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Article: The Wild Are Still Unprepared For the Injury Bug


4 hours ago, Protec said:

GMBG has good moves overall batting average but NoJo for example is brutal. The loyalty deals to guys just weren't that great but fair. The issue has become cart & horses attachment. The combination of clauses and penalties hurts now as much as ever. 

The most frustrating thing is MN has the depth on the ice each night. Yet, just three guys can drive play and produce. Ek, Kaprizov, and Boldy. 

For playoffs, you need depth scoring AND defensive responsibility. MN plays NoJo 14mins a game and he does neither. Spurgeon is NOT Quinn Hughes or Josh Morrisey offensively and not Brock Faber defensively but his AAV is 1M higher than Morrisey who QBs a PP. 

11M on the 2nd pairing and you aren’t getting goals or shutdown defense. Either these veteran depth guys and rookies are gonna step up or not. You're looking at it. OCL still meddles. Guerin picked Hynes for USA too and he's just average, not a proven winner. Full-stop on any hype, MN has a shit-ton of work to do. 

KA-BOOM!!!

 Spider Cage truth bomb alert

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4 hours ago, Burnt Toast said:

It’s taken me awhile but I have finally drawn the same conclusion. I have a bad feeling some kind of desperation move/ trade is coming. BG and his team have acquired a lot of draft capital and prospects, fantastic!! They’ve slowly added pieces one player at a time. Wonderful! I’d hate to see some kind of “big splash” move before the iron is hot enough to strike. 

Agree.  Watch out for the reactionary emotional moves by Guerin if we watch 10 more games of yard sale hockey. Can’t fire coach, GM or owner.  Ok fine. 
is he going to move the journey man core (smart) or a prospect (ie moving rossi from position of weakness/desperation would be dumb) or a GUS (smart)

 your move bill

 #don’tbedumbbill

Edited by Pewterschmidt
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29 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

Looks like Mojo, Ek, and Spurgeon aren't available tonight.

Ohgren might get the first crack at 2nd wing, but I would prefer Lauko honestly.  He's got speed and grit for days.  Ohgren looked pretty rough in Winnipeg.

 

I think Ohgren deserves a little grace period to get acclimated but he did look somewhat lost at times out there last game.  I'll give him a break.

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1 hour ago, Will D. Ness said:

I think Ohgren deserves a little grace period to get acclimated but he did look somewhat lost at times out there last game.  I'll give him a break.

When I watch ogzi just remind myself he’s only 20.  Remember how ridiculous Brent burns looked playing the wing at 20.  Clown show. 
ogz had looked over matched imo but I’m ok with that at 20 years old

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34 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

and then lit things up to earn his spot.

I think the only way he doesn’t’earn his spot’ in opener is if he shits his breezers every exhibition game.  Guerin desperately needs to show some progress and having ogz on roster opening night allows Guerin to point and say “see what Billy did today”

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Good to be watching the Wild play some hockey instead of just talking about them.  Except Nojo.  He still looks like last years version.  I get angry watching him.  Spurgeon getting injured isn't good.  he needs a lot of ice time to return to form (if he ever does).  He didn't look good so far.  Still have hope though that he will turn it around.  Faber and Rossi have both looked good.  Bummer that Ek is out.  I still think he is our best player ... period.  Good luck to the Wild tonight.  Always good to get a win over a division opponent. 

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16 hours ago, Burnt Toast said:

The Wild won’t have any money left for good free agency moves next year. Between Faber’s new contract and KK coming extension the cash is gone. Rossi’s getting a bridge deal coming in at 5.5$M AAV at a bare minimum. What they’re probably going to do is package him for, yes, an older player in the 9$M AAV range. An even worse idea is sending the Gus Bus down the road in a similar deal. Those FA moves don’t move the needle for me. That’s the real cost of the multiple 4$M AAV extensions. Those guys will have to be the difference makers you’re looking for. 

They can buyout Spurgeon next season and gain $4.8M in cap space, in addition to the $15M they're already projected to have. The only RFAs are Rossi, Khusnutdinov and Lauko, with Hunt a possibility as well. Hunt probably gets $1M tops on his RFA deal and joins us as bottom-pair defenseman. I'd assume it will be similar for Khusnutdinov and Lauko.

Personally I don't see Rossi getting $5.5M if Fiala only got $5.1M in arbitration despite having more seasons of production than Rossi will have next year. We'll go ahead and use that number though. 

Yurov and likely Buium will be here on their ELCs, so that's another $2M roughly. 

That leaves them $10.3M to play with, without making any other moves, and a roster that has 13 forwards, 6 defensemen, and 2 goalies. They could then go to UFA and get a guy like Chychrun to come in and replace Spurgy. That would give you a line-up of:

Zuccy-Yurov-Kap
Boldy-Ek-Rossi
Trenin-Hartman-Foligno
Ohgren-Khusnut-Gaudreau/Lauko

Faber-Chychrun
Buium-Brodin
Middsy-Bogo
Hunt

By the time that Spurgeon's $2.1M dead-cap in '27-'28 and '28-'29 hits, you'll have Hartman and Mats off the book for a rough addition of $6M still. 

All this to say, yes, the Wild absolutely can still make a big move next year without it affecting their long-term cap too much. 

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The most interesting GM in hockey. One day he's feuding with agents and player's wives. The next he's signing Boldy to a value deal. He's USA GM in Summer, Wild Fall, Winter, Spring. Spit'n Shitlets Podcast and affinity for Swedish neck-beards. 

I rest my case. 😁

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On 10/14/2024 at 10:28 PM, Burnt Toast said:

The Wild won’t have any money left for good free agency moves next year. Between Faber’s new contract and KK coming extension the cash is gone. Rossi’s getting a bridge deal coming in at 5.5$M AAV at a bare minimum. What they’re probably going to do is package him for, yes, an older player in the 9$M AAV range. An even worse idea is sending the Gus Bus down the road in a similar deal. Those FA moves don’t move the needle for me. That’s the real cost of the multiple 4$M AAV extensions. Those guys will have to be the difference makers you’re looking for. 

The Faber extension is on the books for next year already.  The Kaprizov extension wouldn't be on the books for two years yet.  So the money they spend on Kirill will not effect the salary spending next summer.  So what we have available next year is what is going to be used to sign Rossi, Marat, Lauko, and Chisholm or possible free agents.  Johansson and Merrill will be gone.  The year Kirill's contract goes into effect Zuccarello and Begosian are off the books.  I doubt either will get a contract.  So that is 5 million that year to go onto the 9 million Kirill makes now.  That would be 14 million a year for Kirill.  So his contract extension is going to make zero impact on spending next summer.  Even if they still sign Zuccarello for another go at it, it wouldn't be for 4 million.  There is going to be two or three prospects that are going to be cheaper and beter at that point.  

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On 10/15/2024 at 12:23 AM, Citizen Strife said:

What's pretty funny is they still have games where they can get 3-4 goals, or be a team that clings on for dear life for 2-1 losses and yet still get points out of it.

Games seem to be inconsistent, and with that I really like what I was seeing last night against the Blues.  They were aggressive at both ends, increased their passing game, better checking and blocking, more disciplined play, and seemed to dominate possession.  Wild benefitted from a couple of lousy penalties, and their F/O percentage still needs work...overall I'd rather see the team that played the Blues show up every game this year than what I saw most of last year. 

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Then again we have seen what happens when you draft for shear size (*cough* Stramel *cough*)

Some promising news from Michigan State; In four games Stramel has two goals, one assist, and is +3.

 

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