Article: Zeev Buium Is A Flawed But NHL-Ready Player

[mnfaninnc]

1 hour ago, Trade Deadline Hero said:

It’s not that he hasn’t earned it, it’s because this is a wash of a season and it’s wasting an ELC year. Unfortunately the NHL is a business and waiting for your time is something players have to do. If that “pisses him off” that he can’t play one game and be a part of first round exit then buddy needs to grow up.

His agent will advise him to do this or threaten to stay at DU. It's the only leverage the player has, and the agent will use it the best he can. What player in their right mind says, "Yeah, you're right, I should play and ELC another year."

[Mateo3xm]

2 hours ago, Trade Deadline Hero said:

Remember when the Wild thought ol’ Jimmy Sheppard was ready and they completely burnt him out and ruined his career? The Wild were very fortunate that Faber very seamlessly slid into the NHL. Billy should have used way more caution with Buium and let him rest for the summer. I do hope it works out for him, however, since 5 year Bill said “this isn’t our year” I truly don’t understand why he wasted one of Buium’s ELC years. Apparently Guerin is playing 3D chess while we’re playing checkers. 

I completely get the criticism of burning a year but there’s a huge difference in James Sheppard and Buium. They did kinda screw Sheppard but I don’t think he was that great to begin with. Our drafting/development at that time was bad.

[IllicitFive]

36 minutes ago, Neutral Zone Dangles said:

Aw yes, swap cap hits from sperg to Buium and be in a worse spot praying we have a guy on ELC to fill the void, because that’s what we can afford. I will be shocked if sperg stays here for the remainder of his contract, guy is grossly overpaid. 
 

Brother, how much ice time does this the kid get in five games? I think they know exactly what he needs to focus on for next year already, why they have scouts. 
 

Imagine if we have the cap space for one more good player and actually go on a run, think he’d be open for taking less on his contract to continue that. Or like now, we don’t have that depth/ player and we have to pay him more to stay on a shallow mild team. 

Good point on the scouts, so he must be nhl ready then if they are ready to put him out there, didn't think of it that way. 

[Neutral Zone Dangles]

5 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

This is taken a bit out of context. The reference was for spending at the TDL, not signing our guys. As Tony pointed out earlier, you burn the year to entice him to sign. He could have gone back to DU for another year, but we want him in the lineup at least starting next season. Apparently this is common for college players. 

I don't disagree with the logic of waiting, but it seems like that ship has sailed within the league, unless you're a guy like Lorenz who would head directly to Iowa.

The reference was spoken at the TDL, however, don’t see how it wouldn’t apply to what TDH said.  Signing players and leveraging the future for the temporary betterment this season wasn’t worth it. Billy G’s logic. Seems to me to be in the same line of thinking. 
 

Enticing him to sign…. Don’t think waiting a month to sign would’ve made a difference to a kid who actually wants to play in the NHL. 

[Mateo3xm]

40 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

#peakprospectinflation

im very interested in how Zeev handles the physicality of the pro game.  That’s certainly why he fell to us in the draft.   He’s the next savior up.  And the wait is over.  

Not every player needs to be extremely physical. Especially if they have a ton of other attributes/talents/qualities. Often times players that are physical seem to get injured more often. He fell to us because other teams prioritized size and team need for position. There was no glaring issues with any of his play. From the looks of how he’s done so far, we basically got extremely lucky that teams weren’t drafting best player available. You seem to love to subtly crap on these prospects without realizing the significance of the things they’ve done.

[Neutral Zone Dangles]

9 minutes ago, IllicitFive said:

Good point on the scouts, so he must be nhl ready then if they are ready to put him out there, didn't think of it that way. 

Good one…No, highly doubt he is. But they apparently think the contrary to sign him and want to play him. Otherwise why rush him. There’s more positives for him and development of his NHL game, by waiting to sign. 
 

If there are actually big question marks to his game, they should definitely be taking it slow and developing him. 

[Trade Deadline Hero]

12 minutes ago, Mateo3xm said:

I completely get the criticism of burning a year but there’s a huge difference in James Sheppard and Buium. They did kinda screw Sheppard but I don’t think he was that great to begin with. Our drafting/development at that time was bad.

Yeah, guess we’ll never know. And I agree, Buium and Sheppard are very different players. But I think Sheppard should be a cautionary tale, which is why I brought it up. In the end, we’ll only know how ready Buium is once he plays. But I just don’t get the push when we know he’s getting over an injury and is only playing one game and probably 4 playoff games. Seems like a waste of 6-7million to pay him 3 seasons from now when we could have used it towards another more seasoned defensemen that could help mentor him or God forbid a solid center, but I digress…

[mnfaninnc]

No Spurgy last night, no Midsy either. Faber was an absolute monster as was Brodin. Faber was all over the ice in the 3rd period, he elevated his play to superhuman level. I saw Bogosian come on to give him a brief breather and back out he was.

Certainly, with these 2 guys hurt, there is room for Buium next game who will slot into a top 4 role. Crotty didn't play the whole 3rd period. It looked like Bogosian just swapped partners in Chisholm and Merrill. 

This is where we're at. Lambos is close but not ready yet. Jiricek is out for the season. We have no idea how Midsy actually is. Buium is needed for this one game which could be a clincher depending on how Calgary does today. But, on top of that, how confident is everyone in a healthy Spurgeon throughout the playoffs? 

To me, Chisholm is quickly playing himself out of a qualifying offer. I don't know if he just lost confidence in himself, or if he is playing with an injury hampering his ability. He looks awful. But who else is there to fill the void? We saw what they did with Crotty last night. 

I fast forwarded through 2 periods last night to get to the 3rd. From the shot totals, it appeared that Goose is cooked, he's given all he could this season as is flat worn out. We outshot them by a ton through 2 periods but couldn't find a goal. 

Faber was the one who broke the ice. Faber played like he had to rise to the occasion. IMO, he played above his normal ability, trying to will a win. And, he didn't just do this against a lowly team with a 4-1 lead, he did it against a decent team but in a must win game. Who cares if he's from MN at this point? He's the type of player who plays big in big moments. These guys are special. 

This is why I could see trading him for a very selective few players in this league. Yes, you can dangle him for B. Tkachuk, and straight up, that might be an interesting trade. But this kid has IT, and we need to take that into account. His last 2 goals have been biggies and he's scored some of those this season and last. If Ottawa wouldn't bite on a straight up deal, we still come away with having a really great player. We are deep in young defenders, we can trade out from a position of strength. But, Faber is a keeper unless you get a real elite player, as ODC would say, in tier 2 of the forwards. 

[mnfaninnc]

19 minutes ago, Neutral Zone Dangles said:

Enticing him to sign…. Don’t think waiting a month to sign would’ve made a difference to a kid who actually wants to play in the NHL. 

It might have. He could think that he has unfinished business in Denver. Maybe nostalgia overtakes him, maybe his teammates convince him within a month to return? This is why players have agents, to exploit the little leverage they have.

[Neutral Zone Dangles]

9 minutes ago, Mateo3xm said:

Not every player needs to be extremely physical. Especially if they have a ton of other attributes/talents/qualities. Often times players that are physical seem to get injured more often. He fell to us because other teams prioritized size and team need for position. There was no glaring issues with any of his play. From the looks of how he’s done so far, we basically got extremely lucky that teams weren’t drafting best player available. You seem to love to subtly crap on these prospects without realizing the significance of the things they’ve done.

He never said they had to be “extremely physical”. What are you on about. If you think NCAA and NHL are on the same level for physicality you’re a bit off.  He was expressing his curiosity with Buium’s adaption to NHL play. 
 

I got it, you’re a Rossi fan boi, fight a different battle, clearly you won’t win the physical one. 

[mnfaninnc]

7 minutes ago, Trade Deadline Hero said:

Yeah, guess we’ll never know. And I agree, Buium and Sheppard are very different players. But I think Sheppard should be a cautionary tale, which is why I brought it up. In the end, we’ll only know how ready Buium is once he plays. But I just don’t get the push when we know he’s getting over an injury and is only playing one game and probably 4 playoff games. Seems like a waste of 6-7million to pay him 3 seasons from now when we could have used it towards another more seasoned defensemen that could help mentor him or God forbid a solid center, but I digress…

Now I'm wondering if they'll go after Yurov too?

[Trade Deadline Hero]

1 minute ago, mnfaninnc said:

Now I'm wondering if they'll go after Yurov too?

Might as well. There’s no logic behind anything right now. Should probably sign Merrill and NoJo to 8mil, 10 year NTC deals too. Cap space in our future doesn’t matter. 

[Neutral Zone Dangles]

4 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

It might have. He could think that he has unfinished business in Denver. Maybe nostalgia overtakes him, maybe his teammates convince him within a month to return? This is why players have agents, to exploit the little leverage they have.

Maybe, maybe not. Doesn’t matter now, it’s done.   Still don’t think it was the best move to be made for the Wild. 

[RedLake]

Buuim will play with Brodin. Middleton gets moved to the bottom 6. The kid is that good no doubt in my mind.

[Protec]

He shoots left and as a rookie, I think putting him with Bogo makes a lot of sense. They can have somewhat of a sheltered game against Anaheim if necessary and some toughness to help carry the water on that pair. 

Depends of course on the shape Spurgeon is in, but playing in the place of Merrill or Chisholm seems likely. He's a Hobey Baker finalist so he may not have paid NHL dues yet but has plenty of resume to get in and play 10+ mins of TOI. 

[AKwildkraken]

3 hours ago, Trade Deadline Hero said:

It’s not that he hasn’t earned it, it’s because this is a wash of a season and it’s wasting an ELC year. Unfortunately the NHL is a business and waiting for your time is something players have to do. If that “pisses him off” that he can’t play one game and be a part of first round exit then buddy needs to grow up. 

You are correct it is a business and it's also a career opportunity for the players.  If a team put me on the shelf for a year while I was good enough to play, and thus burn  a year of ELC so I'm a year closer to a real payoff, I'd absolutely be upset with that team and wouldn't want a future with that team.  

Edited Sunday at 10:08 PM by AKwildkraken

[Pewterschmidt]

6 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

Not every player needs to be extremely physical. Especially if they have a ton of other attributes/talents/qualities. Often times players that are physical seem to get injured more often. He fell to us because other teams prioritized size and team need for position. There was no glaring issues with any of his play. From the looks of how he’s done so far, we basically got extremely lucky that teams weren’t drafting best player available. You seem to love to subtly crap on these prospects without realizing the significance of the things they’ve done.

I’m not hating on the player.   I do hate on posts that assume that a prospect gets instantly put into an nhl lineup on day one.  Troy Riddle was a beast in college.  Spehar too.  
run thru the wilds (or any teams) first round picks the last 20 yrs.  The odds are low that a player makes it

[BeanPole Harvester]

9 hours ago, Neutral Zone Dangles said:

The reference was spoken at the TDL, however, don’t see how it wouldn’t apply to what TDH said.  Signing players and leveraging the future for the temporary betterment this season wasn’t worth it. Billy G’s logic. Seems to me to be in the same line of thinking. 
 

Enticing him to sign…. Don’t think waiting a month to sign would’ve made a difference to a kid who actually wants to play in the NHL. 

I think an argument is easliy made for both directions, either burning the first year on the ELC or holding to get 3 full years out of it. 

A couple thoughts, as we've seen from time to time, some college players play their full 4 years and opt to enter into the NHL as free agents rather than with the team that drafted them. On the what if, what if the Wild decided to hold on the signing and he was upset and opted to do his 4 years and enter as a free agent? Also, it was mentioned that y not burning that initial year, we'd be better off with 8 mil to spend for someone else. Would a 1 year contract at 8 mil to a significant free agent even be feasible? Perhaps we would be able to use this for trade deadline deals which is always good to have in your back pocket.

[mnfaninnc]

11 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I’m not hating on the player.   I do hate on posts that assume that a prospect gets instantly put into an nhl lineup on day one.  Troy Riddle was a beast in college.  Spehar too.  
run thru the wilds (or any teams) first round picks the last 20 yrs.  The odds are low that a player makes it

You're right about the odds, but some players will defy the odds. If this guy is going to be a star, then 2 years of College development was probably all he needed. I think tonight, he's in for Spurgeon. If Midsy is back, he'll be in with Faber. 

[MNCountryLife]

On 4/12/2025 at 4:49 PM, Backwoodsbob said:

I was a fan of Chisholm for most of the season. But he seems to have lost my support over the last couple of months. It's almost like he panics with the puck below the goal line when he gets pressured. Results in a puck turn over or worse, a goal against. I would like to see Buium get slotted in over Chisholm for a game or two to see how he responds the the big league players.

Same here.  It seems that Chisholm lacks puck control and that has really gotten him in trouble.  It needs to be his focus over the summer.

[Protec]

In other somewhat related Wild news. Evason yells at refs and Big Yak missed his chance the other night to claim he only speaks Russian after he gave Forbert the whomp'n of a lifetime. Haha!!! Like to see Forbert's forehead today. 🤣

 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

21 hours ago, Trade Deadline Hero said:

21 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Now I'm wondering if they'll go after Yurov too?

Might as well. There’s no logic behind anything right now. Should probably sign Merrill and NoJo to 8mil, 10 year NTC deals too. Cap space in our future doesn’t matter. 

The Wild don't have cap space to sign another player after signing Buium. This has been covered here a bit in the comments for the last week or two.

Yurov returned early from injury to play in the KHL playoffs. The time off might be good for him as he entered the season injured and finished the season hampered by a different injury. Yurov should be at training camp with the Wild in the fall.

[MNCountryLife]

I think Zeev will surprise quite a few people as to just how good this kid really is.  The article was accurate when it stated that Zeev was the best player on the ice almost every game.  He will make mistakes but I have high hopes.  To truly develop players you have to allow them to make mistakes and give them lots of minutes.  Those that learn, improve and get better... you keep.   Those that stagnate and consistently repeat mistakes you trade away.

[Enforceror]

7 minutes ago, MNCountryLife said:

I think Zeev will surprise quite a few people as to just how good this kid really is.  The article was accurate when it stated that Zeev was the best player on the ice almost every game.  He will make mistakes but I have high hopes.  To truly develop players you have to allow them to make mistakes and give them lots of minutes.  Those that learn, improve and get better... you keep.   Those that stagnate and consistently repeat mistakes you trade away.

I'm excited to see him play but will continue to temper expectations. That being said, the fact that they are bringing him in to play to me means he's the real deal. As we all know, management is usually in the camp of wanting to simmer prospects. Doesn't appear that they feel simmering is needed with Z-boo.

[mnfaninnc]

1 hour ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

The Wild don't have cap space to sign another player after signing Buium. This has been covered here a bit in the comments for the last week or two.

Noted, but assuming a win against the Ducks or the Flames not being able to run the table, Yurov could be signed for the playoffs....if his ankle checked out, of which he's had a couple of weeks to rest it. 

Would the Wild put Yurov and OgZ out on the ice in the playoffs? At this point I simply just don't know. Maybe Guerin would want them to experience playoff hockey, though I'm sure the Gagarin Cup is pretty competitive. 

You can make an argument for or against this, but we're not in charge, Guerin is. If he's going all in on Buium, why not do it with Yurov too?