Article: Could Freddy Gaudreau Take A Scoring Leap This Year?

[Brevan Bane]

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[Luke Sims]

I was an avid Freddy Gaudreau grouch. But, he touched my heart with his silky stick moves and now I'm more optimistic when he steps on the ice. 

I wish someone looked at me the way Dean looks at Fred.

[Sviginak]

Good article, Brevan, but may I suggest using 21-22 and 22-23 rather than 2022 so we know which season you are talking about. I found myself getting confused at times.

[Pewterschmidt]

I’ll quote the great Lloyd Christmas:

 So you’re saying there’s a chance

[jabuyer]

21 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I’ll quote the great Lloyd Christmas:

 So you’re saying there’s a chance

Funny!

Thinking a 30 year old will jack his scoring from les than a point every two games reminds me of the days before Suter and Parise got here.

"If only Latendresse could have a breakout year...then the team will do well."

  

[mnfaninnc]

I could see Freddy being in the 40s, but that's about it. But, a line of him, Foligno and Rossi might be able to get some pretty good chances. 

I'm thinking the rise in scoring has got to come from the kids. Maybe they don't knock it out of the park with 45 points, but perhaps they can be in the high 20s. That would be improvement!

[Protec]

41 minutes ago, jabuyer said:

"If only Latendresse could have a breakout year...then the team will do well."

Nice! 😁

I will say, Fred can score on grade A chances. If he was on the wing with a good line or with a line that generates more chances, I could see him having some good years coming up. Yes, the Wild need it, and yes Gaudreau is in the journeyman category but he is capable. He's not a typical bottom-sixer. Between timely goals and the shootout, the Wild won at least half a dozen games specifically cause of Freddy. I liked your comment but I think this is a different thing where the Wild have other weapons. If Boldy, Fred, and Mojo were all 10% better together this season, that would add up. That's not unreasonable or unrealistic to expect and it could have a really impactful result.

Cautious optimism, but if the players, coaches, GM, set goals to be better and they are, the Wild will be in pretty good shape I think.

[vonlonster67]

My dream line for Freddy Hockey and the Wild

Gaudreau     Rossi       Duhaime

1. Freddy brings the protection, skills, does the little things, will mentor Rossi.
2. Rossi just plays hockey and brings the apples for Freddy or Dewey.
3. Dewey brings the speed, physical to protect Rossi and scores more goals than last year with Rossi's apples.
4. Rossi relaxes with all this and actually feel no pressure and actually fills the net!

[Sviginak]

I love it when a plan comes together!

[Velgey]

2 hours ago, vonlonster67 said:

My dream line for Freddy Hockey and the Wild

Gaudreau     Rossi       Duhaime

1. Freddy brings the protection, skills, does the little things, will mentor Rossi.
2. Rossi just plays hockey and brings the apples for Freddy or Dewey.
3. Dewey brings the speed, physical to protect Rossi and scores more goals than last year with Rossi's apples.
4. Rossi relaxes with all this and actually feel no pressure and actually fills the net!

If Evason isn't going to experiment with Rossi on a line with KK and Zucc (which I understand the arguments in favor and against), then this seems like a pretty decent one to try out. Where do you see Moose in the lineup though?

[bisopher]

2 hours ago, vonlonster67 said:

My dream line for Freddy Hockey and the Wild

Gaudreau     Rossi       Duhaime

1. Freddy brings the protection, skills, does the little things, will mentor Rossi.
2. Rossi just plays hockey and brings the apples for Freddy or Dewey.
3. Dewey brings the speed, physical to protect Rossi and scores more goals than last year with Rossi's apples.
4. Rossi relaxes with all this and actually feel no pressure and actually fills the net!

I agree.  Let Rossi set up Freddy G, and he will see some additional scoring.

That said, my first bet for a "breakout" veteran player is MarJo.  With a full pre-season to further develop chemistry with Boldy, I think he's primed for a great season.

[vonlonster67]

25 minutes ago, bisopher said:

I agree.  Let Rossi set up Freddy G, and he will see some additional scoring.

That said, my first bet for a "breakout" veteran player is MarJo.  With a full pre-season to further develop chemistry with Boldy, I think he's primed for a great season.

bisopher, you said it and I agree and had mentioned it a while back on another article that I think the 2nd line may be our best line if Hartman cant fill the void and Zucci staying healthy.

JoJo, EEK and Boldy are going to be dangerous, and I see Ek improving even more with his stick work and puck handling. He had been pigeonholed on that GREEF line for two years and is finally getting the chance to be a 1C/2C. If you watch him in net front with the puck and rushes last year, he has done some un-Ek things that we haven't seen before that have you say holy $#^%!

He is so blood and guts, I love to seeing him rewarded offensively and lead this team.

[vonlonster67]

52 minutes ago, Velgey said:

If Evason isn't going to experiment with Rossi on a line with KK and Zucc (which I understand the arguments in favor and against), then this seems like a pretty decent one to try out. Where do you see Moose in the lineup though?

I see Moose on the fourth line with Dewey2 and Maroon....Da' BASH BROTHERS with Dewey flying around creating havoc and doing whatever he wants to others on the ice because who is gonna mess with Moose or Maroon! 

If Rossi blows up he could be moved up to 1C for an experiment, but ideally I think the 3rd line is better for his first actual year and will be less pressure until he get grounded. Freddy will protect!

[Wild4Ever]

Calling someone a 'phone booth' is enough to start a fight.

[bisopher]

1 hour ago, Wild4Ever said:

Calling someone a 'phone booth' is enough to start a fight.

You do realize he got that nickname here at HW because he can stick handle in a phone booth, aka he's good at it, right?

[Will D. Ness]

Freddy was playing his best hockey to end the last season.  I wouldn't be surprised if he puts 25 in the net.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

5 hours ago, Will D. Ness said:

Freddy was playing his best hockey to end the last season.  I wouldn't be surprised if he puts 25 in the net.

I'm still betting on Gaudreau, Rossi, Foligno as the 3rd line.

Foligno had a rough season last year, but the 3 prior seasons, he scored at a 21 goal pace per 80 games. Gaudreau was right near 20 last year. Rossi setting up those 2 for high danger chances should lead to plenty of goals, and Foligno can help protect Rossi.

Dewar and Duhaime with Maroon makes sense to me since Dewar and Duhaime can work well together on the PK. Gaudreau and Foligno seem like a reasonable PK combo as well.

JEE can play with anyone on the PK, but if he's on one of the main scoring lines with Boldy, they may not use him quite as often in the #1 PK pairing. I trust Evason to figure it out.

Duhaime only tallied one assist last season, so I think they are very likely to keep him on the 4th line, with him and Maroon throwing their weight around, and Dewar tallying double-digit assists by setting those guys up.

[M_Nels]

17 hours ago, bisopher said:

I agree.  Let Rossi set up Freddy G, and he will see some additional scoring.

That said, my first bet for a "breakout" veteran player is MarJo.  With a full pre-season to further develop chemistry with Boldy, I think he's primed for a great season.

Praying to the hockey gods that he can stay healthy. He was dynamic last season, was great to see almost instant chemistry with Boldy.

[M_Nels]

17 hours ago, vonlonster67 said:

I see Moose on the fourth line with Dewey2 and Maroon....Da' BASH BROTHERS with Dewey flying around creating havoc and doing whatever he wants to others on the ice because who is gonna mess with Moose or Maroon! 

If Rossi blows up he could be moved up to 1C for an experiment, but ideally I think the 3rd line is better for his first actual year and will be less pressure until he get grounded. Freddy will protect!

I agree with these line combinations and the sentiment of Rossi starting on line 3. I REALLY like the idea of more speed with Freddy & Rossi. Duhaime's got some sneaky handles also. Moose has a bit of a scoring touch but I think that line would be harder to play against with a bit more speed.  

That 4th line would be nasty although a little on the slow side but it would be a tremendous bash bro line with Moose & Maroon. 

 

Edited August 30, 2023 by M_Nels
Wrong word

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

17 hours ago, bisopher said:

I agree.  Let Rossi set up Freddy G, and he will see some additional scoring.

That said, my first bet for a "breakout" veteran player is MarJo.  With a full pre-season to further develop chemistry with Boldy, I think he's primed for a great season.

Completely agree. I see JoJo as a far more viable breakout candidate. 

Freddy plays some solid hockey and has come through in a pinch more than once however, based on history, I don't expect a sudden burst of scoring. I think Foligno may be starting to slow down and need to be be more of a role player than a widely used fix-all solution, as he has been deployed in the past. I love the idea of Duhaime being elevated to that third line. He may not have much in the way of points under his belt but has shown his abilities to carry the puck and his high foot speed. His forechecking is vicious. He would be a great compliment to the steady defensive stylings of Freddy and an asset to the young Rossi. He has extra F.U. for Rossi to feed on too.

[Pewterschmidt]

15 hours ago, Will D. Ness said:

Freddy was playing his best hockey to end the last season.  I wouldn't be surprised if he puts 25 in the net.

I’ll take the under on this and I’ll bet the house

[mnfaninnc]

55 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

I agree with these line combinations and the sentiment of Rossi starting on line 3. I REALLY like the idea of more speed with Freddy & Rossi. Duhaime's got some sneaky handles also. Moose has a bit of a scoring touch but I think that line would be harder to play against with a bit more speed.  

That 4th line would be nasty although a little on the slow side but it would be a tremendous bash bro line with Moose & Maroon. 

I don't know that you set up the bottom 6 lines rigidly. I think you can have them flow fluidly and interchange some of the players. For instance, sometimes when you need that big heavy shift, maybe Duhaime plays C on a line with Maroon and Foligno, and they just hit everything in sight (Duhaime is a natural center). Maybe you give Foligno some time on the 3rd line, and Duhaime some time there. Foligno can still get around the rink, and Duhaime helps make up for Maroon's speed. 

Instead of the 3rd line and 4th line, maybe we just throw up the dice and out comes Yahtzee! Dewar has some sneaky skill too, and if you need that heavy shift, he could sneak into the Rossi line for a shift or 2 and get some small ball shiftiness going.

[Will D. Ness]

3 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I’ll take the under on this and I’ll bet the house

I'll bet a dish of crow.

[Dean]

I am not a freddy fan. Especially combined with deans love and stubbornness. I see him as slow and weak with good hands. Not a bottom six and not a top six . He has been given more opportunities than any other player and didn’t do anything with.  He was put with kk and zucc. As I remember they went in a scoring slump then switched to steel. They put him with Boldy an if I remember correctly that line went into a drought. In the playoffs the bigger stronger players dominated him. He didn’t create for his line or go into corners to get dirty. Thinking about a checking of Rossi and Freddy is funny. They’ll be pinned in their own end trying to get the puck off the wall. I think he’s a 4 th line wing or press box guy to use for shoot outs . The wild get pushed around and having a checking line of Rossi and Freddy means a lot more getting pushed around. 
    Get a #1 center already. 

[FredJohnson]

On 8/29/2023 at 10:44 AM, Luke Sims said:

I wish someone looked at me the way Dean looks at Fred.

Deano does have a mancrush on Freddie don't he.