Article: Wild Sign Ryan Hartman To Three-Year Extension

[Tony Abbott]

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[Willy the poor boy]

Good signing. Not sure why they gave Foligno the extra year instead of Hartzy. We'll see how that plays out.

[DHockey]

It seems that with the cap going up the next several years isn't this the best time to try and lock in deals before contracts start going up with cap? Also most of these deal have no move clauses until the year of or year after the penalties come off so if young guys are ready they can move on from the older players if needed. On top of all that the players wanted to be in Minnesota and took slight haircuts on their deals, so to me this looks like the FO looking to the future with good contract value for players they know fit the room\culture until younger players push their way onto the roster or trades develop to bring better talent in.

I think these deals will look better with time at least if the players perform close to expectations.

[Protec]

Maybe because he was here before Hartman? Just a thought but glad they're keeping the group together.

[Beast]

Oh good.  We get to watch the same team that cant win squat keep playing together for the next 3 years right up to the end of Kaprisov’s deal.

[Pewterschmidt]

Meet the new core, same as the old core

[vonlonster67]

I can live with this contract for several reasons. The term is 3 years, not too many of Hartzy's 30+ years,  keeps a reliable center for Zucci/KK now or wing later, and allows for an easy transition to our prospect timeline and move of Hartman down the lines. (3rd-4th).

I'm not crazy about the $4M/yr, but I would bet BG tried to keep it at around $3.5-3.75M/yr. and guessing that could be why it took a little longer to get that extra .5/.25M per year done.

I can feel good about this contract as I feel we owe Hartzy a little pay  ($1.7/yr)for what he has done the last 3 years with his fit w KK/Zucci, scoring and grit. My only concern with him is his stupid penalties at times and want that cleared up at $4M/yr.

[Will D. Ness]

Foligno should buy Hartman a McLaren.

[vonlonster67]

And the hits keep rollin for Haight!

[Protec]

Rossi with an NHL goal boys from Foligno. All the top veterans at 4M. Beating Dallas for the first of many this year, let's hope. 

Zuccarello with a nice game too. Boldy with a pipe, Dewar with a pipe, and Gus solid. 

The Wild aren't too shabby.

[Protec]

4 hours ago, Beast said:

Oh good.  We get to watch the same team that cant win squat keep playing together for the next 3 years right up to the end of Kaprisov’s deal.

Can't win squat, so far. 

4 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Meet the new core, same as the old core

Close, similar even perhaps. Better chemistry and better group without players who believe they run the show. Better goaltending too with a GM who can add a deadline guy without giving up 1st round picks. 

Looks good to me all the continuity and flexibility. 

I enjoy the geriatric jokes but it's not like the past where the Wild were chasing depleted UFAs. They're pretty solid as a group with depth and netminders.

[vonlonster67]

18 hours ago, Willy the poor boy said:

Good signing. Not sure why they gave Foligno the extra year instead of Hartzy. We'll see how that plays out.

Best guess is his leadership and "A" on his jersey. I wonder who is in line for that "A" in 3 or 4 years.

Ek obviously will wear the "A" next from Dumba and the "C" to KK when Spurgeon goes. I'm  thinking Faber for Moose. It will be about the right time and he held that title at every level he's played and it's showing in his maturity. 

Now we just need to tweak those blue line passes, guessing we'll have some growing pains this year. He does so many things well.  20 steps forward,  only one back.

[Pewterschmidt]

Hartman contract is the one that bothers me the least of the three old core contracts

 1) we owed him. BG had to pay up for Hartman (even though he’s still being underpaid. Foligno getting same money for more term proves BG values culture and puts a premium on having an alpha in the room)

2) Grizzle is a true Swiss Army knife who can move up/down lineup and contribute wherever he is.  Compared to Fred who tends to chase the play wherever he is in lineup 

3) who would you rather have in foxhole, grizzle, Sam Steele, Tyler P Enis, Jost, Donato or Fred.  I think about Hartman as the gold standard of this type of utility nhl player. 

Edited October 8, 2023 by Pewterschmidt

[M_Nels]

51 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Hartman contract is the one that bothers me the least of the three old core contracts

 1) we owed him. BG had to pay up for Hartman (even though he’s still being underpaid. Foligno getting same money for more term proves BG values culture and puts a premium on having an alpha in the room)

2) Grizzle is a true Swiss Army knife who can move up/down lineup and contribute wherever he is.  Compared to Fred who tends to chase the play wherever he is in lineup 

3) who would you rather have in foxhole, grizzle, Sam Steele, Tyler P Enis, Jost, Donato or Fred.  I think about Hartman as the gold standard of this type of utility nhl player. 

Spot on. Pretty much echos my feelings about his deal. I don’t know if you were intending to be funny in point #3 but the visual made me chuckle. 

[Protec]

All these guys getting the same number AAV and term that works all around makes a lot of sense. In the room all the guys see it fairly. From an organizational view, the structure and cost is within budget but good to the players who earn it. Each guy has produced or taken damage for the team. Loyally for years with good results. That's part of the culture Guerin rewards. Hard to argue with that and the message it telegraphs around the league. Being good and having a nice reputation is a good way to sign a UFA or extend a guy coming in a trade. 

[vonlonster67]

2 hours ago, M_Nels said:

Spot on. Pretty much echos my feelings about his deal. I don’t know if you were intending to be funny in point #3 but the visual made me chuckle. 

THAT was a given with Patrick!

[Protec]

3 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Hartman 

3) who would you rather have in foxhole, grizzle, Sam Steele, Tyler P Enis, Jost, Donato or Fred?

If it was French Indian wars perhaps Guadreau being a Qebecois.

I've seen Hartman turkey hunting and the righteous facial moss does help blend into the forest. So Hartman in a foxhole might even be able to help generate a turkey leg when rations are slim. 

I like the Wild's platoon overall. All the pieces are technically there. Depth or another gamebreaking player is debatable but pretty good group. Nice looking handful of warmup games.

[mnfaninnc]

I'm not even sure where to put this since we don't have a walk this morning.

Spurgeon's injury is considered "week to week." To me, that suggests at least 3 weeks before he's ready to go again. As mentioned earlier, LTIR is 24 days + 10 games. 24 days is a little more than 3 weeks, and we've got a few significant breaks in there. 

The biggest issue this team has right now has to do with cap space vs. injuries. This is a marathon season. We've got some nice looking players who could use the opportunity, such as Carson Lambos. What if we LTIRed Spurgeon, banked his salary, replaced him with Lambos and maybe even sent Boldy down a couple of times early on to bank the money needed for expected injuries later?

To me, it seems like this is a no-brainer. 10 games takes us through the Nov. 2nd game vs. the Devils. 24 days falls on the following game vs. NYR. I could see Spurgeon returning for the road trip starting out with the Islanders on Nov. 7th, play the 3 games and head to Sweden. 

Alternatives: Who thinks that Goligoski can hold down the fort while Spurgeon is gone? Built into the early portion of the schedule is one 3/4 stretch where I think if he had the middle game off he could do it. But, would he be effective? Or, could you try Lambos and Hunt in that spot and see how they react to NHL play? 

You could bank the prorated portion of $6.5m (Spurgeon's salary - ELC) which would give you more than enough to call up prospects with injury. You would also send the message to the Baby Wild, be ready, you never know when your opportunity arrives. And, if Lambos pans out, possibly it is Merrill that gets sent back down when Spurgeon is healthy.

The risk is minimal, since this happens at the beginning of the season. There is plenty of runway left to catch up. We also need to have a healthy Spurgeon, not a gutting it out Spurgeon for him to be effective. 

The way our cap is currently laid out for '23-24, any wiggle room we can gain is needed. We're not just competing against other teams on the ice, but we have to compete against the unfair rules the NHL put on the Suter/Parise contracts. This will be the year we will need to consider LTIR as a cap relief mechanism that helps our position. It just makes too much sense to me.