Article: Anson Carter Is Right About the Wild's Lack Of Depth

[Kalisha Turnipseed]

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[NC Beach Bum]

Does it come back to not having cap space to sign depth? Some of the extensions especially with no trade clause are concerning but maybe they are the depth and Wild need to get some of the young future stars going.... 

[Citizen Strife]

How are those Ottawa Senators doing with their 3rd and 4th overall picks?  Tell me how Hughes is doing after being selected 1st by New Jersey?  Gotta love the automatic playoff bid Buffalo earned picking Dahlin that time...

Oh wait: it's almost as if winning a ping pong ball isn't an automatic "We are a playoff team and will always win forever and ever" golden ticket or something.

Edited April 4 by Citizen Strife

[JMC1976]

So this Rossi being traded business...is that one of Russo's pot-stirring moments?  Keep in mind he is paid to get people to talk and discuss...

In retrospect I recall when he wrote for the Star Tribune and you didn't have to pay to read the blogs:

• Wild win = A couple of sentences, maybe a paragraph.
• Wild loss = Multiple pages.

Not subscribing to the Athletic to read what he writes now but I'd bet a 2011 bottle of Midleton Very Rare that not much has changed.

[Burnt Toast]

At this stage of the transition out of what many NHL capologists deemed “ the top 2 worst contracts in the NHL”.(last 3 years), I’m in the wait and see camp to see how everything plays out. There’s too much going on behind the scenes with these players and owner to assess what options are available to retool. I can see some very positive things that BG and friends have done and a few things that are hard to unravel. I’m hoping for a team coming out of the buyouts that is top 8 or better.

[Willy the poor boy]

29 minutes ago, Burnt Toast said:

I’m hoping for a team coming out of the buyouts that is top 8 or better.

And that's the rub. So far BG has given me no confidence he'll be able to navigate the buyouts ending. I hope I'm wrong, I just don't think I am.

[MNCountryLife]

1 or 2 top 5 draft picks does not make a team.  This team has a foundation with Kirill, Ek, Boldy, Faber, Spurgeon and Brodin.  Rossi and Knut are already showing signs of being a staple on the team.  We are not the sharks or Columbus.  We need a few impact players to be a competitive team.  The question that remains:  Is GMBG capable of developing or signing those remaining pieces?

Edited April 4 by MNCountryLife

[Dean]

Kappy is 26.  His 27 th year will be a waste due to buyouts. His 28th year we might have a couple 1sts playing with him. By age 30 we might have an idea if  ohgren and yurslov are legit nhl ers . If they aren’t then the wild are screwed. Stramel an kumpy aren’t your franchise changing picks. So you’ve wasted kappy years to find out Billy’s vision was joke. Even if they are legit, how does that fix your d core ? 
    I see buff and New Jersey differently. I think it proves competitive rebuild is a joke. It proves it takes kids time to develop . It’s better to have lots of options in an age group  than  spread out . Trying to weave 17 th overalls into into your kappy timeline isn’t going to work. To many unknowns.  New Jersey and buffalo have good young , fast, and  big teams. They both will have good futures under the right management. The Hughes brothers will be in the playoffs! Buffalo has Dahlin , powers and byram on d . They will grow into a good team. We have aging kappy and a collection of cast offs for next 5 years. That New Jersey vs rangers game was awesome last night. Rempe and McDermit going at it . Good physical playoff type  hockey.  With the wild you get to watch darlings dance around the sharks and call it meaningful. Ridiculous yet thats what we have to look forward to thanks to bill and Fred. 

[FredJohnson]

Not this month, Anson. (Snark)

[punch_cut]

Two yrs ago the were 2nd in the central.  Last yr 3rd. To say the Wild ceiling is battling for a wildcard is ridiculous.To think the injuries didn't crush the team this yr is crazy. You can't be missing that many important players and think everything will be fine. Yes they had some games they gave points away in an unacceptable manor and you can't do that.

What is Johansson blocking Walker or something 😆 

I will also say this. Last yrs playoff would have been fun to see with Ek not out and Kaprizov not dealing with what he was dealing with after Stanley got him.

[Need4speed99]

22 minutes ago, punch_cut said:

Two yrs ago the were 2nd in the central.  Last yr 3rd. To say the Wild ceiling is battling for a wildcard is ridiculous.To think the injuries didn't crush the team this yr is crazy. You can't be missing that many important players and think everything will be fine. Yes they had some games they gave points away in an unacceptable manor and you can't do that.

What is Johansson blocking Walker or something 😆 

I will also say this. Last yrs playoff would have been fun to see with Ek not out and Kaprizov not dealing with what he was dealing with after Stanley got him.

And how far did those teams get in the playoffs. How many very overperforming seasons did they get from vets who never had a season close to that...

Now some of our top d men are getting into their mid 30s and can't be expected to munch big minutes. 

Everything she said in this article was spot on. Signing aging vets to bad contracts and expecting very good production from guys at the end of their careers... we have seen their ceiling and if they continue to roll out the same team you can expect the same results.

[Need4speed99]

7 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

How are those Ottawa Senators doing with their 3rd and 4th overall picks?  Tell me how Hughes is doing after being selected 1st by New Jersey?  Gotta love the automatic playoff bid Buffalo earned picking Dahlin that time...

Oh wait: it's almost as if winning a ping pong ball isn't an automatic "We are a playoff team and will always win forever and ever" golden ticket or something.

The wild have had the same strategy  for 16 or so years now, how have they faired?

Not saying a complete rebuild is magically going to work and is the best course now but a change from the current modus operandi is NEEDED. stop signing aging vets and get the youth in here to see what you got. Keep the vets as 4th liners or off the ice as depth.

Edited April 4 by Need4speed99

[Citizen Strife]

The vets are going to be pushed down to those lines in a year or so.  Faber took over #1 D with flying colors, Rossi has already settled into 2nd C at worst (and Hynes is keeping him there), and so it's just a waiting game for Yurov, Ohgren, Khusnutdinov, etc. to do so.  It's the waiting game that seems to be killing people.

There's two outcomes: they hit, or they don't.  Guerin isn't sitting there with a stick going, "Nope, nope, nope, nope, yep, nope, yep, nope." by choice.  He probably has Leipold holding a pen over his head going, "Yeah, no tank, so fuck off and do your job."

What Guerin CAN control right now is if any fuel to the fire of the Rossi thing actually comes to fruition and he's just let go for nothing.  

Edited April 4 by Citizen Strife

[Citizen Strife]

Also, for all the people thinking, "Hey, all we need is some mythical high pick to solve our depth issues," here's a name never to forget.

#4 pick: Benoit Pouliot

Sorry, but Top 5 picks don't always end up winners.

 

[Protec]

Nolan Patrick, Yakupov, Galchenyuk, all never became top NHL players. Never know when the hype and timing leads to crummy selections. The Wild aren't alone making some questionable picks. 

[Fezig]

10 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

Also, for all the people thinking, "Hey, all we need is some mythical high pick to solve our depth issues," here's a name never to forget.

#4 pick: Benoit Pouliot

Sorry, but Top 5 picks don't always end up winners.

 

You are correct, but your chances increase immensely. 

[MacGyver]

16 hours ago, FredJohnson said:

Not this month, Anson. (Snark)

Yeah I remember well the broadcast where Anson showed his ass. He made the entire panel uncomfortable with his remarks and it wasn't the remarks he made about the Wild's depth that was just the vehicle he used to show who he really is. I remember the look on Gretzky's face when Anson wouldn't let it go and kept attacking Russo. Gretzky wanted to crawl in a hole. 

Then of course it was his last comment just as they were cutting away and he thought he was off mike that imo should have got him fired. 

[greg]

The comment, " let's see how all this plays out" is interesting.  WILD FANS HAVE BEEN WAITING for 20 years.  How much longer do we have to wait to see a consistent championship caliber team?  Probably another 20 years as we keep paying exorbitant prices to fill up the X game in and game out.  I'm glad fans support the Wild so well.  We should be rewarded for it at some time.  This team IS too veteran top heavy.  It's always been frustrating to me that hockey " hot beds" like Tampa Bay and Dallas can continually be very competitive and even win the Cup and here in the frozen tundra we can't do that.  It's also frustrating that we blame injuries, poor officiating, puck luck etc for the woes of the franchise.  The TV and radio announcers spend a fair amount of time every game reminding us of this.  It's also frustrating to see the players we do send out there just going through the motions, giving very little indication they actually care.  I'm hopeful for the future but something isn't right here.  Go Wild!

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, MacGyver said:

Yeah I remember well the broadcast where Anson showed his ass. He made the entire panel uncomfortable with his remarks and it wasn't the remarks he made about the Wild's depth that was just the vehicle he used to show who he really is. I remember the look on Gretzky's face when Anson wouldn't let it go and kept attacking Russo. Gretzky wanted to crawl in a hole. 

Then of course it was his last comment just as they were cutting away and he thought he was off mike that imo should have got him fired. 

Honest question: why is Carter being vilified for calling out Wild’s lack of depth?

[greg]

Anson Carter is right!  But he's still a jerk and does a disservice for hockey broadcasting and the NHL.

[FredJohnson]

3 hours ago, MacGyver said:

Yeah I remember well the broadcast where Anson showed his ass. He made the entire panel uncomfortable with his remarks and it wasn't the remarks he made about the Wild's depth that was just the vehicle he used to show who he really is. I remember the look on Gretzky's face when Anson wouldn't let it go and kept attacking Russo. Gretzky wanted to crawl in a hole. 

Then of course it was his last comment just as they were cutting away and he thought he was off mike that imo should have got him fired. 

Not good.

[FredJohnson]

1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Honest question: why is Carter being vilified for calling out Wild’s lack of depth?

I was referring to this unfortunate (for Anson) moment 2 years ago. He's not wrong now. But he's still a J/A for pulling the race card on Russo back then saying "stay on code" and "sounds all white to me".

[Willy the poor boy]

17 hours ago, punch_cut said:

Two yrs ago the were 2nd in the central.  Last yr 3rd.

That was when Evason was coach. No chance being that good with Hienzy.

😇

[Willy the poor boy]

4 hours ago, greg said:

The comment, " let's see how all this plays out" is interesting.  WILD FANS HAVE BEEN WAITING for 20 years.  How much longer do we have to wait to see a consistent championship caliber team?  Probably another 20 years as we keep paying exorbitant prices to fill up the X game in and game out.  I'm glad fans support the Wild so well.  We should be rewarded for it at some time.  This team IS too veteran top heavy.  It's always been frustrating to me that hockey " hot beds" like Tampa Bay and Dallas can continually be very competitive and even win the Cup and here in the frozen tundra we can't do that.  It's also frustrating that we blame injuries, poor officiating, puck luck etc for the woes of the franchise.  The TV and radio announcers spend a fair amount of time every game reminding us of this.  It's also frustrating to see the players we do send out there just going through the motions, giving very little indication they actually care.  I'm hopeful for the future but something isn't right here.  Go Wild!

Culture and all that. I thought we were changing that but I guess not.

[Protec]

Wild just signed a new goalie from Czech. Samuel Hlavaj to a two-year, entry-level contract starting with the 2024-25 season.

Has a pretty good history of hockey, international, and QMJHL. Looks like IA will have a new young goalie. 22 year old with some potential. Indication of moves in the goaltending department perhaps? Positioning?

Into the off-season and around the draft table, would Gus be of interest to NHL GMs? Last year he played like a 3M+ guy. This year, he was kinda overpaid based on his performance. I think the Wild need to settle on their NHL duo and to me, MAF & the Wall sounds pretty good. Almost as good as Kaprizov & the Norwegian Hobbit.

Lazy Gus can get traded to NJ for Graeme Clark and MN/NJ swap 1sts. That way NJ gets the goaltending they need and take a slight shave on their draft position. MN gets a forward prospect who looks good and a pick more to their liking while cutting away some cap obligation.