Article: Playoff Teams Wild Fans Should Bandwagon

[Thomas Williams]

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[Imyourhuckleberry]

Of the 72 goalies who started 10+ games this season, Fleury finished with the 56th best save percentage. Everybody likes him, but is anyone confident in him having a bounce back year that won't drag down his career stats?

I guess if they want to give Wallstedt 1 more year of AHL play, perhaps to help out their new AHL goalies they just signed, it won't be so bad. If they want to make the playoffs, however, it might be best that Gustavsson and Wallstedt combine to start over 50 games next season.

Toronto has Dewar, Reeves, and former Gopher, Matthew Knies. Not sure they have the defense/goaltending to hold up, but with Matthews and Nylander, they should be an entertaining team to root for.

Colorado has Parise, Duhaime, and former Gopher, Casey Mittelstadt. They also get inconsistent results between the pipes, but MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Makar could take them far.

No love for Boston with Maroon and Coyle? They also have Marchand, who Russo mentioned for having nearly identical stats to Rossi at ages 21-22, as another undersized NHLer. If Rossi can approach 1,000 games and 900 points in his career, I think the Wild could be happy with that...

Vancouver does have a few Minnesota ties for their roster as well, with Carson Soucy, Ian Cole, and Brock Boeser of Burnsville.

Nashville has their own trio of Gustav Nyquist, Jason Zucker, and coach Andrew Brunette.

Kings have Fiala and Talbot and would be the underdog to root for.

I say cheer for whoever you like, as long as it's not the Winnipeg SOBs!

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Of the 72 goalies who started 10+ games this season, Fleury finished with the 56th best save percentage. Everybody likes him, but is anyone confident in him having a bounce back year that won't drag down his career stats?

Fleury's on ice performance is the elephant in the room.  At this point in his career he's more PR campaign/good vibes ambassador than NHL #1 on a playoff contender.  He's the shiny object we'll be distracted by next year in the final year of cap hell.  Marketing dept will be busy creating puff pieces covering his prank hijinks.  He's so silly.  Think of all the Fleury career recaps we'll have to watch over 82 games next season.  Given the options I too would choose a 38 yr old HOF on a farewell tour over an over weight, uninspired Gus Bus with bad suspension and a broken starter (heyo).  If Gus Bus had repeated his 2022/2023 performance next years goalie tandem might not include Fleury.  But Gus Bus showed his true colors and will likely be in a different jersey next year if the offer isn't too insulting.

Wall-E spends his 1st NHL season being mentored by a good natured, HOF'r doing his 82 game good vibes, pre-game montage tour. 

[mnfaninnc]

Well, put me in the Hurricanes column for rooting. Usually, I'll pick a Western Conference team to root for, but I think this year I'll pay attention to the matchups. There should be some dandies. 

Looking at yesterday's box score, Yurov had no points for Metallurg as they pulled one out late in the 3rd with a goal around the final minute.

Oshawa swept away Ottawa with a 4-1 victory. For UNG, Kumpulainen played and picked up an apple. 8/20 in the dot. He did not have a good faceoff series, and it appears that Oshawa uses Kumpulainen as their chief draw man. Ritchie is usually a close 2nd in that category. 

Looks like we're slotted for drafting 13th. I've got that ping pong ball luck feeling this year, though. IMO, the league owes this franchise a little luck in this area.

I got blocked from last night's game. You'd think that a nothing game like Kraken @ Wild would somehow make it to ESPN+ too. But, no, the greedy bastards of media do not think in terms of greatest exposure.

I still am not liking the Fleury extension. If we trade Goose out, relying on a rookie to take the reins is not good planning. If it falls on Fleury to do the heavy lifting, well, start looking at your lottery prospects for '25. We do have more solid depth at the position now, but I really wanted to start the year with Goose and The Wall rotating starts. Perhaps I'm just thinking long term, but The Wall needs to see more NHL shooters. 

The season is over. We now have 2 months of debating on draft prospects. UFA will be pretty quiet for us except for depth pieces like Lucchini. 

The other interesting topics are about what we would most want changed in the organization. Near the top of my list is to move into both retro jerseys as our #1 and #2 uniforms. I'd like #3 to be a creative one using different colors. 

Why? Well, as I've said before these jerseys are pure gold. When wearing the '78s, I've heard so many good comments from people outside of our area on that during the broadcasts.

But, maybe the most important thing has to do with identity. Even referees would be seeing a different team on the ice. We've got Kaprizov, Boldy, Rossi, Faber, Dino, Ogie, possibly Yurov and The Wall, Chisholm and maybe Hunt coming up. The identity of this franchise is changing beyond "grit first." A visual representation of that change is changing the jerseys. Plus, doing that now will be great business for The Lodge. 

After this tough year with all the injuries, coach firing, front office challenges, and cap penalties, it seems like a change of scenery signals a new era. It's for the players and the fans to just close the book on the old and open a new book. Maybe a psychologist could explain it better. 

On the ice, I think the #1 priority for this team is to find a legitimate player who can play in Ovechkin's office. That is a glaring need we do not have in our organization at this point. #2 on the list, I think, is an offensive RHS defenseman who is large and can pound the puck. This guy would be very young. Unfortunately, I do not expect Spurgeon to return looking like his former self. And, there are serious questions about that, so we need more of an insurance policy. If Jiricek is available, I'd target that guy.

[Protec]

40 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Fleury's on ice performance is the elephant in the room.  At this point in his career he's more PR campaign/good vibes ambassador than NHL #1 on a playoff contender.  He's the shiny object we'll be distracted by next year in the final year of cap hell.  Marketing dept will be busy creating puff pieces covering his prank hijinks.  He's so silly.  Think of all the Fleury career recaps we'll have to watch over 82 games next season.  Given the options I too would choose a 38 yr old HOF on a farewell tour over an over weight, uninspired Gus Bus with bad suspension and a broken starter (heyo).  If Gus Bus had repeated his 2022/2023 performance next years goalie tandem might not include Fleury.  But Gus Bus showed his true colors and will likely be in a different jersey next year if the offer isn't too insulting.

Wall-E spends his 1st NHL season being mentored by a good natured, HOF'r doing his 82 game good vibes, pre-game montage tour. 

If Guerin expects the Wild to be brutal and he's waiting to get the penalty money released for 25-26, do these signings help them win a Cup or won a lottery pick? If you were gonna eat crud for two seasons anyway does it matter less to setup the Wild for post cap-penalty success? 

If Fleury is a competitor and HOFer like everyone says, he needs to work hard this off-season as much or more than anyone if he wants one last shot in the playoffs.

[mnfaninnc]

1 minute ago, Protec said:

If Fleury is a competitor and HOFer like everyone says, he needs to work hard this off-season as much or more than anyone if he wants one last shot in the playoffs.

This is absolutely true. However, once your reflexes start to go, I'm not sure there's much you can do to regain that aspect of your game. Larger goalies can block more of the net and be more positionally sound where the puck just hits them. Smaller goalies can't do that. 

If Guerin's plan is to grab a lottery pick in '25, one that could maybe help the club right away, I could be on board with that. But if it's to win, and I strongly suspect that it is, I think he Barney Fifed himself.

[Protec]

You guys are right Fleury is trending the wrong way both statistically and against the clock. At the same time, if there was ever a guy who could pull off a bounceback year or regain elite form, MAF has got the chance upcoming.

[mnfaninnc]

11 minutes ago, Protec said:

if there was ever a guy who could pull off a bounceback year or regain elite form, MAF has got the chance upcoming.

This is like the intangibles that can't be measured. The heart of the competitor. If he knows this is it, going out on top is a very good motivator for any competitor. 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

I do not expect Spurgeon to return looking like his former self

Russo indicated that Spurgeon is on track to be back for next season. Hard to say if he'll be as good as he had been the prior few years, but I wouldn't expect a major drop off year 1 in his return. There could certainly be some drop off, but he was at a very high level, and I think you have to give the captain some benefit of the doubt.

[Sam]

Root for the Avalanche? I think I’d rather kiss my sister…

[mnfaninnc]

28 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Russo indicated that Spurgeon is on track to be back for next season. Hard to say if he'll be as good as he had been the prior few years, but I wouldn't expect a major drop off year 1 in his return. There could certainly be some drop off, but he was at a very high level, and I think you have to give the captain some benefit of the doubt.

Hip surgery and back surgery, both major surgeries. I can see the hopefulness that he will be back at a high level, but I just don't believe that's how it will turn out. However, I'm a pessimist by nature.

[bisopher]

My playoff rooting interests are, in order:

- NotTheStars

- NotTheAvs

- NotTheJets

Edited April 19 by bisopher
Added

[CALWildfan]

I'm on the Canucks wagon having a son that played with Demko @ the U14 AA level a personal connection to him and his family.  

[Protec]

Rather take a poke in the eye with a dried up cattail spire than pull for a Central team. At least the Blues didn't get in either. 

Maybe Fleury will try one more time to beat up Binnington. I wanted to see that fight so bad.

[Will D. Ness]

Rooting for anyone playing Vegas... oh shit it's Dallas... never mind.

[Willy the poor boy]

Gus hopes to be back next season, but thinks he's going to be on the block. I'm not so sure, I think the plan is Fleury and Gus. He said he needs to come in in better shape and, a little more worrisome, he said he needs to get right/tougher mentally. Not an easy thing to do. I can't believe they would go with the Wall after a few starts in the big league and get rid of Gus. Risky business.

[Willy the poor boy]

Faber played the last 2 months with broken ribs. That should give him the edge in the Calder race. Bedard the sissy missed a month and a half with a broken jaw. 

[Up North Guy]

14 hours ago, Willy the poor boy said:

Faber played the last 2 months with broken ribs. That should give him the edge in the Calder race. Bedard the sissy missed a month and a half with a broken jaw. 

It should.......but we all know it won't. This thing was baked in before the draft just like Chicago getting the #1.

[Pewterschmidt]

15 hours ago, Willy the poor boy said:

Gus hopes to be back next season, but thinks he's going to be on the block. I'm not so sure, I think the plan is Fleury and Gus. He said he needs to come in in better shape and, a little more worrisome, he said he needs to get right/tougher mentally. Not an easy thing to do. I can't believe they would go with the Wall after a few starts in the big league and get rid of Gus. Risky business.

I’m on the same page here WTPB. I think they spoon feed Wall some games, hope Gus gets his poop in a group, and deal Gus at TDL.   now if BG finds a buyer this offseason who’s willing to give a 2nd + sturdy wing prospect (low skill but physical), he pulls the trigger

[Protec]

29 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I’m on the same page here WTPB. I think they spoon feed Wall some games, hope Gus gets his poop in a group, and deal Gus at TDL.   now if BG finds a buyer this offseason who’s willing to give a 2nd + sturdy wing prospect (low skill but physical), he pulls the trigger

Maybe even just a 2nd if they think Wall is ready to roll cause that frees up ~3M bucks. If Gus isn't the long term #1 goalie they drafted Wallstedt to be then it's fair to ask, what's GMBG waiting for?

Would NJ trade the 10th pick for the 14th and Gus? Would that be good?

Since John Gibson wants out of  Anaheim, Would they trade a 2nd for Gus? That 35th overall is what I'd ask for and maybe give back a 2025 3rd or 4th? Perhaps a prospect?

Like if Firstov was a add-on does that sweeten the pot and get him into the NHL if he'd be log-jammed in MN??? 

To me, it seems like GMBG has some pieces to offer and now might be time to make bigger moves...

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

now if BG finds a buyer this offseason who’s willing to give a 2nd + sturdy wing prospect (low skill but physical), he pulls the trigger

Guy's got to be an RHS shooter though (and Guerin simply doesn't believe in that balance)

[mnfaninnc]

Update:

Metallurg goes up 2-0 in their series with a 1-0 win.

Saginaw takes a 3-2 series lead, Haight a goal

Moose Jaw closes out its series 4-1, no points for Parker

Prince George closes out its series 4-1, Heidt 2-2

[mnfaninnc]

I saw 2 guys had Anton Silayev drop to 13. Tony Farrari and Craig Button. Yakemchuk looks to be in our range. 

I've seen Cayden Lindstrom listed anywhere from 3rd to 10th. Lindstrom and Silayev would be my 2 targets, Yakemchuk looks like a guy I might like too.

[FredJohnson]

Listening to Locked on Wild podcast...former Wild players in the playoffs:

Cal Clutterbuck

Mike Reilly

Brent Burns

Conner Dewar 

Ryan Reaves

Charlie Coyle 

Pat Maroon

Mitchell Chaffee

Matt Dumba

Dimiry Kulikov

Darcy Kuemper

Zach Prise

Brandon Duhaime

Nino Neidrreiter

Sam Steele

GM Ryan Suter

Kevin Fiala

Cam Talbot

Gustav Nyquist

Jason Zucker

Carson Soucy 

Ian Cole

😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳😳

[Dango]

Dont forget Ryan Oreilly .🙂