably needs some help from a 3rd team who can eat some cap for both clubs.

The thing is, we do not have a player like Pettersson in our pipeline.

[mnfaninnc]

3 minutes ago, Willy the poor boy said:

I'm not convinced he regresses, although it could happen. He was hurt the last 1/2 of the season which coincided with the production drop off. I'm hoping for the best.

But, isn't that the thing? When you get to that age, getting hurt regresses you. I'm sure Zuccarello will start out well, but that age/injury thing will likely keep happening. One thing not in Zuccarello's favor is the size factor. He doesn't have the size to be able to absorb the punishment he will endure for a full season. It's not just getting crumpled by a big defender, it's also the cutting and stopping, even the avoiding contact. When players get to this age, "load management" is a term you start hearing.