Article: How Much Would Winning the Draft Lottery Change the Wild's Outlook?

[Imyourhuckleberry]

20 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

i think he was very firm that he wasn't "feeling" the 8 year term in MN and pushed for 5 years. we were planning to offer 8 and then agreed on 5 (he actually wanted less than 5)

Yeah, his agent didn't want 8 years at a $9M figure and the Wild couldn't really exceed a $9M figure. With the cap expected to go up, each added year would need to be around $12M+, which would have driven up the average cap number a lot.

Guerin knew he had to get 5 years to get beyond the cap hell, so that was the minimum he was willing to go. No question that both want to be with a contender, and it's Guerin's job to make sure that is the Wild. If Guerin had not gotten that 5th year, and added quality young talent along the way, there would be more concern.

KK97 will almost certainly be averaging $12M+ on his next deal. McDavid is the only one over $12M currently, but that will change as the cap begins to escalate this year. A healthy Wild team would have been competing for the playoffs last season. They have young talent that is developing, and cap space to improve after this season. Kaprizov should have a shot to win with the Wild after this season.

[Burnt Toast]

17 hours ago, Will D. Ness said:

I also don't think he is going to want to leave when we make him the highest paid player in the league next year

Exactly. Unless he seriously wants out of dodge no other team will be able to match what the Wild are about to offer. Get ready because Wild Management is about to give  a whole new meaning to the expression “ Kap Friendly”

[OldDutchChip]

14 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Yeah, his agent didn't want 8 years at a $9M figure and the Wild couldn't really exceed a $9M figure. With the cap expected to go up, each added year would need to be around $12M+, which would have driven up the average cap number a lot.

Guerin knew he had to get 5 years to get beyond the cap hell, so that was the minimum he was willing to go. No question that both want to be with a contender, and it's Guerin's job to make sure that is the Wild. If Guerin had not gotten that 5th year, and added quality young talent along the way, there would be more concern.

KK97 will almost certainly be averaging $12M+ on his next deal. McDavid is the only one over $12M currently, but that will change as the cap begins to escalate this year. A healthy Wild team would have been competing for the playoffs last season. They have young talent that is developing, and cap space to improve after this season. Kaprizov should have a shot to win with the Wild after this season.

That is VERY optimistic take and one that unfortunately i disagree with, being much more of a pessimist and a realist.

I think Kap really stuck to his 3-5 year window not due to money but instead of allowing himself a chance to control his destination. Again money is NOT the driver here. He can make the money in advertising, investment, legacy funds (gf father is very successful music producer 😆) so i am not buying that money is the driver....maybe but i am thinking its not going to be the primary pull.

Should the Wild give him the leadership role, that may get us closer to sealing the deal. He may want to follow in his idols footsteps and do what Ovi did with Caps and be a trooper with one team. Lead his team thru up and downs. Build that leadership quality and responsibility for at least a year, and start before training camp.

I don't think we are that far apart with our proposals here. 

1 - Give him the C

2 - Look to trade some prospects / picks to optimize him 

Go for it THIS upcoming year and do not wait until 25 ..... you cannot predict how your prospects turn out, they can regress and disappoint, so using them now while they are sort of still "attractive" and utilizing some innovative strategies and aggressive moves - may be fitting given where we are at.

Hey - we are about to exit cap hell. Let's leave that WITH Kap. Otherwise we are escaping one version of hell for another.

Complacency by the GM will mean Kap has the time this summer to explore his options, talk to his buddies and already have a plan of what and where he wants to be that will be at that point impossible to change, and a million here or there won't change anything....

[Imyourhuckleberry]

48 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

Go for it THIS upcoming year and do not wait until 25 ..... you cannot predict how your prospects turn out, they can regress and disappoint, so using them now while they are sort of still "attractive" and utilizing some innovative strategies and aggressive moves - may be fitting given where we are at.

The problem there is that you still have to fit anyone you trade for under the cap. I'm not opposed to trying to win in the upcoming year, but there's zero chance they are winning a cup when they are fielding a roster $15M below contending teams.

When they setup the roster for 25-26, they'll have more bad money(NoJo & Fleury) off the books and and a huge increase in money to actually compete. I don't think Guerin is ready to burn his assets before he can truly go for it.

The upcoming season should allow the prospects to get some experience and then Guerin will know what moves he needs to make when he can field the roster he has been planning for and building towards for the last 5 years.

[MacGyver]

44 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

Again money is NOT the driver here.

This is what I have been saying. The money is what the agent wants it's not a motivator for Kaprizov. Winning the Cup is why he came to the NHL and coming to the Wild was what he had to do to get into the league.  I don't know how putting a C on his sweater is a big game changer to him. He knows this teams fortune is directly tied to his coat tails. He most likely prefers to lead on the ice and not in the locker room. He likes to stay away from in front of the camera and does not give many interviews. I don't see him doing Kwik Trip commercials anytime soon.

A tell tale sign may be that he apparently stopped talking to Yurov or trying to influence him to come here and then Yurov decides to spend another year in the KHL. Would you try to influence another player to come to a place where you yourself are not certain you will be at? Would you not try to influence that player to come here as soon as possible if you wanted to fast track the team your on? We will find out before long what his intentions are but I can see signs and reasons why he would consider landing on a team further along the path to the Cup than the Wild. The idea the Wild will be competing for the Cup in 25/26 season is an aggressive pipe dream imo.  

[OldDutchChip]

19 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

The problem there is that you still have to fit anyone you trade for under the cap. I'm not opposed to trying to win in the upcoming year, but there's zero chance they are winning a cup when they are fielding a roster $15M below contending teams.

When they setup the roster for 25-26, they'll have more bad money(NoJo & Fleury) off the books and and a huge increase in money to actually compete. I don't think Guerin is ready to burn his assets before he can truly go for it.

The upcoming season should allow the prospects to get some experience and then Guerin will know what moves he needs to make when he can field the roster he has been planning for and building towards for the last 5 years.

I think we had a few great articles that explained a route where we can actually become players starting this upcoming year without waiting out the penalties, maybe pro-rating the cap hits to future year or some other fancy financial maneuvering that I’m sure our cap guru will think off!🤨

but totally understand you have to operate within constraints

just please do not throw away planning and flexibility or eliminate all your options by impulsively going to your penguins friends and getting their old junk 💩 

 

[OldDutchChip]

21 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

This is what I have been saying. The money is what the agent wants it's not a motivator for Kaprizov. Winning the Cup is why he came to the NHL and coming to the Wild was what he had to do to get into the league.  I don't know how putting a C on his sweater is a big game changer to him. He knows this teams fortune is directly tied to his coat tails. He most likely prefers to lead on the ice and not in the locker room. He likes to stay away from in front of the camera and does not give many interviews. I don't see him doing Kwik Trip commercials anytime soon.

A tell tale sign may be that he apparently stopped talking to Yurov or trying to influence him to come here and then Yurov decides to spend another year in the KHL. Would you try to influence another player to come to a place where you yourself are not certain you will be at? Would you not try to influence that player to come here as soon as possible if you wanted to fast track the team your on? We will find out before long what his intentions are but I can see signs and reasons why he would consider landing on a team further along the path to the Cup than the Wild. The idea the Wild will be competing for the Cup in 25/26 season is an aggressive pipe dream imo.  

While mostly agree, few notes -

1 captaincy carries a responsibility for a team, a further engagement to community and connection to fans. He Becomes THE wild for all of us and that will mean something to him!

2 the biggest tell from recent interview conducted by Yurov was him slipped up on how he is looking forward to coming over if Kap is here or not. Potential slip? I bet it is, as players may have a good hunch on this or intel!

3 wild don’t have to win the cup in the next 2-3 years, but they have to convince the best player in their franchise history that their team is moving in the right direction with him at the helm.

 

[Pewterschmidt]

6 hours ago, Protec said:

Old Dutch - What you got in the avatar? Kasparitis Evil Twin? 

Or Joe Walsh

[RedLake]

Kaprizov and Yurov won't be here in 2027. Why would both of them play for a shitshow owner and puppet Billy?

[MacGyver]

We are not suddenly going to be flush with money when the buyouts are over. We are simply going to be on a more level playing field with the rest of the league. Sometimes it sounds like people think we are going to have $15M more than everyone else. We will still have to spend wisely on contracts. Something Guerin has not shown he can do. Sure we can throw as much money as it takes to convince Kaprizov to stay which I believe if he truly wants out there isn't enough money. Make him the next Joe Mauer in Minnesota. He will be the highest paid player in the league for awhile on a mushy middle team for the rest of his career and win nothing because he is eating the biggest piece of the pie.  Joe was the kind of guy who could be happy counting his money and not polishing his World Series ring. I think Kaprizov is the opposite. 

I still believe Guerin's disruption of the front office is having a negative effect on the players and locker room and the team in general. Two things that stick out to me is when Russo reported that several players had to be assuaged after finding out Andrew Heydt decided to leave the team rather than continue to work with Bill Guerin. If the players were so upset they had to be talked down by someone there is lasting carry over to that. Also Elliot Friedman who is respected enough that when he talks people listen said at the time there was much more to this than we know and another shoe may very well drop. Of course it never did and the cat turd got buried in the litter box. Everyone involved had to sign non-disclosure agreements and that was that. Guerin fell off the face of the planet for several weeks and nothing more was said.   You can bury a cat turd but the smell is always there.  

 

[Protec]

6 hours ago, RedLake said:

Kaprizov and Yurov won't be here in 2027. Why would both of them play for a shitshow owner and puppet Billy?

Good question. If you've get NoJo on your team after his first crappy episode in MN for round two and he's worse that's a red-flag. Then he plays all year 15 mins a game. Then you say he's good to go and will bounce back. 

I understand the cap years would be tough but Guerin has run-off a lot of support he had since last Summer. 

For me, here's why. Instead of Tuch we ended up with Foligno for the 3M deal Vs. ELC. Finally a chance comes NOT to re-up Foligno but Guerin gives him a 1M raise which shoulda been to retain Nyquist instead of NoJo. Even if that wouldn't work because Nyquist doesn't wanna be in MN, Guerin gave extra money and term to vets undermining the flexibility. NoJo sucked here before. Fred had a great contract year but is quite average overall. Fleury isn't the goalie he once was. Gus was at maximum value last Summer.

I just think Guerin either got lazy or was riding a nice wave before it fell out under him. I think there's a possibility he could turn it around but I'm way less confident based on primarily the NoJo fiasco part two. That's Guerin's dumbest move yet. Being short and inexpensive doesn't make it right. Since Hynes didn't diminish his TOI it makes me wonder if Guerin is simply bossing Evason and Hynes around?

 

[mnfaninnc]

21 hours ago, IllicitFive said:

Other teams don't want to give up stuff either unless they get equal back.

Or, for them, they get back something that helps make them better. And that can happen in win-win scenarios. I would consider the Fiala for Ohgren/Faber a win-win right now. We also got what was needed, cap relief in that deal.

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, Protec said:

I just think Guerin either got lazy or was riding a nice wave before it fell out under him. I think there's a possibility he could turn it around but I'm way less confident based on primarily the NoJo fiasco part two. That's Guerin's dumbest move yet. Being short and inexpensive doesn't make it right. Since Hynes didn't diminish his TOI it makes me wonder if Guerin is simply bossing Evason and Hynes around?

There's a lot that can be said for financial certainty, which is what Guerin wanted with the resignings. I think he looked at the players coming up and decided that they wouldn't be ready right away and resigned some guys who can let them marinate more. 

However, there are also downfalls to financial certainty, and we experienced this. Often times, when players get a new contract, especially a fully guaranteed one, they celebrate by taking the year off. This We Saw. This Must Be Addressed by Guerin.

Was it a young GM's mistake? I think it was and he will learn. Let the players play out that last year, at least partially and get the contract year intensity out of them. But, Guerin is kind of hard headed about some things.

For instance, his constant renewing of contracts with players over 35 on 2 year extensions. These should only be year to year. It is probable that the player will get injured more and regress in production. He's done handshake deals before, simply say we'll revisit another extension the following year if your performance is still good and you still want to be here. But, he hasn't done this yet.

It is possible that he left all of that up to O'Hearn once he said he wanted the player resigned. Perhaps we needed a better capologist than O'Hearn was? 

15 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

captaincy carries a responsibility for a team, a further engagement to community and connection to fans. He Becomes THE wild for all of us and that will mean something to him!

Every time I see this handle, the Old Dutch Potato Chip jingle plays in my head. You're right, captaincy does carry responsibility for a team. I also believe that every letter should be checked back in at the end of the season and every new season letters get re-evaluated. For instance, if your C only played 16 games the previous season, it might be time for a change.

But I think a letter is a letter, and that is part of leadership. 

15 hours ago, MacGyver said:

I don't know how putting a C on his sweater is a big game changer to him. He knows this teams fortune is directly tied to his coat tails. He most likely prefers to lead on the ice and not in the locker room. He likes to stay away from in front of the camera and does not give many interviews. I don't see him doing Kwik Trip commercials anytime soon.

I think this is more true of him. Being the face of the team requires being involved in the community, doing PR appearances and interacting with the fans. I don't know that Kaprizov is completely comfortable with that role in English. The same thing happens when having to speak to referees. I have no idea what he's like in the locker room, but I imagine that his messages are short, sweet, and in broken English. 

I think the A is fine, and will be useful as more Russian speaking players come onto the team. They wanted Kaprizov in the room when Dino came in. 

With Yurov and his potential slip? I don't think it's anything and we're reading too much into it. I do think these young guns are going to be enticing to run with in the playoffs. We'll be looking good come '25-26 with plenty of potential. 

You know what would help? If guys took the gym seriously and came in stronger and heavier ready to compete. I'm specifically looking at guys under 24. That would go a long way in convincing Kaprizov that he's on the right team.

[mnfaninnc]

23 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

There is no optimism because our GM is as stubborn as a mule. Our best player is undervalued by the fans. And people think - money is what each athlete chooses over other things. There is a reason why he signed 5 years. At year 3 he is further away from reaching THE GOAL then when he got here. In fact, i'd argue that we are in the worse situation given the state of unknown for how things will play out outside of Kap. The draft picks are not really playing out of their minds. Goal tending is horrible. Prospects have yet to really show anything. Yurov may or may not be great. Who knows - maybe he will be the next Pavel Bure or the next Valeriy Bure. Thats a big difference right? Kap has a family, a goal in mind, a future to look forward to. The odds are definitely against us in retaining if we don't do something big. That's just it. 

There is unknown, but there is progress. Don't look at the current roster or last season's results. Look at the progression from the kids and the fact that they are starting to arrive. They are arriving more seasoned than we thought they'd need to be. Yes, there will be an adjustment period, but Dino kind of got his already. You could see in his approach that he geared down several times because he didn't have someone fast enough to go with him, and he is a conservative player. 

Goaltending sucked. It wasn't stellar, but The Wall made some pretty big strides this past season. Iowa defense was a dumpster fire. And, yes, some highly touted prospects graduated to there and seemed to struggle. They need strength/weight to be more successful. They have plenty of it to compete in jrs., not against men. 

I don't know that you can say that our prospects aren't lighting the world on fire. Dino's year in '22-23 was fantastic, Yurov's year last season was even better. Lambos performed well in '22-23 as did Spacek and Masters. Peart did too. They all had down years last year, but that could be from a jump in competition. Let's see what this year looks like. 

Results would say that we were going backwards the last 2 seasons. But 1/2 of those guys are placeholders. The guys that have been picked are the ones we need to keep an eye on. They should be better this coming season. When Kap makes his decision to resign, it won't be because of the guys we just resigned, it will be because he sees what's coming and is excited to compete...contend with them. They won't be proven by the time he needs to resign, but he'll see the talent that's been accumulated. 

[IllicitFive]

4 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Or, for them, they get back something that helps make them better. And that can happen in win-win scenarios. I would consider the Fiala for Ohgren/Faber a win-win right now. We also got what was needed, cap relief in that deal.

This is a fair point, I more meant that we can't expect to fleece teams. In that scenario getting Faber and Ohgren for Fiala was awesome, it worked out for everyone, but Fiala was an asset we had to lose. We won't get diddly squat for guys like Gaudreau or NoJo. I mean if those two were floated out there what would you be willing to pay for them? Haha. 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

4 hours ago, Protec said:

I just think Guerin either got lazy or was riding a nice wave before it fell out under him. I think there's a possibility he could turn it around but I'm way less confident based on primarily the NoJo fiasco part two. That's Guerin's dumbest move yet.

In my mind, many of his moves have been indirectly influenced by the buy-outs. There's the obvious obstacle of the cap space available, but that cap deficit may also eliminate them from being considered a desirable free agent destination. Guys know they aren't going to be seriously competing until 25-26, so many would likely take similar money elsewhere with a roster less hamstrung by cap hell.

Although it wasn't for a lot of money, I wasn't happy with the Johansson deal because I felt they could maximize their value elsewhere better. It was hard to argue against what he did after the trade deadline, but it was difficult to believe he would stay near that level. And the drop off was even worse than I could have imagined.

MoJo had 20 points in 26 games, including playoffs the prior year. Then NoJo followed that up with 30 points in 78 games. WTF???

 

[OldDutchChip]

45 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

There is unknown, but there is progress. Don't look at the current roster or last season's results. Look at the progression from the kids and the fact that they are starting to arrive. They are arriving more seasoned than we thought they'd need to be. Yes, there will be an adjustment period, but Dino kind of got his already. You could see in his approach that he geared down several times because he didn't have someone fast enough to go with him, and he is a conservative player. 

Goaltending sucked. It wasn't stellar, but The Wall made some pretty big strides this past season. Iowa defense was a dumpster fire. And, yes, some highly touted prospects graduated to there and seemed to struggle. They need strength/weight to be more successful. They have plenty of it to compete in jrs., not against men. 

I don't know that you can say that our prospects aren't lighting the world on fire. Dino's year in '22-23 was fantastic, Yurov's year last season was even better. Lambos performed well in '22-23 as did Spacek and Masters. Peart did too. They all had down years last year, but that could be from a jump in competition. Let's see what this year looks like. 

Results would say that we were going backwards the last 2 seasons. But 1/2 of those guys are placeholders. The guys that have been picked are the ones we need to keep an eye on. They should be better this coming season. When Kap makes his decision to resign, it won't be because of the guys we just resigned, it will be because he sees what's coming and is excited to compete...contend with them. They won't be proven by the time he needs to resign, but he'll see the talent that's been accumulated. 

Goal tending was HORRIBLE and we are retaining the same pair (for now) and have a rookie goalie that could work out, could flame out, could turn into an OK goalie....with goalies its a bit hazy to project their impact.

Dino's year in '22-23 was fantastic - hmm not sure i see it translate yet (even if he is holding off, there should be telling signs about his game being untapped but his seems to be pretty meh). he seems to be an okay third liner but nothing to get overly excited about

Yurov's year last season was even better - i hope so, since Dino is okay at best (and likely was Mitchkov's beneficiary and just road him to pad his stats, maybe just a guess) As for Yurov - i am holding out that excitement until i see him

Lambos performed well in '22-23 as did Spacek and Masters. Peart did too. They all had down years last year, but that could be from a jump in competition. Let's see what this year looks like. - nope thats not good enough. i have heard these names plenty already and if they can't excite me now, they are basically in the same category of prospects as Becky and Walky. 

When Kap makes his decision to resign, it won't be because of the guys we just resigned, it will be because he sees what's coming and is excited to compete...contend with them. They won't be proven by the time he needs to resign, but he'll see the talent that's been accumulated. - ouch if my eval is more on point than yours then Kap will surely run the first chance he gets. If our best bet is to showcase our prospects then we better hope Yurov is the next coming of young Fedorov or Mogilniy or we are screwed. 

Sorry but not a lot of excitement thats brewing when looking at our prospect line

Besides miraculously being lucky w Faber, the rest of younglings are a bit underwhelming! 

[mnfaninnc]

3 hours ago, IllicitFive said:

We won't get diddly squat for guys like Gaudreau or NoJo.

What we would get is an open roster spot and not have to buy them out. Just that aspect has value.

[mnfaninnc]

3 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

MoJo had 20 points in 26 games, including playoffs the prior year. Then NoJo followed that up with 30 points in 78 games. WTF???

But let's be real, what really did we expect for $2m?

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

- nope thats not good enough. i have heard these names plenty already and if they can't excite me now, they are basically in the same category of prospects as Becky and Walky. 

How is that not good enough? There's almost always a lull when players jump up a level. Some of it has to do with their role, some of it has to do with getting used to the better competition.

And what do you mean by Dino not being really good in '22-23? For his age group he was one of the top Russian point producers. Granted, he was on a much better team than he was last season. And, you know, politics played a part (team politics, not international politics) of this season. Just like Yurov got the shaft last year in TOI. 

I'm pessimistic by nature, but a clear head will see that there was progress. Due to the lost Covid year of development, each one of these prospects are on a different than usual timeline. I didn't see really anything on the defenseman but a stat sheet. When you watch A highlights, there's not really a good camera view and it's hard to pick out who's on the ice defending. I would like to have seen more, but, that said, I do agree with you that their development this year was disappointing. And, that falls directly on the strength and conditioning coaches, the player development guys and McLean and his staff. I still have no idea why we do not have a respected defenseman on either coaching staff?

Also, Ohgren stepped up a league and got a late start, but he finished pretty strong. The injuries concern me, and the production has to be viewed through an SHL lens. He did some things in the few games he was up this season that I liked. My biggest ? is if he can stay healthy. But, physically, the guy's a bull!

As for Becky and Walky, I don't have much hope for Walky, but if Becky trains hard and puts on 15-20 lbs. of muscle this offseason (a tall task), he'll make it, if he doesn't, trade him, he's done here. Walker's merely a call up for injuries.

[MacGyver]

Perhaps the real dilemma is about time. How much more time is Kaprizov willing to invest in this team against  how much time is it going to take for these prospects to spool up to being the Stanley Cup contenders many seem to think.  Celebrini is said to be the only NHL ready prospect available this year. It was Bedard last year. Sorry gents but we have no prospects even near that caliber of player. Yurov is not even coming here for another year and he has the best percentage of making the transition. Wallstedt was said to be ready but we have not seen much of him and if Guerin can't find a suitable trade for the Bus we won't see a lot more of Wallstedt this year. 

And according to mnfan nearly everyone has to beef up to the tune of 15 to 20 pounds in the gym to reach their potential. What if they don't? Even then no guarantees. This is what Kaprizov has to be digesting. How long do I want to sign on to  a group of if's, and's and maybe's in three plus years versus just cut bait and keep pursuing my goal of why I came to this league? I don't think Kaprizov wants to be that guy that was great but gets traded at the end of his career to give him a shot at the Cup with a real contender. 

[OldDutchChip]

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

How is that not good enough? There's almost always a lull when players jump up a level. Some of it has to do with their role, some of it has to do with getting used to the better competition.

And what do you mean by Dino not being really good in '22-23? For his age group he was one of the top Russian point producers. Granted, he was on a much better team than he was last season. And, you know, politics played a part (team politics, not international politics) of this season. Just like Yurov got the shaft last year in TOI. 

I'm pessimistic by nature, but a clear head will see that there was progress. Due to the lost Covid year of development, each one of these prospects are on a different than usual timeline. I didn't see really anything on the defenseman but a stat sheet. When you watch A highlights, there's not really a good camera view and it's hard to pick out who's on the ice defending. I would like to have seen more, but, that said, I do agree with you that their development this year was disappointing. And, that falls directly on the strength and conditioning coaches, the player development guys and McLean and his staff. I still have no idea why we do not have a respected defenseman on either coaching staff?

Also, Ohgren stepped up a league and got a late start, but he finished pretty strong. The injuries concern me, and the production has to be viewed through an SHL lens. He did some things in the few games he was up this season that I liked. My biggest ? is if he can stay healthy. But, physically, the guy's a bull!

As for Becky and Walky, I don't have much hope for Walky, but if Becky trains hard and puts on 15-20 lbs. of muscle this offseason (a tall task), he'll make it, if he doesn't, trade him, he's done here. Walker's merely a call up for injuries.

politics had nothing to do with his performance when he got to the states. i saw an "okay" player..... a bit exaggeration from eager scouts and marketing dept on his feistiness and speed and skill on my first impression.

he also played with best prospect outside the US in mitchkov, so his stats may be a bit misleading. i'm all for him blossoming as a top9 player, but for now, i'll hold on excitement. 

as for Ohgren, i have honestly not seen one game of his. seems to be again drumming up excitement before he actually shows us something of substance that can be used for analysis. 

the only knowns right now are Kap and Ek. Then next tier is Boldy, Faber and Brodin. That's five players. The rest, including prospects, are just wild cards at this point. Kap already knows what he has with these four players. Wild need to figure out if they play the hand with prospect and current vision or go for progressive, creative and aggressive push. I'd go for later.  

[mnfaninnc]

28 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

he also played with best prospect outside the US in mitchkov, so his stats may be a bit misleading. i'm all for him blossoming as a top9 player, but for now, i'll hold on excitement. 

I'm doing this from memory, but I didn't think Dino played most of the year with Mitchkov. Perhaps they were on the PP together?

You did miss a nice game by Ohgren, I believe it was his 2nd game. But the two players also seemed to have some chemistry together.

But, to your point, you are right, they are wildcards. Rossi is too as he has to repeat his rookie year and improve on it. 

That is the thing, these guys will be important parts of the team in the coming years. Placeholders will bow out and the prospects will graduate up. They'll have some real good talent but will need to learn consistency and take that step up to the next level. 

[OldDutchChip]

33 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I'm doing this from memory, but I didn't think Dino played most of the year with Mitchkov. Perhaps they were on the PP together?

You did miss a nice game by Ohgren, I believe it was his 2nd game. But the two players also seemed to have some chemistry together.

But, to your point, you are right, they are wildcards. Rossi is too as he has to repeat his rookie year and improve on it. 

That is the thing, these guys will be important parts of the team in the coming years. Placeholders will bow out and the prospects will graduate up. They'll have some real good talent but will need to learn consistency and take that step up to the next level. 

i think in general having Mitchkov on your team will alleviate some pressure and allow you to not face the toughest defense. I did hear about Ohgren having a good game or a shift or two, but again i cannot comment, as i have seen nothing of him. 

I think you were the one that started the idea of Tkachuk, and while its a bit of a "dream" i think that's the approach for us to take. Our prospects are not ones to hold and bet that they will impress Kap. I think we push for gold but realistically shoot for getting both Buchnevich and Guentzel. 

[mnhockeyfan03]

I like the idea of Tkachuk, worth making a call.  I would like to see them go after these forwards - Necas of the hurricanes, Guentzal on a cheap homecoming deal, Perron, for Dmen J Chykrun and another right big handed Dman. Any remaining money get another good forward like duclair or buchnevich.  You will have to trade Rossi, Spurgeon, Gus, Mojo, Freddie, Beckman etc.  This would completely change the makeup of our team and make us much better. This is the big sort of offseason Billy needs to make happen.