Article: Did the Wild Waste A Good Crisis?

[Tom Schreier]

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[Citizen Strife]

Kap signs a long term deal, and no one will care about anything that happened before.  If he doesn't, Guerin is fired on the spot.  Rossi doesn't matter, Nyquist doesn't matter, Hartman/Foligno/Zucc don't matter.  All that matters is if July 1st, Kap wakes up and says yes to staying put.

But tell me again about Hartman and Foligno were "aging declining players" not worth the money that didn't help in the playoffs.  Coulda fooled me.  Nyquist was one.  

Unless Guerin does something REALLY odd like re-signing Mojo and Nyquist...I don't really think one player being on the outs is going to change the team like signing Kaprizov will.

Now watch ODC somehow think I'm agreeing with him for once.  Just the thought makes me ill.

[OldDutchChip]

6 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

Kap signs a long term deal, and no one will care about anything that happened before.  If he doesn't, Guerin is fired on the spot.  Rossi doesn't matter, Nyquist doesn't matter, Hartman/Foligno/Zucc don't matter.  All that matters is if July 1st, Kap wakes up and says yes to staying put.

But tell me again about Hartman and Foligno were "aging declining players" not worth the money that didn't help in the playoffs.  Coulda fooled me.  Nyquist was one.  

Unless Guerin does something REALLY odd like re-signing Mojo and Nyquist...I don't really think one player being on the outs is going to change the team like signing Kaprizov will.

Now watch ODC somehow think I'm agreeing with him for once.  Just the thought makes me ill.

duuuude i thought i wrote this!

 

[IllicitFive]

2 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

duuuude i thought i wrote this!

 

Are we all becoming friends? It feels like we are all becoming friends.

I'd be shocked if there was more than a handful of people who would believe Kap leaving wouldn't be a big deal. I have been on the give Billy time train, but now time is up. If he messes up signing Kap, I agree, fired on the spot. If RedLake gets on board and agrees, well it may truly be a sign of the end times.

[0 Stanley Cups]

BG has had the draft reigns since 2020 when he selected Rossi. Of course it takes time to develop, but the rest of his draft picks have yet to materialize, I would've liked to see Ohgren get more of an opportunity this season over JoJo and definitely Nyquist.  Wall, Yurov, and Zeev will at least get a good look next year.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

The Wild were 35-22-4 on March 3, the trade deadline, with a 97% chance of making the playoffs. They went 10-8-3 after the deadline, nearly missed the postseason, and the Vegas Golden Knights beat them in a gentleman’s sweep.

#1 issue here - The road team does not play more than 2 home games in a "gentleman's sweep".

Quote

[Guerin] created a crisis by buying out Parise and Suter. After five first-round exits in six years, the Wild don’t appear close to contending. Nothing Guerin has done assures the Wild will effectively leverage their prospect pool.

#2 issue here - It's quite evident in the article that Guerin did not fully create the crisis by buying out Parise and Suter. Saying that is suggesting that he could have traded their cap hits away to someone else. His main choice was to keep them or buy them out.

The cap hits due to the buyouts were actually a few hundred thousand dollars lower than they would be with Suter and Parise on the roster. To the extent that you wanted Parise and Suter to be playing for the Wild, through this season, as opposed to Chisholm and Hinostroza, I guess you can say he "caused" a $1.5M "cap crisis". Otherwise, the cap hits were happening whether Guerin bought them out or put them on the ice. Considering that Parise didn't play this season, he would have also been consuming a valuable roster spot. Prior Wild GM decisions caused this cap crisis that Guerin has been managing through.

I haven't fully supported every move he's made, but suggesting that Guerin created this unfavorable situation is just a complete fabrication of reality. The situation was actually created in 2012 while Guerin was learning the ropes in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, as their player development coach.

Quote

The Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, and Winnipeg Jets loaded up at the trade deadline; Minnesota’s most significant move was trading a second-round pick for 35-year-old Gustav Nyquist.

#3 issue - without the moves Guerin made via waivers or at the deadline this season, it's quite possible that the Wild would have had zero playoff games, Kaprizov wouldn't have been able to see how close they were when competing against top 8 teams, and may have been more interested in playing for an organization that was closer. Kaprizov was disappointed after the season, but didn't talk like someone who was simply on his way out.

Guerin's day to build the roster he truly wants will soon be upon us. This summer, he will have the freedom to act more similarly to the rest of the contenders--those who have nearly the full salary cap available to them.

Given that most people suggested the Wild couldn't contend with top teams, this season showed that they could. The Wild were among the top 8 teams when they were healthy. The Wild scored more goals than the Vegas Golden Knights in a playoff series, and won the 5v5 play by a substantial margin. The defensive corps looks strong. If they can add the scoring Guerin will assuredly be looking to bring in this summer, the next 5 years for the Wild could bring more success than they've ever achieved in the past.

[RedLake]

Kaprizov needs a 1c. 2nd line needs NoJo and Rossi gone. 3rd line needs a bit of work. 4th line needs to be demo'ed and rebuilt. Our D-men are soild with Buuim and Jiricek coming in to learn.