Article: Could the Wild Be In On Quinn Hughes Sweepstakes?

[Thomas Williams]

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[Pewterschmidt]

If Wild spend anymore capital on d-men during the Guerin/judd regime it will be an outright admission of failure on their talent acquisition efforts to date. 

[OldDutchChip]

We can take him for Jiri Vlady Spurgy 1st pick and Audra? 

[mnfaninnc]

The ask is a top center & top 4 defender with top 2 potential & 1st round pick & another pick.

So, in this equation, I think Vancouver is targeting the 1st rounder to be '26, and we lose Rossi + Buium. Even with an 8 year contract extension in hand, I think we do better having someone else pay the ransom. 

I'll admit, Hughes is a name I know mostly just by name. I haven't seen a lot of him in action. I know he gains most of his notoriety from points, but how is his defensive game, you know, the thing we hang our hat on? And, how good can Buium get? In a couple of short years, could we already have a Hughes in house? 

With this, we should discuss now and future. While I have been saying that we need to be switching our focus from future to now, I think we are still having to acclimate the kids for now before going all in. I guess it's not a hard focus switch, it's more of a transition. 

Hughes is still very young, but I'd also like to bring up a comparative case that we should learn from. In the offseason, San Jose brought in the highly offensive production of Eric Karlsson who was supposed to be their missing piece. They already had offensively talented Brent Burns who could run their PP. Having both players didn't seem to mesh and the team was no better, possibly worse for the trade. The pick they gave away was a top 5 pick. It was a disaster. 

Pittsburgh then gave a lot to get Karlsson, but had in house Kris Letang. Again, Pittsburgh looked for the missing piece, and, again, they weren't making playoff appearances. There is no doubt that Karlsson is a terrific player, but he is weak defensively and his teams winning haven't been the hallmark of his career. 

Vancouver has had a lot of problems, but with Quinn Hughes, I think they've had 1 good year. Can he play defense? Is he strong in that area? Or, is he another Eric Karlsson type with a ton of offense and Addison style defense? If this were the case, I do not think he is right for the Wild. 

[MNCountryLife]

We need another Sniper on the team.  Someone that can score and play a 200 foot game that works within the guidelines of what the MN Wild are.  

[Will D. Ness]

IMO our problems:

#1 Tarasenko cannot maintain the puck offensively and is so slow and passive defensively.  Total liability.

#2 Injuries are exposing our lack of depth

#3 Nojo's early season heroics are slipping away towards the Nojo we all know

#4 Zeev not getting PP1 time (I like him paired with Bogo oddly enough)

Why would we spend any capital on defense, when defense is our strength?

[MNCountryLife]

Patience for prospects to develop is difficult.  Especially when you don't know if they will actually pan out or not.

[OldDutchChip]

2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

The ask is a top center & top 4 defender with top 2 potential & 1st round pick & another pick.

So, in this equation, I think Vancouver is targeting the 1st rounder to be '26, and we lose Rossi + Buium. Even with an 8 year contract extension in hand, I think we do better having someone else pay the ransom. 

I'll admit, Hughes is a name I know mostly just by name. I haven't seen a lot of him in action. I know he gains most of his notoriety from points, but how is his defensive game, you know, the thing we hang our hat on? And, how good can Buium get? In a couple of short years, could we already have a Hughes in house? 

With this, we should discuss now and future. While I have been saying that we need to be switching our focus from future to now, I think we are still having to acclimate the kids for now before going all in. I guess it's not a hard focus switch, it's more of a transition. 

Hughes is still very young, but I'd also like to bring up a comparative case that we should learn from. In the offseason, San Jose brought in the highly offensive production of Eric Karlsson who was supposed to be their missing piece. They already had offensively talented Brent Burns who could run their PP. Having both players didn't seem to mesh and the team was no better, possibly worse for the trade. The pick they gave away was a top 5 pick. It was a disaster. 

Pittsburgh then gave a lot to get Karlsson, but had in house Kris Letang. Again, Pittsburgh looked for the missing piece, and, again, they weren't making playoff appearances. There is no doubt that Karlsson is a terrific player, but he is weak defensively and his teams winning haven't been the hallmark of his career. 

Vancouver has had a lot of problems, but with Quinn Hughes, I think they've had 1 good year. Can he play defense? Is he strong in that area? Or, is he another Eric Karlsson type with a ton of offense and Addison style defense? If this were the case, I do not think he is right for the Wild. 

If all it costs us is Buium, Rossi and a first (assuming Hughes ok's an extension) then you have to jump on it. Hughes is about as close to Makar, if not better. He has no one close to what Avs has and still delivers. Doubt that will happen. 

[0 Stanley Cups]

At first I thought Vancouver offered the Wild Aatu Raty, Arturs Silovs, and 2025 15th pick for Marco Rossi, and the Wild smartly turned it down. 

Turns out it was the other way around and the Wild offered Rossi for that return and Vancouver declined, yikes Billy...

[0 Stanley Cups]

1 hour ago, OldDutchChip said:

If all it costs us is Buium, Rossi and a first (assuming Hughes ok's an extension) then you have to jump on it. Hughes is about as close to Makar, if not better. He has no one close to what Avs has and still delivers. Doubt that will happen. 

Q Hughes can't sign an extension yet

[Kato AK]

1 hour ago, 0 Stanley Cups said:

Q Hughes can't sign an extension yet

You can still ask the player if they would consider signing an extension when the time comes. If he says no, its obvious that he is going to NJ.

[ColoradoWildFan]

4 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

If all it costs us is Buium, Rossi and a first (assuming Hughes ok's an extension) then you have to jump on it. Hughes is about as close to Makar, if not better. He has no one close to what Avs has and still delivers. Doubt that will happen. 

Maybe I'm biased living in Colorado, but I didn't have Hughes and Makar in the same class. I don't recall ever hearing about Hughes in his games against the Wild. That said, I did some internet research, and they are closer than I thought.

[Scalptrash]

Sure Billy, blow your load on another D man. The need, as it has been for 25 years, is a true 1A center and higher quality top 6. Thank God the defense and goaltending is as good as it is, but scorers should be the priority for at least the next two-three years.

[OldDutchChip]

31 minutes ago, Scalptrash said:

Sure Billy, blow your load on another D man. The need, as it has been for 25 years, is a true 1A center and higher quality top 6. Thank God the defense and goaltending is as good as it is, but scorers should be the priority for at least the next two-three years.

Stop complaining already

QH brings a 90 pt floor production from D spot - he is in the same tier as Makar 

if Wild are lucky and he comes in and commits - that would be amazing 

but otherwise - we whooped Dallas

- without bunch of people!

- Vlady actually showed up

- And Dallas may have lost Roope…

[Scalptrash]

39 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

Stop complaining already

QH brings a 90 pt floor production from D spot - he is in the same tier as Makar 

if Wild are lucky and he comes in and commits - that would be amazing 

but otherwise - we whooped Dallas

- without bunch of people!

- Vlady actually showed up

- And Dallas may have lost Roope…

Ok, let's pretend like this is even a remote possibility. They will have to give up the farm and then pay him Kaprizov money. What's left after they do that and what kind of team do they have?

Also, stating what the team needs is not complaining, it's reality, but I know how most of you prefer status quo.

[OldDutchChip]

30 minutes ago, Scalptrash said:

Ok, let's pretend like this is even a remote possibility. They will have to give up the farm and then pay him Kaprizov money. What's left after they do that and what kind of team do they have?

Also, stating what the team needs is not complaining, it's reality, but I know how most of you prefer status quo.

QH is on the same timeline as Boldy and Kap You do not wait for prospect to mature but instead open your window to win  now

He is a game changer and would make our team arguably better than Colorado’s 

Kap - Boldy - Hughes

McKinnon - Necas - Makar

paying him in two years with Cap increases is also fine, given that Spurge will expire at the same time (as will Harty)

[mnfaninnc]

21 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

If all it costs us is Buium, Rossi and a first (assuming Hughes ok's an extension) then you have to jump on it. Hughes is about as close to Makar, if not better. He has no one close to what Avs has and still delivers. Doubt that will happen. 

ODC, this still doesn't answer the question of whether or not Hughes can play defense? We still don't know what to do with Buium's offense, what gives you any confidence we'll know what to do with Hughes?

Trading out Rossi would leave an open spot for Yurov to take. He's probably a couple of years behind Rossi as far as development. Maybe I just need to watch more of Hughes' game, but I've quit drooling over statistics. The only upside I see, if the 8 year extension is in place, is that Hughes has developed and is ready now, whereas a guy like Buium is still improving. 

But, does it move the needle towards this year? This is where I think it does not. These 5 rookies need to grow together, we cannot escape the acclimation period, it is a necessary step.

[Scalptrash]

9 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

ODC, this still doesn't answer the question of whether or not Hughes can play defense? We still don't know what to do with Buium's offense, what gives you any confidence we'll know what to do with Hughes?

Trading out Rossi would leave an open spot for Yurov to take. He's probably a couple of years behind Rossi as far as development. Maybe I just need to watch more of Hughes' game, but I've quit drooling over statistics. The only upside I see, if the 8 year extension is in place, is that Hughes has developed and is ready now, whereas a guy like Buium is still improving. 

But, does it move the needle towards this year? This is where I think it does not. These 5 rookies need to grow together, we cannot escape the acclimation period, it is a necessary step.

From this small sample size, it looks like he peaked two years ago (+/-). Definitely trending in the wrong direction, but Vancouver is pretty bad this year.

[Scalptrash]

28 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

QH is on the same timeline as Boldy and Kap You do not wait for prospect to mature but instead open your window to win  now

He is a game changer and would make our team arguably better than Colorado’s 

Kap - Boldy - Hughes

McKinnon - Necas - Makar

paying him in two years with Cap increases is also fine, given that Spurge will expire at the same time (as will Harty)

The Wild/Hynes wouldn't know how to utilize him. They play a different system in Vancouver and he would not produce the same in MN. Remember, defense first here because the Wild don't have any FORWARD depth. You're still ignoring the biggest need.

Totally disagree about Colorado as well. I would take McKinnon-Necas-Makar every day over that MN fantasy line. Of course they would be handcuffed in the Wild's system as well, so it will never be an apples to apples comparison.

[OldDutchChip]

23 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

ODC, this still doesn't answer the question of whether or not Hughes can play defense? We still don't know what to do with Buium's offense, what gives you any confidence we'll know what to do with Hughes?

Trading out Rossi would leave an open spot for Yurov to take. He's probably a couple of years behind Rossi as far as development. Maybe I just need to watch more of Hughes' game, but I've quit drooling over statistics. The only upside I see, if the 8 year extension is in place, is that Hughes has developed and is ready now, whereas a guy like Buium is still improving. 

But, does it move the needle towards this year? This is where I think it does not. These 5 rookies need to grow together, we cannot escape the acclimation period, it is a necessary step.

Can he play Defense? Hmm can Makar play Defense? 

I think he is solid enough and doesn’t make to many mistakes but his game is elite now

thats the point here - he brings in another Tier1 player on Kaps timeline

this is a chance to jump up into contend now status

yes the cost is high (Rossi + Zeev) but your floor is a SC contender with Hughes

without - still a struggle to get out of R1

although I am hopeful 😎

[OldDutchChip]

6 minutes ago, Scalptrash said:

The Wild/Hynes wouldn't know how to utilize him. They play a different system in Vancouver and he would not produce the same in MN. Remember, defense first here because the Wild don't have any FORWARD depth. You're still ignoring the biggest need.

Totally disagree about Colorado as well. I would take McKinnon-Necas-Makar every day over that MN fantasy line. Of course they would be handcuffed in the Wild's system as well, so it will never be an apples to apples comparison.

You need to stop sorry about biggest needs and go with best skills available

thats how you win - skill over “best fits” (that’s how we got Stramel!)

I think Quinn Hughes gives us a better chance to win in the next five years vs Tuch or ROR or Kyrou or whatever Winger we can get

At the very least - his elite offensive skill would be perfect for our struggling PP….

[mnfaninnc]

4 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

yes the cost is high (Rossi + Zeev) but your floor is a SC contender with Hughes

without - still a struggle to get out of R1

I'm not so sure that subtracting Rossi and Zeev does that. I'm seeing a lot of improvement out of Zeev, Yurov, and The Wall has returned to steadiness. Even Oghren has improved, and Hunt makes it look like CBJ didn't know how to use him. 

Jiricek is the only one that hasn't really been doing this. I don't think his stock is sunk yet, I think he had a lot of bad habits that had to be broken before they could rebuild him. He's got to learn to see the game differently, and have the easy plays ahead of him be instinctive. He has the tools, he just needs to put them together better. I will agree, however, that his skating needs a lot more improvement, and that's the foundation of everything else.

I think Kap's timeline, and certainly Boldy's is still really good a couple of seasons from now. When you look at the team, it's hard to see that we've had turnover of about 7 players or a 3rd of the roster. That takes time to solidify, and it is getting better each game. 

[mnfaninnc]

3 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

At the very least - his elite offensive skill would be perfect for our struggling PP….

This team will not be successful in going skill over fit. Something is missing on our PP, but it isn't skill. It's like some guys are being held back with their skill to make sure they're true to a "system." The PP is always about skill, not the system. This is where the players need to be unleashed, just so long as they're on the same page.

[OldDutchChip]

6 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I'm not so sure that subtracting Rossi and Zeev does that. I'm seeing a lot of improvement out of Zeev, Yurov, and The Wall has returned to steadiness. Even Oghren has improved, and Hunt makes it look like CBJ didn't know how to use him. 

Jiricek is the only one that hasn't really been doing this. I don't think his stock is sunk yet, I think he had a lot of bad habits that had to be broken before they could rebuild him. He's got to learn to see the game differently, and have the easy plays ahead of him be instinctive. He has the tools, he just needs to put them together better. I will agree, however, that his skating needs a lot more improvement, and that's the foundation of everything else.

I think Kap's timeline, and certainly Boldy's is still really good a couple of seasons from now. When you look at the team, it's hard to see that we've had turnover of about 7 players or a 3rd of the roster. That takes time to solidify, and it is getting better each game. 

Right so Kap and Boldy and Ek are in their peaks for about 5-6 more years

Same for Hughes

I’d go all in and get the most chances possible to win on that timeline

thus kids who are not yet ready are sacrificed for proven stars to deliver now

You could also still get ROR in addition to Hughes (Ohgren and 3rd?)

[Pewterschmidt]

The Jiri Project™️ has been recalled