Article: Bill Guerin Has Lost His New GM Smell

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, MNCountryLife said:

If building through the draft does work it appears it may be from players that bypass IA through the use of other leagues.

This is a good take and needs to be fixed. Iowa should be the main feeder but it is obvious the other leagues are doing a better job of preparing our guys.

[mnfaninnc]

1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

the Guerin/brackett results are finally coming in. 

This sounds like election night!!!! What precincts are reporting???

[mnfaninnc]

1 hour ago, Amaddeo said:

I think he should recognize that he will need to shed some not so great contracts and show that he made a mistake with the Freddy signing and get rid of him. No shame in fixing a mistake you make. 

Shooter has made that possible by starting with NMCs and later making them M-NTCs. I think the players that got extended with the exception of Zuccarello, know that they may very well be traded and they were given market value salaries so that they didn't get screwed. Again, that type of GM gets around the league as someone you wouldn't mind playing for. 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

41 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I would have banked the Hartman money and put in a youngster, maybe like Milne, and saved the money for the TDL.

Milne? We've seen Sammy Walker at the NHL level and Milne isn't that good. Hartman is a solid deal. Doubtful you can bring in a better player on a lower contract without giving up prospects or picks you want for the future. Hartman isn't elite, but he doesn't really have holes in his game either. He's a solid veteran that can help you win and hopefully he can keep himself out of the box a little bit more this year.

Hartman isn't the insanely good deal he was in the past, but he's definitely on a solid contract for what he can provide. Hartman has scored at or above a 20 goal per 80 game pace each of the last 3 seasons.

Hartman doesn't turn 30 until the day before the Wild's 1st preseason game, so should have plenty of strong years left and he's only signed though age 32.

[Mateo3xm]

17 hours ago, Protec said:

The Wild are always going nowhere, even before they set franchise records for wins or points. 

Are you aware all those reg season records you speak of mean absolutely nothing in the playoffs?? You’re aware of that right? Have you seen any improvements where it matters, like the playoffs? 

[MNCountryLife]

1 hour ago, Mateo3xm said:

Have you seen any improvements where it matters, like the playoffs?

I'm a big hockey fan.  Love sitting down and catching the Wild play during the season.  Winning in the regular season is just as important to me as the playoffs.  I enjoy the regular season... from game 1 all the way to the end... even the painful times at the end of the season when they don't make it to the party.  Maybe I've been a Vikings fan too long.  Ugh.  Yes, Lord Stanley would be the cherry on top.  

[MrCheatachu]

2 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Milne? We've seen Sammy Walker at the NHL level and Milne isn't that good. Hartman is a solid deal. Doubtful you can bring in a better player on a lower contract without giving up prospects or picks you want for the future. Hartman isn't elite, but he doesn't really have holes in his game either. He's a solid veteran that can help you win and hopefully he can keep himself out of the box a little bit more this year.

Hartman isn't the insanely good deal he was in the past, but he's definitely on a solid contract for what he can provide. Hartman has scored at or above a 20 goal per 80 game pace each of the last 3 seasons.

Hartman doesn't turn 30 until the day before the Wild's 1st preseason game, so should have plenty of strong years left and he's only signed though age 32.

The old rule of thumb for forwards was $100k/pt.  Last 3 seasons Hartzy put up 65pts (82 games), 37pts (59 games), and 45pts (74 games) which means a $4M deal is right in line and that's before you start talking about the 'extras' that a guy like Hartzy brings to your team.

Also, to support your point, if you replace Hartzy with Milne you might have banked some caps space for the TDL, but if you're not going to be a buyer.  Last time that happened they got GusGus (who was still on IR for much of his stint here), Mojo and a '25 4th round pick for retaining 50% in the ROR deal.  If that's the return we'd pull at the TDL I'd rather keep Hartzy.

[Burnt Toast]

6 hours ago, Outskated said:

It was really bad in the case of Foligno's contract

Again being outside the room I can only speculate…. My gut says BG had a handshake agreement with Foligno and Hartman that basically said “ Hey help me out through the tightest cap buyout years and I will take care of you, and then some, when I can.” My guess is all across the NHL these sort of relationships, loyalty, etc. eventually become, so to speak, inside the room, common knowledge. 

[Protec]

24 teams lose in round one or don't make the playoffs. I hear ya on the Wild's regular season importance but MN has players like Chisholm, Faber, Boldy, and Ohgren who should get better. I've used the examples of WPG & NSH who didn't look amazing last off season but made the playoffs and also lost out. My point is, it's not so bad. 

[mnfaninnc]

8 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Milne?

Milne was just throwing a name out there, it could be anybody, but Milne has been in Iowa for 2 years and may be close to ready. Walker was playing top 6 minutes, but Milne is being groomed for the bottom 6, might be a better fit. 

[mnfaninnc]

5 hours ago, MrCheatachu said:

Also, to support your point, if you replace Hartzy with Milne you might have banked some caps space for the TDL, but if you're not going to be a buyer.  Last time that happened they got GusGus (who was still on IR for much of his stint here), Mojo and a '25 4th round pick for retaining 50% in the ROR deal.  If that's the return we'd pull at the TDL I'd rather keep Hartzy.

Let's not forget about Sunny too! The difference would be that if you bring in a big name guy, you could resign him the following year. We couldn't do that 2 years ago.

[MacGyver]

13 hours ago, Amaddeo said:

I think the window will be open starting next season.

I hear this term often. Is this to mean the Wild's window to winning a Stanley Cup championship opens next year?

[Protec]

You gotta make the playoffs to have a shot. The Wild need to start with that goal. Make the playoffs, don't have a bad start. Be consistent. Win draws and buy into roles and details. That would fix a lot.

P.S. Stay healthy. Young guys, step it up a few notches.

[MrCheatachu]

13 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Let's not forget about Sunny too! The difference would be that if you bring in a big name guy, you could resign him the following year. We couldn't do that 2 years ago.

I did genuinely forget Sundquist...what an impact.

Marner (TOR), Draisdtl (EDM), Rantanen (COL) and Boeser (VAN) aren't going to be sold at the TDL assuming their teams are likely still in the playoff contention.  Best available, depending on how the season goes, might be Kuzmenko (CGY), Dvorak (MTL) or Fabri (ANH)?

I was excited when BillyG stated he was going to 'weaponize our cap space' but was quickly disappointed at the results of what he was able to do with it.  And from that perspective, I'd rather have Hartzy out there making the first 3/4 of the season more interesting/competitive than some dud out of Iowa.

[Protec]

Just a thought, Guerin has now signed Ek, Boldy, and Faber to nice value deals for solid term. 

Guerin has drafted what looks like a really good goalie, top-pairing, dynamic, NCAA winner, defenseman, and another Russian KHL Champ to go with Rossi who scored 40pts. 

When you sign Vaj for the organization and sprinkle in the other draft picks and veteran depth, it's pretty good overall. At the end of the day if the new car smell is gone, that's cause you're beginning to pick up the aroma of Knudi, Ogre, Vaj coming on even while the NoJo is lost. 

[Pewterschmidt]

4 hours ago, Protec said:

Just a thought, Guerin has now signed Ek, Boldy, and Faber to nice value deals for solid term. 

Guerin has drafted what looks like a really good goalie, top-pairing, dynamic, NCAA winner, defenseman, and another Russian KHL Champ to go with Rossi who scored 40pts. 

When you sign Vaj for the organization and sprinkle in the other draft picks and veteran depth, it's pretty good overall. At the end of the day if the new car smell is gone, that's cause you're beginning to pick up the aroma of Knudi, Ogre, Vaj coming on even while the NoJo is lost. 

I see what you did there.

[Pewterschmidt]

4 hours ago, Protec said:

Just a thought, Guerin has now signed Ek, Boldy, and Faber to nice value deals for solid term. 

Guerin has drafted what looks like a really good goalie, top-pairing, dynamic, NCAA winner, defenseman, and another Russian KHL Champ to go with Rossi who scored 40pts. 

When you sign Vaj for the organization and sprinkle in the other draft picks and veteran depth, it's pretty good overall. At the end of the day if the new car smell is gone, that's cause you're beginning to pick up the aroma of Knudi, Ogre, Vaj coming on even while the NoJo is lost. 

Looking forward to a big opener from Vaj, keeping opponents out of the slot.

(there's lots of gold to mine here but it feels like I haven't found the groove yet)

[Pewterschmidt]

15 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

(there's lots of gold to mine here but it feels like I haven't found the groove yet)

I can’t put my finger on it

[Gavan]

"It was easy to see the bright future last summer when the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts reduced significantly, and Minnesota finally seemed to have free reign in their cap space."

 

What utter Fox 'News' distortion. Wtf? 

 

2nd:  The extensions are value signings, and are each thereby tradable assets. No move clauses merely give control to players in any trade.  

 

3rd: Signing core players through an expected dry spell is a recipe for success when the water flows again. 

 

4th: Young smallish Russian skill players now have a Russian thumper at their back. No more cross checks to 97's lower back. 

 

5th: If Guerin would have tanked now Wild nation would have backed him? Neither Guerin nor Wild fans are bred to tank. He's a winner and true Wild fans know he's done better with what he's got than any MN GM ever has. I guess it took a guy from Mass to live up to MN values. 

[Mateo3xm]

On 8/8/2024 at 1:04 PM, MNCountryLife said:

I'm a big hockey fan.  Love sitting down and catching the Wild play during the season.  Winning in the regular season is just as important to me as the playoffs.  I enjoy the regular season... from game 1 all the way to the end... even the painful times at the end of the season when they don't make it to the party.  Maybe I've been a Vikings fan too long.  Ugh.  Yes, Lord Stanley would be the cherry on top.  

You understand where I’m going with this? Why is everyone on here ok with regular season success but no playoff success? There has been no improvements whatsoever in the playoffs. How are peoples aspirations not winning a cup? If your goal is for simply having a good reg season I suppose you’re happy with that but I’m not. It’s as if people have all been duped or something. I want the state of f@ckin hockey to have a Stanley Cup. It’s a joke to me that we are the state of hockey and that mn has the highest amount of nhl players that have come from the US and we have almost nothing to show for.

When it all boils down to it, the regular season means nothing if you can’t win in the playoffs. It’s incredibly sad that standards are that low.

[Protec]

I agree players don't tank. It's just as well to rebuild and stay competitive. Arguably better unless the wheels really fall off. 

MN is looking very good and might not need Spurgeon before long. Money and opportunity is there to extend Kaprizov and add a player.