Brady Tkachuk-Target

[mnfaninnc]

Brady Tkachuk is exactly the type of player we need. He is a menace to play against. He's listed at 6'4" 212 but plays 20 lbs. heavier and scores. It's like putting a Kaprizov in Foligno's body. Attitude is his most important attribute, and he's got off the charts intangibles. If you want to change the demeanor of a franchise, go after a Tkachuk!

There's just 2 tiny problems with Brady Tkachuk: 

1. He makes $8.2m
2. He is the property of the Ottawa Senators long term

Now, the Ottawa Senators had more of a disaster of a season than the Wild did. On paper they should have been much better, but they were competing against the likes of CBJ, Ducks, Sharks, and Blackhawks for last place in the league. On paper they look like a pretty good club. It didn't come together for them. 

Ottawa hasn't seen the playoffs in 7 long seasons. Getting back there is probably their #1 goal at this point. They've got several long term contracts to young players, and Sanderson get's the $7m bump next season. I believe Norris is still on LTIR which affects their overall outlook on capfriendly. 

There was a lot of disappointment all year in the other nation's capitol, as they expected a lot. Couple that with new ownership, a new GM and the search for a new coach. Plus, they had the Pinto suspension and lost a 1st round draft pick due to Pierre Dorian's oversight. There just seems to be a cloud hanging over the franchise. The new GM, Staios, has got a lot of work to do this offseason, and it could be said he is tasked with a more serious task than Guerin is. Could the teams help each other?

Another thing to consider is that Ottawa is NOT a destination city. They know this, though it hurts. In fact, it is probably mean to point this out, but let's just look at the facts: Matt Duchene didn't want to stay here. Mark Stone didn't want to stay here. Erik Karlsson didn't want to stay here. And, the quote from Brady Tkachuk is "I'm sick and tired of losing!" Does this mean he wants out? It could.

Brady Tkachuk is one of those players who, even to get from the Senators, you're going to have to overpay for. Let's consider the Mark Stone trade. He was making $7.5m at the time in 2019. He was traded to VKG for Oscar Lindberg, Eric Brannstrom, and a 2020 2nd round pick (Dallas). Now this seems like an underpayment by Vegas, but Ottawa gained $5.8m in the deal. The Erik Karlsson deal was much more lucrative for them. They got Chris Tierny, Dylan DeMelo, Rudolph Balcers, Josh Norris, and a 2020 unprotected 1st round pick. (Stuezle) But, this doesn't have a lot of meaning since these were all Dorian moves. We don't know how Staios deals. We should find out.

What will it take for the Sens to get to the playoffs? And, how can we help? My targets would be Brady Tkachuk and Lassi Thomson. Thomson is stuck in the A right now, and is only 23. I think he's got some solid upside. But, what would we need to give up? Anyone who is thinking picks and Spurgeon is barking up the wrong tree. Mainly due to their defense already: Chabot $8m, Sanderson $8.05m, Chychrun $4.6m, Zub $4.6m. Put Spurgeon in here and he may help, but that's too much money allocated to defense, plus, did I mention that Ottawa was not a destination? Spurgeon likely allocates his M-NTC on this one.

For starters, Kaprizov would be off limits. But Boldy could be in play. Boldy would help with lost offensive production from Tkachuk. If I were Ottawa, I would want some players I knew were NHL quality and just about ready. So, on the prospects front, I'm including Hunt, Beckman and Firstov. Will Boldy + 3 decent prospects get it done? I don't think so. Rossi is also going to have to be part of this package. Boldy + Rossi is pretty much a cap wash, and Ottawa gets 2 dynamic players. They've also got 3 prospects about ready that may fit better with their club and division. 5 players for 2. I think we could also throw in the rights to Petrovsky.

In equation form: Tkachuk + Thomson = Boldy + Rossi + Beckman + Firstov + Hunt + Petrovsky

Why no picks? Picks don't really help Ottawa win now. They want the playoffs next year. They need players further along than getting there in 3-5 years. We are kind of in the same boat. Now, what's in it for us?

We've got a youth movement coming. While Dino has only played about 20 games, he can play center. Yurov can too, and getting him over here would be paramount. Ogie fills a roster spot too, and there is room for a Milne or Bankier if they can win a spot. Some of our old guard can still play center, and we'll need that for a year or 2. We still have Ek as our #1, and we can put Zuccarello back on that line temporarily. We'd also have room to sign a free agent and we could use pick #13 to bring us another forward (like the Guenther idea). However, I would want to try and move up to get Cayden Lindstrom, and there is your 2nd line center. Is it a guarantee? No, probably have to overpay again. But we've still got Heidt and Haight that could help but probably not next season. I would not be opposed to trading Heidt with #13 to land Lindstrom, however, or even putting Goose in that transaction.

Dean and some others have been very worried that Kaprizov is jumping ship. He wants to win. Tkachuk is one of those guys who makes everyone else play better, especially in the effort category. Lindstrom is said to have that same mentality as Tkachuk. Imagine, having Ek, Tkachuk and Lindstrom? What a pain in the butt that would be to play against. And, when it comes to playoff time, these guys will get it done.

While I'm concerned about the Wild in this primarily, there is also some concern for Ottawa. One thing is that Guerin does like to have fair deals, that's just the way he does business. I think this helps out Ottawa quite a bit. Both Boldy and Rossi have 200' games, something Stuezle pointed out in their end of the season interviews. Hunt helps them defensively and is young and controllable. Both Beckman and Firstov also play that 200' game and Firstov had excellent development in Russia. I think this would put Ottawa over the hump and into the playoffs. Sometimes you need some 200' players to help others develop their 200' game. We drafted that way.

Anyone have a better idea?

[Tony Abbott]

If Brady Tkachuk was that big of a difference maker his most famous playoff moment wouldn't be getting drunk while watching his brother from the stands.

[mnfaninnc]

1 minute ago, Tony Abbott said:

If Brady Tkachuk was that big of a difference maker his most famous playoff moment wouldn't be getting drunk while watching his brother from the stands.

Put him with Kaprizov on the team and just watch how much of a difference maker he is. He is the exact kick in the butt that this team needs!

[Tony Abbott]

Like he was to the Ottawa "Zero Playoff Games Since Drafting Him" Senators.

[Tony Abbott]

6-foot-4, 225 lbs, and zero defense, lol

[MacGyver]

Such pipe dreams. Tkachuk, Boldy, Rossi, prospects, Lindstrom. That's quite the deck of cards you're shuffling there.  If you are going to dismantle the Wild to that degree do it for someone other than Tkachuk. Plus there's another consideration you didn't mention. Is Tkachuk on the phone begging to come here? He might have something to say about that. Does he have a no movement or trade clause? Why would Tkachuk want to go from one dumpster to fire to another one? You mention Ottowa is not a destination. I don't think Minnesota is any higher on the destination list than Ottowa for many players. 

 

[viper3119]

2 hours ago, MacGyver said:

Does he have a no movement or trade clause?

he doesn't have either for a couple more years. so now would be the time to execute a trade before it kicks in

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, MacGyver said:

Is Tkachuk on the phone begging to come here? He might have something to say about that. Does he have a no movement or trade clause? Why would Tkachuk want to go from one dumpster to fire to another one? You mention Ottowa is not a destination. I don't think Minnesota is any higher on the destination list than Ottowa for many players. 

1st question nobody knows, but I would suggest he is not saying where, but may be saying get me to the States. I would not consider the Wild a dumpster fire by any means. One season out of 5 that they miss the playoffs, and they weren't in the lottery section of teams either. Ottawa is not a destination, I think MN is more of one. 

Since Brady grew up in the greater St. Louis area, I would think his first preference would be going home. But, there are some midwestern teams that could also be to his liking and we are one of those. I would assume that he has a natural distaste for the Blackhawks. I'm not sure the Blues can put forth a package that would work for Ottawa. 

Also under consideration, in the proposal, 4 prospects are mentioned. Wheeler ranked the prospect pools and Ottawa showed up at #31. This helps their pool a lot.

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

I wouldn't give up two players of the future for one good player now. Boldy almost had as many points this past year and was way less of a liability in taking penalties. Throw in Rossi who is already a 40pt player and still growing into his game and this equals a trade down in skill for our team. Not only that, it also makes us older again which I am fully against. 

[mnfaninnc]

14 hours ago, Tony Abbott said:

6-foot-4, 225 lbs, and zero defense, lol

If it means winning, he'll play defense. However, on a bad team, he ended a +1 this past season indicating he can play defense. 

Incidentally, on this topic, I believe the leaky Ottawa defense has a lot of responsibility for the goals scored on them. They do play more of a free wheeling style to be entertaining for the fans. When you're out of it, scoring goals is what you aim to do.

[mnfaninnc]

3 minutes ago, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

I wouldn't give up two players of the future for one good player now. Boldy almost had as many points this past year and was way less of a liability in taking penalties. Throw in Rossi who is already a 40pt player and still growing into his game and this equals a trade down in skill for our team. Not only that, it also makes us older again which I am fully against. 

I can accept that opinion, but think it is wrong. We're talking about a 24 year old player in Tkachuk. Are we giving up more points? Probably. Are we getting far more intangibles? YES! Tkachuk immediately changes the attitude of this team and makes them tougher to play against. 

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, MacGyver said:

Lindstrom.

This would probably have to be another overpay to get in position to draft him. But, when building a team, often times an overpay transaction on paper translates to gold on the ice. 

I would think that Lindstrom's body and ability could make the jump to the N right away. But, you have to make it worthwhile for the owner of that pick to relinquish it.

[mnfaninnc]

What I didn't explain was who I was building around. This would be Kaprizov, Tkachuk, Ek, Faber, Yurov, and The Wall. The other players, some very important, would be surrounding this core. 

In this scenario, the captains come from this core. There are some other nice players and if we get Lindstrom he gets added to the core, but these are our main guys. 

[Protec]

I think this topic illustrates the lack of size and toughness the Wild need. 

The guys like Reaves, Delauriers, Foligno, Chris Stewart, etc. are not doing the job MN needs.

Seeler woulda been good to keep but it's not the whole package that can be menacing while adding offense and driving play. MN has too few highly skilled fast players not to need size and toughness. They also get bullied and don't have some badass leaders to bloody the mouths of trespassers. 

So what if you have to trade a lot to get a serious player to change the team's dynamic. Florida getting a Tkachuk and going deep in the playoffs as a result is the closest thing to a proof of concept you'll ever find. 

If MN could get Brady Tkachuk that would be perfect cause players like this are rare. A prime age Owen Nolan, Claude Lemieux, Darren McCarty, Peter Forsberg, or Big Buff kind of guy is what they need. Attitude and fire is what MN needs, not just size by itself. That's why the Stramel pick is another Brackett wonder. Get Perreault and trade him to the new GM in Ottawa to get Tkachuk and build a real contender.

That's not what happened and MN is quickly getting bogged down in the process getting from point A to point B. So have many other teams going for the smart, conservative, slow build. Whether they started from scratch or not. Just look at the Wings or Ducks to see it's not a quick turnaround automatically. Look at Florida, Tampa, Edmonton, or Carolina to see the path is tough even when you've built a contender. 

I certainly don't have the answer but it sure looks like MN is getting closer to losing Kaprizov. Nobody wants that and the goal is to win the most. Do it now! I don't care how many guys need to be traded. There's like 4 untouchable guys for me. Wallstedt the future goalie, Ek, Faber, Kaprizov. I like Hartman, Chisholm, Brodin, Boldy, Middleton, Spurge, Shaw, Knudi, Rossi, and a few others perhaps but those aren't even top NHL guys from last season. The clock is ticking on all of them in one way or another. Boldy's weak Summer last year was not impressive and Guerin only signed Khaira because no money was there. It wasn't enough even close. 

Stop doing the same things and reinvent the plan sooner than later. It was a good plan to do the buyouts and battle for the playoffs, but last year's stall-out in trajectory has to become a speed-bump, not an axle-bending pothole.

[Protec]

14 hours ago, Tony Abbott said:

6-foot-4, 225 lbs, and zero defense, lol

I'm more curious all the time what you think the Wild should do? Like a quick summary.

A: Keep drafting and use established players in MN already.

B: Make trades and revamp the roster without concern for what fans or analytics darlings might one day become?

Obviously it's up to Guerin but fans are divided on this it seems. How could anyone know that Brady Tkachuk is or isn't a big playoff guy? Sure we don't know that about Rossi but he didn't prove anything this season except that he's a capable scorer and skill guy at the NHL level, good compete, and a hard-worker. Not that I'm ragging on that but when will Wild fans realize every draft pick or young hopeful will not be a #97 or future Mark Stone, Pat Maroon, Marty St.Louis...

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

53 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I can accept that opinion, but think it is wrong. We're talking about a 24 year old player in Tkachuk. Are we giving up more points? Probably. Are we getting far more intangibles? YES! Tkachuk immediately changes the attitude of this team and makes them tougher to play against. 

How many players are we going to bring in for intangibles? Reaves, Maroon, Foligno, Deslaurier. At what point do our guys need to step up and own the room. How much have these guys helped?

I tend to focus on the tangible for this team because I have heard so much about this room. On paper it looks like a downgrade for a team that needs more secondary scoring. Our top line is one of the best in the league for both goals for and xGF and xGA. I see no need for an upgrade there. It is our depth scoring that needs reinforcement. I think moral will also improve once you jettison the passengers (Fred and Mojo). Hard to play with guys that aren't pulling on the rope.

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

2 minutes ago, Protec said:

I'm more curious all the time what you think the Wild should do? Like a quick summary.

A: Keep drafting and use established players in MN already.

B: Make trades and revamp the roster without concern for what fans or analytics darlings might one day become?

Obviously it's up to Guerin but fans are divided on this it seems. How could anyone know that Brady Tkachuk is or isn't a big playoff guy? Sure we don't know that about Rossi but he didn't prove anything this season except that he's a capable scorer and skill guy at the NHL level, good compete, and a hard-worker. Not that I'm ragging on that but when will Wild fans realize every draft pick or young hopeful will not be a #97 or future Mark Stone, Pat Maroon, Marty St.Louis...

What more did you want Rossi to prove? He is one of 2 20 goal scoring centers we have ever had at his age. He lost a year to illness and did the work to come back. He was asked to get bigger and stronger and he did exactly that. He has an amazing attitude. In my eyes ask the guy what you want to see from him and watch him get there. He can't grow any taller but if you want him at 205lbs, tell him. So far he has proven he will put in the work to achieve those goals set.

[Tony Abbott]

14 minutes ago, Protec said:

I'm more curious all the time what you think the Wild should do? Like a quick summary.

A: Keep drafting and use established players in MN already.

B: Make trades and revamp the roster without concern for what fans or analytics darlings might one day become?

Obviously it's up to Guerin but fans are divided on this it seems. How could anyone know that Brady Tkachuk is or isn't a big playoff guy? Sure we don't know that about Rossi but he didn't prove anything this season except that he's a capable scorer and skill guy at the NHL level, good compete, and a hard-worker. Not that I'm ragging on that but when will Wild fans realize every draft pick or young hopeful will not be a #97 or future Mark Stone, Pat Maroon, Marty St.Louis...

Build a time machine and stop themselves from signing every extension since Boldy.

They can still have a window if their drafting and development continue to be good concerning Ohgren, Yurov, Wallstedt, etc., but I think it's more likely they put a ceiling on how good this team can be over the next three years that is hard to move out from under.

[Tony Abbott]

I honestly think Tkachuk is a good player, but I think it's very funny to see him as a cure-all to this team's woes when he can't get an Ottawa team that has a lot of talent anywhere near a playoff spot. 

[mnfaninnc]

18 minutes ago, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

Hard to play with guys that aren't pulling on the rope.

Personally, I think Tkachuk has the type of personality that would kick their ass in the locker room if he didn't feel like they were putting in a good enough effort. This guy demands total effort from himself and his teammates. I cannot explain what happened in Ottawa, maybe the chemistry just isn't right, but he'll have a similar effect on the franchise that his brother has in FL and he'd still have Kaprizov on the club. We would be playing with a lot of unproven guys if this happens, but these guys can play.

[mnfaninnc]

17 minutes ago, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

What more did you want Rossi to prove? He is one of 2 20 goal scoring centers we have ever had at his age. He lost a year to illness and did the work to come back. He was asked to get bigger and stronger and he did exactly that. He has an amazing attitude. In my eyes ask the guy what you want to see from him and watch him get there. He can't grow any taller but if you want him at 205lbs, tell him. So far he has proven he will put in the work to achieve those goals set.

I wouldn't be trading Rossi out and I have no problems with his attitude, it's a plus. You said it above, he can't grow to 6'4". He also doesn't have that fiery personality. I would be trading Tkachuk in, and Rossi and Boldy would be the cost of doing business. I am not in the least bit disappointed with their play, but I also know they can get better. 

If you were looking at race horses, Rossi and Boldy would be in the race, but Tkachuk would be the winner.

[mnfaninnc]

9 minutes ago, Tony Abbott said:

I think it's more likely they put a ceiling on how good this team can be over the next three years that is hard to move out from under.

I agree with you here, it would be "hard." The key word I am not seeing is "impossible." Next year we have several NMCs, but they change to M-NTCs after that (we wait 2 years for Foligno's). Knowing that we can bury Johansson and Gaudreau in the minors as a worse case scenario, if you can cleanly beat them out of a job in training camp, I think you'll be on the roster. If not, pull a Tanya Harding and go after the knees! Of course this is tongue in cheek, but I guy who would go to those levels is a guy who wants it bad.

[Protec]

2 minutes ago, Tony Abbott said:

I honestly think Tkachuk is a good player, but I think it's very funny to see him as a cure-all to this team's woes when he can't get an Ottawa team that has a lot of talent anywhere near a playoff spot. 

That's fair to point out BUT nor apples to apples and they've got a bunch of young talent and old vets like MN but with a worse drama and front office gong-show that dates back to before Duchene, Stone, Karlsson left and Anderson retired. 

Based on what I saw the last game against MN, Tkachuk was pissed and it showed. A little bit squirrely, perhaps like Hartman but the argument could be made that you need that for a playoff group. The kind of attitude that will not go lightly or be denied. What have we seen from MN as a group in the playoffs. Parise doing shocked eye-squints on the bench as Jake Allen beats them, no answer from everyone but Parise at the time. Or like last year the team telegraphs that it's over and Foligno looses his shit.

I just wanna see a new approach. Not a poorly thought out and timed Fletcher. Not a Fentonism although he was shaking things up alright. I wanna see Guerin use this UFA group, prospect pool, and roster of vets to reshape the Wild with multiple upgrades to improve the team. Not the slow, methodical, conservative, and frugal way. Not saying go get ripped off but only 1 team in a decade drafts Matt Tkachuk or Owen Nolan so you're not likely getting that player at age 18 from a pick. You have to go get one and put him with Barkov for example.

[mnfaninnc]

11 minutes ago, Tony Abbott said:

I honestly think Tkachuk is a good player, but I think it's very funny to see him as a cure-all to this team's woes when he can't get an Ottawa team that has a lot of talent anywhere near a playoff spot. 

This is a very fair criticism. I don't have a good answer for you here. Reading up on Ottawa yesterday, their blogs and writers didn't seem to have an answer either. Looking at them on paper, they should have been in the mix the final week for a playoff spot, but they weren't and took themselves out of it early. 

Was it weak mentally like we were? Was it a bad mix of players? Was it a leaky defense or goaltending? Was it a cloud hanging over the franchise? Was it the Dorian fiasco that lost them a 1st round pick? Was it the new ownership? Was it the Pinto suspension? Was it having to fire the coach? Was it a combination of all of this and too much front office distraction?

They had no answers, and it has been 7 years, 7 long years since they made the playoffs. 

But, let's also look at Matthew. It took a long time for him to get Calgary in a great position. Then, the stars of the team started wanting to leave and didn't want to resign there. Matthew saw a rebuild coming and raised his hand to say he wanted out. We should have jumped on that then but didn't. Let's not make that mistake again.

For the full year last season, it looked like both teams had screwed themselves. It took FL a long time to adjust. But then you look at their run in the playoffs and Matthew led them through it. To prove that wasn't a fluke, this season was much better. And, they finally exacted revenge on their rival foes in Tampa, a team they could never get past in the playoffs. 

Had Matthew won before? No, Calgary was a 1st round bust. That was the team, but not the player. Put Brady around some more talented players like we have, even giving up Boldy and Rossi, and I think this team takes off. Ogie and Dino play at a different level of intensity. Foligno will have his fire back as will Hartman. We will see a much tougher team to beat at home, and a much tougher out in the playoffs. Keith and Matthew have proven they have something special. Brady has shown signs of it too, grab him if you can!

[Protec]

17 minutes ago, Tony Abbott said:

Build a time machine and stop themselves from signing every extension since Boldy.

They can still have a window if their drafting and development continue to be good concerning Ohgren, Yurov, Wallstedt, etc., but I think it's more likely they put a ceiling on how good this team can be over the next three years that is hard to move out from under.

That's cool. I didn't love all the most recent signings either.

I've been doing HW.com conversations going back a pretty long time and history washes away the nonsense. We've had some time now to look at the prospect pool from the Feltcher/Fenton era plus now Guerin/Brackett for 3-4 years. I'm all for building and youth over Fred's, NoJos, and Folignos. I especially wanted Tuch not Foligno and on the old site I ragged on that hard when #17 got the big 3M dollar deal. Soon after Tuch was in the Cup Final on a ELC, but I digress. MN building alone via draft and playing it long with hope for draftees hasn't payed big enough dividends. Some wins there we like, but it's not gonna be enough for the majority of teams. 

The biggest problem for me is the rapidly declining confidence I have in Guerin related to NoJo and why he is playing 2nd line and special teams. That guy sucks and Guerin doesn't get that? Really? What's up with that? Super weird, pretty much unbelievable.