Article: The Wild Are Missing Out On A Franchise-Changing Opportunity At the Trade Deadline

[Tony Abbott]

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[MrCheatachu]

IDK, but the Russo/Smith mailbag pointed out that the wild have signaled their belief in Rossi with the FreddyG and Hartzy extensions, coupled with K-Nut/Heidt coming up quick that Rossi might end up being the odd-man out this offseason.  Plus, I don't think teams are looking at Rossi right now and thinking 'that guy is going to be a playoff asset.'  Rossi's looked good this season, but I dont think he's hit his peak yet.

Duhaime for a 2nd, Dewar for a 3rd, Maroon wants to be at a contender so whatever 4th/5th and BillyG wants to extend Bogosian instead of flipping him.

FreddyG, with the way he has been playing, doesn't have value at the TDL or offseason, so the best we can hope is he's fighting through a lingering injury thanks to the Muffin Man.

Rumblings that Fleury wants another year or two here in MN, so GusBus probably gets the Cambot treatment in the offseason.

 

The joys of being a MN sports fan...

[B1GKappa97]

I think you are overvaluing guys' trade market. I mean sure, Billy G got a 2nd for Jordan Greenway last year but a 1st for Hartsy seems a little optimistic. Especially so for a 36-year old pass-first winger in Zuccarello. 

Plus, weren't we griping about potentially ending without a lotto pick if we made the playoffs a handful of weeks ago? Why are we suddenly upset about missing out on a pick in the 20s if it wasn't good enough for us then? 

Quote

Hartman would be a blend of the recent goal-scoring of Monahan (15 goals, 33 points in 57 games) and Lindholm's decent track record (27 goals, 56 points per 82 games since 2021-22). Moreover, he has that gritty edge that teams want in the playoffs

So why don't we want that for the future seasons where we make the playoffs, again? If he's worth a 1st round pick and all, he should also be worth hanging onto, no?

 

[Backwoodsbob]

Unfortunately I have to agree with this article! The team is handcuffed for a couple of years. Thx Billy G.!

[Will D. Ness]

We need to consider the value of young guys playing with talent vs playing with scrubs.  Zucc, Hartman and Foligno bring a lot better play instead of AHL guys in regards to the development of the Rossi's and Knudi's.  

Everyone has been crying about Rossi not playing with top 6 talent for a couple years and I agree.  Rossi needs to play with talent.  

At what point do we start focusing on winning a cup?  I say we need to be on the gas ending next season.  We will need to target FA in 2025 and hope our current prospects are a part of that cup run.

I also like how BG has developed player loyalty.  FA will like to come to MN if there is that integrity.

Any draft capital post 2024 is always good but without a top 5 pick or some lightning in a bottle pick, how much impact will these picks have on the window of opportunity that is starting to open here?  

[Sam]

Between 8 and 16%.. so you’re saying there’s still hope? 

[MacGyver]

Zuccarello was not going anywhere regardless of what kind of a return he would bring. The Oilers could offer McDavid and it would be a no go. Kaprizov's separation anxiety from his emotional support hobbit would be more than he could bear. 

[MNCountryLife]

If I were to hazard a guess.  I would say BG thinks we are a defender and a playmaker away from being competitive.  Get Spurge back and find a winger that can score and BG is confident this team can compete in the playoffs.  I think that makes us competitive to make the playoffs but one and bounce is the best we do.  

If we want to be a contender we need at least 1 more high quality defender (other than Spurge returning) that can do something besides toss the puck up the boards like Merrill. 

Forwards is a different story.  We only have 3 players that can be considered top 6 right now.  Nojo, Freddy, Zuc, Foligno, Dewar, Duhaime, Lettieri, Hartman, Rossi, Lucchini, Maroon and Shaw... none of them paired together in any array of 3 are currently capable of putting up quality top 6 minutes.  BG has a dilemma and I don't know if he understands that.  Rossi and possibly K-Nut are the only players with the potential to be top 6 minutes next year.  If that is the plan than Rossi should be on the ice 20 minutes a game.

[MrCheatachu]

3 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

Zuccarello was not going anywhere regardless of what kind of a return he would bring. The Oilers could offer McDavid and it would be a no go. Kaprizov's separation anxiety from his emotional support hobbit would be more than he could bear. 

I said the same about Dumba...

I'm sure he'd miss his buddies, but he has 9 million reasons to not sulk around that he doesn't get to see his buddy everyday.

Regardless, I'd rather BillyG put the best players that he can in the room, than the best buddies.  I mean, you can't lose the room, or bring in cancers like Tony DeAngelo, but it's a professional hockey team who's goal is to win big boy hockey games.  We're suffering through $15M in deadcap because BillyG claimed the locker room turned into a Country Club...I'd hate to see it turn in to a Retirement Community instead.

[Burnt Toast]

I think the value of potential future draft picks rises as their returns match up with a team’s SC window. My assessment of Wild management’s recent choices lead me to believe that they are gunning for a breakout season starting in 25-26. They are valuing what the players that have been extended into that season bring more than what picks might have. Should they? I don’t know but we’re going to find out, one way or another. 

[Dis-allowed display name]

For all the good things and bad things the front office has done, I think we are still looking at another full year of purgatory due to salary and no-move clauses.  The salary problems are worse than the NMC's IMHO because unless you have 10 young superstars, you can not compete with $15m less to pay your team than the rest of the league.  

Once that cap is freed up, you can then start trying to remedy the NMC's and free up space for the young'uns.  But also, once that cap is available you can actually make a trade to get a solid player at the deadline who carries some salary, even if it means giving up one of our prospects.  

Don't get me wrong, I am as excited as any fan to see what some of these highly rated guys can do, but anyone who has followed this team and the Twins for a couple decades has seen a few dozens can't miss guys miss entirely.  Over and over.  The Wild move some, the Twins hung on to every guy with and attitude of "we can't sacrifice our future" attitude only to have the prospect spend ten years in the minors.  

Yes the NMC's bother me, but if we had salary space, some of those young guys are valuable not just as future players, but as enticing chips to trade for established players (and the heavy contracts they bring with them) from a team wanting to rebuild but hanging onto a popular star.   A couple hyped guys in juniors, or minors, or KHL might turn into Pierre Marc Buchard.

 

[Protec]

What would everyone say about these players if the team hadn't suffered injuries, fired the coach after a dismal start, and had some lackluster performances? Fred was a hero last season, Zuccarello had 75pts, and NoJo looked like a good hockey player last year's end.

Should a GM plan to "86" solid guys who've just proven some qualities and who will sign value-deals?

You can't bank on unproven players? If you're in a full blown rebuild like SJS or ANA perhaps more young players will be okay as you're arranging the future plans, but MN needed to lock guys up and position for what looked like another playoffs.

You can't have it both ways. Yes, NMCs reduce flexibility but does it make sense to trade away guys you liked & signed just months ago?

It's worth mentioning, but the roll of the dice was last Summer when Guerin could have let those guys go. Easy now, in March with an 16% or less chance of getting into the post-season that Guerin should have done the polar opposite thing and telegraphed to the world that he was gonna trade all the guys who were critical parts of two great regular seasons back to back.

The goal should be small gains which the Wild have been doing. Not wild swings hoping for a hail-mary to connect or a home-run-hole-in-one-silver-bullet situation that takes care of everything. Sure this year was rough for MN but there's elements that can yet come together for the Wild. Last year it didn't exactly look amazing for NSH, WPG, or STL but they've had nice bounceback seasons.

I would not be at all surprised to see MN learn from the bad start they had this year. Coming in with a few changes to the roster and potentially new talent, could MN be back in a playoff spot next season? It's certainly possible, but they're gonna have to work hard because they've been an embarrassment in the Central this year. With the injuries and coaching change, I'm not sure the replacement rookies, UFAs, or waiver-wire claims substituted for #89, #38, #17, or #36 would have made a boatload of difference. 

[B1GKappa97]

1 hour ago, Burnt Toast said:

I think the value of potential future draft picks rises as their returns match up with a team’s SC window. My assessment of Wild management’s recent choices lead me to believe that they are gunning for a breakout season starting in 25-26. They are valuing what the players that have been extended into that season bring more than what picks might have. Should they? I don’t know but we’re going to find out, one way or another. 

Exactly this. Hartman and Foligno are exactly the kind of guys you want playing in your bottom-6 come the playoffs, so it makes sense to keep them around for when we eventually are trying to make a run ourselves rather than trading them off and then just hunting for their replacements anyway. 

I think our bottom-6 is set up to be pretty tough in a couple seasons if Khusnutdinov and Oghren are what we expect them to be. Adding Yurov joining the top-6 either next year or the season after, and all we will need to really worry about is finding a Zuccarello replacement for the top-6. 

Boldy-Ek-Kap/Zuccy-Rossi-Yurov/Hartman-Oghren-Foligno/Gaudreau-Khusnutdinov-???

Spurgy-Midds/Fabes-Brodin/Chisholm-2024 1st round pick??

Gus/Wall

[viper3119]

18 minutes ago, B1GKappa97 said:

Gaudreau-Khusnutdinov-???

the ???? should be Shaw

[Dean]

Great article! I agree with . If this years prices at deadline are close to last year than the wild left a franchise helping haul on the table. . Harts and moose definitely have tons of value to playoff teams . I read rangers website wanting zucc back for kaako and some prospect. That’s a first and a prospect equivalent.  I truly believe a good gm could have got a 1st for harts , moose or zucc especially if you retain salary. Teams would get in bidding war and run price up. Obviously we’ll never know . What we do know for sure is the Dewey’s won’t get you close to anything like the extended players would. 
    I’m really curious what he does at deadline so it gives you some idea what they are thinking for next year. Running this team back with 5’9 Spurg and 5’9 Marat doesn’t really solve the problem . This team is too weak and overly undersized to do anything in the central. Yes maybe they win a few more games but still no coherent plan to winning cup . 
     There was an article about why other teams aren’t using the Billy plan. IMO it won’t work or has it been proven to work. You either full on rebuild or gunsling like Vegas and I believe the blues  did for there cup .  They went and got schen from Philly.  The wild can’t gunsling. We have the prospects , the picks but no money to pay for . We can’t move salary to make a big trade because of clauses. So how does Billy do anything meaningful with these prospects in future . Once kappy resigns there’s no way you can go get an elite free agent or trade for one with all these late picks you’ve accumulated.  The wild haven’t drafted any size in d or wing and it’s a huge question mark as to what those centers drafted last year will be. . So how does the wild get some size to compete in central? They need  size in top six forwards and d core . 
     Spurg won’t play a full season next year . After the surgeries he’s going to be on an off ir the rest of career. His small stature can’t keep taking the hits. Marat will have to carry Fred’s water so how does that get you past the central division.  I don’t see the wild do anything next year except for more of the same .i find it unbelievable its 5 years in to Billy and no hope for 5 more years at the least. . 

[UncleWalt]

I don’t think the Wild are a contender until the kids push Freddie and Foligno to the most expensive 4th line in the league. That’s why I approve of BG’s plan to sell on the Deweys and Maroon. 
 

Sounds like Yurov should play in the top 6. Khus and Ohgren in the top 9 as well as Hartman. They need one of the D prospects to break through. 
 

And then they need some freaking goaltending. I know fans are down on this season. But man, both  goalies have been brutal. 

[B1GKappa97]

3 hours ago, UncleWalt said:

I don’t think the Wild are a contender until the kids push Freddie and Foligno to the most expensive 4th line in the league. That’s why I approve of BG’s plan to sell on the Deweys and Maroon. 
 

Sounds like Yurov should play in the top 6. Khus and Ohgren in the top 9 as well as Hartman. They need one of the D prospects to break through. 
 

And then they need some freaking goaltending. I know fans are down on this season. But man, both  goalies have been brutal. 

Better days just around the corner! 

[mnfaninnc]

20 hours ago, MNCountryLife said:

If I were to hazard a guess.  I would say BG thinks we are a defender and a playmaker away from being competitive.  Get Spurge back and find a winger that can score and BG is confident this team can compete in the playoffs.  I think that makes us competitive to make the playoffs but one and bounce is the best we do.  

If we want to be a contender we need at least 1 more high quality defender (other than Spurge returning) that can do something besides toss the puck up the boards like Merrill. 

Forwards is a different story.  We only have 3 players that can be considered top 6 right now.  Nojo, Freddy, Zuc, Foligno, Dewar, Duhaime, Lettieri, Hartman, Rossi, Lucchini, Maroon and Shaw... none of them paired together in any array of 3 are currently capable of putting up quality top 6 minutes.  BG has a dilemma and I don't know if he understands that.  Rossi and possibly K-Nut are the only players with the potential to be top 6 minutes next year.  If that is the plan than Rossi should be on the ice 20 minutes a game.

This is a pretty good take. I think the defender we are looking for is going to be Lambos. Hunt and Chisholm will be good, but Lambos has to be that top 4 defender. I think they'll pair him with Faber for a pretty good pairing. 

As for the forwards. It may be easier to develop forwards than defenders and goalies, and perhaps that's why Judd targeted those guys earlier. But, with Ohgren, Yurov, Dino, Heidt, we've got some guys coming along. I have not given up on Beckman either as a middle 6 winger. 

Where I think that Shooter has paid people, they will be in the lower 6. They are more grinder types too. And this is where Kumpulainen and Stramel fit in, they will be their replacements. 

One thing that is hard is keeping Zuccarello in the top 6 and finding a place for Rossi and Dino. Unless you want to go with the 3 bugs line and just try to outmaneuver teams, I don't think having all those small guys will work. So, splitting them up will be necessary. Could a Dino-Rossi-Kaprizov line work? Could a Boldy-Ek-Zuccarello line work? And, next season if we hit the jackpot, where does Yurov fit in this scheme? 

[mnfaninnc]

20 hours ago, Dis-allowed display name said:

The salary problems are worse than the NMC's IMHO because unless you have 10 young superstars, you can not compete with $15m less to pay your team than the rest of the league. 

I think you're exaggerating the young superstars, but if you're $15m down, what you need are ELCs, bridge deals, overproducing vets and a few paid stars. Great goaltending helps this. 

So, If we were going to rush the young guys, we would have needed top 5-10 picks in the early years of this. But, that simply wasn't an option due to the owner's demands. So, what we got going through this was 5 year development on the draftpicks, and trying to find overperformers (that you really need to extend after they perform). We haven't done well with the bridge deals, deciding instead to fully extend out which may be good in the long run. 

The last thing that is really needed is above average injury luck. We've had that the 1st 3 years, but year 4 bit us in the butt. Down $15m really means we have no depth, so if we lose 2 or 3 of our top players, the effect is being down 5 top players. That was our January slide. 

I think we can compete next season, the kids are one year more mature, and perhaps we get better injury luck. However, compete and contend are 2 different words, and you have to chalk up compete as experience to help contention later. 

[mnfaninnc]

19 hours ago, Dean said:

Running this team back with 5’9 Spurg and 5’9 Marat doesn’t really solve the problem . This team is too weak and overly undersized to do anything in the central. Yes maybe they win a few more games but still no coherent plan to winning cup . 

Good news, Dino is now 5'11", as is Petrovsky coming up. 

I fully support your size element, but in this, I think the main issue we have is not pounding into these kids' heads, you've got to add strength! Our Iowa team should be much larger now. 

19 hours ago, Dean said:

The wild haven’t drafted any size in d or wing and it’s a huge question mark as to what those centers drafted last year will be. . So how does the wild get some size to compete in central? They need  size in top six forwards and d core . 

We did draft some size, not monstrous size. Our D that was drafted, maybe with the exception of Peart, was adequate in height. As for weight, you have to guess what they can be. O'Rourke is a perfect example, after 3 years, how is he not at 210 on a 6'2" frame. He had to put on that weight based upon the way he plays the game, yet he's still in the 190s. What has he been doing for 2 years? Why did he not add weight when he went back to jrs.?

This is the frustration I have. These guys were drafted to be a decent size, they're just not getting there. Why is nobody on the Ek plan? Why doesn't anyone go on the Rossi plan? Why does Addison train with Rossi and still show up in the 170s? The whole team plays lighter than it should!

Hartman should be at 205 but is 10 lbs. light. It probably helps add to his injuries for his style of play. Brodin plays in the mid 190s but needed more strength, especially upper body. Freddy is in the 180s and slow. Nobody seems to want to put the work in the weight room! And Billy G. was a thick player!!!!!!! This should be demanded, not optional!!!!! That extra strength/weight is what gets you through the season without feeling run over by 18 wheelers. And, you need that come playoff time. 

Since the Wild have targeted players in the 6'-6'2" range, their lower center of gravity should help them cutting east-west, especially to the net, yet they refuse and take the perimeter. The right move is fake the perimeter, get the defender off balance a bit, and cut to the middle which will be open since you have a 1 step advantage. If the other defender steps over, you've got a passing lane to your wingman.

We also have the issue of being overcommitted to lefty shot players. Balance is needed, as we get squeezed just a bit, but that 1-2" squeeze is enough to shore up goaltender's holes. There is no threat of a righty coming down the left wing with a huge shot. None, it doesn't even need to be honored. Just changing that angle and threat would lead to scoring opportunities. If we were to trade out some prospects, paying attention to this small detail would be wise.

[mnfaninnc]

18 hours ago, UncleWalt said:

And then they need some freaking goaltending. I know fans are down on this season. But man, both  goalies have been brutal. 

But, a quality goaltender is going to cost money and term. When you've got The Wall developing quickly, you don't want to block him! I do not view Gustavsson as a mistake, I think he'll end up being ok. He had a much better defense in front of him last season, and it is obvious his confidence has taken a hit. He needs an offseason to regroup....and work on his strength.