Article: Watching the Stars Has Brought Back Old Wild Memories

[Brendan Johnson]

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[OldDutchChip]

I too am making a prediction

1 - wild will sign dumba for 3 years 3X3

2 - wild will sign Bjugstad for same 3X3

3 - wild will trade for Oshie

4 - Matt Cullen will rejoin the team as teams number 3 center, to play on the same line as Freddy G and MJ

5 - team will win the cup, the beauty league cup

shiiit I forgot Goli will be re-signed to further enhance mentorship of young D studs

[Protec]

You missed one. Get Jack Carlson out of retirement for the tough-guy factor.

Ask him about the time he had no insurance and got cut when he slipped on a ladder. DIY stitches for tough guys.

😁

[FredJohnson]

 In the first two to three years of Wallstedt coming of age, we will see him have a Jean-Sébastien Giguere-like playoff run and either get us to the finals or win the whole thing.

Jinx!

[Protec]

I went to those games at the Excel when Giguere stonewalled the Wild. Playoff run over...

[Dean]

Winning is not making the playoffs! Winning is winning rounds in the playoffs. Ask Toronto if there winners. Only in minny is the definition of winning . being average. Your great gm inherited a team that had the players to make playoffs. His job was to win rounds. Still f ing waiting. This  great gm is so good at buyouts he doesn’t need a cap guy. We have the worst front office in the league now.  What happened in the front office this year is nothing to be proud of. Billy  is some wizard restocking the prospects. We have 10 th overall prospect pool and he’s talking about trading his highest pick. For the time he’s had that’s average. For all the flame outs he should have been more focused on  getting better picks. Rather than get to the playoffs to meltdown like babies. That great vet core he built is lazy and feel sorry for themselves.  Yeah that’s what you want to teach prospects. Just like Jamie Benn does.Haha. We’ve all seen this core . You can’t count on them for anything except to make fools of themselves. None of the core have done anything, proven anything. Yet in minny we love the guys who skate for paychecks. If the core guys were real winners they would want to be in the playoffs. They would act like it or want to be traded to a legit team. Ala Maroon . The wild vets like golf not winning!  Billy is such a winner his franchise guy wants to leave. This idea you can’t blame Billy for timelines not meshing is ridiculous. It’s the GMs job or he does something about it. You don’t let your team suck all year because your to incompetent to have cap space or players you could trade .  Instead you let your prospects learn how to feel sorry for themselves all year. 
     Vegas owner said I want cup in 5 yrs and they did it. We’re just asking for a playoff round win and Billy can’t do it in the same time . We’re not rebuilding but we are . So we’re winning for kappy but when everything goes to shit then people fall back on no we’re rebuilding. It takes time. That’s all fine and dandy if you didn’t have a franchise superstar aging and wasting his talent waiting. 
    Billy isn’t a good gm. He’s losing the face of franchise because he’s clueless to what the nhl is now. 

[Dean]

Billy also has a 10 mil 3 rd line that can’t play. Hartman Jo Jo and moose. 10 mil . Ridiculous 

[Dean]

The buyout argument is done. Those two didn’t retire so it didn’t have to be done looking back. They didn’t go ruin locker rooms. They both can still play an are. They both are helping there teams win rounds 

   The buyouts an injury arguments are worthless. A good gm could navigate those . Whether the buyouts were right or wrong is everyone’s own opinion. It’s just not an excuse for this team regressing. It’s the  non leadership of our gm down to his players that the problem. 

[Dean]

There motto next year should be accountability! 
guys who aren’t playing or preforming well need to be benched or moved to press box. No more waiting 82 games for them to figure it out . Enough babying these babies. It’s time they get held to account or moved the heck out. Who cares if you lose a few games it’s better than losing another season to babies 

[Dean]

What big game have the wild won since Billy’s tenure? None. Zero!  His claim to fame is a couple wins in Dallas series. However I remember how it ended . Total embarrassment. They made adjustments then broke us. Broke the will of the so called core . So how can people call him good or great yet. He’s proven nothing.  Same as how can people look at a list of prospects an say we’re winning cup in 4 years.  What has this organization ever done that says that’s even close to a possibility ? The league isn’t stagnant. Just because Billy inherited a team that made playoffs doesn’t mean they can do it again . The competition is always trying to get better . 
     It’s total fantasy land to be giving flowers to Billy for nothing. It’s ridiculous to say we’re going to do anything in the future till we see these kids in nhl. Hell why even play the games  if we know where winners and won the cup  
     Billy says we’re in win mode but we suck. How is that a good gm?  He’s done nothing but now is going to go waste time with team USA.  Billy has built loser teams and that gets you USA job. Talk about the good ole boy club. Or good GMs would rather work on there own team 

[Protec]

But tell us how you really feel. 😁

[Pewterschmidt]

6 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

I too am making a prediction

1 - wild will sign dumba for 3 years 3X3

2 - wild will sign Bjugstad for same 3X3

3 - wild will trade for Oshie

4 - Matt Cullen will rejoin the team as teams number 3 center, to play on the same line as Freddy G and MJ

5 - team will win the cup, the beauty league cup

shiiit I forgot Goli will be re-signed to further enhance mentorship of young D studs

6- Dennis Maruk donates his mustache to science

[Pewterschmidt]

11 minutes ago, Protec said:

But tell us how you really feel. 😁

Dean bringing the heat and taking a page from mnfan with 5 posts in a row. 
#meanDean

[punch_cut]

Dean get an application to write for this site ASAP. Then I can just skip past your articles. 

[Protec]

I appreciate Dean's honesty. The way he and others see the overall is pretty negative but we've been here before. In the weird zone of flat to poor trajectory and this time around the team isn't in that bad a position that it should be 100% doom and gloom.

Imagine Guerin was fired tomorrow, the Wild have assets and quality players. That's more than could be said for Fletcher who had decent guys left but no current-day Ek or Kaprizov. 

The Wild have a decent pick coming in a month and good UFAs available. Just one last big-bad season of penalties. In other words, why be so mad about the chosen path to buyout Parise/Suter and allocate frustration towards MN when it's the NHL that retroactively changed rules to punish MN while they gift Vegas, NYR, and CHI everything they can.

This is why many people are thankful Fenton got fired and Guerin came in firing on all cylinders. Now that a few years worth of history to review, Guerin looks less than amazing, but not even close to bad. Obviously having NoJo for a return visit makes things worse daily. 

It's true that WPG or NSH made nice turnarounds along with Vancouver but it's not enough so MN has a long way to go even if they can get back into the playoffs next year. Yurov and Kaprizov should get one year together at least.

If Guerin IS smart he'd better have a game plan for if Kaprizov does want to leave. The Wild will net a nice return. That could be how it goes and Guerin then might be cross-eyed enough to get canned but the Wild will have some decent players I think. It could go like that but seems like the odds are slim. The most likely is they continue to be not good enough to win a Cup but not bottoming out all the way like the Sharks either unless Guerin goes full Fletcher or Ron Wilson with brutal senseless moves that are significantly worse than Guerin's 2M/2yr NoJo deal or a bad start to a 2M/5 to Fred.

The Foligno one is the worst cause he's super one-faceted in the easiest thing to replace other than "leadership or glue" which I can't pretend to know about the team itself but seems like playing really good hockey should be priority #1. "It's about effing winning!"

 

[Pewterschmidt]

39 minutes ago, Protec said:

Imagine Guerin was fired tomorrow, the Wild have assets and quality players. That's more than could be said for Fletcher who had decent guys left but no current-day Ek or Kaprizov. 

We can begin to give a letter grade to Guerin because 1) he's been here long enough 2) his prospects are arriving 3) we can grade his decisions (trades, extension, etc) 4) front office drama which reflects basic professionalism and self-discipline.  (and let's not confuse tough guy posturing with self discipline) 

I'm going with a C- and putting him on an improvement plan.  If it's corporate America it's not quite time to issue a PIP, but we're drafting the paperwork.

Hooz and Ogzy look like they'll be NHL'rs, but not sure they're going to be needle movers (that's what she said).  I'm more concerned with the draft capital that was spent and maybe wasted on all the early round D-men who are not inspiring confidence.  Also, I know it's unfair to cherry pick but choosing Stramel who's unable to make the lineup on a Badger team as a soph. over Perrault who appears to be a stud on a top NCAA team looks like a whammy.  Just can't flush first round (or 2-3 round) picks.

[Pewterschmidt]

47 minutes ago, Protec said:

Foligno one is the worst cause he's super one-faceted in the easiest thing to replace other than "leadership or glue" which I can't pretend to know about the team itself but seems like playing really good hockey should be priority #1.

Halle-bleeping-luah.  Guerin has gotten a pass on his statements about good locker room guy yada yada because he's got an illustrious playing career and we take his word for it because he seemingly has credibility.  But his string of unforced errors is beginning to disqualify him as a member of the Legend GM club with former players like Stevie Y and Sakic.  Wild Bill has to catch lightning in a prospect bottle (Yurov appears to be the latest consensus savior) AND Guerin has to be crafty and keep 97 in the fold.  Guerin has shown signs that he's not savvy enough to pull this off.

[mnfaninnc]

I cheered for the Stars after they went to Dallas too, until just about everyone who was on that team had left. Then, they became the hated franchise. Coincidentally, since I had moved out a decade prior, I think found out about douche bag Norm Green and what he did to get out of town. Let's just say that this soured me on the whole Dallas franchise. Besides that, I cannot stand the Cowboys either. So FNG!

[Protec]

I'd probably Give Bill a C. Because of the good things he's done under the circumstances. There's a lot of solid transactions he's overseen. He's had some obvious blunders. Not the worst, but I'd say his percentage is around 75%. It's dropping over time.

Could he get a really nice pick and make some good Summer moves to counter the shortfalls? Maybe, but if he doesn't and we pick up a Maroon/Khaira combo it could be another aggravating season again.

[Pewterschmidt]

9 minutes ago, Protec said:

I'd probably Give Bill a C. Because of the good things he's done under the circumstances. There's a lot of solid transactions he's overseen. He's had some obvious blunders. Not the worst, but I'd say his percentage is around 75%. It's dropping over time.

Could he get a really nice pick and make some good Summer moves to counter the shortfalls? Maybe, but if he doesn't and we pick up a Maroon/Khaira combo it could be another aggravating season again.

This is a pivotal summer for Guerin and the Wild.  If he gets creative and adds a couple of players who are solid middle 6rs, Ogzy proves he can play, and Hooz begins evolving into a bottom 6 rat maybe 97 looks around and says "ok, we're building something.  If Guerin bounces it off the upright this summer and the same cast of apathetic place holders returns next year and the group gets a little older and a little lower in the standings 97 might tell his agent to start making calls.

[Pewterschmidt]

Just now, Pewterschmidt said:

This is a pivotal summer for Guerin and the Wild.  If he gets creative and adds a couple of players who are solid middle 6rs, Ogzy proves he can play, and Hooz begins evolving into a bottom 6 rat maybe 97 looks around and says "ok, we're building something.  If Guerin bounces it off the upright this summer and the same cast of apathetic place holders returns next year and the group gets a little older and a little lower in the standings 97 might tell his agent to start making calls.

I'm beginning to think about the next two years as how do we keep 97, and only that.

#doublepost

[mnfaninnc]

We really only have 1 year of prospects graduating to grade Guerin on. So far, 3 of that draft class have debuted. I think you have to grade him at least a B on the 1st draft class, a B on the NHL club making the playoffs 3/4 of the last years, and an incomplete on the subsequent drafts. Overall, it's a B* where * indicates the incomplete. 

Yes, we can grade on some, but we cannot grade on what was built just yet. We'll need about 3 more years for that. I do like what I've seen from Guerin, but there are still some unforced errors that he's made. I get the faith he's had in ex-teammates since he wants to build a champion and wants that influence on the team. I think he needs to open up his mind a little bit for the championship influence and try taking some from non-Pittsburgh teams. Sometimes that's the hardest thing for a GM to do, look elsewhere, but as he grows in the position he'll have to start looking elsewhere. 

Of course, this is why I believe Sheldon Keefe would be a good addition to the organization. He's a good hockey mind that is different from Guerin. Having a guy who can see each one's blindspots is very valuable.