Article: Which Bill Guerin Is Showing Up To the Kaprizov Negotiations?

[0 Stanley Cups]

29 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Remember, the last we heard about Rossi before he was suddenly signed was that both sides hadn't talked in almost 2 months. 

Incorrect, because about 2-3 days before Rossi signing, Russo did report that there were significant changes in the Rossi contract even while he was over in Milan interviewing the Euro's.

[Up North Guy]

I gotta say this article was great for rabble rousing but pretty damn short on useful information.

[Sam]

2 minutes ago, Up North Guy said:

I gotta say this article was great for rabble rousing but pretty damn short on useful information.

Rabble rousing? I haven’t heard of such a thing..

[Mateo3xm]

On 8/28/2025 at 10:58 AM, Pewterschmidt said:

Tom, Great article!  Full of insight's, new perspectives (for me) and hot takes. 

This quote is why I’m not a fan of thin skin bill:

“This might sound harsh,” he said, “but if you’re betting on yourself with 15 million dollars in your pocket, that’s a pretty good safety net.

bill, just shut the fuck up sometimes.  Drag Rossi thru the mud for 6 months, win the signing in terms of AAV and term, and then spit in Rossi’s face.  What do you think this accomplishes?  Answer: it only further poison’s the well with a potential young star.  

Just too stupid for words

I could not agree more! Hahaha 

Bill is an arrogant prick. The silver lining is that, pride comes before the fall.

[Mateo3xm]

23 hours ago, raithis said:

It must be confusing for you too.  Florida was a couple pieces away for YEARS until they weren't.

They slowly added those pieces and developed others to fill in those gaps or used them to trade for players that helped them get to where they are today.

Yes, the Wild isn't where Florida is now.  If they were, they'd have been in the Finals last year.  They aren't far off from where Florida was when they kept getting bounced from the playoffs though.  And if the Wild gets a couple pieces like Florida did (internally and/or externally), it might be a more fair comparison.

It must be hard for you that you think we are a couple pieces away and that we have as much going for us as Florida. What makes you think that those “pieces” are going to want to come to MN.

[Willy the poor boy]

20 minutes ago, Sam said:

Rabble rousing? I haven’t heard of such a thing..

You rabble rouser you...

[Mateo3xm]

22 hours ago, Dean said:

Yeah we’re just a few moves away like Florida and Billy is the guy to do it. Haha. Florida can get anyone to come there at any price they offer. Just like minny. Haha. Man the beta males that believe this crap. Billy is exactly like his Cheeto Jesus. Taco tits himself. King pedo. Talks about law and order while letting pedos out of prison or sends them back to Israel. Billy Just lies about everything and can’t get anything done. Funny how Craig has quit asking the taxpayers about money now that his guy tanked the economy and trashed tourism. 51st state stuff was smart Billy. . I keep running into Billy at the grocery store. He’s always coming off lake to feed his face. Not spending time to make the team better but to work on his slob persona. This team is going nowhere with Billy at the helm . His bullying performance is old and stale just like his teams results on ice. He has no idea how to better this team only to lie and bully. His beta male fan boys will make excuses for him just like the chetto Jesus fan boys do for him. Pathetic 

There’s always that simpleton that has to bring politics into a hockey comments section…

[Mateo3xm]

20 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Florida did not get to this stage because they tanked, Florida got to this stage because they were horrible without tanking got a couple of players, but then rescued many off the scrap heap or made some very good trades.

 Is that just your way of getting around the word “tanked” or “rebuild” ?  Is it because it goes against what you’ve been saying for years about tanking/rebuilding? Florida got one of the most complete centers in the entire NHL because they were “horrible without tanking” i.e They tanked/rebuilt. 
how do you suppose you’re going to get players like Barkov, Crosby, Malkin, Kane, Doughty? Those players where all gotten because they did a “horrible without tanking”.

Now there was a LOT of other things that went into that. It definitely wasn’t JUST because they tanked. They made some incredible trades and got Reinhart, Montour, and Tkachuk. There’s a ton else that goes into it but tanking to get that number one C or D is an integral part in my opinion.

[Mateo3xm]

12 hours ago, Fortis said:

Where have we seen this before? An arrogant narcissist with no regard bullies their way into power yet fails to actually improve their organization or deliver on their promises?

Did you really think you were going to get high praise for trying to subtly bring politics into a hockey thread?

[MNCountryLife]

If I were a GM looking to build a contender based on the existing MN Wild Roster... My todo list would be:

- Revamp the IA Wild top to bottom to create a better training ground for our prospects.  I think BG has historically failed here.  He made some changes to IA but I doubt it is nearly enough.

- Let the contracts for Spurgeon and Zuc expire and not renew them.  They played great for us but because of their age simply don't align with a future cup run.  I would consider either of them as fill in 7th D or 13rd F.  Tarasenko is a placeholder for the TDL.  I'm in the camp that believes BG signs the older players to a year or two too long.

- Play the young guys.  Show them the metrics by which they will be judged.  Reward and punish based on the metrics.  Be consistent.  Would love to know what player sentiment here is.  My guess is that BG and Hynes are good with some players and not so good with others(Rossi).

- Sign Kirill.  I think BG will get this done before the season starts.

- Put the salary cap in a position that is capable of adding top tier talent at the TDL.  I think BG has done a relatively good job of this.

[SkolWild73]

Nothing to do with this article, but I want to thank Hockey Wilderness for all their articles for me to get most of my Wild news.  I thought of this after reading the hockey writers bold predictions for the Wild this season.  The first two are not really bold and the last one I would have to say is maybe the craziest prediction I have ever heard.  It became obvious to me that this writer had no idea about the Wild with the last two predictions.  Below are their "bold" predictions.

1.  The Wild will be healthier this season. (Way to go out on a limb and make a bold prediction)

2.  Buium will earn a roster spot (I would say the chances are what, 95%+?)

3.  Nojo with score 30 goals!! (Um, if I were a Vegas bookie, I would give the odds of this at +10,000)

The fans predictions from X are better, and there is one in there that I am pretty sure comes from a poster from here.  If you want to read them, check the out in this link.

3 Bold Minnesota Wild Predictions for the 2024-25 Season - The Hockey Writers - - NHL News, Analysis & More

[mnfaninnc]

6 hours ago, 0 Stanley Cups said:

Incorrect, because about 2-3 days before Rossi signing, Russo did report that there were significant changes in the Rossi contract even while he was over in Milan interviewing the Euro's.

Yes, that is what I was referring to. Nothing was happening at all, and then suddenly Russo says there were significant changes and the next thing we knew he was signed. The whole thing took about 3 days after nearly 2 months of silence.

[mnfaninnc]

3 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

 Is that just your way of getting around the word “tanked” or “rebuild” ?  Is it because it goes against what you’ve been saying for years about tanking/rebuilding? Florida got one of the most complete centers in the entire NHL because they were “horrible without tanking” i.e They tanked/rebuilt.

There's quite a difference between tanking and being horrible, and that's intention. Tear it down on purpose. I would suggest this last Chicago rebuild came through tanking. Crosby, Malkin, Fleury weren't from tank years, they were just horrible before those draft years + they got the benefit of a non-playing year to draft at the top again. 

Buffalo dismantled in 2012 and tanked for 9 years according to their record, or, they dismantled and were just plain horrible. So, in essence, are you claiming that they decided to tank in 2012 so they could get Jack Eichel in 2015? 

Sometimes you get lucky in a couple of drafts, but Barkov and Ekblad are all that was left of their down years. They built that team through very good maneuvers but weren't where they are now until the Matthew Tkachuk trade. And even then, it took them a full season to realize what they were. 

Tampa Bay didn't build their juggernaut by tanking. Yes, they were pathetic doormats in the '90s, but they hit on multiple picks beyond the 1st round. I don't think you can consider San Jose a tanking team, they just got really old and ran out of gas. 

Tanking by definition is stripping your team of talent so they will be bad and able to draft in the top 5. Rebuilding happens when a teams core simply gets too old and you need a restart. To me, tanking is a very dangerous way to go about rebuilding as it takes out the desire to win from a lot of guys. Then you get some great talent come in on ELCs but more times than not they can't put it together. Edmonton went through that for the longest time. 

Cyclical badness is just not the same thing as tanking in my book.

[mnfaninnc]

3 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

It must be hard for you that you think we are a couple pieces away and that we have as much going for us as Florida. What makes you think that those “pieces” are going to want to come to MN.

Regardless of if the pieces want to come to MN isn't the point. The point is the comparison to where FL was before they made the Tkachuk trade. I would say we are similar but a couple of years away from that possibility. Our young guys have got to get acclimated and producing. If they don't, well, we're in a heap of trouble.

[1Brotherbill]

22 hours ago, Enforceror said:

You're 100% right. I'd say the only difference here is players COULD opt for a lesser paycheck to support the quest for a cup. Not sure how much that factors in, probably different for every player.

I don't know Kirill.  I imagine that he wants a cup, doesn't want to move from team to team, and also would like to be the highest paid player at least once in his career.   So what does that mean.  I think he signs the big contract and stays with Minnesota for his career.  That would check off two of the boxes it would also make him the first Minnesota Wild player to make the HOF and him being a Russian player makes it that much more.  

Then again he could go Free Agent and end up on a coastal team hoisting the cup after next season. 

[Sam]

On 8/28/2025 at 2:20 PM, Dean said:

Taco tits himself.

 

8 hours ago, Mateo3xm said:

There’s always that simpleton that has to bring politics into a hockey comments section…

Back in high school I was called old taco tits, so maybe he’s referring to me. 🤷‍♂️

[mnfaninnc]

These are the known salary cap projections including next season:

Quote

Known Salary Cap Projections: 

 

• 2025-26: $95.5 million
• 2026-27: $104 million
• 2027-28: $113.5 million

When we're talking about Kaprizov's contract, what do people project for salary cap increases beyond this point? Does it continue to rise like this (which I think is makeup increases) or does the increase start leveling off? 

These are the only projections available at this time. I would imagine the NHL Governors have a longer look at this, but it is stuck in the cone of silence right now. 

For people thinking that it still decides to increase $8-10m/yr., they probably have no problem with adding high priced players, after all, we get another bump the next year. Kaprizov's contract, while expensive now in 5 years is likely a bargain. 

For those people who believe that the cap will start leveling off after '27 to maybe like $2-4m/yr., they will be want to be more frugal with their contracts, using bridges when they can and have more gradual salary increases for the players. 

I tend to believe the latter, that it will be smaller increases, and I think there will be some adjustments to the ELCs and minor league salary within that. So, I would take a more conservative approach to contracts and use the bridge deals a lot.

[raithis]

On 8/29/2025 at 12:20 PM, Mateo3xm said:

It must be hard for you that you think we are a couple pieces away and that we have as much going for us as Florida. What makes you think that those “pieces” are going to want to come to MN.

That's not exactly what I said.  Read more carefully.

I said we are about where Florida was when they were getting bounced from the playoffs constantly.  Going from that to perennial contender didn't happen overnight and it required younger players to step up and live up to their hype.  And once they had that depth, they traded a portion of it to build a more complete team.

The Wild are heading in the right direction but they are not there yet.