Article: The Minnesota Wild Didn’t Need To Get Desperate

[Tom Schreier]

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[RedLake]

Wild Childs have been desperate since puck drop in the year 2000. 2003 was fun and that's about it for this disgruntled fan. 

[Patrick]

I disagree. Getting into the playoffs is worth a 2nd round pick and the team desperately needed a lifeline. Nyquist is good enough and the statement is worth even more.

[Mateo3xm]

45 minutes ago, Patrick said:

I disagree. Getting into the playoffs is worth a 2nd round pick and the team desperately needed a lifeline. Nyquist is good enough and the statement is worth even more.

You really think Nyquist is a needle mover? I don’t. He’s 35 and it’s highly unlikely that his production increases at this age. A second round pick was way way too much for this guy. There had to have been a better player available. This wreaks of desperation.

[Patrick]

9 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

You really think Nyquist is a needle mover? I don’t. He’s 35 and it’s highly unlikely that his production increases at this age. A second round pick was way way too much for this guy. There had to have been a better player available. This wreaks of desperation.

Nashville retained salary so we could fit him under the cap. That's why a 2nd. He is a legitimate top 6 guy. Currently we only have 2 of those healthy. (When KK is injured Zucc is NOT an NHL player, scores at half the rate of NoJo).  I think the vote of confidence was important too. The trade is like a timeout during the game. We shall see how it plays out.

[SkolWild73]

25 minutes ago, Patrick said:

Nashville retained salary so we could fit him under the cap. That's why a 2nd. He is a legitimate top 6 guy. Currently we only have 2 of those healthy. (When KK is injured Zucc is NOT an NHL player, scores at half the rate of NoJo).  I think the vote of confidence was important too. The trade is like a timeout during the game. We shall see how it plays out.

Think I have went over this before, but Zucc has averaged over .6 points a game this year without Kap.  He isn’t the same player as no one is without Kap, but he isn’t half the rate of Nojo.

[HopelessWildFan]

This is yet another beyond desperate move by the Wild GM. This trade will move the needle little to none and so to give up a valuable pick is beyond ridiculous.  It’s clear that Guerin and Leipold are only concerned with getting into the playoffs and not building a championship contending team. The team is full of 3rd and 4th line players with terrible contracts. Hard to cheer for this team right now.  If Guerin doesn’t nail the upcoming draft and free agency, he needs to go!!

[Up North Guy]

14 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

You really think Nyquist is a needle mover? I don’t. He’s 35 and it’s highly unlikely that his production increases at this age. A second round pick was way way too much for this guy. There had to have been a better player available. This wreaks of desperation.

Not a needle mover but perhaps a needle stabilizer.

[Patrick]

5 hours ago, SkolWild73 said:

Think I have went over this before, but Zucc has averaged over .6 points a game this year without Kap.  He isn’t the same player as no one is without Kap, but he isn’t half the rate of Nojo.

Might want to update the stats. U were using a tiny sample size earlier this year.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

14 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

You really think Nyquist is a needle mover?

Yes. He gives the Wild something they've been desperately in need of since the 2023 playoffs. Someone who can be creative in setting up scoring opportunities outside of the Kaprizov/Zuccarello line.

Nyquist is a quick skater and a crafty passer. He may not be a top line player for a contender, but he can play the PK and he's a solid top 6 guy for a team pushing for the playoffs, which he showed just last season.

He had 1 goal and 3 assists in 6 playoff games at the end of April in 2024, so we should expect he won't disappear there. He had 5 playoff assists for the Wild the prior year. He has been in 77 playoff games throughout his career.

Nyquist can play and should be reinvigorated by a team who is going to need him for a playoff push and have him surrounded by Elite Swedes!

[SkolWild73]

21 minutes ago, Patrick said:

Might want to update the stats. U were using a tiny sample size earlier this year.

Actually, I do not have to update them.  Kap has missed 24 games this year and Zucc has played 23 games without him.  In those 23 games he has 5G and 12A for 17 points or .74 points per game.  This is from December 27th until now, minus the three games Kap came back for from 1/23-1/26.   Double check it if you want.

[Mateo3xm]

1 hour ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Yes. He gives the Wild something they've been desperately in need of since the 2023 playoffs. Someone who can be creative in setting up scoring opportunities outside of the Kaprizov/Zuccarello line.

Nyquist is a quick skater and a crafty passer. He may not be a top line player for a contender, but he can play the PK and he's a solid top 6 guy for a team pushing for the playoffs, which he showed just last season.

He had 1 goal and 3 assists in 6 playoff games at the end of April in 2024, so we should expect he won't disappear there. He had 5 playoff assists for the Wild the prior year. He has been in 77 playoff games throughout his career.

Nyquist can play and should be reinvigorated by a team who is going to need him for a playoff push and have him surrounded by Elite Swedes!

I guess we will see. I don’t have that same hope though. I think Father Time has caught up to him. We could have had Trent Fredrick because Boston gave up pretty much the exact same thing for him. Fredrick is far younger, can play all forward positions and is very tough. He’s basically like a folingo that can score 20-25 goals a year on a good team and play center. He’s a prototypical playoff player.

[SkolWild73]

20 minutes ago, Mateo3xm said:

I guess we will see. I don’t have that same hope though. I think Father Time has caught up to him. We could have had Trent Fredrick because Boston gave up pretty much the exact same thing for him. Fredrick is far younger, can play all forward positions and is very tough. He’s basically like a folingo that can score 20-25 goals a year on a good team and play center. He’s a prototypical playoff player.

Except for he is on injured reserve.   Edmonton still traded for him.  They gave up a second, 4th and a player.

Edited March 4 by SkolWild73

[Imyourhuckleberry]

1 hour ago, Mateo3xm said:

We could have had Trent Fredrick because Boston gave up pretty much the exact same thing for him. Fredrick is far younger, can play all forward positions and is very tough. He’s basically like a folingo that can score 20-25 goals a year on a good team and play center. He’s a prototypical playoff player.

 Frederic looks like a slightly more dynamic Trenin. He hasn't topped 22 assists in a season on a team that finishes in the top half of the league in goals most years.

The Wild wanted a top 6 F and Frederic seems more like a high end line 3 player. He's scoring at a lower pace than Ryan Hartman is this season.

[mnfaninnc]

I don't think this was desperate at all. It is common for GMs to reacquire players who they've had success with before. He knows the player, the player knows most of the teammates, and the cap situation was the thing that had him leave. Sure, he's 2 years older but he still skates well and is better than Johansson even though his numbers aren't very good this year. 

The fact of the matter is that we had very few people that we could acquire because we have no cap space. I'm still hoping that Sturm is another piece we get. I think he adds what we need in the bottom 6, and solidifies line 3. I don't particularly like Hartzy at center, he's much better at wing. 

Sturm with $1m retained makes that Trenin/Sturm/Foligno line look really menacing. I don't know where you put all the bodies once the playoffs hit, but subtracting Shore from the mix would be helpful. Also, based upon production, he should be a $1-1.5m player on his next deal, (plus inflation).

We were asking for a lot about a month ago, but let's face it, the cap space just isn't there and we do need players who can play the system we have, and Sturm is one of them. I think Nyquist can be too. And that's what you want, guys who don't have a long learning curve and can play the way you need them to right away.

[Mateo3xm]

1 hour ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

 Frederic looks like a slightly more dynamic Trenin. He hasn't topped 22 assists in a season on a team that finishes in the top half of the league in goals most years.

The Wild wanted a top 6 F and Frederic seems more like a high end line 3 player. He's scoring at a lower pace than Ryan Hartman is this season.

Ok but that requires context. Boston is barely a .500 team this year and last year they weren’t great because of who they lost. The year after that they had a really good record but they were one of the oldest teams in the league. TF is 6’3, 27yrs old and is perfect for the playoffs. GN is 35yrs old with 21pts. I don’t see this guy making a difference on this team like people think. Who knows what TF could do with decent line mates and a good team. 
We will see how it works out but I don’t see this as a great move.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

Just now, Mateo3xm said:

Ok but that requires context. Boston is barely a .500 team this year and last year they weren’t great because of who they lost. The year after that they had a really good record but they were one of the oldest teams in the league. TF is 6’3, 27yrs old and is perfect for the playoffs. GN is 35yrs old with 21pts. I don’t see this guy making a difference on this team like people think. Who knows what TF could do with decent line mates and a good team. 
We will see how it works out but I don’t see this as a great move.

Ok, but last season Nyquist had 75 points and Frederic had 40(his most ever).

Perhaps the demise of Nyquist has been greatly exaggerated?

Frederic was also injured and more expensive to obtain. Indications are that he's week to week, but I have no idea what the injury is.

[OldDutchChip]

3 minutes ago, Mateo3xm said:

Ok but that requires context. Boston is barely a .500 team this year and last year they weren’t great because of who they lost. The year after that they had a really good record but they were one of the oldest teams in the league. TF is 6’3, 27yrs old and is perfect for the playoffs. GN is 35yrs old with 21pts. I don’t see this guy making a difference on this team like people think. Who knows what TF could do with decent line mates and a good team. 
We will see how it works out but I don’t see this as a great move.

Spot on Mateo. I would have def preferred Frederic as i think he has more spunk and Boston meanness to his game that would translate very well to PO. Tough SOB.

[Will D. Ness]

3 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

 Frederic looks like a slightly more dynamic Trenin.

Exactly - and when you say slightly I think you mean like around 1% more dynamic.

I think we got this type of player covered for quite some time.

[SkolWild73]

2 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

Ok but that requires context. Boston is barely a .500 team this year and last year they weren’t great because of who they lost. The year after that they had a really good record but they were one of the oldest teams in the league. TF is 6’3, 27yrs old and is perfect for the playoffs. GN is 35yrs old with 21pts. I don’t see this guy making a difference on this team like people think. Who knows what TF could do with decent line mates and a good team. 
We will see how it works out but I don’t see this as a great move.

It is possible we were interested, but once Ek went down, we kind of needed someone to play now.  Frederic being week to week would have been a gamble.

[Enforceror]

I was all for Frederic earlier in the season but now, we need some upfront firepower, not another depth dweller.

[Mateo3xm]

23 hours ago, Will D. Ness said:

Exactly - and when you say slightly I think you mean like around 1% more dynamic.

Slightly? Highest trenin has ever scored was 24pts and TF season high is 40pts and he’s a year younger. I’d say that’s quite a bit more than 1% more lol.

[Will D. Ness]

26 minutes ago, Mateo3xm said:

Slightly? Highest trenin has ever scored was 24pts and TF season high is 40pts and he’s a year younger. I’d say that’s quite a bit more than 1% more lol.

From what I have seen, I haven't seen Frederic do anything that would suggest he is significantly better than Trenin.  Maybe I haven't seen enough of his game?  

For example, Maroon is someone you could say is significantly more dynamic just because of his hands.  I thought he was a stiff too until he played for us.

[M_Nels]

On 3/4/2025 at 4:39 PM, Mateo3xm said:

Ok but that requires context. Boston is barely a .500 team this year and last year they weren’t great because of who they lost. The year after that they had a really good record but they were one of the oldest teams in the league. TF is 6’3, 27yrs old and is perfect for the playoffs. GN is 35yrs old with 21pts. I don’t see this guy making a difference on this team like people think. Who knows what TF could do with decent line mates and a good team. 
We will see how it works out but I don’t see this as a great move.

Well if we're requiring context then we have to use the same logic for Nyquist in Nashville, their situation is a lot more hapless than the B's. Forsburg is really the only bright spot on that team.

Nyquist is the style of player we need right now; a speedy, creative, versatile top 6 forward that has a bonus of being a solid PKer. People are high on Frederic for some reason but he gains you little at this stage.