Article: Reality Is Beginning To Set In For the Wild

[Tom Schreier]

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[Luke Sims]

Hynes gets the opportunity to make the most of Guerin's mistakes. Let's see if he can.

[Willy the poor boy]

18 minutes ago, Luke Sims said:

Hynes gets the opportunity to make the most of Guerin's mistakes. Let's see if he can.

My bet is he won't come anywhere near to what DE did with BG's mistakes. 

[MNCountryLife]

Our prospect pool is quite large.... but no room exists on the roster to place any of them.   I stare at Cap-Friendly and frown at all those NTC/NMC and years filled in.  The guys on the ice need to produce.  No help is coming from outside the locker room. 

My Expectations have dropped.  Forget winning in the playoffs... my hope at this moment is to be competitive in each game....period.   The probability of 2 really painful years of watching this team is increasing by the game.  I really hope these guys turn the corner.

[MrCheatachu]

12 minutes ago, MNCountryLife said:

Our prospect pool is quite large.... but no room exists on the roster to place any of them.   I stare at Cap-Friendly and frown at all those NTC/NMC and years filled in.  The guys on the ice need to produce.  No help is coming from outside the locker room. 

My Expectations have dropped.  Forget winning in the playoffs... my hope at this moment is to be competitive in each game....period.   The probability of 2 really painful years of watching this team is increasing by the game.  I really hope these guys turn the corner.

Sadly, from what I've seen so far this season with our prospect pool there arent any guys who are going ready enough to 'Play themselves' into a roster spot this season like Boldy did.  

We got the same amount of dead cap next season with Flower ($3.5M), Goose ($2M), Duhaime ($1.1), Dewar ($800k), Maroon ($800k), and Bogosian ($850k).

I'm worried Dewey 1&2 might be TDL casualties this season so Billy can figure out how to extend Flower, Goose, Maroon and Bogosian well into their 40's. 

I'm with you, I'd like to see competitive hockey night in and night out, but I'd rather see it with young dudes trying to keep a locker in the NHL than guys who love playing the game and used to be studs...also trying to stay in the big leagues and not beer leagues.

[MNCountryLife]

2 minutes ago, MrCheatachu said:

I'm with you, I'd like to see competitive hockey night in and night out, but I'd rather see it with young dudes trying to keep a locker in the NHL than guys who love playing the game and used to be studs...also trying to stay in the big leagues and not beer leagues.

Agreed.  If we are not competitive I would prefer to be watching young players trying to improve with hope of a brighter future.

[Jon]

1 hour ago, MNCountryLife said:

Our prospect pool is quite large.... but no room exists on the roster to place any of them.   I stare at Cap-Friendly and frown at all those NTC/NMC and years filled in.  The guys on the ice need to produce.  No help is coming from outside the locker room. 

My Expectations have dropped.  Forget winning in the playoffs... my hope at this moment is to be competitive in each game....period.   The probability of 2 really painful years of watching this team is increasing by the game.  I really hope these guys turn the corner.

I know professional sports is a results-based business but I’ve come to expect watching competitive games to be the most fun regardless of the wins and losses. Domination gets boring and blowouts are painful. But putting on a strong game for almost the entire game is a nice roller coaster ride. 
 

My point is, if you can prioritize simply watching a fun game regardless of how it ends, I daresay it is enjoyable. Maybe it’s just personal experience. I got to see Dan Campbell coach his first year. They went 3-13 but damn it was nice to see life in a team that got me hoping for them to be a great team, like they’re working towards right now.

[Citizen Strife]

Guerin won't be stupid enough to block off Wallstedt, the Russians, Ohgren, Lambos, etc. next season.  Yes, there's a lot of immovable pieces, but nothing saying, "If they start in Iowa, shit happens, but they will all be around barring injury," that's quite a bit of infusion right there.  Just because Guerin didn't say, "you get a roster spot, YOU get a roster spot, you ALL get roster spots," doesn't mean the Wild team is some big slow iceberg...NEXT year.

This year though? Just deal with it.  Whatever happens happens.  Don't forget, Hartman and Foligno might have been misses, but Zuccarello is showing he's still playing at a high enough level to lead the team in points, while netting a paycut next year.  Guerin's moves aren't all like dead weight.

[Pewterschmidt]

23 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

Hartman and Foligno might have been misses

While I absolutely think Foligno is a miss, Hartman has the ability to make a high end hockey play and finish from time to time.  And he's the RAT this organization has never had.  

[Disco Strangler]

36 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

Guerin won't be stupid enough to block off Wallstedt, the Russians, Ohgren, Lambos, etc. next season.  Yes, there's a lot of immovable pieces, but nothing saying, "If they start in Iowa, shit happens, but they will all be around barring injury," that's quite a bit of infusion right there.  Just because Guerin didn't say, "you get a roster spot, YOU get a roster spot, you ALL get roster spots," doesn't mean the Wild team is some big slow iceberg...NEXT year.

This year though? Just deal with it.  Whatever happens happens.  Don't forget, Hartman and Foligno might have been misses, but Zuccarello is showing he's still playing at a high enough level to lead the team in points, while netting a paycut next year.  Guerin's moves aren't all like dead weight.

Hartman wasn't a miss. It's crazy to see the Hartman hate for the last 2 years. He's one of the better players on the team with one of the best contracts and before this year the best contract on the team. 

Hynes puts him on the 4'th line and magically Dewar is hitting the back of the net again. Go figure.

[Dean]

Great article! This team is what it is. IMO it’s mediocre as it has always been and will be for near future due to Billy’s inability to have any flexibility. I agree Fletcher was in love with Yeo. Just like Billy is in love with his people . Had Fletcher got a good coach things may have been different for his team.  Had Billy left himself some flexibility things may be different for this team in near future.  However he didn’t so there only change can come from within. Has Hynes hit another level in coaching to get more out of this team next few years?  I doubt it but maybe. Are judds draft picks as good as the pr department wants everyone to believe?  I doubt it but maybe. . The probability on that isn’t great. Fletcher had higher draft picks than Judd but nothing top 5. I’m sure some of his picks will be good but are they good enough to make this team better in the playoffs? I think the answer to that is years away with no guarantee. No amount of pr will change if those kids make nhl or not. Only time will tell.  35% and lower for 2nd and lower picks making nhl 100 games.  75 % on 1sts . 
     Is it good hockey watching this team ? Idk. IMO I’m just watching us waste kappy s prime years with no real goals or timetable of when things get better. Vegas owner had a 5 year plan. Win cup in 5 years. He also wanted a conference championship in 3. He got what he wanted. What does Craig want ? Perpetual mediocrity to sell hopes and dreams of no real plan.  Slow cooking 20 th overall draft picks years apart seems to be the plan while all Billy’s friends get to ride off into the sunset on there nmc s .  I don’t find that good hockey. Watching kids with high ceiling’s seems better than old vets with ceiling’s collapsing.  I’m curious what the pr department will latch on to this year to call it a success again ? Only in minny is mediocre success! 

[Citizen Strife]

The thing about Hartman is he's a weird Swiss Army Knife. He goes on these spurts of goals and assists, then goes cold, only to remind over and over again, "Oh yeah, forgot he was that good.  

[Citizen Strife]

*Won't let me edit the last thing I posted*

I retract my Hartman derision.  He'll probably go the next five games and score 10 points, cause he does that sort of thing.

[Skomonkey]

6 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

The thing about Hartman is he's a weird Swiss Army Knife. He goes on these spurts of goals and assists, then goes cold, only to remind over and over again, "Oh yeah, forgot he was that good.  

Hartman has a friendly contract and we got value but he’s a liability. He’s hot and cold as you mentioned, but he’s a poor center man, losing keys face offs on the top line, he takes too many stupid penalties, and he can’t finish. This makes the first line ineffective and inconsistent. 
 

Now on the 4th line his ego is bruised. He’s counting on BG loyalty to bring him back to the top 3 lines.  Benn in Dallas showed how easy he is to tilt. Other teams catching on. 

[M_Nels]

19 hours ago, MrCheatachu said:

We got the same amount of dead cap next season with Flower ($3.5M), Goose ($2M), Duhaime ($1.1), Dewar ($800k), Maroon ($800k), and Bogosian ($850k).

I'm worried Dewey 1&2 might be TDL casualties this season so Billy can figure out how to extend Flower, Goose, Maroon and Bogosian well into their 40's. 

Hopefully sarcasm in your post but Guerin can't be that stupid. He's loyal to his guys almost to a fault but there's no way. If Bogo, Maroon, Goose & Flower are all extended and on the roster next year I'd be shocked, sad, mesmerized and would shelf all my Wild jerseys for a year or 2 to not be embarrassed being seen in public. 

Honestly think out of the list Dewar is about the only lock to get extended, he has played extremely well this year and has earned Hynes' trust. I could possibly see Duhaime coming back but I think his role can be filled fairly easily.

It would be one of the all time GM blunders if he buries a generational goalie that has shown he's ready in Iowa just to extend Flower another year. Gus isn't going anywhere and him & Wall are the tandem of the future.

Goose isn't just cooked, he's burnt. Even if he's Billy's children's Godfather there's no way he comes back. There is a crowded D pipeline with Lambos, Hunt, Mermis and others all fighting for a starting spot next year in the NHL. Again, I don't think he blocks these guys just to be friendly to a washed up D-man that is a liability especially since Merrill is still on the roster.

Bogo & Maroon are stop gaps and are past their primes as well. Again, I do not see either one being extended. Hope I'm right but guess we'll just have to wait and see.

[mnfaninnc]

I can see us climbing up to 3rd in the division. I don't think it's that far of a stretch either. I think Hynes is a better Xs & Os guy than Evason is. 

I will say that so far under Hynes this team has looked better prepared. Let's hope they start on time tomorrow night.

[Pewterschmidt]

17 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

I retract my Hartman derision

Mojo, Foligno, Fred Evason & Duhaime need to be critiqued and fixed before we get to Hartman.

[Up North Guy]

20 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

While I absolutely think Foligno is a miss, Hartman has the ability to make a high end hockey play and finish from time to time.  And he's the RAT this organization has never had.  

And I like him on L-4. He is probably too talented to be there but his attitude and playing style really are geared for it. I still have hopes for Moose. I may be whistling in the grave yard but I think he still has enough juice to perform, albeit not on an every game basis. Now Mojo was a terrible signing and everyone but BG knew it and even though it is only $2M a year Freddie isn't worth it.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

On 12/12/2023 at 11:38 AM, MNCountryLife said:

but no room exists on the roster to place any of them.   I stare at Cap-Friendly and frown at all those NTC/NMC and years filled in.  The guys on the ice need to produce.  No help is coming from outside the locker room. 

My Expectations have dropped.  Forget winning in the playoffs... my hope at this moment is to be competitive in each game....period.   The probability of 2 really painful years of watching this team is increasing by the game.  I really hope these guys turn the corner.

Duhaime, Goligoski, and Fleury are in available roster spots for next year.

Wallstedt joins the Wild next season. Goligoski will not return either.

Duhaime and Merrill could be traded to open space this season, and Duhaime isn't currently signed for next year.

Merrill and Johansson's contracts end following next season. The roster has some spots opening and there are players like Gaudreau who don't have full NMC's, making them tradeable to some teams.

When the young players show they are clearly ready to contribute at the NHL level, Guerin can make room, but I wouldn't expect much to happen this season. Merrill could be traded if some young defenders push him out of the lineup, but I'm not expecting to see that happen this season.

It does seem like Guerin has been focused on that 25-26 season for quite a while. Still feels really far away, but it has the potential to be one of the best in franchise history.

[Mateo3xm]

On 12/12/2023 at 12:47 PM, Jon said:

I know professional sports is a results-based business but I’ve come to expect watching competitive games to be the most fun regardless of the wins and losses. Domination gets boring and blowouts are painful. But putting on a strong game for almost the entire game is a nice roller coaster ride. 
 

My point is, if you can prioritize simply watching a fun game regardless of how it ends, I daresay it is enjoyable. Maybe it’s just personal experience. I got to see Dan Campbell coach his first year. They went 3-13 but damn it was nice to see life in a team that got me hoping for them to be a great team, like they’re working towards right now.

That seems like you’re setting the bar low and content with mediocrity..

im tired of having a “decent” team year after year. I think that’s incredibly boring.

i want the state of hockey to win a cup. Idk why people would want anything less honestly but that’s just me.

 

[FredJohnson]

On 12/12/2023 at 12:01 PM, MrCheatachu said:

I'm worried Dewey 1&2 might be TDL casualties this season so Billy can figure out how to extend Flower, Goose, Maroon and Bogosian well into their 40's. 

[Jon]

21 minutes ago, Mateo3xm said:

That seems like you’re setting the bar low and content with mediocrity..

im tired of having a “decent” team year after year. I think that’s incredibly boring.

i want the state of hockey to win a cup. Idk why people would want anything less honestly but that’s just me.

 

I didn’t say I wanted to see “mediocre” or “boring” games. But I guess when your expectation is to win the cup, you’re bound to be disappointed.

Winning isn’t everything. If that’s the only thing you want to enjoy and “anything less” is complacency, yikes.

[Protec]

42 minutes ago, Mateo3xm said:

That seems like you’re setting the bar low and content with mediocrity..

im tired of having a “decent” team year after year. I think that’s incredibly boring.

i want the state of hockey to win a cup. Idk why people would want anything less honestly but that’s just me.

 

The problem is, the Wild had become a problem and had to take a step back to regroup and move forward. The process is a multi-year deal. Just how it goes and there's no guarantees. 

It looks like they will have good young players when the cap penalties drop off. They certainly have good prospects now that can compete for those roles. With the newly available money MN will be able to improve their roster and if that coincides with Wallstedt's prime, the upside is great.

[Quebec1648]

All this speculation about what might happen, ignores the reality that Kaprizov only signed a 5 year deal. What happens when his deal expires? Will he want to stay, or will he bolt for another club? The Wild need Kaprizov, almost as much as they need the prospects to pan out.