Article: Jesper Wallstedt Needs Better Support in Iowa If the Wild Extend Fleury

[Justin Wiggins]

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[Patrick]

Don't resign Fluery. He wasn't good this year (yeah he had some good stretches but overall he wasn't good.) and he won't get better due to age. Its time to move on.

[mnfaninnc]

Patrick is dead on here. The player is the last to know it's over, and it's over. Just looking at last night's 1st period, 3-1 shorthanded, Fleury typically challenges. Instead he backed way into his net and got beat in un-Fleury like fashion. 2nd goal was a laser from Eichel. It was a good goal up high, but that was not the concerning thing, vintage Fleury would have had the reflexes to rise up for that shot. Fleury did rise up, but after the twine was already poofing. Vintage Fleury probably misses it too, but his reflexes are much quicker. Goal 3 wasn't particularly good either.

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Goalie development is the least linear development path of all positions in the NHL, and Wallstedt hasn’t exactly shown himself to be far superior to his peers in Des Moines.

I believe that The Wall has learned about as much as he can in the A, and it is time. He needs to face NHL shots, and learn to move at the speed of the NHL, not AHL. I disagree with the assessment of Justin here, I believe he has shown himself far superior to his peers in Des Moines. 

His sv% is at least .3 better than McIntyre's. His record is winning while McIntyre has won 3 times in 21 games. He played in 2/3rds of the games too. 

So, why, exactly would he be asked to develop another year in Des Moines? So that Fleury can have one more run? No, he needs to start in St. Paul.

As for Fleury, I think he needs some time off and is really done. He has said that it's MN or retirement. He likes the area and doesn't want to uproot his family. Perhaps he can practice with the team to stay in shape? I would suggest that if the tandem of Goose/The Wall isn't working out, Fleury can be signed for 1/2 a year (less wear and tear on his body) and either The Wall can get sent down to Iowa to play in games, or Goose can somehow get unloaded. 

Will Fleury be the answer? I personally think he's done. However, I thought this years ago and he pulled off a Vezina. Fleury needs 2 things to be effective, he needs reflexes and flexibility. Right now, it looks like he's been living off of anticipation, and when he guesses right he's really good. This has compensated for a small diminishing of reflexes. However, based upon late this season, to me, it looks like the reflexes diminished again, to a point where he's late reacting. For a small goaltender, this is the kiss of death. Really good shooters can have their way with Fleury, there's just too many open spots to hit. 

I mentioned Pominville as the example in another post, but you can also list Vanek as one too. Need we remind of Dany Heatley? As for goaltenders, Backy was a great example, though, his body gave in too. And, it happens to everyone. There is no shame in it, father time is undefeated! Fleury's had a great career, and it was really nice to see him get to 1000 games and 2nd in wins. But, reality hits, and all good things must come to an end.

[Burnt Toast]

It’s time to get JW up to MN and take advantage of his ELC years. The Wild need every dollar they can scrap together to address other issues with the team. $8M combined AAV for this year’s tandem? I wouldn’t run that back, absolutely not. 

[Citizen Strife]

I said a few days ago that I wouldn't mind a Fleury/Gus mulligan, but games like yesterday (whether eliminated or not) are inexcusable. 5-7 goals games are everyone's fault, and they happen far too often.  I don't know if the "defense is bad" excuse can work each time, every time to answer that.  If Fleury retires, it makes things easy.  If he doesn't, I hope Gus gets some offers for "something."  

Edited April 13 by Citizen Strife

[Imyourhuckleberry]

Gustavsson wasn't much better this year, but Fleury is now behind Gus in almost every statistical category. Gus is still young and could improve substantially next season. Fleury isn't likely to rebound with better play.

Better defense could yield better results for both, but The Wall's time appears to have arrived. Fleury could get a solid, good paying, job on the coaching staff and possibly be signed back to a player contract if injury takes Gus or Wallstedt out for a long period of time.

The Wild just signed a couple of goalies to the AHL roster for next season, so it seems like Guerin may be leaning this way too.

Edited April 13 by Imyourhuckleberry

[Imyourhuckleberry]

Could be tough for the Wild to outright lose their last 3 games, given that Sharks, Kings, and Kraken isn't the most difficult stretch, but if they did, and either Buffalo or New Jersey tallies a win, the Wild could move into a position where winning the lottery gets them to the #1 pick.

At their current position, they could only move up to #2. While I don't like hoping for losses, there isn't much to be gained from wins at this point.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

Congratulations to Wild prospect(2022 2nd round), Rieger Lorenz!!!

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Jared Wright got the Pioneers on the board at 9:42 of the second period and Denver made it 2-0 just more than five minutes later when Rieger Lorenz converted a beautiful feed from freshman defenseman Zeev Buium(Soon to be 1st round pick).

Denver won its second national title in three years and its 10th overall, breaking a tie with Michigan and moving 1 up on them for most college hockey titles of all time.

Denver has two 2nd round NHL picks on defense, along with the soon to be 1st rounder, the brother of Shai Buium(2021 Red Wings 2nd rounder[#36 overall]).

No doubt helped by the strong defense, their 6'0" goalie, undrafted Matt Davis, gave up just 1 goal each game in the 3 prior rounds, and capped off the title game with a shutout over Boston College. Impressive feat against a team with 4 players from the gold medal winning 2024 USA World Juniors roster(all of whom were 1st round picks), including the top point producer in NCAA hockey, Will Smith(#4 overall in 2023 to the Sharks).

[Sam]

Hey Hockey Wilderness, I don’t know if you have anything to do with this but can you bring back Audra Martin.

#BLONDESRULE

[Citizen Strife]

Ohgren and Khusnutdinov got on the board against the Sharks, so that was nice to see.  Even with the win, the likely landing spots are 11-16 at this stage.  I was running some mocks and barring weirdness, the likely people in this range are Eiserman, Jiricek, Iginla, Helenius, Parekh, Yakemchuk, Buium, and Brandsegg-Nygard (copied off a Reddit post)

[IllicitFive]

Only watched the 1st period and highlights but ogie I thought looked good, got a g and an a plus a post on what looked like a good quick shot. Definitely an upgrade already over some of the sleds occupying spots. The few battles I noticed him in he looked strong too with is great to see. 

The wall, though letting in 2, I was impressed with. His positioning is great and just looks calm. I think once he sees more nhl shots he will not get beat over his glove like he did on one of the goals. That was the only one where I thought he should have made a save, but again in great position. 

Marat on the 2 on 1 showed the defensive skill and speed which I hope will help lock him in a center 3, we also need great defenders who can help chip in offensively and I think that should be our mindset, not kap like but more like a highly skilled shaw, just an energy defensive minded guy who creates opportunities. 

The tear Kap has been on is unreal, if he could put together 70 games like this stretch a season that would be damn fun to watch. 

Side note, I miss the game threads or at least a post game thread for comments about the night before. There anyway we could start getting those? General game breakdown/summary and let the community go in depth and analyze/rant and complain? 

[Protec]

I've been trying to fire up a game thread, but it's been just a few of us. 

We lost a bunch of people when those fizzled out. It seems like unofficial ones don't get any respect. 

 

[greg]

Maybe I'm in the minority here but I don't the Wild should resign Fleury.  I have nothing against him but he should retire.  Plus there is very little he could add to a Wild team that already is one of the oldest teams in the league.  I just think it's time to move on.

[Pewterschmidt]

11 minutes ago, Protec said:

I've been trying to fire up a game thread, but it's been just a few of us. 

We lost a bunch of people when those fizzled out. It seems like unofficial ones don't get any respect. 

 

Huh, I tell you I get no respect.

My doctor said I should walk a couple miles per day.  

I called him on Friday and said, "Hey doc i'm ten miles from home.  What now?"

Heyo!

[Protec]

15 minutes ago, greg said:

Maybe I'm in the minority here but I don't the Wild should resign Fleury.  I have nothing against him but he should retire.  Plus there is very little he could add to a Wild team that already is one of the oldest teams in the league.  I just think it's time to move on.

I think it's probably 50/50. There are cheaper, younger goalies. At the same time a MAF extension for less AAV wouldn't be too bad. I've said it already but I think the goaltending wasn't the Wild's biggest struggle this season. If MAF retires so be it. If he was back another year, that's okay too but sorta one goalie too many.

[IllicitFive]

53 minutes ago, Protec said:

I've been trying to fire up a game thread, but it's been just a few of us. 

We lost a bunch of people when those fizzled out. It seems like unofficial ones don't get any respect. 

If people are like me they probably don't see them. I forget about the "non official" articles, I am guessing others are too, where as they used to be front and center on the main page. I know I watch most of the games on my phone due to "argh matey" reasons. But these were some of my favorite things to go back through and read and comment on, felt that was where the community was at its best, at least something post game. Fun to see how different people viewed the same game, especially with more and more young guys getting a cup of coffee. Perhaps hopes for next year as the site (hopefully) continues to grow.

[Protec]

9 minutes ago, IllicitFive said:

If people are like me they probably don't see them. I forget about the "non official" articles, I am guessing others are too, where as they used to be front and center on the main page. I know I watch most of the games on my phone due to "argh matey" reasons. But these were some of my favorite things to go back through and read and comment on, felt that was where the community was at its best, at least something post game. Fun to see how different people viewed the same game, especially with more and more young guys getting a cup of coffee. Perhaps hopes for next year as the site (hopefully) continues to grow.

Agreed. That was a good theme from before. 

I initiate a topic once in awhile. More musings or food for thought. I'm pretty passionate about NoJo rips or previously Suter-slams or Rask-rants. 

If there's a game, as often as I can I'll start one on the discussion board. We've had some fun ones where I enjoy doing live screwup breakdowns of neck-beard number ninety. 

😁

[mnfaninnc]

Hmmmm, after investigating, I see where that was, under "Forums" and "Minnesota Wild" talk. 

I usually watch on delay, like this morning, so I try to stay away from social media until I can watch.

I liked Ohgren's game, and just as he described, he's a power forward with skill. I also liked him with Dino, and thought the 2 worked good together. Is Foligno this line's third wheel? I would have liked to have seen Beckman on the line last night.

The effort was much better last night. Was this because it was San Jose? Was it because you didn't have to play giant redwoods? Or, did they just play their game better? I think they definitely played a better game, but it also probably had a lot to do with it being San Jose. 

I also agree with I5 about The Wall's game. I think he's gotten better each period he's played, and he is getting up to speed on NHL shooters. There were a couple of plays specifically where I liked him better than Fleury. Both times, a guy sneaks out of the corner after beating a defender and shoots in the middle of the home plate area. Vegas scored on Fleury, San Jose was Walled Off. Specifically, though, The Wall was calm and square with the shooter, Fleury was swimming and not square. This is a fundamental difference and the combination of The Wall's quickness, calmness and size looked to me like he could have stopped the Vegas player too kicking out the left pad. 

Sure, they've given The Wall a couple of cupcakes to play this go around, but he's looked, to me, better than Fleury on the eye test. What is the main argument for keeping Fleury around? His HoF experience to help mentor the young kids. Can't he do that without playing?

More speculation, with Dino here along with Ohgren, and both look good, I anticipate Yurov signing his ELC this summer and also coming over. I think the trading of the Deweys signaled to Yurov that there was room. I think the playing of Dino, and Ohgren has helped Yurov's argument that he is ready. We might have a lot of young excitement in the lineup next season!

For those wondering, Saginaw lost its 2nd game 5-2, Haight with an apple, Prince George went up 2-0 with a 5-0 win Heidt had a goal and assist, Moose Jaw tied it up 1-1 with a 7-2 win, Parker with a goal and assist. Yurov plays tomorrow in game 7. 

[Fezig]

The headline could also read: Jesper Wallstedt Needs Better Support in MN If the Wild Don't Extend Fleury

[Pewterschmidt]

16 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Was this because it was San Jose?

This seasons Wild is definitely in the mushy middle.  Not in the same league as COL, DAL or WPG.   But also not as terrible as CHI or SJ

[mnfaninnc]

47 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

This seasons Wild is definitely in the mushy middle.  Not in the same league as COL, DAL or WPG.   But also not as terrible as CHI or SJ

Think of the pain the fans of Chicago and San Jose are going through. When I watched the San Jose game, I noticed that a lot of fans were dressed as empty seats in the arena, and that was on the lower level. I believe I saw the same thing in Chicago last Sunday. Perhaps there was a buy one get one free at the concessions stand in a flash sale for the next 5 minutes when I looked?

We've stockpiled some good talent in the cupboards while battling for playoff hockey the last 4 years. Injuries + buyout disadvantages took us out of the running this season. But look at the pain around the league. They flashed on the screen that Buffalo has missed the playoffs for the 13th consecutive year. Looks like the Red Wings are in danger of missing for quite a long time too. 

I'll say it again, the playoff appearances were not going to be Stanley Cup runs. What they did was appease the owner to get 2+ more home games and gate, while buying Guerin time to not bother the prospects and to let them develop without pressure. We are seeing that patience pay off. Ohgren is here far in advance to his drafting spot. The same with The Wall. This is good news as both looked like they could play in the league. Yurov would be early too.

[FredJohnson]

On 4/13/2024 at 8:48 AM, Patrick said:

Don't resign Fluery. He wasn't good this year (yeah he had some good stretches but overall he wasn't good.) and he won't get better due to age. Its time to move on.

Either this or trade Gus Bus. Gus has to get his $hit together or he'll be a career backup.

[Pewterschmidt]

3 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

We've stockpiled some good talent in the cupboards while battling for playoff hockey the last 4 years

While watching Kooz and Ohgren come into the league, it's reminded me how long it's been since home grown prospects rose in the ranks.  Speaks to the systemic damage done by Fletcher over his years of flipping high picks and prospects for veterans.  Hope to never have to watch that movie again as a Wild fan.  Fingers crossed that we've got the right prospects in our system, but at a minimum we get to watch some new blood arrive and upgrade our bottom nine. 

[DennisIN]

Fleury seems to be an important leader and having him around for another year to also mentor Wallsted might be a good idea.

However, Guerin will also need to look one year further. Losing Gus would open up another roster spot that needs to be filled.

Is there an option to sign Fleury for the league minimum and roll three goalies? Guaranteeing everyone 20 games and the rest needs to be deserved. I am starting to like this idea. Might be beneficial for all three.

[mnfaninnc]

6 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

While watching Kooz and Ohgren come into the league, it's reminded me how long it's been since home grown prospects rose in the ranks.  Speaks to the systemic damage done by Fletcher over his years of flipping high picks and prospects for veterans.  Hope to never have to watch that movie again as a Wild fan.  Fingers crossed that we've got the right prospects in our system, but at a minimum we get to watch some new blood arrive and upgrade our bottom nine. 

If you'll remember, Pewter, Fletcher had some problems developing talent and having a great team in Iowa too. One main issue was that he truly believed in the American players and drafted them heavy early, and then he stashed them in colleges to be developed by other guys. I had wondered if that approach would work, and I think we have our answer: It didn't work too well. He also did this with Fins and Swedes stashing them in the SHL and Liiga.

Shooter changed the emphasis, or perhaps it was Brackett. They've got players all over the place. But, many are finally coming to Iowa. This, of course, takes time. I also see how Firstov playing a couple of years in Russia, which appears to be at his request the way it played out, benefited him likely with TOI and a better competition.

We didn't really know the answer to Fletcher's strategy until he was gone. It will likely take 8 years to figure out if Guerin's is right or not, but, if we get 3 hits on 2020, which it looks likely that we did + Faber, it looks like sunny skies are coming.