Article: Are the Wild's Opening Day Decisions A Long-Term Play?

[Tony Abbott]

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[Citizen Strife]

If Rossi gets to 55-60 pts, and Ek/Boldy keep doing their thing (60 pts), that solves many issues that have plagued the team.  Hartman can and does play effectively anywhere, but the Wild need to see if Rossi is that higher upside player or if 40-50 was already his ceiling.  They signed Faber and Wallstedt first.  I hope waiting on Rossi pays off.

Guenther and Beniers made bank for Rossi's stat line.

 

Edited October 9 by Citizen Strife

[Imyourhuckleberry]

The weird thing about that last Johansson goal in the preseason was how much that was setup by Ohgren on that give and go, and nobody seemed to talk about that part of it. Johansson got credit for putting his stick on the ice, but the timing and accuracy of the pass back from Ohgren made that goal a simple tap-in. Ohgren is likely ready to supplant Johansson right now.  That line gets more solid if Boldy and JEE have another strong player with them.

If they are looking for someone to quickly skate into the zone and turnover the puck regularly, Ohgren could probably do that too, but with the added bonus that he might actually fight to win it back.

Not sure if they'll stick with Kaprizov, Rossi, Zuccarello. They may find that there is downside to having the smallest top line in the NHL, but maybe it works fine now that Rossi has put in the work to get stronger in all areas.

[Lovehockey]

Kaprizov- Ek- Boldy line will be the best for resigning Kaprizov. But having Rossi with Kaprizov and Zuccarello makes sense to try: 

- it will show if Rossi worth to sigh for longer contract

- will create two scoring lines vs one

so will see how this will go, maybe they still keep Hartman at the first line as well  😀

Edited October 9 by Lovehockey

[Up North Guy]

Great article Tony. It certainly raises some very interesting possibilities. we have been running around the rumor mill all summer and now see where there may actually be a youth strategy playing out. The Wild may or may not be successful this year but at least they seem to be pointing towards the future. And I am there for it. Let's Go!

[OldDutchChip]

In

[TheGoosesAreLooses]

46 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

The weird thing about that last Johansson goal in the preseason was how much that was setup by Ohgren on that give and go, and nobody seemed to talk about that part of it. Johansson got credit for putting his stick on the ice, but the timing and accuracy of the pass back from Ohgren made that goal a simple tap-in. Ohgren is likely ready to supplant Johansson right now.  That line gets more solid if Boldy and JEE have another strong player with them.

Listening to worst seats in the house. Lapanta (the team PR rep) kept repeating that Ohgren didn't take that spot in preseason vs Nojo. Russo argued his stat line was better across the board and I would agree. 

My fear is Lapanta tends to toe the team rhetoric pretty hard and seems to just be BG's mouthpiece and often offers a revisionist history of the past year. He made the following points which I absolutely disagree with;

-Fleury was better than Gus last year.

Despite Fluery's statline looking better, Gus had all the harder starts against the better teams and Fleury was still only marginally better stastistically.

-Rossi hadn't earned an extension yet

Rossi put up the second most even strength points on the team while posting solid two way metrics. Guys like Beniers and Guether played about the same, with better line mates and got big money deals. If Rossi puts up 60 this year his price tag is going way up. 

-Ohgren didn't outplay Nojo

The only thing Nojo brought to the game was more physicality. He threw 3 hits and that is suppose to convince us he is a different player. He got one goal via Ohgren by having his stick on the ice. Ohgren should have the 2nd line spot.

 

I can see why Russo gets so mad with Tony, sometimes it feels like he is watching a different game. I hope this isn't what Guerin is seeing too.

 

[Dis-allowed display name]

"Or is it a better sell if Rossi, whom Guerin believes can be a 60-point player"

Wait a second, Guerin thinks Rossi is a good player now?  When did this happen?

Glad to hear it, but it was pretty obvious to the fanbase for quite a while.

[OldDutchChip]

I think Kap is smart enough to know what kind of player Rossi is by now, so that won’t be what drives his decision

Nor is it seeing Ohgren playing or Wally stumbling thru his first year 

His decision is likely set in stone already. The only thing that may change his mind is a miraculous season where (a) wild make western conference final (b) wild trades for a proven star (potentially using these young prospects / players like Zeev, Rossi, Yurov and Ohgren) and (c) giving Kap captaincy on day 1 (still remote possibility hahaha)

to think Rossi or Ohgren or an extra million will be enough to convince Kap to stay is silly but that’s likely what Billy is thinking. It won’t be enough. More radical changes are needed and wild won’t do it. 🤔 

I hope I’m wrong….

[Dis-allowed display name]

1 hour ago, Citizen Strife said:

If Rossi gets to 55-60 pts, and Ek/Boldy keep doing their thing (60 pts), that solves many issues that have plagued the team.  Hartman can and does play effectively anywhere,

 

I would like to see Hartman, who can play chippy and tougher than he looks, center Trenin/Foligno and see how that works out.

[M_Nels]

My whole quandary with Kap leaving is where would the potential landing spots be for him? If he wants to win a cup in the next 2-5 years who would/could offer that with enough money and star power to do so? Chicago is enticing with Bedard but it seems they are just as far off (or more) as the Wild making a run.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

13 minutes ago, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

-Ohgren didn't outplay Nojo

The only thing Nojo brought to the game was more physicality. He threw 3 hits and that is suppose to convince us he is a different player. He got one goal via Ohgren by having his stick on the ice. Ohgren should have the 2nd line spot.

Even if Ohgren didn't outplay NoJo, it was at worst even, which I'd understand sticking with the veteran in many cases, but in this case, Ohgren is very likely to improve upon his skill set while Johansson is likely not only to decline, but also not be with the team next year. I expect NoJo in the press box regularly.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

11 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

Chicago is enticing with Bedard but it seems they are just as far off (or more) as the Wild making a run.

I don't see why Chicago would be much more enticing than San Jose, who has also been loading up on top end talent lately. Chicago seems like they'll be awful again this season and that they're far away from contending.

[Enforceror]

Tampa Bay not looking like a great destination lately...

[Pewterschmidt]

28 minutes ago, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

I can see why Russo gets so mad with Tony, sometimes it feels like he is watching a different game.

Follow the money.  Panther is effectively a Wild employee (employed by Bally's or whoever) but he's a basically a paid actor to promote the MN Wild.  Russo is sort of the opposite.  A paid writer/entertainer paid by the market and his value is measured in clicks and hot takes.

[Pewterschmidt]

31 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

I think Kap is smart enough to know what kind of player Rossi is by now, so that won’t be what drives his decision

Nor is it seeing Ohgren playing or Wally stumbling thru his first year 

His decision is likely set in stone already. The only thing that may change his mind is a miraculous season where (a) wild make western conference final (b) wild trades for a proven star (potentially using these young prospects / players like Zeev, Rossi, Yurov and Ohgren) and (c) giving Kap captaincy on day 1 (still remote possibility hahaha)

to think Rossi or Ohgren or an extra million will be enough to convince Kap to stay is silly but that’s likely what Billy is thinking. It won’t be enough. More radical changes are needed and wild won’t do it. 🤔 

I hope I’m wrong….

Another depressing post by ODC.  Why depressing? because I think he's correct.

Leo's pre-emptive statements to the media that "no one will pay more to Kap than us" I think is pre-emptive damage control.  Leo/Guerin have a good sense whether he's staying or not.  The whole world knows that 97 will get paid whatever he wants.  He's a winner who want's to win.  While there's a upward trajectory (as slow as it is) for this org with Guerin's prospects finally arriving this group has possiblity to look like the Sabre's for next 5 years and 97 knows that.  

A 10 year contract with Qwik Trip, unlimited bowling at Park Tavern and putting Kap in the Canteburry Park Ring of Honor is not going to entice him to stay when his other option is to jump to a contender and have good probability from day 1 on long playoff runs for next 5 years. 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

48 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

(b) wild trades for a proven star (potentially using these young prospects / players like Zeev, Rossi, Yurov and Ohgren)

That might not be the best way to contend when you can just add a player in free agency next offseason, then go for the extension of Kaprizov. The Wild already have free agent targets in mind. To contend, it seems like it's going to take more than just another star; they'll need guys like the ones you mentioned to be developing as well.

[M_Nels]

15 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

when his other option is to jump to a contender and have good probability from day 1 on long playoff runs for next 5 years

That's the thing though. Who has enough star players, great prospects, money, roster space, proper trajectory to win a cup in 2-5yrs that would be able to afford him with some term? 

[OldDutchChip]

8 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

That might not be the best way to contend when you can just add a player in free agency next offseason, then go for the extension of Kaprizov. The Wild already have free agent targets in mind. To contend, it seems like it's going to take more than just another star; they'll need guys like the ones you mentioned to be developing as well.

Waiting on next year is likely a bit too late

And who is on Wild radar? Boeser? Nelson? MN old timers? Exciting ….

i think an aggressive move to trade for Svechnikov (assuming a star and a Russian) wouldn’t be a bad thing to try? Yes it may cost Rossi and Zeev and some other maneuvering but that is likely what we have to do. Nothing in free agency will help. 

a team with Kap Ek Svech and  Boldy is mighty good to me. All fit same timeline too of win now - which is what Kap wants

[OldDutchChip]

8 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

That's the thing though. Who has enough star players, great prospects, money, roster space, proper trajectory to win a cup in 2-5yrs that would be able to afford him with some term? 

Leafs, hawks and other  teams that have smart creative cap guys

[mnfaninnc]

1 hour ago, TheGoosesAreLooses said:

-Rossi hadn't earned an extension yet

Rossi put up the second most even strength points on the team while posting solid two way metrics. Guys like Beniers and Guether played about the same, with better line mates and got big money deals. If Rossi puts up 60 this year his price tag is going way up. 

I disagree with this for one reason: I think that the Rossi camp and Shooter camp are pretty far away in money. For Rossi to get what he thinks he's worth, he's going to need to put up at least another 1/2 year of performance.

I think he checked the box on step 1, come into camp stronger. Now it's got to translate. 

[raithis]

I really don't see that the team has held back any prospects if they were ready.  In most cases they weren't ready.

Boldy would have likely made the team if he hadn't gotten hurt.  Rossi was given chances and just wasn't ready at the time.  Faber was given chances and never looked back.  Khusnutdinov and Ohgren were introduced last year as soon as they were able to come over and have been making their cases.  Wallstedt's been given chances and that's why he is part of the roster to open the year.

Beckman, Walker, etc haven't planned out, but they also never showed enough to stay up in the NHL.

Hunt has shown enough that Merrill is expendable if we want to go that route.

They are being given chances and aren't being held back.

Rossi being in that role has more to do with his skill set being better suited to having a sniper on his line.  I think it has little to do with Kaprizov specifically.

[mnfaninnc]

21 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

That's the thing though. Who has enough star players, great prospects, money, roster space, proper trajectory to win a cup in 2-5yrs that would be able to afford him with some term? 

They could do it and we'd have to eat a couple of bad contracts.

[mnfaninnc]

At the end of last year, Heinzy said that this was an open training camp. People with positions or roles at the time were not necessarily guaranteed those roles after this camp. I think Heinzy was true to his word, and I also believe we will be seeing a lot of Johansson in the Prossbox.

Personally, I'd like to tweak the top 6 lines, and maybe put Boldy or Ohgren on the top line and Zuccarello on the 2nd with Ek and the other wing. That should give us a bit of balance and secondary scoring. Putting a larger body on that top line should pay dividends. 

The other tweak could be holding Boldy and Ohgren on line 2 and putting Rossi there and going with Zuccarello-Ek-Kaprizov. Heinzy can play around with these combinations, maybe even when he uses the line blender, and he's always got Hartzy who could get moved up.

[Pewterschmidt]

Just read Russo's twitter referencing an Athletic article where Leo is saying we're in year 2 of a 5 year plan.  Can anyone access that article and help me understand what Guerin was doing the first 4 years here.  Other than extending the journeyman core.  Jesus Christ!