Article: The Minnesota Wild Are Running Out Of Time

[Luke Sims]

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[MacGyver]

Personally I still think they will find a way to get in. That's just how psychotic this team is. But I'm not sure what the point is in doing so other than a few more games of gate receipts for CL. 

[MNCountryLife]

I'm more curious to see if anybody on the roster wants out and requests a trade.... which may be the only way we see players leave before the TDL.

[MNCountryLife]

Still missing Spurgeon, Brodin, Kirill and Gus.  While I tag Ek as probably the best overall player on the roster.  These 4 guys arguably complete the top 5 on our roster.  Missing them is brutal.  Having them back will definitely help.

[Citizen Strife]

The fact they still have a chance, despite all those early and recent losses, is a testament to the loser point bein an indictment on the NHL point system.  Stop giving teams hope.  Dallas and Winnipeg whooped them...so I dunno what is gained by false hope.

The Vikings were in even worse injury troubles this year, but fought through it until they couldn't.  I'll give them credit for refusing to outright tank.  The Wild shouldn't either, but I think the point system gives the Wild a false sense of hope that really should be there at this point.  Either that, or they are lucky most of the other mushy middle teams didn't take more advantage.

[mnfaninnc]

Brutal loss last night to help their chances. You simply cannot give up a 3-1 lead with 10 minutes left if you want to make the playoffs. 

I think the hard thing was that goal #3 was on Fleury, he's got to have that one. Those are the types of games we were winning the last 3 years, just the way Philly did last night. 

A lot was made of Kaprizov, Brodin and Gustavsson practicing with the team in the morning skate yesterday. I'm curious, what happened to Spurgeon? I don't remember seeing a time where he got injured. Anyone know what went wrong?

We do have the 2nd easiest schedule on paper for the 2nd half. I still don't think this is a very good team, even when the reinforcements get back. But playing the teams that we can compete with more could allow us to get hot. Personally, though, I'd like to have that draft pick in the top 6.

[mnfaninnc]

Some news on the prospect front:

1. Riley Heidt appears to be slumping, didn't score again last night
2. Adam Beckman is back to playing with the Baby Wild
3. Caeden Bankier potted a couple more goals
4. Mikey Milne made his season debut
5. Kahaira has also been hurt, probably why he wasn't called up
6. Liam Ohgren potted a couple more goals too
7. The Wall heads back to Des Moines, Goose2 activated

Edited January 13 by mnfaninnc

[Citizen Strife]

Personally, though, I'd like to have that draft pick in the top 6.

6'7 defenseman...me want

[TCMooch]

3 hours ago, MacGyver said:

Personally I still think they will find a way to get in. That's just how psychotic this team is. But I'm not sure what the point is in doing so other than a few more games of gate receipts for CL. 

That’s about what we measure success in as a team. Make playoffs, get embarrassed in first round, draft in the 20s, rinse, repeat.

[Dean]

The wild media are using the tough schedule as an excuse, along with injuries. Billy chose to go to Sweden and condense his team’s schedule by doing so. He chose this for a team with no depth because of  cap penalties from his buyouts . Condensing the schedule doesn’t help with injuries. All of this was Billy’s decision. Obviously not the injuries but putting his team in a more difficult situation. Kinda like the no need extensions.  I wish they would stop with the excuses. They don’t play good hockey and need to play better.  Simple. 

[mnfaninnc]

12 hours ago, Dean said:

Billy chose to go to Sweden and condense his team’s schedule by doing so. He chose this for a team with no depth because of  cap penalties from his buyouts .

Were there any benefits to the team for doing this? I would think there would have been monetary benefits to the owner, but I'd also think with so many guys on the team from the area, that playing in their own home was a likely benefit for their families too. 

The Wild have always had a condensed schedule at some point during the season. Typically it is in February-March. Did we avoid that this year?

[mnfaninnc]

Another game, another 4 point swing. Our offense was back to normal, scoring exactly 0 goals. They didn't even look very good doing it, even though they put up close to 40 shots. 

So, I've got to ask: Is the flu running through the team at this point? They look really tired and it could simply be the vets have been overused. Even the energizer bunny, I mean Faber, looks gassed. 

There are excuses, and there are reasons. Sometimes, they intertwine. We're already starting every game as if we were down 2 top 5 players with the buyouts. Being down the top 5 that are there is really taxing. Even when those guys come back, there could be exhaustion. If the flu is in this mix too, and I've had this year's and it's brutal, we just might simply be running on empty. 

Nobody likes to see 6-0 games against, and I'll admit I stayed until the bitter end. If it were me, in the 3rd period, I'd have been looking for a way to exit the game early, like with a 2+5+10 type of scenario. I'm quite surprised the 3rd period wasn't filled with more of that. 

However, I'm kind of rooting for pick 6-8 this year. I think we can get a really good player who will arrive similar to the other ones. Even our 2nd rounder might be pretty good. So, for me, a 4 point loss means we're closer to selling at the deadline, and closer to a top pick. In the long run, I'd have to say that is a win.

[mnfaninnc]

In other news:

1. Heidt is back on the scoresheet
2. Bankier continues to put up points
3. Mikey Milne (for Pewter) picks up an apple
4. Danila Yurov looks to have had a 3 point night last night

If I'm the Wild, I'd be trying to sign Riley Heidt to his ELC pronto. I'd also consider bringing him up late in the season for a couple of games to see what he's got and reward him for a stellar year in jrs. IIRC, as long as he doesn't play more than 9 games, his contract slides to the next season. Heidt is 18 and doesn't turn 19 until late March. Essentially, that means that he will not be eligible for the A next season. 

Petrovsky and Kumpulainen are other guys I'd sign, especially because Petrovsky is eligible for the A next season. An ELC + a PTO at the end of his season is the way to go. Petrovsky is still a little light and will need to add some bulk/strength, but he is filling out and I think is higher than his listed weight on Elite Prospects. I'm not sure about Kumpulainen's status. Did his year playing in the Canadian Major Jrs. change his ability to play in the A at 19? I think this is a gray area in the CBA. Mr. Cheatachu?

[Up North Guy]

2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

However, I'm kind of rooting for pick 6-8 this year.

The pick is #6 right now. I can envision possibly going to #4. Ottawa and Columbus could pass the Wild the way they are playing. It probably isn't likely, especially Columbus, but losing 7 out of 8 games isn't encouraging. I don't remember the rules on the lottery, but wouldn't that be something?

[Willy the poor boy]

On 1/13/2024 at 9:37 AM, MacGyver said:

Personally I still think they will find a way to get in. That's just how psychotic this team is. But I'm not sure what the point is in doing so other than a few more games of gate receipts for CL. 

Oh no.... You must have forgot. They got rid of Deano, now they can win 1'st round playoff series. This team has the talent, Deano was the problem. 😜

[Willy the poor boy]

11 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Another game, another 4 point swing. Our offense was back to normal, scoring exactly 0 goals. They didn't even look very good doing it, even though they put up close to 40 shots. 

So, I've got to ask: Is the flu running through the team at this point? They look really tired and it could simply be the vets have been overused. Even the energizer bunny, I mean Faber, looks gassed. 

There are excuses, and there are reasons. Sometimes, they intertwine. We're already starting every game as if we were down 2 top 5 players with the buyouts. Being down the top 5 that are there is really taxing. Even when those guys come back, there could be exhaustion. If the flu is in this mix too, and I've had this year's and it's brutal, we just might simply be running on empty. 

Nobody likes to see 6-0 games against, and I'll admit I stayed until the bitter end. If it were me, in the 3rd period, I'd have been looking for a way to exit the game early, like with a 2+5+10 type of scenario. I'm quite surprised the 3rd period wasn't filled with more of that. 

However, I'm kind of rooting for pick 6-8 this year. I think we can get a really good player who will arrive similar to the other ones. Even our 2nd rounder might be pretty good. So, for me, a 4 point loss means we're closer to selling at the deadline, and closer to a top pick. In the long run, I'd have to say that is a win.

Fudge that!! It's all about winning!!

[Mateo3xm]

On 1/13/2024 at 9:37 AM, MacGyver said:

Personally I still think they will find a way to get in. That's just how psychotic this team is. But I'm not sure what the point is in doing so other than a few more games of gate receipts for CL. 

I certainly hope not.

picking 1-7 sounds really nice in this draft.

[Mateo3xm]

On 1/13/2024 at 12:12 PM, mnfaninnc said:

Some news on the prospect front:

1. Riley Heidt appears to be slumping, didn't score again last night
2. Adam Beckman is back to playing with the Baby Wild
3. Caeden Bankier potted a couple more goals
4. Mikey Milne made his season debut
5. Kahaira has also been hurt, probably why he wasn't called up
6. Liam Ohgren potted a couple more goals too
7. The Wall heads back to Des Moines, Goose2 activated

Another to add to that is Yurov.

he had 2 goals and 1 assist last night.

he has 37pts in 46 games 

and has had 10pts in his last 10 games.

hes on track to beat Tarasanko’s 20 year old player khl record of 46pts in a season.

that’s absolutely incredible

 

https://www.quanthockey.com/khl/player-age/20-year-old-khl-players.html

[B1GKappa97]

Put a fork in this season. Its over. 

At least we can get a top-10 talent to add to our prospect pool. Maybe a dude to replace Johansson/Zuccy in the top-6. Maybe a guy to put Spurgeon or Midds down on the 3rd pairing.

And then we should have another chance to add a great option in the 2nd round too. 

 

[mnfaninnc]

4 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

Another to add to that is Yurov.

he had 2 goals and 1 assist last night.

he has 37pts in 46 games 

and has had 10pts in his last 10 games.

I saw it an thought I put it in there. Obviously I did not!

Turns out I did in a lower post. I think I did the original on Saturday and the followup on Sunday.

Edited January 15 by mnfaninnc

[B1GKappa97]

49 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I saw it an thought I put it in there. Obviously I did not!

Turns out I did in a lower post. I think I did the original on Saturday and the followup on Sunday.

Pretty impressive that he's only 3 points behind Kaprizov in the same number of games! Especially since he has even more goals. 

Hello future Zuccy! 

[mnfaninnc]

47 minutes ago, B1GKappa97 said:

Pretty impressive that he's only 3 points behind Kaprizov in the same number of games! Especially since he has even more goals. 

Kind of adds legitimacy to Kaprizov's comment of "I'm waiting for you." I hope he feels as strongly about Dino!