Article: For Now, Filip Gustavsson Is the Wild's Real MVP

[Tony Abbott]

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[Citizen Strife]

I'll be very curious how Gus plays with Spurgeon out.  Brodin was out for a little, and Middsy is on IR...but goddamn cheap play last night.  Gus and the defensive structure is going to be tested yet again.

[Up North Guy]

It is amazing how well Gus is playing after so many called for BG to dump him for nothing.

[Sam]

45 minutes ago, Up North Guy said:

It is amazing how well Gus is playing after so many called for BG to dump him for nothing.

At the beginning of the year a lot of people, myself included, wanted either a three tandem goalie rotation. That or have Wally back up Fleury. Yea, its a good thing we didn’t.

[mnfaninnc]

Goose is quieter in the net, but he's also got a way better defensive structure ahead of him. It's not just one thing that he improved to get him here, it's been a whole different structure and team effort. Goose has been good, but it's also nice when you don't have to defend a lot of rebounds.

But this is not what's on our minds right now. We're concerned about Spurgeon and how long he's out for. To me, it looks pretty significant, like 3-4 months. To me, this may be an opportunity. 

If Spurgeon's timeline is to get back around playoff time, that give us $7.575 worth of cap to work with. I wouldn't fill it with a defender. Young defenders have to wait for opportunity, this is usually what opportunity looks like. Is it Jirzy time? One might think that, but we need to be a bit patient and make sure he knows our system and can skate backward. This is where his hard work would pay off, or we see if he wasn't working so hard at it. 

I think we need to assess where he's at, and if he's not quite ready yet, give him a little bigger carrot to look at. Originally, I thought March would be his timeline, but you never know when opportunity will strike. If Spurgy is out until the playoffs or beyond, this is the time to pounce on a guy with term and cap that can help us for the next 5 or so years. 

If I'm in Shooter's shoes, I'm thinking The Wall, Buium, Jiricek, Yurov and Ohgren are what I'm building my future with on this team, so I pretty much eliminate them from trading. For me, picks and the next tier of prospects are the ones I'm looking at trading. 

ODC suggested on a different thread maybe going after Filip Forsberg. I think that's an excellent target! He may be 30, but he's gritty and an RHS, something needed on the PP. Adding a scorer like this, or a Tuch would help this group so much. But what about the back end?

Jiricek and Buium are the future coming in here. Currently, I would think the short term plan is to move Bogosian up to 2nd pairing, and he and Chisholm have played together. That would mean Merrill/Dermott would start playing with another right handed partner. Crotty is an AHL defender who could fill in temporarily, but make no mistake, this is Jiricek's position longterm. Being able to fill Spurgeon's spot with a $1m player would certainly help us be able to get a really good forward to fill out the top 6. Ideally, this guy would be an RHS. 

Now, what if Spurgy is really only hurt for 2 months....or so? To me, I think you give him a little extra time to recover and get everything in order. Have him start practicing with the team and getting himself ready, but it's really in his and the team's best interest to slow walk this process with everything he's been through in a calendar year. It's a bit like sitting Kane on LTIR a little longer so that you could get another piece to fill in the hole and then bring him back for the playoffs. Stone is another example of this. I could be happy with either Tuch or Forsberg at this point. There is no need to wait until the TDL, let's go get him now!

[Imyourhuckleberry]

1 hour ago, Citizen Strife said:

goddamn cheap play last night.

Yeah, it looks like Spurgeon could be out for a while. Wild just put Kaprizov on injured reserve as well... 😬

[mnfaninnc]

2 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Yeah, it looks like Spurgeon could be out for a while. Wild just put Kaprizov on injured reserve as well... 😬

This may be a roster move, I think he could be back after next game if he's ready. This likely signals one extra guy is needed for the road trip and they needed a spot for him. It probably also means they don't have a good handle on Sprugeon's timeline yet.

Next time we head into Nashville, I'm saying we bring all of our big boys and who cares about the 2 points, it's time to take our pound of flesh.

[mnfaninnc]

A couple of things within the organization that need noting:

Gaunce sent back down to Iowa nets a hatty

Spacek with 1g, 1a

Ryder Ritchie has made it back to a ppg player. He's on a roll. To me, this is another piece that could be used.

Also, note, Kivijarhu, Kumpulainen and Soini all are playing for Finland. These guys could also be trade chips, especially Kivijarhu if he has a good tournament. 

 

[Up North Guy]

3 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Goose is quieter in the net, but he's also got a way better defensive structure ahead of him. It's not just one thing that he improved to get him here, it's been a whole different structure and team effort. Goose has been good, but it's also nice when you don't have to defend a lot of rebounds.

But this is not what's on our minds right now. We're concerned about Spurgeon and how long he's out for. To me, it looks pretty significant, like 3-4 months. To me, this may be an opportunity. 

If Spurgeon's timeline is to get back around playoff time, that give us $7.575 worth of cap to work with. I wouldn't fill it with a defender. Young defenders have to wait for opportunity, this is usually what opportunity looks like. Is it Jirzy time? One might think that, but we need to be a bit patient and make sure he knows our system and can skate backward. This is where his hard work would pay off, or we see if he wasn't working so hard at it. 

I think we need to assess where he's at, and if he's not quite ready yet, give him a little bigger carrot to look at. Originally, I thought March would be his timeline, but you never know when opportunity will strike. If Spurgy is out until the playoffs or beyond, this is the time to pounce on a guy with term and cap that can help us for the next 5 or so years. 

If I'm in Shooter's shoes, I'm thinking The Wall, Buium, Jiricek, Yurov and Ohgren are what I'm building my future with on this team, so I pretty much eliminate them from trading. For me, picks and the next tier of prospects are the ones I'm looking at trading. 

ODC suggested on a different thread maybe going after Filip Forsberg. I think that's an excellent target! He may be 30, but he's gritty and an RHS, something needed on the PP. Adding a scorer like this, or a Tuch would help this group so much. But what about the back end?

Jiricek and Buium are the future coming in here. Currently, I would think the short term plan is to move Bogosian up to 2nd pairing, and he and Chisholm have played together. That would mean Merrill/Dermott would start playing with another right handed partner. Crotty is an AHL defender who could fill in temporarily, but make no mistake, this is Jiricek's position longterm. Being able to fill Spurgeon's spot with a $1m player would certainly help us be able to get a really good forward to fill out the top 6. Ideally, this guy would be an RHS. 

Now, what if Spurgy is really only hurt for 2 months....or so? To me, I think you give him a little extra time to recover and get everything in order. Have him start practicing with the team and getting himself ready, but it's really in his and the team's best interest to slow walk this process with everything he's been through in a calendar year. It's a bit like sitting Kane on LTIR a little longer so that you could get another piece to fill in the hole and then bring him back for the playoffs. Stone is another example of this. I could be happy with either Tuch or Forsberg at this point. There is no need to wait until the TDL, let's go get him now!

Looks like Lambos is the call up for Tank according to the Athletic.

[Citizen Strife]

Lambos has apparently played well recently.  Even if it means someone plays offhand, I'm curious to see if he gets any playing time.  You only get one chance to make a good first impression.

[Pewterschmidt]

1 hour ago, Up North Guy said:

Looks like Lambos is the call up for Tank according to the Athletic.

Let’s go Lambda Lambda Lambda

[Pewterschmidt]

3 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Let’s go Lambda Lambda Lambda

[Will D. Ness]

I'm looking forward to see where Lambos is at.  I'm thinking Spurg is out for quite some time if he left the locker room on crutches.

I hope somebody get's that slew foot mother fucker back.  I can't believe that shit.

[Dango]

From wikipedia

 

L'Heureux was drafted by the Predators in the first round of the 2021 NHL entry draft with the 27th overall pick in the draft.[1] According to L'Heureux, he models his playing style after agitators such as Brad Marchand and Matthew Tkachuk.[2] On July 28, 2021, L'Heureux was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Predators.[3] He is known for being a mediocre player who has been suspended numerous times for dangerous plays.

[hydguy75]

MN Fan opened it up, so I'll continue.  If I'm in BG's shoes....

Everyone is potentially valuable for trades.  Putting Kap and Faber to the side.  Even if NMC, I bet for a better chance at PO games, players would waive NMC. I've been told that Wall is the future Wild GT, but lately even that seems to be up in the air.  

BG to showcase the vets, and Iowa club just before TDL.   If 2024-25 is too injury-prone and doesn't look good for PO depth, don't force it.... move on to 2025-26.  Trade what you can for those teams looking to bolster 24-25 PO, and Wild to focus on 25-26 season.  In July, the cap restrictions are over, play your cards right.  Feel obligated to trade today's up and comers for tested vets that are PO worthy.  Build for 25-28 SC candidate seasons.  Nothing less.  

 

 

[Pablo]

If our next man up blue liners can hold tight until we get them all healthy, Gus may end up having his best season by a long shot.  If he ends up around 14-16 SPAR, he better be  in the MVP talk.