Article: A Quiet Off-Season Could Mean Big Things for the Minnesota Wild

[greg]

I don't expect much from the Wild this year.  Too many maybe and what if situations.  I don't think they will make the playoffs

[FredJohnson]

 

Run it back.

[Protec]

22 hours ago, Need4speed99 said:

People talk about beating dead horses yet no one gets over the fact that the wild have been basically mediocre for the last 15 years by largely following the same operating procedure. They never do a rebuild always trying to stay "competitive" never too bad but never a contender. 

The sarcasm was great, bring up the 2 smallest contracts to try and make a point. The point is they have too much tied up into bottom six players for too long. You guys all say they aren't handicapped and in 2 yrs they won't all have NTC's but at that point who is going to trade to take on those contracts? If those players continue to regress(as age indicates they will) then what value will they have more than 4th liners.

Now as for prospects, what happens if they don't pan out or just end up being middle or bottom 6 guys... they will need contracts too. At that point you will still not have the cap space in to bring in a legit scorer. Stuck in the mushy middle.

As for this year, alot of relying on injured and aging players to bounce back... the hedging bets would mean you would look at data and trends and bet more heavily on the higher probabilities. No matter how you cut that the numbers would be heavily on seeing more decline from aging players and older players coming back from injury not being the same player as they were. 

I'm not going to say this is 100% Billy's fault, liepold seems to care only about fans in the stands,hence the same pattern with the wild front office. 

I never like billy, his arrogance, unwilling to change, love for vets, and love for "his" guys while never giving others a fair shake annoys me.

I've been a mn fan my whole life and am tired of mn sports busting out their slogan of "next year" or always having excuses. The young fans buy into it and talk about being optimistic and "real" fans when people are negative. Sports are patterns, pay attention long enough and you will see them. One thing about mn sports is they all seem to have either inept ownership, management, or coaching, or a combo of all 3.

I don't jump on bandwagons, I sit back and observe and so far I see billy and liepold conducting business as usual, per the wild of the last 15 years. 

 

There's a handful of things I'd agree with here. I just don't agree you need to break things down 100% and try to get a top pick like Toronto or Edmonton or Montreal, NJ, NY, LA, Ottawa, Buffalo, Utah, Detroit, or Chicago have done. 

MN isn't perfect and neither is Guerin but it's not that bad right now AND this is the beginning of the period we've waited for at the end of the worst penalty years.

Guerin's plan is not bad and it's more clear what that was, looking back. Build draft capital, revamp the roster, and sign new core while being competitive without getting into new contract quicksand. 

If the few veteran-loyalty deals he's dished out is enough for some people to discredit all the good transactions or signings, then we'll just have to disagree a little on that. Guerin didn't start with a clean slate. He had to dig out of a hole first. He's done a good job. The Wild are a solid team. 

[Need4speed99]

22 hours ago, Protec said:

There's a handful of things I'd agree with here. I just don't agree you need to break things down 100% and try to get a top pick like Toronto or Edmonton or Montreal, NJ, NY, LA, Ottawa, Buffalo, Utah, Detroit, or Chicago have done. 

MN isn't perfect and neither is Guerin but it's not that bad right now AND this is the beginning of the period we've waited for at the end of the worst penalty years.

Guerin's plan is not bad and it's more clear what that was, looking back. Build draft capital, revamp the roster, and sign new core while being competitive without getting into new contract quicksand. 

If the few veteran-loyalty deals he's dished out is enough for some people to discredit all the good transactions or signings, then we'll just have to disagree a little on that. Guerin didn't start with a clean slate. He had to dig out of a hole first. He's done a good job. The Wild are a solid team. 

At this point I'm not saying blow it up for a top pick but rather sit some vets and let the kids play. This year is kind of a "lost" year. At best the squeaking the playoffs and get bounced.

We know the ceilings of the vets and we know as they age it gets lower, see what you have in the pipeline.

Guerin came into a perennial playoff team or close too much like Fletcher had. Fletcher built through the draft at first, later trading away the future. 

This is just like 09 when Fletcher came in. The patterns are the same. 

Again what happens if the prospects fail, what cap space do they have over the next few yrs? What happens if they can't show they are a contender in 2 yrs and kap leaves, where are they then? Sure they can rely on midling pickups to keep them relevant but when do they get serious and become actual contenders. If you say in about 3 to 4 yrs, sorry you missed the boat. Kap is gone and we have the leagues highest paid 4th line.

[Need4speed99]

Side note; the nhl would never give the wild the 1st pick, somehow only your top markets get that after their first time being one of the biggest bottom feeders in the league. This is why buffalo, NJ, AZ, and Ottawa failed. They haven't had a no1 and no2 back to back. Isn't that much obvious.