Article: Could Brock Nelson Be the Wild's Backup Plan For Eriksson Ek?

[Kalisha Turnipseed]

View full article

[Pablo]

Who does NYI ask for in trade return? Ohgren?

[Citizen Strife]

If it's a choice between Boeser and Nelson, which is a better fit?  I don't know enough about their games and production to know what signing would be better now and long-term as top 6.

[Up North Guy]

12 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

If it's a choice between Boeser and Nelson, which is a better fit?  I don't know enough about their games and production to know what signing would be better now and long-term as top 6.

Boeser is younger and would be a lot more expensive. nelson still plays at a high level but is not getting younger. Of course he is a big center and that makes a difference.

[OldDutchChip]

i'd pass on nelson. especially extending him at 33. i know i know his connection to MN and all but for me it's a NO.

marat had a gem of a game yesterday and is really coming on strong. if trenin doesn't score that empty netter - i'd give the hard award to marat. him taking on two bigger players was impressive. and motor does not stop no matter what the score or time of the game. 

[PNW Wild]

40 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

If it's a choice between Boeser and Nelson, which is a better fit?  I don't know enough about their games and production to know what signing would be better now and long-term as top 6.

Long term I think the easy answer is that it is Boeser, he is 5/6 years younger. But I don't think the Canucks are trading him while comfortably in a playoff spot. I wouldn't invest in a 33 yr old center who has played a lot of hard hockey. He is primed for breaking down fast. For the right price and a short term could be the right type of player to help in a long playoff run.

But the bigger issue for this year is the cap anyways. At this point the Wild are nowhere close to being able to afford either of them with the salary cap hits. They are both around $6m hits and the Wild are projected to have under $3m in cap space at the deadline.

[mnfaninnc]

What is Brock Nelson looking for at 33, or 34 years old? Or, is he purely a rental? I could see him being useful for another year, but I'm sure he'd be looking at something a little longer. 

If we're simply looking at him as a rental, though, this looks like a good fit. I'm not crazy about dealing with Lou, I think he's one of those GMs that asks for the moon on everything. And, like Pablo asks above, who are we giving up, Ohgren? Flipping a pick or 2? Maybe Bankier or Peart? Lou's got a lot of problems with this team, starting with the age of the roster. He may not even want to stick around for a rebuild. 

Now comes a problem with Kalisha's writing. Facts are facts and opinions are opinions, but you can't write opinions as facts. 

Quote

By trading for Nelson, Minnesota wouldn’t have to worry about putting Yurov in a top-six role immediately when he arrives. Marcus Johansson’s here to stay for the rest of 2024-25, and his speed helps the second line. The Wild want to bring more balance to their top-nine. Yurov gets to break out as a winger as Zuccarello's successor. 

Yurov is a playmaker who thrives when playing with a big-bodied center like Nelson, who can be a sniper and park in front of the net.

I'm not sure where we're at with Yurov. I've been wanting to watch K games but ESPN+ no longer carries them. But the impression I have is that the Wild see Yurov as a top 6 center, and I thought that's what he was playing for Metallurg. Kalisha, are you able to watch these games? Have you seen Yury play? Yurov is 7-7-14 in 27 games. That looks pretty equally balanced to me. 

To me, this appears to be speculation, and I think it should be written as such. When we presume things, in the end, it tends to come back and bite us. 

So, if Nelson were to come into our lineup, then who's out? I'd see him breaking into the Trenin-Foligno wings sending Freddy down a slot. Does Lauko-MaRat-Freddy work? Of course this really assumes full health.

[Backwoodsbob]

I'd be okay with him being a rental for this year. I wouldn't want to give up to much for a rental. Need to be patient. Don't be emptying the cupboards for rentals.

[OldDutchChip]

2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

What is Brock Nelson looking for at 33, or 34 years old? Or, is he purely a rental? I could see him being useful for another year, but I'm sure he'd be looking at something a little longer. 

If we're simply looking at him as a rental, though, this looks like a good fit. I'm not crazy about dealing with Lou, I think he's one of those GMs that asks for the moon on everything. And, like Pablo asks above, who are we giving up, Ohgren? Flipping a pick or 2? Maybe Bankier or Peart? Lou's got a lot of problems with this team, starting with the age of the roster. He may not even want to stick around for a rebuild. 

Now comes a problem with Kalisha's writing. Facts are facts and opinions are opinions, but you can't write opinions as facts. 

I'm not sure where we're at with Yurov. I've been wanting to watch K games but ESPN+ no longer carries them. But the impression I have is that the Wild see Yurov as a top 6 center, and I thought that's what he was playing for Metallurg. Kalisha, are you able to watch these games? Have you seen Yury play? Yurov is 7-7-14 in 27 games. That looks pretty equally balanced to me. 

To me, this appears to be speculation, and I think it should be written as such. When we presume things, in the end, it tends to come back and bite us. 

So, if Nelson were to come into our lineup, then who's out? I'd see him breaking into the Trenin-Foligno wings sending Freddy down a slot. Does Lauko-MaRat-Freddy work? Of course this really assumes full health.

good point on yurov - he is not here playing now likely due to the crowded situation - now signing a 33 year old center won't mean more time...

is there a world where marat can get some decent look on 2nd / 3rd line? would be nice to reward him. i think maybe give him a run for harty? (harty was rusty yesterday....) have him run with foligno a bit and maybe double shift kap him and foligno or trenin - i am sure the russian line would be thrilled 😉 Trenin Marat Kap - just for a few shifts!

 

[Enforceror]

Tied for first in the league on +/-

Jake Middleton and KK

Gus now at 1.99 GAA

Unreal....

 

[Up North Guy]

JEEK to IR. Haven't seen what adjustments were made.

[Enforceror]

3 minutes ago, Up North Guy said:

JEEK to IR. Haven't seen what adjustments were made.

Lines in practice:

KK, Rossi, Boldy

Foligno, Hartman, Nojo

Shore, Freddy, Trenin

Boyd, Marat, Jones

 

[Gavan]

Well done. I enjoy your pieces more and more.

He's a stud who's calm and skilled and can play Western Conf hockey. 

What does the Wild give up...now or wait til deadline for a playoff run?  Prospect(s)?

Trenin can play Center. 

Does Khusnutdinov or Gaudreau get traded? Move to wing? 

The current LT/IR situation is intriguing but who on the roster can stand a few months of healing til the deadline that permits the Wild to keep winning? 

 

[Protec]

MN should try to get Nelson. Bring him in as a rental initially and see how he fits. Then extend him in the Summer it goes well. 

If the Wild traded a current roster guy or prospect, I think it could work out nicely. Nelson has some PP qualities and his playoff numbers are solid. If MN is bidding against Dallas that's great for NYI. The Wild should find a way. This is the type of move that helps you in a playoff run. 

[mnfaninnc]

22 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

good point on yurov - he is not here playing now likely due to the crowded situation - now signing a 33 year old center won't mean more time...

is there a world where marat can get some decent look on 2nd / 3rd line? would be nice to reward him. i think maybe give him a run for harty? (harty was rusty yesterday....) have him run with foligno a bit and maybe double shift kap him and foligno or trenin - i am sure the russian line would be thrilled 😉 Trenin Marat Kap - just for a few shifts!

I believe that Heinzy gives MaRat a Kaprizov shift about once a period if things work out correctly (not to many penalties either way). I'd also like to see the 3 together.

During last night's preview, the Wild talking heads were speaking about picking up for what's missing in the lineup. Boldy has been really good this year and I don't want to throw him under the bus, but to be a superstar in this league, when your team needs you most you show up. With the chances he had, especially early against the Kings, you've got to convert them. At least 1 of those had to go in, most likely the 1st one. This is the guy we need to step up the most and put up points even with Kaprizov. What we see from last night is a guy who is a star, but isn't quite earning the super in front of that word. He's got more work to do.

[LittleBallofHate]

Tough to shell out prospects now when a bunch of them went on a little tear here 🙂

[LittleBallofHate]

The Piss-Rocket (Khus) probably has/is close to getting occasional lineup advancement.. He will have to show some finishing ability, but he also is showing something that a lot of the team currently doesn't have; ability on the rush/breakaway creation, which you typically will need when you run into a structured defense-first team & you fall 1 goal behind (does that ever happen to the wild?).

Ogre also has some breakaway ability too, he actually does what a high-tier prospect SHOULD do; respond to returning to the AHL with production. Not used to this from the Wild 🙂

None of this solves the basic idea behind the article above. I think I am in the "stand pat" camp though. I don't really like LouLam deals. It seemed like he was really trying to dick around with us when we had to deal Fiala... & then we just said "screw it, at least LA is realistic"

[OldDutchChip]

23 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I believe that Heinzy gives MaRat a Kaprizov shift about once a period if things work out correctly (not to many penalties either way). I'd also like to see the 3 together.

During last night's preview, the Wild talking heads were speaking about picking up for what's missing in the lineup. Boldy has been really good this year and I don't want to throw him under the bus, but to be a superstar in this league, when your team needs you most you show up. With the chances he had, especially early against the Kings, you've got to convert them. At least 1 of those had to go in, most likely the 1st one. This is the guy we need to step up the most and put up points even with Kaprizov. What we see from last night is a guy who is a star, but isn't quite earning the super in front of that word. He's got more work to do.

Boldy did miss a couple of easy ones. And agree - maybe a bit less finesse and more aggression from him. He is an amazing puck handler.... but so was/is fiala - sometimes i feel like boldy is just putting on a show and forgets that the aim of the game is to SCORE ....start using your body more and more Bolds - you'll be  unstoppable! (maybe Marat can motivate the bigger players to engage a bit more)

Also, a good test for us will be games after Utah, we have - Oilers / Flyers / Knights / Panthers - some big teams - will Rossi play like he played against Ducks (one of his best games) or will he play like he did against Kings (one of his not so good games)

 

[B1GKappa97]

Sure, player for player swap. They can have Khusnutdinov, who's due to be an RFA next year. We kicked Freddy down to 4th line in his spot, Nelson takes over with Trenin and Foligno to give us a shutdown line full of giants.