Article: Vladimir Tarasenko Could Be the Wild's Patrick Laine Mulligan

[Chris Schad]

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[NoJoSux]

It's a great fit for a 2nd/3rd line wing upgrade over NoJo. 

If you go top heavy with Ek between Kaprizov and Boldy, the 2nd line could have Tarasenko. If Rossi plays with Boldy and Kaprizov, the 2nd line would be pretty sweet with Ek, Ogie and Tarasenko. Then, Hartzy and Sturm center the 3rd/4th lines and you got Zuccy, Foligno, Vinnie, Trenin, Yurov, and a few other good players available to keep NoJo out of the lineup. I like the improved depth and potential to shuffle those players. Your middle six guys can go up and down and hopefully that helps the Wild get better matchups and depth scoring. 

Looking at those names, considering Pitlick and Leason are extras with NoJo, it's no wonder the Wild moved on from Knudi and let Brazeau bail. They've upgraded with Sturm and Tarasenko. If Yurov or Yakov have the kind of year we'd like to see, the Wild's balance will be really nice. 

I wanna see the special teams and faceoffs improve to add some goals and keep some off the board. I could see Spurge, Middstrom, Faber, and Buium adding some offense from the back end too. If Jiricek and Bogo are a 3rd pair, even they could chip in a few here and there. 

I think the off season seemed slow and unimpressive to some, but it looks okay with good promise now. 

[NoJoSux]

P.S. The Patrick Laine mulligan is an oxymoron. More like a dodged-bullet if you asked me. 

[Mateo3xm]

1 hour ago, NoJoSux said:

P.S. The Patrick Laine mulligan is an oxymoron. More like a dodged-bullet if you asked me. 

This season will be the true test on whether or not we dodged a bullet. He looks happy, healthy and determined this year after battling injuries and going though the players assistance program.

[1Brotherbill]

Everyone who has seen him in practice says he looks good in training camp.  Though he hasn't played a game to show everyone else.  With Zucarello hurt and possibly hurt for a long time he is going to get top six minutes for sure.  I like the idea that he should be on a line with Yurov.  

If Taresenko plays at a 50 to 60 point pace the team will be doing rather well come the end of the season. 

[Scalptrash]

Is he Johansson 2.0? He very well could be. Hopefully he's good for more than 40 points. If not, it was an expensive experiment when Johansson could produce just as much for $800K.

[MNCountryLife]

At only 33 years old, Tarasenko should not be dropping off in stats as much as he has.  Maybe we get a bit lucky and he finds new life in a MN Wild sweater.

[raithis]

1 hour ago, MNCountryLife said:

At only 33 years old, Tarasenko should not be dropping off in stats as much as he has.  Maybe we get a bit lucky and he finds new life in a MN Wild sweater.

This is what I'm hoping for too.

I had heard his father died a couple seasons back.  That could explain some of it.  And since he bounced around a bit, maybe he just never got settled or didn't play with players that complemented his abilities as much.  If he's been looking good in training camp, maybe something has clicked on place again for him.  Fingers crossed anyway.

I'm not expecting 30-40 goals out of him, but even 20-25 would help the Wild a ton.  There simply aren't that many players on the Wild who could be counted on for 50+ points let alone 40+.  If he can get in that territory and players like Ek can get back to it, that gives the team two lines that can score and some depth.

[raithis]

3 hours ago, Scalptrash said:

Is he Johansson 2.0? He very well could be. Hopefully he's good for more than 40 points. If not, it was an expensive experiment when Johansson could produce just as much for $800K.

Johansson's best asset is his skating.  In transition he seems like a good player, but as soon as he's in the offensive zone and things start getting right, he becomes a lot less effective and made it harder for the Wild to maintain possession of the puck once there.

If Tarasenko only produces 30ish points like Johansson, that doesn't necessarily mean they are equivalent.  If the Wild are able to maintain possession in the offensive zone for longer, it allows more opportunities to score regardless if those points end up attributed to Tarasenko.  That sounds good to me.  If it's north of 40 points, great.  I think the Wild only had 4 players above 40 points all last year.  

He's also the type of player that doesn't shy away from contact like Johansson would often do.

I don't think there is any doubt that Tarasenko is an improvement over Johanssen, but it remains to be seen just how much of an improvement he will be.

I'm looking forward to cheering for him and I hope he does well.

[MNCountryLife]

37 minutes ago, raithis said:

Johansson's best asset is his skating.  In transition he seems like a good player, but as soon as he's in the offensive zone and things start getting right, he becomes a lot less effective and made it harder for the Wild to maintain possession of the puck once there

I'm really hoping Johansson is in the press box.  You were spot on for his skating.  Most o-zone entries resulted in a lost possession.  Teams should track turnovers vs takeaways better.  

[MNCountryLife]

Trenin sure looks good in game highlights.  I also thought Yurov and Ohgren have done well.  Vinnie seemed to be in the right location and played fast.. but struggled to play fast well.  I think his experiment is over.  He is a press box fill in at best.  

[MNCountryLife]

I know it's a big leap from the A to the N.  When I watch the difference between NHLers vs Want-a-Be NHLer I seem to notice stick to stick passes are not as accuracte and players struggle playing quality hockey at such a fast pace.  Just not as precise.  A small part of it I'm sure....

[NoJoSux]

8 hours ago, Scalptrash said:

Is he Johansson 2.0? He very well could be. Hopefully he's good for more than 40 points. If not, it was an expensive experiment when Johansson could produce just as much for $800K.

It's not simply about numbers and production. NoJo is the most apathetic and weak player the Wild had last year. Easy to play against, no guts, would never fight or show any kind of emotion other than timid, meek, weenie-type, lazy, uninspired, zero-urgency hockey. 

Tarasenko is more of a competitor and a more skilled scorer. In the role NoJo was given for the last two seasons on the 2nd line wing, I would prefer Tarasenko without hesitation. NoJo should get the Goligoski treatment and be a practice squad guy til there's an injury cause he's toast. Limited 4th line fill in. 

[Up North Guy]

18 hours ago, NoJoSux said:

It's not simply about numbers and production. NoJo is the most apathetic and weak player the Wild had last year. Easy to play against, no guts, would never fight or show any kind of emotion other than timid, meek, weenie-type, lazy, uninspired, zero-urgency hockey. 

Tarasenko is more of a competitor and a more skilled scorer. In the role NoJo was given for the last two seasons on the 2nd line wing, I would prefer Tarasenko without hesitation. NoJo should get the Goligoski treatment and be a practice squad guy til there's an injury cause he's toast. Limited 4th line fill in. 

The enduring image of NoJo for me is his rush up the right side carrying into the o-zone just to give it away before the team could even do a line change. Yes, he is an NHL quality player, but no he is not a quality NHL player. I know, he is only making $800,000 this year and for that will be providing appropriate value.

[raithis]

23 hours ago, MNCountryLife said:

Trenin sure looks good in game highlights.  I also thought Yurov and Ohgren have done well.  Vinnie seemed to be in the right location and played fast.. but struggled to play fast well.  I think his experiment is over.  He is a press box fill in at best.  

Hinostrosza giving up on the winning play and coasting the rest of the way makes me never want to see him on the Minnesota Wild roster ever again.  He didn't even challenge the player he was right behind at all.  Yeah, you are in a bad position, but at least keep rushing in and don't give them all that time to make the play.  Put a stick in the way.  Something.  I know it's a preseason game, but half-assed efforts like that means you aren't making a case to be on a NHL team.

[Pewterschmidt]

4 minutes ago, raithis said:

Hinostrosza giving up on the winning play and coasting the rest of the way makes me never want to see him on the Minnesota Wild roster ever again.  He didn't even challenge the player he was right behind at all.  Yeah, you are in a bad position, but at least keep rushing in and don't give them all that time to make the play.  Put a stick in the way.  Something.  I know it's a preseason game, but half-assed efforts like that means you aren't making a case to be on a NHL team.

He was gassed from rushing the puck the length of the ice on the play before.  But yes it looked bad

Edited September 25 by Pewterschmidt