Article: The Wild Are Recycling Their Top Line... For Now

[Tony Abbott]

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[Citizen Strife]

I get why they are doing this, but it better work.  Kap/Ek/Boldy was so freaking good.

First time I see Kap and Zuccarello overpass and get poke checked or run out of scoring room, I'll be clamoring for Boldy.

[Will D. Ness]

Wow.  Tony and I are 100% in agreement.  Strange start to the season.

[Sam]

Kudos for the Breaking Bad reference. I agree that changing the lines and success they had last year seems dumb, but Hartzy and Zuccy need the benefit of playing with Kap more than Boldy and Ek. I think they will be just fine, it will help spread the wealth around.

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

Hartman, Zucc and Kap just isn't a NHL first line anymore. They can't keep up on both ends of the ice and forcing Kap to carry his entire line doesn't convince him to stay.

[Lovehockey]

Tony great article 

[Burnt Toast]

I’m not sure what to expect from having Hartman Zuc and Kap reunited on what will be without question our first line. I’d define first line as any combination that includes Kap. To be honest I wasn’t sure what to expect from this line the first go around so who knows. Last year this team looked disjointed and out of sync. Maybe it was the injuries, I just want to see the Wild competing all through the lineup as a team again. If that’s the case I think different line combinations can definitely work. 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

37 minutes ago, Burnt Toast said:

Last year this team looked disjointed and out of sync. Maybe it was the injuries, I just want to see the Wild competing all through the lineup as a team again. If that’s the case I think different line combinations can definitely work. 

Neither Hartman nor Kaprizov were 100% in camp last year, and Zuccarello got banged up early in the year. It made sense to go away from it last year, but if they are all in shape and fully healthy, I could see them having success again.

If not, it would be easy enough to switch it up. They want to try a bunch of different lines in preseason and see what they like, as well as giving guys a chance to gain familiarity with each other since penalties, injuries, or coaching whim may result in shuffling of lines during games anyway.

[Patrick]

Zuccarello is not a first line player anymore. I would argue he isn't even a 2nd line player.  With Zucc, Kaprizov has to spend WAY too much energy battling in the defensive zone, neutral zone and offensive corners.  At best Zucc is a power play specialist playing sheltered 3rd line minutes.  Boldy and Kaprizov both took off when they were paired with Ek and not coincidentally so did the Wild. Evason got fired for the same stupid thinking Hynes is displaying. Hopefully our season isn't over before Hynes changes his mind.

[Citizen Strife]

Dylan Guenther got 8y/$57m ($7.25m) from Utah.  So, between this and the Berniers thing, it's starting to make sense why Guerin hasn't just given Rossi the farm yet.

[TCMooch]

I hope they trade Rossi and he goes on to get a fair shake from a tan and perennially scores 30 goals a season. Fuck this team for how they are treating him

[Dis-allowed display name]

I am fine with putting Kap and Lizard back together for a trial run because they work well together.  I think Kaprisov deserves to have either Rossi or Ek at center.  I am in favor of splitting up Kaprisov and Boldy or you only have one line that can score any goals, but Kaprisov can not be the guy who has to carry the puck across the line and set up the offense every possession. Rossi could be the guy who plays the point guard roll and penetrate, draw defenders, and dish back to Kap.

I think Rossi/Kaprisov and Ek/Boldy are the best combos, unless other teams start to cheap shot Rossi/Kap,  and then you could swap centers to give a little more size and edge to go with line one and put Rossi with Boldy.  Boldy and Ek seem to do well together, but I don't think Hartman has enough skill and speed to do justice to Kaprisov.   Hartman is either a wing for Ek/Boldy or bottom six.

Edited September 21 by Dis-allowed display name

[Dean]

This is the vision Billy had for coming out of buyouts and proving something to kappy? Ridiculous. How many years of Billy and were back to the same old stuff . Hartman and zuc are too small and weak to play first line with kappy. Kappy will be a punching bag all year with his undersized teammates. There is a reason it didn’t work last year and won’t work this year . To small and weak to play defense and the fact hart and zucc will consistently turn puck over . So when kappys line is out , which little d pair will be out there with him  to protect him?  Spurg? Brodin ? Faber? Or the un intimidating Middleton?  At least with ek he has some nasty on ice. Throwing moose out there to pound on a 4 th line 5 min guy doesn’t stop kappy from getting abused.  The wild are tiny in top six, bottom six and d core. It’s going to be a bunch of little kids getting bullied this year. Which works great for Billy’s injuries excuse because he’s going to have a lot of them. 
    Why in all these years of Billy is it the same misfits with there fat no move contracts ? They’ve proven they can’t get us past a round or to the playoffs, yet here we go again . Why have 3 goalies . Once again we’re paying good money for someone not to play just like goose . The power play quarter back we had to pay all this money to that never played or ever was on  the power play. . Fleury shouldn’t be here , that money should be used for a top six forward . However in Billy’s world his friends come first and the fans get excuses . This team doesn’t have high end talent to truly compete. It doesn’t have the size to make a playoff run but thankfully our dear leader locked up the washed up misfits for another decade of mediocre. 
    I bet that line lasts a few weeks. Then they be chasing lines all year just like they’ll be chasing the playoffs all year. They will be well below 500 after first road trip and stay there 

[Willy the poor boy]

10 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

Dylan Guenther got 8y/$57m ($7.25m) from Utah.  So, between this and the Berniers thing, it's starting to make sense why Guerin hasn't just given Rossi the farm yet.

The market is what the market is. Should they not resign him and then sign a lesser player to replace him in this same market? This is why many of us have said give him a bridge deal and work with him.

My guess is Guerin gets rid of him at some point. I sure hope Leo does the same to Guerin sooner rather than later.

[Willy the poor boy]

18 hours ago, Patrick said:

Zuccarello is not a first line player anymore. I would argue he isn't even a 2nd line player.  With Zucc, Kaprizov has to spend WAY too much energy battling in the defensive zone, neutral zone and offensive corners.  At best Zucc is a power play specialist playing sheltered 3rd line minutes.  Boldy and Kaprizov both took off when they were paired with Ek and not coincidentally so did the Wild. Evason got fired for the same stupid thinking Hynes is displaying. Hopefully our season isn't over before Hynes changes his mind.

Evason got this team into the playoffs every year he coached them while they weren't expected to get into the playoffs. Ya, really dumb thinking on Evason's part.

[WheelSnipeCelly]

To help balance the lines would something like this work:

Kaprizov (5'10") - Ek (6'3") - Zuccarello (5'8")
Boldy (6'2") - Rossi (5'9") - Hartman (6'0")

If Zuccarello and Rossi are seen as playmakers (great passers), Kaprizov and Boldy as more of your shooters/snipers, and Hartman and Ek as more of the hard workers, you balance the first two lines both on ability and size. 

[Up North Guy]

1 hour ago, WheelSnipeCelly said:

To help balance the lines would something like this work:

Kaprizov (5'10") - Ek (6'3") - Zuccarello (5'8")
Boldy (6'2") - Rossi (5'9") - Hartman (6'0")

If Zuccarello and Rossi are seen as playmakers (great passers), Kaprizov and Boldy as more of your shooters/snipers, and Hartman and Ek as more of the hard workers, you balance the first two lines both on ability and size. 

Worth a try

[mnfaninnc]

On 9/20/2024 at 8:44 PM, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

Hartman, Zucc and Kap just isn't a NHL first line anymore. They can't keep up on both ends of the ice and forcing Kap to carry his entire line doesn't convince him to stay.

I think this deserves a little of the why. Hartman hasn't been the same player since getting injured early in 2022. He still won't fight, and I don't believe that his right arm works right. While fighting isn't the main reason he's on that line, it is an indication that something just isn't right.

For Zuccarello, I think the key here is speed. He simply can't keep up with Kaprizov's speed. The secondary issue is that Zuccarello will not go to the dirty areas except for a flyby. This means that instead of driving the net, he will button hook and try to feed Kaprizov. Every defender in the NHL knows this and will play pass, and try to get into that passing lane. Even a slight deflection likely means their team is heading back the other way with 3 defensive liability forwards trailing behind them. 

I have to give credit to Kamala because it is her commercial where this is from, but the Wild have 2 visions, 1 focused on the future and 1 focused on the past. Starting the season out with this top line is definitely a vision that is focused on the past. I am very hopeful that Heinzy is focused on the future. 

Yes, Hartman and Zuccarello need Kaprizov more than Boldy and Ek. But here's the thing, anyone who plays with Kaprizov gets extra points. Heck, we could be saying put Dino on the top line, he needs Kaprizov. Or put Foligno on his wing, he needs Kaprizov. Zuccarello wasn't given a 2 year extension because he gets points playing with Kaprizov. He was given a 2 year extension with the expectation that he could produce 60 points on his own. Because of age, I do not see that this is where he ends up this year. Some will be due to age, other deficit may be injury due to age.

[snizzr]

I really don't understand not plating young guys. They are on the roster getting paid. Play them.

Kaprizov ek boldy

Heidt rossi ohgren

Foligno Hartman zucc

Trenin marat lauko

 

I understand some of these players getting paid are out, Johansson and Freddy. I don't care. Trade or have them watch. This is our best option imo

Brodin Faber

Middleton Spurgeon 

Chisholm whoever 

 

Wallstedt

Flower

 

Package a trade with Johansson Freddy and gus together for all I care. Trade them for someone's shitty contract if you have to. Let's just move on

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, WheelSnipeCelly said:

To help balance the lines would something like this work:

Kaprizov (5'10") - Ek (6'3") - Zuccarello (5'8")
Boldy (6'2") - Rossi (5'9") - Hartman (6'0")

If Zuccarello and Rossi are seen as playmakers (great passers), Kaprizov and Boldy as more of your shooters/snipers, and Hartman and Ek as more of the hard workers, you balance the first two lines both on ability and size. 

For the size above, I'd rather see weight than height. That determines mostly what line gets pushed around.

[mnfaninnc]

Training camp and preseason is a great way to see who connects with who. For instance, playing Kaprizov with Dino and Trenin or Lauko might be a good trial, or substitute Ohgren for Lauko. Why? Because last season Heinzy double shifted Kaprizov on the 4th line a good bit. Let's see what they can do together.

For the rest of the players, using the line blender is a great idea. That way when you have the set lines, and they aren't working in the game, at the very least you can have an educated guess on something else that might work. 

I am in the camp of playing the Boldy-Ek-Kaprizov line and not letting them spread the wealth. What Heinzy needs to do is build solid 2nd and 3rd lines with what is left. I would think this is where things could get dicey. Finding linemates for Rossi could be tough. But, if Zuccarello and Hartman worked good together, why not try them with Rossi and see what happens. I'd rather bump Hartman down a line and put Ohgren with Rossi.

But, what if you did something like Zuccarello-Ek-Kaprizov who are effective together on the PP and Boldy-Rossi-Ohgren who could be a solid line? Then come back with a Foligno-Trenin-Hartman line, or a Foligno-Dino-Trenin line as the 3rd line?

This all assumes that Heidt does not make the team. If Heidt does make the team, my top 2 lines would be Boldy-Ek-Kaprizov and Ohgren-Rossi-Heidt. After 9 games, you see how Heidt performed and if he gets sent out, ok, but if not, one of Johansson or Gaudreau gets traded or put on waivers to head to Iowa.

In all honesty, I'd probably put Gaudreau on waivers and have him start working with the guys in Iowa. Now, last night, Bankier scored and so did Hunt. Does that move the needle on either of those 2?

[Patrick]

20 hours ago, Willy the poor boy said:

Evason got this team into the playoffs every year he coached them while they weren't expected to get into the playoffs. Ya, really dumb thinking on Evason's part.

I liked Evason as a coach and Zuccarello was an effective top line player up until last year. He fell off a cliff. By the end of this year it will be commonly accepted that he is done.  As a Wild fan and a Zuccarello fan I hope I'm wrong but small, slow and old doesn't usually translate to productive in the NHL.

[WheelSnipeCelly]

3 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

For the size above, I'd rather see weight than height. That determines mostly what line gets pushed around.

Fair enough — updated with weights (as per Puckpedia.com, which is essentially within ±1 lbs of NHL.com):

• L1: Kaprizov (203 lbs, 5'10") – Eriksson Ek (207 lbs, 6'3") – Zuccarello (181 lbs, 5'8") – Average: 197 lbs, 5'11"
• L2: Boldy (201 lbs, 6'2") – Rossi (183 lbs, 5'9") – Hartman (196 lbs, 6'0") – Average: 193 lbs, 5'11.5"

Granted both are still south of the league average weight of 200 lbs, but at least it's a bit more balanced. I also like the idea of trying Öhgren (187 lbs, 6'1") out as the other winger in place of Hartman on L2 and have a true checking line for L3 with Foligno + Trenin + Hartman. 

• L1: Kaprizov (203 lbs, 5'10") – Eriksson Ek (207 lbs, 6'3") – Zuccarello (181 lbs, 5'8") – Average: 197 lbs, 5'11"
• L2: Boldy (201 lbs, 6'2") – Rossi (183 lbs, 5'9") – Öhgren (187 lbs, 6'1") – Average: 190 lbs, 6'0"
• L3: Foligno (227 lbs, 6'3") – Trenin (201 lbs, 6'2") – Hartman (196 lbs, 6'0") – Average: 208 lbs, 6'1.5"

[Enforceror]

8 hours ago, WheelSnipeCelly said:

Fair enough — updated with weights (as per Puckpedia.com, which is essentially within ±1 lbs of NHL.com):

• L1: Kaprizov (203 lbs, 5'10") – Eriksson Ek (207 lbs, 6'3") – Zuccarello (181 lbs, 5'8") – Average: 197 lbs, 5'11"
• L2: Boldy (201 lbs, 6'2") – Rossi (183 lbs, 5'9") – Hartman (196 lbs, 6'0") – Average: 193 lbs, 5'11.5"

Granted both are still south of the league average weight of 200 lbs, but at least it's a bit more balanced. I also like the idea of trying Öhgren (187 lbs, 6'1") out as the other winger in place of Hartman on L2 and have a true checking line for L3 with Foligno + Trenin + Hartman. 

• L1: Kaprizov (203 lbs, 5'10") – Eriksson Ek (207 lbs, 6'3") – Zuccarello (181 lbs, 5'8") – Average: 197 lbs, 5'11"
• L2: Boldy (201 lbs, 6'2") – Rossi (183 lbs, 5'9") – Öhgren (187 lbs, 6'1") – Average: 190 lbs, 6'0"
• L3: Foligno (227 lbs, 6'3") – Trenin (201 lbs, 6'2") – Hartman (196 lbs, 6'0") – Average: 208 lbs, 6'1.5"

I like this on paper but is Ohgren really an L2 guy? I'm still not sure...

[Enforceror]

Hi. Can I be an approved poster please? I'll let you have some of my popcorn...

Edited September 23 by Enforceror
Oh dear...