Article: Mats Zuccarello's Old Guy Magic Might Not Slow Down Soon

[MNCountryLife]

8 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

If we could keep it civil, I think the conversations can be fruitful, but the risk of it going south is far too much for the site to take.

Politics and civility are rare these days when you can hide behind a keyboard.  I appreciate that the majority of the site and articles are politics free.  I hope it stays that way.

[SkolWild73]

12 hours ago, 1Brotherbill said:

Let's say he plays about equal to what he has played in the past few years.  This would be his last year in Minnesota. I seriously doubt he makes it past the trade deadline.  Right now he would be slotted for the third line.  I know people will say he plays top six.  I don't think you can say he will be better than Ohgren and Yurov.  If they keep Rossi that means the third line would be Rossi with Zucarello, not an impressive line.  Though I think they could out work a lot of third lines in the league and probably score quite a bit.  Right now with Ohgren and Yurov playing well you have, Ek, Kirill, Boldy, and Taresenko in the top six.  

Zucarello has said this is probably his last year.  He doesn't want to hang around past his effective use date. 

If Yurov and Ohgren play so well as to relegate Rossi and Zucc to the third line, that would mean they are putting up close to 60 points each and that would be amazing for the Wild and probably have them in the running for the Presidents.   Cup.  I hope they play that well this year.  Realistically, I am assuming that they start on the third and fourth lines this year and will have to show a ton to get moved up.  I still believe that Hynes will try and split the lines up a bit and go with the following to start the season.

Kap, Ek, Zucc

Boldy, Rossi, Tarasenko

Foligno, Yurov, Hartman

Ohgren, Sturm, Trenin

[MNCountryLife]

8 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Assuming this is correct, what would a Zuccy $800k contract look like playing in a role like what we assume Johansson will be given this year? 13th forward.

That could be some really good depth, but also the time off would keep him fresh.

It's a great way to bring back a skilled aging veteran that wants to stay in the game.  They get to play a dozen games and can contribute valuable time.  While I don't believe Johansson is a full time top 6 forward he is definitely a nice 13th man that can play top 6 for some games and be responsible on D as well.  Let's hope Hynes plays him that way.

[Pewterschmidt]

37 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

If we could keep it civil, I think the conversations can be fruitful, but the risk of it going south is far too much for the site to take.

As a wise person in this community stated already, the internet offers an endless cesspool of places to have these culture war slap fights.  Keeping guardrails on this community so that it stays Wild/hockey related is what keeps this place special.

[mnfaninnc]

3 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

As a wise person in this community stated already, the internet offers an endless cesspool of places to have these culture war slap fights.  Keeping guardrails on this community so that it stays Wild/hockey related is what keeps this place special.

Trust me, I love that part. 

But, Wild/hockey related occasionally interacts with newsy items. And in those cases, this is what I was referencing. We do not need a political division of the site. 

[Pewterschmidt]

17 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Wild/hockey related occasionally interacts with newsy items.

This slope is too slippery as we've have learned time and again.  A good example you'd cite is tax loopholes/credits for an arena re-model which undoubtedly spirals into a blue vs red debate and the members who cannot help but get triggered come off the rails.  I choose to not engage in this debate as it's not interesting to me, and there's an endless amount of this slap fighting (if you're interested) on any comment section anywhere else on the internet.  this conversation always ends the same way, so let's just not start it.  I'm much more interested in discussing Nojo's irrelevance or our prospect pools can't miss status.

[Willy the poor boy]

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

and haven't seen Protec's or some form of that handle in quite awhile and wondered what happened?

 

Rumor has it he's been in Bellevue since the NoJo signing...

[Up North Guy]

7 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I'll guess ODC just takes the summer off and is back when season starts.  Another great hockey mind with lots of opinions which is what makes the site fun.

i think ODC will be back as soon AAS KK97 resigns or refuses to sign.

[Up North Guy]

7 hours ago, SkolWild73 said:

Kap, Ek, Zucc

Boldy, Rossi, Tarasenko

Foligno, Yurov, Hartman

Ohgren, Sturm, Trenin

I kind of like that lineup but I would swap Ohgren and Hartman, at least until Ohgren proves he can't play at that level. Hartman could be moved up and down the lineup without missing a beat.

[1Brotherbill]

9 hours ago, SkolWild73 said:

Kap, Ek, Zucc

Boldy, Rossi, Tarasenko

Foligno, Yurov, Hartman

Ohgren, Sturm, Trenin

I would think Tarasenko would play with Kaprizov at the minimum and if Yurov shows he is any good I would imagine that an all Russian line would be pretty strong.  That is a drug every coach in the NHL can not shy away from.  St. Louis did it often when they won their cup.