Article: Bill Guerin Faces A New Kind of Pressure After Kirill Kaprizov's Contract

[Chris Schad]

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[FredJohnson]

[goenzoy]

People should be happy to have a face for the franchise even at the price of a huge overpay .

[Patrick]

BG is so easy to dislike.

[1Brotherbill]

If people look at the other major sports leagues they always pay the players.  Some of the contracts have a serious question mark to them but the team somehow makes things work.  

The big challenge is deciding on how much to pay Gus.  17 million for Kirill is vastly different than 8 million for Gus.  With Kirill you get a player that is one of the top players in the league when he is on the ice.  With Gus you get a goalie who is good and sometimes great and sometimes you wonder if he has ever played goalie before.  Goalies are everywhere.  The Wild have three potential number one goalies in the system.  Other teams have a similar treasure chest of goalies.  The draft has goalies every year.  I would be very cautious when you decide to sign Gus.

As far as the other players that are going to be coming off the rookie deals and Rossi as well.  If you let Spurgeon and Brodin go at the end of their deals you have a ton of money to sign the future replacements if needed. 

[Fezig]

 

With all the issues the Wild face this this season, I can confidently say this... so do a majority of the other teams in the NHL. This team has youth on it's side and enough above average players to make a serious run. Let's play hockey!

[mnfaninnc]

12 hours ago, 1Brotherbill said:

As far as the other players that are going to be coming off the rookie deals and Rossi as well.  If you let Spurgeon and Brodin go at the end of their deals you have a ton of money to sign the future replacements if needed. 

My suspicion is that Spurgy will retire soon, and Brodin will take a team friendly deal after this one.  I expect both to finish their careers in a Wild uniform, though, with Spurgeon, I could see him as part of a trade package this season. It won't be early, they will need Jiricek to prove he's ready and Spurgeon has a lot of value in mentoring the younger guys. 

[mnfaninnc]

This "New Kind Of Pressure" in the title is exactly why Guerin took this job. Now he has to go find 1-2 pieces that can put us over the top, and hope he's right about the kids.

Regardless of how this team starts, I think adding will be the way he goes and some of the young kids in Iowa may be sacrificed. It is important for Iowa to have a good year and bring value to these kids. 

Guerin will likely target teams who have started poorly and may have guys available in December. I'd also keep an eye on Detroit. I think there is a match there. CBJ also has what we could use. 

[M_Nels]

4 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

CBJ also has what we could use.

Bringing Daemon Hunt back? 😉

Who you thinking from them?

[Pewterschmidt]

1 minute ago, M_Nels said:

Bringing Daemon Hunt back? 😉

Who you thinking from them?

Hunt has been waived by CBJ

[0 Stanley Cups]

59 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

Bringing Daemon Hunt back? 😉

Who you thinking from them?

If BG brings back Charlie Coyle (whom he loves), then color me unimpressed

[Willy the poor boy]

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

This "New Kind Of Pressure" in the title is exactly why Guerin took this job. Now he has to go find 1-2 pieces that can put us over the top, and hope he's right about the kids.

Regardless of how this team starts, I think adding will be the way he goes and some of the young kids in Iowa may be sacrificed. It is important for Iowa to have a good year and bring value to these kids. 

Guerin will likely target teams who have started poorly and may have guys available in December. I'd also keep an eye on Detroit. I think there is a match there. CBJ also has what we could use. 

BG will never outfox DE...

[Imyourhuckleberry]

If Johansson is as good defensively as some statistics say he is, and at least 1 article here suggested, then he should be on the 4th line with Trenin and Sturm. That could be a useful shut down line for the Wild that also has good speed to get the puck up the ice quickly for counter attacks or line changes.

I don't truly trust Johansson defensively, but I might appreciate him more in a 4th line role if those three guys could defend at a high level.

[MNCountryLife]

20 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

If Johansson is as good defensively as some statistics say he is, and at least 1 article here suggested, then he should be on the 4th line with Trenin and Sturm. That could be a useful shut down line for the Wild that also has good speed to get the puck up the ice quickly for counter attacks or line changes.

I don't truly trust Johansson defensively, but I might appreciate him more in a 4th line role if those three guys could defend at a high level.

Johansson has been on the 2nd line playing against the opposing teams 3rd and 4th lines. Just a guess...I haven't done any research.  But it sure feels that way when I watched last year.  The 2nd line seemed to rarely match up against the opposing teams scoring lines.  Yet it seemed like we were in our zone all game when he was on the ice.

What angers me most about Johansson is that I think he has the ability to play way better than he does.  The guy clearly has skill and speed.  But when a puck is sent around the boards I will see his head turn, then a slight delay... then he turns and goes after the puck.  That hesitation is the difference between puck possession and NOT.  The guy next to him will churn the feet first and beat him to the puck.  Even when he is closer.  That drives me nuts.

[M_Nels]

4 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Hunt has been waived by CBJ

Claimed by the Wild. HA!

Wonder what their plan is with him now? Zeev and/or Jiricek to the minors?? Or perpetual scratch?

Johnson not in the lineup tonight so looks highly unlikely he's going to be signed off his PTO.

[0 Stanley Cups]

15 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

Claimed by the Wild. HA!

Wonder what their plan is with him now? Zeev and/or Jiricek to the minors?? Or perpetual scratch?

Johnson not in the lineup tonight so looks highly unlikely he's going to be signed off his PTO.

Hoping they would claim Hunt off waivers!!

[Pewterschmidt]

45 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

Claimed by the Wild. HA!

Wonder what their plan is with him now? Zeev and/or Jiricek to the minors?? Or perpetual scratch?

Johnson not in the lineup tonight so looks highly unlikely he's going to be signed off his PTO.

IA depth is my guess

[M_Nels]

7 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

IA depth is my guess

My understanding is he would have to clear waivers again to be able to be sent down. Do Wild risk putting him on the wire again or do they have him slotted as the starting 3rd LHD or 7th D??

[mnfaninnc]

5 hours ago, M_Nels said:

Who you thinking from them?

Voronkov and Marchenko. 

[mnfaninnc]

4 hours ago, Willy the poor boy said:

BG will never outfox DE..

I'm not looking for him to outfox anyone. I'm looking at him to trade for what we need from a team that may be struggling. We give up futures for now. The 2 guys above are the guys I'd be looking to acquire. If there's a way to collect Cayden Lindstrom with them, I'd be all in!!!

Since Daemon Hunt is on waivers, that might be a solid waiver pickup, and I would believe Hunt is ahead of what Johnson can provide. It would be a tough blow for Lambos, who I think is ready, but, that's the way it goes sometimes. 

[Pewterschmidt]

26 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

My understanding is he would have to clear waivers again to be able to be sent down. Do Wild risk putting him on the wire again or do they have him slotted as the starting 3rd LHD or 7th D??

I'm not hating on Huntzy, but this guy couldn't make the CBJ roster.  Are there many suitors for this kid.  Maybe the reasoning is that Jiri can be sent down w/o waivers so give Hunt the spot as 7th....

Send him to Iowa and risk it is what I'd say

[mnfaninnc]

I think it's insurance against Brodin not quite being ready. Hunt knows the system and can serve as #7 or #8 D. Could Bogosian be on the move?

[Pewterschmidt]

1 minute ago, mnfaninnc said:

I think it's insurance against Brodin not quite being ready. Hunt knows the system and can serve as #7 or #8 D. Could Bogosian be on the move?

I'm gonna guess Jiri gets sent down after tonights game (not that he should).  He doesn't need to go thru waivers correct?  Wouldn't mind cutting Bogo loose and going full youth movement, but that's not Hynzy/bill's MO.

[mnfaninnc]

13 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I'm gonna guess Jiri gets sent down after tonights game (not that he should).  He doesn't need to go thru waivers correct?  Wouldn't mind cutting Bogo loose and going full youth movement, but that's not Hynzy/bill's MO.

The reason we were able to get Bogosian was because we had a 3rd pairing opening. I would like to see Jiricek on that 3rd pairing. That would put Bogosian as 7th D, a role he didn't particularly like in Tampa. 

I believe that Bogosian has played well enough to have both Hynes and Guerin talk to him about the role, and that he can be honest and ask if there are any other 3rd pairing roles around the league that he could fill. Of course, injuries happen too and his 7th D could be rather short lived. He's nearing the end of his career, and he may rather play than eat nachos, so, Guerin has always been a guy who would accommodate such a move. 

One nice thing about Hunt is he can play either side. And with a young defense, I have no problems sitting a guy down for a game to watch as he learns. 

Welcome back Daemon!

[1Brotherbill]

On 10/3/2025 at 8:33 AM, mnfaninnc said:

My suspicion is that Spurgy will retire soon, and Brodin will take a team friendly deal after this one.  I expect both to finish their careers in a Wild uniform, though, with Spurgeon, I could see him as part of a trade package this season. It won't be early, they will need Jiricek to prove he's ready and Spurgeon has a lot of value in mentoring the younger guys. 

Spurgeon is a great dude and a good defensive defenseman but his offense is not that great.  He does all the little things well but the things that the Wild need him to do are not part of his game.  At this point his value is way below his contract price.