Article: The Wild Shouldn’t Be Thinking About Trading Jared Spurgeon Right Now

[Robert Brent]

View full article

[SkolWild73]

Great article.  I agree that he isn't someone we should be looking to trade yet.  I do understand because of his age and salary that some would like to use it to upgrade for a good scoring forward, but that time isn't now.  If Faber returns to how he was playing his rookie year and first half of next year, Brodin stays healthy, Midds plays like he did during the first half of last year, Buium moves into the top 2 or 4, Jiricek shows he is a very capable defender that can play second pairing and Lambos plays some games and shows he is capable, then maybe we look to trade Sprug.  Thats a lot of ifs.  

 

[Citizen Strife]

I saw all I needed to see when both Brodin, Faber, and Spurgeon were out of the lineup.  Middleton/Bogo top line was great...

Brodin might be the better pure defender, but Spurgeon has always been a better all-around defenseman on the ice.  He still has the speed and defensive IQ that can be an asset to the team while we figure out what Faber (only a couple seasons in), Buium, and Jiricek can all be.

This is a "better be for the right person" deal than a salary dump.

[Up North Guy]

Despite Spurgy's propensity for injury and his fairly large cap hit (though in today's NHL the cap isn't out of whack), I agree with this article. The Wild will need to get as much out of him as possible until the next time his body breaks down.

[0 Stanley Cups]

I like both Spurgeon and Brodin, but it'll be interesting to see which player can actually stay healthy and in the lineup this season.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

I think I voted Spurgeon in that poll, but only because none of the above wasn't an option. I like all of those players.

I don't want to trade Spurgeon, but given his contract size, his age, his recent injuries, and his smallish size, he seemed like the one the Wild could replace more readily with the cap space that would be created by his departure. I definitely value his play and what he might be able to do to instill confidence and good habits for the young incoming defensemen.

[MNCountryLife]

Spurgeon surprised me last year.  I expected his return to be poor with his age and injuries.  He proved me wrong.  Toss it up between him and Brodin on who is the best D-man on our roster.  The job of a player is to make decisions at the top really difficult.  Spurgeon has done his job well.  Tough not to like a player like him.

[Dean]

I like Spurg. He’s a great d man for a mediocre team doing mediocre things.  I don’t think he is a player that could last 4 playoff rounds . The goal is the cup and you need guys that can last 4 rounds  He has  some value being a right handed puck mover  even with his age. So if you could find the right deal I’d be for it  Spurg is no good if he’s constantly hurt an it’s hard to believe he could last even a few rounds with the punishment taken . We have enough undersized weak , soft and injury prone players that have no fight in them. Keeping Spurg to lose another first round doesn’t make sense. Keeping the players that can’t win playoff rounds doesn’t make sense .  Something big needs to change with this team and shipping out some of the vets would be a good start 

[mnfaninnc]

I tend to agree with Dean on this one...checks out the window, no sign of the apocalypse... I do think that Spurgeon is still a very useful guy, and he helps us get TO the playoffs. But, when he's in the playoffs, his younger track record suggests he doesn't do as well. 

This past postseason, I thought he was much better in the 2nd pairing slot, but it still wasn't enough to get past Vegas. Out of all the smaller players, Spurgeon is the craftiest and uses the body more than any of the other guys. Yet, I think the time is here where Jiricek gets that spot.

There is a team out there that is a little bit desperate to get to the playoffs, and is looking for a guy with the exact qualifications as Spurgeon has. They have cap space too. Detroit. My offer was Spurgeon for Danielson and we backfill with Jiricek on the 2nd pairing. That means that we've got to see some improvement in camp from Spacek, and I think he can rise to the occasion to fill in the 3rd pairing. Bogosian is there now, but for 1 more year. 

Based upon our injury history, Spacek would have to probably play in around 20 games, but I believe that Jiricek will be more durable than Spurgeon. It's time to turn the page. If we can get a nice almost ready prospect for Spurgeon and let his contract run out from a different organization, I think that benefits us far more.

We need visual reminders all over the place that this is not the Wild of the past. Maybe it's the fans that need this more. We need to embrace the future and get this roster gelled together. We have entered a different part of the cycle and need to think differently. 

While Robert has some good points, mostly based upon nostalgia, Spurgeon has been an excellent player for us. But if we're going to make a cup run, Spurgy has probably aged out of that run. Some may say: "Well, what about Zuccy?" Yes, he has too. It's about the young guys now and getting them going as quickly as possible so that Kaprizov can lead this team to a deep run. We need those young legs churning. 

A player like Danielson could help this team a great deal. Detroit would be dealing for a talented RHS defender with leadership qualities and a proven track record of getting a team to the playoffs. This isn't a cap dump, it's moving on from a position of strength. We might regret the move in the short term, but long term it is the right thing to do.

[1Brotherbill]

The idea of trading Jared Spurgeon should be in the mix.  He has a little bit of value left and the younger defenseman have to play.  Spurgeon is an elite defender but his offensive game is a virtual black hole.  All that being said he is going to be on the team this year and he will teach the younger players a lot.  However, when the trade deadline comes around he should 100% be on the trade block with Zucarello and Bogo.  It is a business and he is part of that business.  I know he is close to 1000 games and the fanbase loves milestones like that.  But if the Wild could trade Spurgeon to New York and get Artemi Panarin back that could give the fanbase something to really be happy for.  Just in case you don't understand what I mean.  Getting an elite scorer like Panarin to play with Kirill would be a very strong combo to help them win in the playoffs.