Article: Zeev Buium Is the Unicorn the Wild Have Never Had

[Neil Urbanski]

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[Scalptrash]

Brent Burns could have been considered a unicorn the Wild had never had. Had the Wild kept him, he was very elite in his prime. He's still better than average, even at 40 years old. He's played all 82 games the last four seasons and has averaged 46 points per season over that stretch.

[Mateo3xm]

1 hour ago, Scalptrash said:

Brent Burns could have been considered a unicorn the Wild had never had. Had the Wild kept him, he was very elite in his prime. He's still better than average, even at 40 years old. He's played all 82 games the last four seasons and has averaged 46 points per season over that stretch.

I was going to say the same thing. Idk if he was elite when we had him but he was definitely on his way to being elite.

[Sam]

1 hour ago, Scalptrash said:

Brent Burns could have been considered a unicorn the Wild had never had. Had the Wild kept him, he was very elite in his prime. He's still better than average, even at 40 years old. He's played all 82 games the last four seasons and has averaged 46 points per season over that stretch.

You’re comparing Brent Burns to thee Zeev Buium, the phenomenal NCAA player? 

Edited October 9 by Sam

[Imyourhuckleberry]

1 hour ago, Scalptrash said:

Brent Burns could have been considered a unicorn the Wild had never had.

Yeah, probably should have been, but the Wild couldn't figure out how best to deploy him back when he was developing. He was a decent forward, and not a lock down defender. Obviously, his defense got better and his offensive skills developed to a greater extent as he got more experience and ice time.

The Wild got a 1st round pick and Charlie Coyle from that trade.

Players taken in 2011 after that 28th pick in the 1st round include:

Nikita Kucherov

Brandon Saad

William Karlsson

Rickard Rakell

Vincent Trocheck

and the late Johnny Gaudreau.

A few of those guys were even taken after the Wild made their 2nd round pick. The Wild landed Brodin early in the 1st, but their next 2 picks were Zack Phillips(with that 1st received in the trade) and Mario Lucia, neither of which played an NHL game.

Anyway, thankfully the Wild now have a defenseman of that ilk who can help increase the goals for, ideally without increasing the goals against.

[0 Stanley Cups]

Burns was terrible in his first few seasons with the Wild as a forward, much better once he moved back to defense.  Apparently he wanted a ridiculous contract with the Wild, so the Wild never would have been able to sign Parise & Suter if they would've signed Burns.

[Pewterschmidt]

59 minutes ago, 0 Stanley Cups said:

Burns was terrible in his first few seasons with the Wild as a forward, much better once he moved back to defense.  Apparently he wanted a ridiculous contract with the Wild, so the Wild never would have been able to sign Parise & Suter if they would've signed Burns.

Agree with this take.  He was still a comedy of errors in his final year with us. Over committing, over aggressive, errant passes.  He became all-world after he left MN. 

[FredJohnson]

Booey-um?
 

[FredJohnson]

1 hour ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Agree with this take.  He was still a comedy of errors in his final year with us. Over committing, over aggressive, errant passes.  He became all-world after he left MN. 

Sad but true.

[1Brotherbill]

9 hours ago, Scalptrash said:

Brent Burns could have been considered a unicorn the Wild had never had. Had the Wild kept him, he was very elite in his prime. He's still better than average, even at 40 years old. He's played all 82 games the last four seasons and has averaged 46 points per season over that stretch.

Even after playing over a 1000 games he is not considered a good defenseman.  He can score and does things that no defenseman would normally do.  Which is probably why he scores a lot.  But as a good solid defenseman he was not that good.  

Which is ironic when Buium is brought up because everyone says he isn't ready to be a defenseman in the league that he will be a defensive liability.  I think Buium is a better defenseman than Burns as far as how he plays.  I also think he is a better offensive talent as well.

People just need to relax on the comparison of Buium to seasoned vets. 

[Kato AK]

16 hours ago, 1Brotherbill said:

Even after playing over a 1000 games he is not considered a good defenseman.  He can score and does things that no defenseman would normally do.  Which is probably why he scores a lot.  But as a good solid defenseman he was not that good.  

Which is ironic when Buium is brought up because everyone says he isn't ready to be a defenseman in the league that he will be a defensive liability.  I think Buium is a better defenseman than Burns as far as how he plays.  I also think he is a better offensive talent as well.

People just need to relax on the comparison of Buium to seasoned vets. 

Whole heartedly agree with this. Burns was not good defensively at all. When he was in SJS and paired with Karlsson, they were one of the worst defensive pairs in the league and would get walked through like a sieve.

And Buium's defense seems to be underrated constantly. He was always one of the best defenders on USA teams and when he won the NCAA ship in 2024, he shut down the top BC line with Leonard, Gauthier, and Perrault. He should hold his own on the Wild.