Article: What (Actually Good) Lessons Can the Wild Learn From the Panthers?

[Tony Abbott]

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[OldDutchChip]

Lesson 1 - when there is a possibility to get another game changer - you do it even if it costs you a very good player and/or prospect. Having Barkov and Tkachuk on a team cannot be under stated. This is what the Wild have to do. Get another star for Kap. I know I know - but no one has reported a star wanting out! Well so what? Is that a sure thing that no one could be had if the price is right? 

That's your lesson - very simple - to win in this league you need stars, and stars that have a full out physical commitment that can cascade down to all players. Kap has it. Now give him one more star (and captaincy). 

[Dean]

Good article. I disagree that Florida was out muscled. They hammered the Canadian mc Jesus .Hell Edmonton gave up in the last two games because they were hammered on all series Just like Florida takes out every superstar in every series they’ve been in the past few years. 
    Spitting chicklets was talking about Florida. They are the new broad street bullies of this era of hockey an I agree . They were also saying the trash talking of Florida was merciless.  Thckuk saying Florida is a team that all contributes to win instead of a team that looks to one player to win. He said mcdavid will win a cup somewhere . Haha. Minny is like Edmonton. One guy does all the work and Billy’s golfing  buddies with there nmc s make excuses about not having enough money. ..

Russo was saying the wild are going to make kappy the highest paid player. A injury prone winger. They’re talking about paying him double of Barkov . I guess in Billy’s world wingers are more valuable than centers. Kappy deserves to get paid but how do you build a team to compete against Florida when you’re paying double for less production? The wild arent going to build anything will Billy’s cap management and clause laden contracts. No money and no flexibility means you can’t do shit except keep making excuses. They are going down the fletcher road of overpaying mediocre to stay in the mushy middle.   Judds prospects aren’t worth much. When people are saying trade your developed 9 th overall for this years 15 th and teddy blugger , ya know the train is off its tracks. Only Billy could turn a 9 th into a 15 . Or a 2 nd rounder into a 7 th like brazeau.  
   So now people are talking about waiting another year for free agency because than Billy can do something.  Billy’s been here 6 years and all we’ve got is captain Fred g and a bunch of playoffs losses. To think Billy needs another year is ridiculous. Billy and juddd need to go. After hearing Judd sticking to his guns on drafting dented cans and Billy’s cap management. It’s time for change

[Pewterschmidt]

4 minutes ago, Dean said:

captain Fred g

Dean win's the Internet!!

[Citizen Strife]

How does Florida win?  By not having Nyquist. Merrill, Chisholm, Khusnutdinov, Brazeau, etc. as "depth." By not having Johansson as the one and only 2nd line winger all season.

Teams are not going to line up and just give away 1st line players.  If people did, Brodin, Spurgeon, etc wouldn't be on the roster.  Teams draft and keep their top line players.

Kap and Boldy are those guys.  I don't know if Yurov is that elusive can't miss guy to go between them, but I'm dubious.  

The team is missing a lot more than 1 high priced (and I do mean high priced) center that may do fuck all with Kap and Boldy even if they sign them.

Guerin is running out of FA options to fix his problems.  He should just play all the rookies at his disposal, see if they are good enough to push Ek, Rossi, Brodin, etc down, or at the very least not suck pond water as depth.

But I'm sure the Islanders would be ok throwing us Barzal.  His 20-30 games played would fit right in.  Teams don't "shop" top line centers unless they are in the same boat Rossi is: management doesn't buy them as difference makers.  Why the fuck would the Wild want what another team doesn't want?

 

[joebou15]

Bill Guerin says, "We had on hand tied behind our back," and that "July 1 will be like Christmas Day."

 

 

Except, get this, the Wild having suffered the last 4 seasons - the last two having been the most severe - are coming into this next FA frenzy with the 20th-most cap space in the NHL.

That right there should be firable for mismanagement. You tell the fans to suffer and then are immediately priced out of the top free agents as soon as the cuffs come off?!?!

 

WTF!?!

[FredJohnson]

What (Actually Good) Lessons Can the Wild Learn From the Panthers?

 

[FredJohnson]

What (Actually Good) Lessons Can the Wild Learn From the Panthers?

Have more than one scoring line.

[nomlandjon]

I’d still target Buffalo as the ideal trade partner. Rossi, Freddy, Brodin or Spurgeon are the chips. Tuch Byram Thompson  the targets

[OldDutchChip]

2 hours ago, Citizen Strife said:

How does Florida win?  By not having Nyquist. Merrill, Chisholm, Khusnutdinov, Brazeau, etc. as "depth." By not having Johansson as the one and only 2nd line winger all season.

Teams are not going to line up and just give away 1st line players.  If people did, Brodin, Spurgeon, etc wouldn't be on the roster.  Teams draft and keep their top line players.

Kap and Boldy are those guys.  I don't know if Yurov is that elusive can't miss guy to go between them, but I'm dubious.  

The team is missing a lot more than 1 high priced (and I do mean high priced) center that may do fuck all with Kap and Boldy even if they sign them.

Guerin is running out of FA options to fix his problems.  He should just play all the rookies at his disposal, see if they are good enough to push Ek, Rossi, Brodin, etc down, or at the very least not suck pond water as depth.

But I'm sure the Islanders would be ok throwing us Barzal.  His 20-30 games played would fit right in.  Teams don't "shop" top line centers unless they are in the same boat Rossi is: management doesn't buy them as difference makers.  Why the fuck would the Wild want what another team doesn't want?

 

Nyquist is gone. Marat was gone during the end of the season, unless you forgot.  Merrill and Chissy were bottom 3rd pair fill-ins. you want to throw dirt on them - ok.

Teams are not going to line up and just give away 1st line players.  If people did, Brodin, Spurgeon, etc wouldn't be on the roster.  Teams draft and keep their top line players. is that why Matthew Tkachuk is still playing for Calgary and Jack Eichel for Buffalo? How does it related to Brodin and Spurge (who are both still with team that drafted them)?

Kap and Boldy are those guys.  what guys?

I don't know if Yurov is that elusive can't miss guy to go between them, but I'm dubious.   and the point?

The team is missing a lot more than 1 high priced (and I do mean high priced) center that may do fuck all with Kap and Boldy even if they sign them. team was among the best in the league when Kap was playing healthy. But yes - we are SOOO far off. 

He should just play all the rookies at his disposal, see if they are good enough to push Ek, Rossi, Brodin, etc down, or at the very least not suck pond water as depth. did Freddy get into your log in? you want to play all rookies - then go ahead and trade Boldy and Kap and Ek. Pushing Rossi? from where? He is already on 4th line! 😱 haha  too soon?

But I'm sure the Islanders would be ok throwing us Barzal.  i guess if you ever seen me say one thing about Barzal - go ahead and show it - but let's not twist my words to make your emotional rant seem more sane. 

Teams don't "shop" top line centers unless they are in the same boat Rossi for a second there i thought you were saying Rossi was a top line center - oh boy

[Citizen Strife]

I didn't say Rossi was a top scoring center.  He may never be.  But Guerin is up shit creek regardless of where he goes.

Trade for a much vaunted and ballyhooed Top 10 scorer: good job being a one line team all over again.  What if we need that money if Buium or Yurov actually do amount to something?  Would have been nice to have money to keep them or Gus if he has another Top 10-15 season...

All in on Marner: good luck beating out 30 other teams on that one.  "Change of scenery and want to win" THAT ISN'T HERE!

Rossi stays: still missing a winger to put up points. Boeser or Ehlers are about it for 2nd line talent.  At least you can hedge bets and see Yurov and Rossi play it out (which is my point).

Rossi goes: ok.  Maybe Peterka.  Solves the 2nd wing issue.  Doesn't solve the, "Why the absolute fuck is Yurov at 2C already" or put Hartman there.  Both options underwhelm me.

Guerin sells Rossi for futures: Great.  You just sold a 60-point player down the river to save $6-7m on...what exactly?  Any idea how to solve two gaping scoring holes at once?

My point is Guerin can't solve his issues in one off-season.  Hoping he does through some mystical trade only happens once every 5-10 seasons is asking for disappointment.

[mnfaninnc]

CS going full meltdown mode, I like it. Now, if only the team could do that a couple of times next year against targeted referees who are vastly unfair to the organization since they are pretty certain the Wild will do nothing but bark at them. 

On the one hand, we need to be positioned to trade when that "guy" becomes available. There are very few of those I'd want to pounce on, but you do look at the Canadian teams. M. Tkachuk told Calgary up front that he wasn't going to resign with them. Johnny Hockey pretty much did the same. Will Brady do that in Ottawa? We would need to pounce. 

Eichel was different, for him it was a surgery he wanted to get and Buffalo's training staff said no. He wanted to be traded out since he had lost all confidence in the Buffalo training staff, and the team sucked too. Both of these are rare. But, Reinhart becoming available is a little more common. Are there some other teams where players don't really want to be? That's where we need to be positioned, for the right guy. 

A right guy was picking a Gustav Forsling off waivers. A right guy was seeing Sam Bennett in the doghouse and flipping next to nothing to acquire him. But that's not the main lesson.

The main lesson is that in Florida, all 23 of those guys played with tremendous heart and duct taped themselves together just to get out on the ice. And when they did, they didn't let their injuries get in the way of elevated play. They played to win 16 games before anyone else. They accomplished that goal 2/3 years. There guys must be exhausted with this 3 year run!

Compare that to our guys who get tired after winning 2/3 games in an opening round. They can't hit and punish after that...even though this season, I think they played their best playoff round in the Guerin era. I'll do it like ODC:

Lesson #1: Play to win the series, not to take a lead in the series. That means guys like Johansson have to suddenly grow a pair. It also means that guys like Nyquist have to play like their 205 when they're 180. And, sometimes, you have to do the unpleasant things in this brutal sport like running a 'tender, or plowing through a star. It's also way easier to play like you're 205 when you are 205.

Lesson #2: When you play this way you will take penalties because you will cross the line. If you cannot kill penalties you're sunk. A stellar penalty kill is more effective than a great PP. Stellar PKs let you play on the edge. There is no reason why this team cannot have a stellar PK. They've got plenty of guys who should excel at it. Honestly, I think it takes more heart.

I think we need a change of team leadership and all letters should be turned in and divvied out again next season. Simply put, our Captain is too nice and maybe we need a Kaptain. And maybe we should put a K on there instead of a C!

[OldDutchChip]

23 minutes ago, Citizen Strife said:

I didn't say Rossi was a top scoring center.  He may never be.  But Guerin is up shit creek regardless of where he goes.

Trade for a much vaunted and ballyhooed Top 10 scorer: good job being a one line team all over again.  What if we need that money if Buium or Yurov actually do amount to something?  Would have been nice to have money to keep them or Gus if he has another Top 10-15 season...

All in on Marner: good luck beating out 30 other teams on that one.  "Change of scenery and want to win" THAT ISN'T HERE!

Rossi stays: still missing a winger to put up points. Boeser or Ehlers are about it for 2nd line talent.  At least you can hedge bets and see Yurov and Rossi play it out (which is my point).

Rossi goes: ok.  Maybe Peterka.  Solves the 2nd wing issue.  Doesn't solve the, "Why the absolute fuck is Yurov at 2C already" or put Hartman there.  Both options underwhelm me.

Guerin sells Rossi for futures: Great.  You just sold a 60-point player down the river to save $6-7m on...what exactly?  Any idea how to solve two gaping scoring holes at once?

My point is Guerin can't solve his issues in one off-season.  Hoping he does through some mystical trade only happens once every 5-10 seasons is asking for disappointment.

I didn't say Rossi was a top scoring center.  He may never be.  But Guerin is up shit creek regardless of where he goes. Rossi has very little leverage unless he can bring an offer sheet that Billy won't match. And that ain't happening. 

Trade for a much vaunted and ballyhooed Top 10 scorer: good job being a one line team all over again.  So let's assume we ship out Faber and Rossi and get Tkachuk, that would mean Boldy Ek Yurov Kap Tkachuk - that is a bit more than one line team

What if we need that money if Buium or Yurov actually do amount to something? what if they are second coming of Addison and Marat? do you want to throw away Kap's prime years to find out? We have a sure thing with Kap - but you want to find out if Yurov will be good enough in 3 years? When Kap age catches up to him? 

All in on Marner: good luck beating out 30 other teams on that one.  "Change of scenery and want to win" THAT ISN'T HERE! never said "all in on marner"

Rossi stays: still missing a winger to put up points. rossi can stay and be on our 3rd line for 5 mm

Boeser or Ehlers are about it for 2nd line talent.  At least you can hedge bets and see Yurov and Rossi play it out (which is my point). you can but at some point you need to go for it. do we wait until Kap turns 35?

Rossi goes: ok.  Maybe Peterka.  Solves the 2nd wing issue.  Doesn't solve the, "Why the absolute fuck is Yurov at 2C already" or put Hartman there.  Both options underwhelm me. Rossi for peterka is not a move i would do. I am saying you put in your can't miss #2 prospect and see if you can shake loose a star. if you can't get a team or two interested in the second coming of hughes/makar - then i don't when you can!

Guerin sells Rossi for futures: Great.  You just sold a 60-point player down the river to save $6-7m on...what exactly?  Any idea how to solve two gaping scoring holes at once? Rossi doesn't matter much - if he can be used as a sweetener to someone who likes him - fine. Or he can sign the same deal that Donato signed or duchene.....unless he/you thinks he is a better player! HAHA 

My point is Guerin can't solve his issues in one off-season.  Hoping he does through some mystical trade only happens once every 5-10 seasons is asking for disappointment. unfortunately for Billy - he does not have infinite time. none of us do. i want him to win. there are ways to do so. 

[OldDutchChip]

12 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

CS going full meltdown mode, I like it. Now, if only the team could do that a couple of times next year against targeted referees who are vastly unfair to the organization since they are pretty certain the Wild will do nothing but bark at them. 

On the one hand, we need to be positioned to trade when that "guy" becomes available. There are very few of those I'd want to pounce on, but you do look at the Canadian teams. M. Tkachuk told Calgary up front that he wasn't going to resign with them. Johnny Hockey pretty much did the same. Will Brady do that in Ottawa? We would need to pounce. 

Eichel was different, for him it was a surgery he wanted to get and Buffalo's training staff said no. He wanted to be traded out since he had lost all confidence in the Buffalo training staff, and the team sucked too. Both of these are rare. But, Reinhart becoming available is a little more common. Are there some other teams where players don't really want to be? That's where we need to be positioned, for the right guy. 

A right guy was picking a Gustav Forsling off waivers. A right guy was seeing Sam Bennett in the doghouse and flipping next to nothing to acquire him. But that's not the main lesson.

The main lesson is that in Florida, all 23 of those guys played with tremendous heart and duct taped themselves together just to get out on the ice. And when they did, they didn't let their injuries get in the way of elevated play. They played to win 16 games before anyone else. They accomplished that goal 2/3 years. There guys must be exhausted with this 3 year run!

Compare that to our guys who get tired after winning 2/3 games in an opening round. They can't hit and punish after that...even though this season, I think they played their best playoff round in the Guerin era. I'll do it like ODC:

Lesson #1: Play to win the series, not to take a lead in the series. That means guys like Johansson have to suddenly grow a pair. It also means that guys like Nyquist have to play like their 205 when they're 180. And, sometimes, you have to do the unpleasant things in this brutal sport like running a 'tender, or plowing through a star. It's also way easier to play like you're 205 when you are 205.

Lesson #2: When you play this way you will take penalties because you will cross the line. If you cannot kill penalties you're sunk. A stellar penalty kill is more effective than a great PP. Stellar PKs let you play on the edge. There is no reason why this team cannot have a stellar PK. They've got plenty of guys who should excel at it. Honestly, I think it takes more heart.

I think we need a change of team leadership and all letters should be turned in and divvied out again next season. Simply put, our Captain is too nice and maybe we need a Kaptain. And maybe we should put a K on there instead of a C!

Well there are rumbles out there that JR is going to be traded (i know i know - trading with Central is a no-no.....but if Dallas wants Marner and we give them a way to do that - they may be ok with helping their baby brother out!) Kap and JR......

Captain America is also probably misses midwest. Him and Billy probably talked during 4 nations.....

Point is - we have to be serious. We can't say - give us your star for Rossi.....

Strip the C, trade Spurge, Rossi and Zeev (or Faber or Yurov or Wally) - i don't care. We have 5-6 years of dominance ahead of us if we do this right. If not - go back and see what the previous 20+ years have been - and that's what we'll have.

good post my friend! 🍻

[Fezig]

I would like to know the average height of their centers, please. Not to mention I'm betting their centers work much harder during the off season. For instance, all Rossi did was skip his sisters wedding last summer so that he could stay in MN and continue his work outs and development.

I think I shall dub him Marco Slacker.

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, Fezig said:

I would like to know the average height of their centers, please. Not to mention I'm betting their centers work much harder during the off season. For instance, all Rossi did was skip his sisters wedding last summer so that he could stay in MN and continue his work outs and development.

I think I shall dub him Marco Slacker.

And that wasn't even last summer, that was 2 summers ago.

[mnfaninnc]

Could someone explain why we wouldn't be interested in Mason Marchment? To Seattle for a 4th round pick? Marchment had a 10 team M-NTC. Were we on that? If not?????????

Marchment is a large bodied forward with 20 goals. Wouldn't that slot nicely next to a Rossi? Or a Yurov?

Kreider gone to Anaheim for peanuts, Marchment gone to Seattle for a touch more than peanuts. Those would have been 2 nice additions to help us through the playoffs. Instead, we get Johansson at $800k? What happened? Did Shooter's phone run out of battery? Does he not have a battery back up? Are his calls being blocked as spam?

Ok, I went and looked at the specifics, it was a '25 4th and '26 3rd, but I still think Seattle gets the best of the deal.

 

Edited 14 hours ago by mnfaninnc

[Will D. Ness]

Just now, mnfaninnc said:

Could someone explain why we wouldn't be interested in Mason Marchment?

BG want's to avoid introducing the flopping douchebag element to the team's chemistry.

[OldDutchChip]

11 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Could someone explain why we wouldn't be interested in Mason Marchment? To Seattle for a 4th round pick? Marchment had a 10 team M-NTC. Were we on that? If not?????????

Marchment is a large bodied forward with 20 goals. Wouldn't that slot nicely next to a Rossi? Or a Yurov?

Kreider gone to Anaheim for peanuts, Marchment gone to Seattle for a touch more than peanuts. Those would have been 2 nice additions to help us through the playoffs. Instead, we get Johansson at $800k? What happened? Did Shooter's phone run out of battery? Does he not have a battery back up? Are his calls being blocked as spam?

Ok, I went and looked at the specifics, it was a '25 4th and '26 3rd, but I still think Seattle gets the best of the deal.

 

He is saving $ for bigger fish

[mnfaninnc]

1 minute ago, OldDutchChip said:

He is saving $ for bigger fish

Do you have his boat on GPS? Where is it standing?

[mnfaninnc]

We are not the only ones with an RFA problem. Apparently Knies is asking for a lot of money in Toronto. The main rumor is that teams may no longer be willing to give huge contracts to players coming off their ELCs. Does this sound familiar? What Toronto didn't factor into their equation was the offersheet possibility where someone may offer $8-9m to try and poach Knies. 

I do not see this same thing happening with Rossi, who, in his 2nd season did out score Knies. Could the traditional bridge deal be back in vogue? Toronto fans are nervous that no announcement has been made yet. What does Toronto do if an organization is planning on poaching Knies? 

So, would Guerin agree to 5 x$5.5m for Rossi? I could be ok with that compromise. Why would Rossi have to come down so much? Mainly due to the fact that he has very little leverage. If the Wild are contemplating moving him to the Wing, $5.5m seems like a bargain, still (comparing with Zuccarello's deal). 

[Pewterschmidt]

28 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Could someone explain why we wouldn't be interested in Mason Marchment? To Seattle for a 4th round pick? Marchment had a 10 team M-NTC. Were we on that? If not?????????

Marchment is a large bodied forward with 20 goals. Wouldn't that slot nicely next to a Rossi? Or a Yurov?

Kreider gone to Anaheim for peanuts, Marchment gone to Seattle for a touch more than peanuts. Those would have been 2 nice additions to help us through the playoffs. Instead, we get Johansson at $800k? What happened? Did Shooter's phone run out of battery? Does he not have a battery back up? Are his calls being blocked as spam?

Ok, I went and looked at the specifics, it was a '25 4th and '26 3rd, but I still think Seattle gets the best of the deal.

 

Agree 100%.  Marchment would have been a value pick up this offseason.  We’ll never know what bill did but considering the ghost of NyQuil cost a second rd pick….

[OldDutchChip]

26 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Do you have his boat on GPS? Where is it standing?

East coast 🧐

[Mateo3xm]

4 hours ago, Fezig said:

I would like to know the average height of their centers, please. Not to mention I'm betting their centers work much harder during the off season. For instance, all Rossi did was skip his sisters wedding last summer so that he could stay in MN and continue his work outs and development.

I think I shall dub him Marco Slacker.

Lay off the bong hits.

[Mateo3xm]

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

Could someone explain why we wouldn't be interested in Mason Marchment?

I thought the same but why would they want to trade to a division rival?

 

does anyone else have issues commenting where the site refreshes and deletes your comment half way through writing it? I’m so so sick of having to rewrite my comment. No other site I’ve been on has that issue…

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said: