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-2 on the whole year isn't horrible, especially if there was a run of injuries that affected things. When Faber was merely eating minutes, to get us through games, that was useful too. Personally, I felt that the 4 nations tournament was too much for Faber with his responsibilities on the team. I thought he came back looking drained, more so than Boldy did. I do think Buium will help, but I still see a logjam at the position. I'd really like to see a Jiricek-Brodin pairing, and a Buium-Spurgeon pairing. That leaves Middleton-Faber as a pairing that has been successful in the past. I think with those pairings, you could probably just role the pairings and give them pretty much equal time. This will help Faber with his minutes and probably give him more in the tank as the season goes on. There is also the possibility Faber simply went through a sophomore slump and will be better next season. Remember, in '24, Midsy had a pretty bad +/-, but he rebounded this season.

I think he'd look good in a Blackhawks sweater. But knowing Billy he will deal him to his good friends the Pittsburgh Penguins for 3 used pucks and the office chair Billy used to have there because Billy really liked that chair.

One of the biggest failings from the team last year was lack of offense from Bogo, Merrill, and Chisholm. Playing mistake free or at least risk avoidant hockey is nice, but it comes at a price. What I saw out of Jiricek's limited minutes was a guy trying to be more than a "warm body.". Even at a young age, he was better than his defensive partner Dermott, who was the definition of waiver wire pickup. Chisholm also made far too many mistakes late in the season to trust him over giving Buium and Jiricek the nod. Something has to give. I don't think it is either Brodin nor Spurgeon just yet. Reminder, Suter holds the season record for Wild points by a defenseman (49). Bogo, Merrill, and Chisholm together accounted for 30-35. Lane Hutson of the Canadiens by HIMSELF in a rookie year got 60-65... If Buium and Jiricek together come anywhere close to Hutson's offensive impact, the Wild blueline suddenly feels a lot more dangerous.

Billy has never been good at driving the value up on assets he wants to sell. He ended up getting very good return on Fiala, but definitely did not help himself when he sewered Fiala in several press conferences and dropped him to third line at times. Rossi has been a masterclass in asset mismanagement. Whether you want him on the team or not, Billy should have been trying to drive up his value, not pigeon hole him on the 4th line and repeatedly, both explicitly and implicitly, broadcast how you don't want him. We've been desperate for centers for years and have developed a 60pt center that we now want nothing to do with. His playoffs weren't the best, despite him getting production out of the forth line. I believe it was a result of Rossi playing hurt which he admitted in the closing media availability even if it didn't require surgery. Either way, Billy decidedly burned his chance for a bridge deal. Hopefully Billy pulls some more Fiala magic out of his butt as I think this is the litmus test for BG as to whether he is the right guy or not moving forward. If he can swing JJ Petrka then i will be happy, even if he has to sweeten things with a prospect or pick. If we end up with picks out of Rossi, my pitchfork is coming out. #ThePitchforkIsReady

Exactly, WildNotMild. Guerin still has an offramp ahead of this muli-car pileup of his own creation and that is to tell Rossi's camp that he has not handled the situation well, offer Marco the $7M/7YR Boldy deal, and tell Rossi that he will work to build a better team around the core. A characteristic of true genius is knowing when you have made mistakes and correcting them.

Out of those, Peterka is the only one that really interests me. If we are trading Rossi, I'd want a young-ish player that has had some success in the NHL and still hasn't hit his ceiling - essentially a player that is much like Rossi is now. Of course, I'd want a deal already in place to sign Peterka as part of that. If he is willing, I could see that working. Yes, he's a winger and shoots left, but he's easily an upgrade over someone like Johansson and is a lot better (and has upside) compared to most of what we would find in free agency. There will be a bidding war for anyone comparable to him stats-wise or better on July 1. I'm less interested in picks or aging vets unless they are players with a lot of recent history of having 30+ goals a season and they seem like they still have a lot of gas in the tank. If they are on the decline, no thanks, we've traded for enough of those over the years while giving away young talent. Losing a center would hurt though. I know the team has indicated that they are going to give Yurov opportunities at center, which is fine, but I'd much rather have more true centers on the roster than wingers that can play center. I feel like we mostly have a bunch of wingers that can play center. If a team is going to have excess at any position, an excess of centers is better than anything else.

In fairness, in 2020 when we drafted, Faber had not played a game yet at the U. By the time the trade was made he had played two years there. A little easier to evaluate what he might be at that point.

If Hynes doesn't trust Rossi the optimal solution is to replace Hynes. Putting a young player lower in the lineup AFTER they struggle is normal. But Hynes never gave Rossi a chance. Maybe the weirdest coaching decision I've ever seen in 30 years of watching professional sports.

Ya you need to keep him if that's all you're asking or being offered. If he dumps him for a late first he needs to be fired.

Another fine piece of sports journalism, Tony. CS, agree completely on your assessment and would also add a lack of defense to a certain extent. Bogo OK, but Merrill and Chisholm caused my butt cheeks to clinch every minute they were on the ice.

Ottawa's goalie played an outstanding series. Without her there probably would have been no overtimes.

I'm still waiting to see what made Stramel a 1st rounder...

Just sold a motorcycle here. The market has been listing similar bikes at the $5-6k range. I listed mine at $3900. I had a full price, no haggling deposit within a few hours. Those other bikes? Still listed for sale and dropping their prices. I see writers for team constantly overvalue their assets. A trade proposal by one of the writers of Twins Daily was absolute lunacy. It's the same thing when people are selling their personal, treasures, if you will. If the Flyers are rejecting the Rossi deal, it should be clear Rossi is not worth what the writer thinks Rossi is worth. Here are the considerations. 1. Rossi will not sign a qualifying offer. A team acquiring Rossi must be willing to meet Rossi's contract demands or watch him walk for picks. 2. Rossi is demanding Boldy money, but there are major red flags in projecting him. So unless a team is willing to give Rossi a 7 year deal at about $50MM (which few teams probably are/can), Rossi will not be playing for the acquiring team, see item 1. So as valuable as Rossi is on the ice, right now, it appears the only way he's ever going to play on the ice for the acquiring team is if they're willing to pay him at 7yrs $50MM. Other GM's, contrary to popular belief, are not idiots waiting to be fleeced by the local teams' offers or looking to acquire players who will never actually see ice time.

I was one of those who wanted to keep Fiala and move Dumba. Billy got very defensive when the media pressed him on why he wouldn't move Dumba and keep Fiala. Dumba costs us keeping Alex Tuch who we are dreaming about how we can somehow get back and he costs us keeping Fiala. That being said by the time Fiala was actually traded it was clear Fiala wanted out as fast as Billy could slam the door in his ass. Billy is good at breaking relationships. He is doing the same thing with Rossi now. The Kings never would have sent Faber here if they knew what he was going to be. Billy had no clue either. Stroke of luck. Same with Gus. Gus was a complete unknown when Billy sent Talbot there in return for him. Billy would have taken a used skate sharpener if that's what Ottawa offered. After the St. Louis playoff debacle Talbot wanted out the door just like Fiala. See the theme? When you are the gum stuck on Billy's shoe you want out as bad as he wants you out. Rossi is now that piece of gum and every other GM in the league knows it.

Well, besides those... (sarcasm)

We got the worst end of the Fiala trade huh? Or the Greenway trade? Or the Kaapo trade? Or getting MAF for a 2nd? Or the Talbot trade?

Yawn. This is like when we bitched that he devalued Kevin Fiala in an interview too. And then all he did was turn him into a Brock Faber and win the trade outright. Ho hum. Maybe let's pump the brakes until we see the actual return??

He’sa bubble nhl’r. Always has been. His breakout year with Dean and his shootout skills has created a mirage that Fred is a competent nhl C. He’s defensively ‘responsible’ but not effective. Offensively impotent.

Reading a yahoo article about possible Rossi trades , they brought up some interesting analytics. Fred g is an was the worst analytics player in the entire playoffs . He did nothing offensively or defensively. The weakest player in the entire playoffs an yet he still was given more opportunities than Rossi . The idea a healthy wild team put him out there as 2 nd line center is a dereliction of duty . Billy cries about having his hand tied because of cap penalties yet keeps giving fred g opportunities. Fred g ties the teams hands with his sheepish play , wasted opportunities taken from others an a roster spot Rossi an others sit behind so he can be the worst analytical player in playoffs.. 3 more years of him and the wild making excuses for him. So I guess what does it matter what kappy signs for when Billy employs dead weight like Fred g. How can you be a contender when you can’t even evaluate your own players? Fred g needs to be gone to really believe the wild are serious about winning. If you want to build a contender. Start by getting rid of dead weight that has no value . 40 point fred half of which were empty netters a the other half against Chicago. Billy is a fraud.

Fixed it for you Tony.

Dach is older, more injury-prone, and has stunk out loud for two teams. No thx

Absolutely he'll need time in the A. Even a great season with MSU wouldn't prepare him to jump 2 leagues. I'll be happy he's got his confidence back.

Unprecedented quad post

People around the league know what Rossi is. His value isn’t going to change significantly based on where Geurin and Hynes decide to slot him in the lineup. The guys running these teams aren’t casual fans. They have years of data on Rossi. They can talk to former coaches on the Wild’s staff. He’s played internationally. There’s nothing to hide here. Rossi clearly isn’t viewed much differently than he is by Guerin if they can’t even get a late 1st rounder for him. The concerning thing to me is their judgment. No matter what they think of Rossi, he was one of their most effective offensive players. Slotting him in for 4th line minutes behind Hartman and Gaudreau is just a dumb decision. Not so much for his trade value, but giving the team the best chance to win. I’m not confident they won’t continue to make dumb moves going forward no matter how the Rossi trade situation shakes out.

Offensive totals and +/- by the defensemen this season. Spurgeon: 32, +8 Faber: 29, -2 (ick) Middleton: 21, +11 Brodin: 20, +10 Bogo: 16, -6 Chisholm: 12, -5 Merrill: 6, -8 I mean...Buium had to help, right?

That's an interesting thought, but I also don't know if Hlavaj has ever reached the level of play that Wallstedt has when he's been at his best. Prior to this season, Hlavaj's highest level of play, besides short international tournaments, was in the Czech league. Wallstedt had two seasons of high-level performance in the Swedish league as a teenager, and that league is a giant step above the Czech league. He also was mostly excellent in the AHL last season. All this to say that while Hlavaj had the better season this year, Wallstedt has the better track record, and also high a higher ceiling. BUT, if he does come in and outplay Wallstedt early next season, I don't doubt the org would seriously consider giving him a look if needed. A lot will hinge on whether they sign a veteran too, and on who that vet is.

I'll be contrary and say Hlavaj could have the inside track as Gus' backup in 25-26. He had a better season than the Wall, and he's two years older. Give the Wall a full year in Iowa to show he's capable of being a #1, and then move to Wall + Vaj as the tandem after Gus leaves as a FA or is traded. Or, swap Wall and Vaj and keep the same (Wall + Vaj) long-term plan.

Not intending to argue with you, B1GKappa97, but in 2020 when Faber was drafted by the Kings six picks after the Wild selected Ryan O'Rourke, and in 2022 when the Kings included Faber as part of the Fiala trade, no one knew what Faber would become. You make it sound like BG is a genius because we ended up with Faber and that is just not the case.

Guerin didn't create that cap-hell. Fletcher did. Guerin just had to make the most of it because he was the GM in charge at the end of the Parise/Suter contracts. Which we all knew would suck when we signed them in 2012. And despite having limited leverage, it looks like he knocked that assignment out of the park if you want to actually be objective about it.

75 hits is not a lot, is it? Rossi had 62. He's bigger, but half the assists of Rossi. Foerster did have an extra Empty Net goal above Rossi's goal total, and might be a better fit with Yurov, but I still think Rossi is the better player today and the same age.

For the love of god when is it fair to expect ONE of our defense man prospects to play their way into the lineup?

Rossi will be motivated when he plays us regardless of where he winds up I'm sure. Fiala makes Billy take another bite of the shit sandwich every time he plays us too.

I hope Billy is dumb enough to trade him to a Central team so we can watch Rossi torch the Wild on the reg.

Most of the team does that, so I think it may be a system issue. Even when it's 1v1 or 2v2 in the offensive zone and the rest of the players from both teams haven't gotten back yet, there's a tendency to hold up and wait for the rest of the team. Of course the other team is more likely to get back first, leading to turnovers or pressuring an ill-advised pass that causes the team to extend a lot of energy to maintain possession. I'd like to see everyone on the team attack more often in those situations. One of the few who does is Boldy, but it depends on whether he is in power forward or sniper mode for that game. Hynes needs to get him to toggle that switch over to power forward and glue it there. He's a lot more dangerous when he isn't standing still trying to be a sniper. Hartman is also good about this. He recognizes that space and open ice can be his ally. Players like Johansson, Nyquist, etc skate up the side and then just stop. If the skate any further it is around the back of the goal. The first thing they do is look to pass the puck away rather than to attack. We need people who are looking to attack at least 50% of the time there is an opportunity to do so.

You obviously have no idea how injury prone Thompson is..

The next big step in KK's development is seeing, sensing and feeling defensive pressure better and sooner and learning how to react to that pressure quicker. I think Kap is a fantastic player and one of the top 10 or 15 in the league. However, with the contract amount and term that he will sign for, I'd like to see him become a top five. I think Kirill's Achilles is letting one-on-ones become two and three-on-ones too often. He has terrific skating, puck handling and passing skills, but those skills are difficult to use when there are two or three NHL-level defenders on you. The lesson is that when you have two or three guys on you, there should be two or three of your guys open somewhere on the ice. Part of the problem could be that teammates are not moving and getting in a position to help relieve pressure on Kap. I can recall more than a few occasions when linemates get caught puck watching rather than moving when KK is on the move. Either way, Kaprizov and Co. need to learn how to deal with defensive pressure more effectively to get him to the next level. It may also increase his durability and longevity if he can take fewer hits.

If I never again see Chisholm throw picks out from behind the net and turn them over, I'm ok with that.

I'm still going with Florida now. Just for the chaos of it with all the people complaining about the tax breaks that the Panthers get. As far as Dallas, I hate the team, the organization, especially the fans. When you watch their home games you can cut the arrogance with a knife. Makes you want take a shower after you watch the game it is such a bad feeling. However, I do have to give them props in the fact that they find the diamonds every draft. Are able to trade for vast improvements in a already stacked lineup. They fire coaches and get better ones. Their GM doesn't want to fight reporters because the reports have no awkward questions for him because he is winning every organizational decision. Remember Stankoven who is still considered a rookie with over 100 games in to his career. He would be a star on the Wild's roster and they traded him away for an upgrade in Rantanen. There is some voodoo magic going on in that organization. I don't know if I would like if the Wild got the same voodoo magic or not. The whole, Minnesota has to do it our way or now way, mentality is always strong.

Rossi has to be willing to sign a bridge deal, and that's probably not happening. He can't count on the team playing him enough to raise his profile for a big payday.

Man Tony, I agree with us building the team like Dallas, but can’t for the life of me shake the Norm Green move to Dallas and the cup win a few years later. Plus the Cowboys Hail Mary win over the Vikings makes me hate all things Dallas. Edmonton is my hope.

Both Spurgeon and Brodin are fantastic players. However, Spurgeon's contract and age limit his window for a cup. Jiricek and Zeev are the future and need TOI.

I have the utmost respect for Jim Nill. His acumen makes Guerin look like a confused toddler. I also respect DeBoer, at least for his game prep and strategy. He's out coached several teams in recent playoff years. He does have a stocked cupboard to work with, however, so it would be interesting to see what he could get out of a mediocre team. Other than that, no, Dallas can suck it. Go Edmonton.

I think the bigger issue is replacing a 23yr old, who has yet to hit his ceiling, with another mid 30's guy who is bound to flame out in the next couple years. I would rather pay 7M to Rossi than Nelson. One of the biggest faults I can find in BG's tenure is he seems prone to hiring guys based on what they were, not what they could be. It is a fatal flaw to have in a GM.

I think Stramel would have to have a really great senior year at MSU to get added to the big club right off the bat. I think he will need some time in the A to get up to speed.

I hope Yurov and to a degree Liam O can bring cost effective skill. Mitch M’s upcoming contract will reset just how much $ skill players command with the cap rising. I have been watching Florida carefully, they have finishers all throughout their lineup but not necessarily flashy high cost players. Give me a couple of guys like that. Meanwhile I don’t see a lot of risk with adding players like Dach. Charlie S. Is one of the prospects I’m interested in seeing soon (2026). as well.

Agree, much more with M than B, though. Matthew is a very rare combination that you don't find often in hockey and I am trying to think of any current NHL'ers that are his equal. The closest the Wild have would be if Foligno and Ek merged into one and that still wouldn't match MT. Good post, mnfaninnc.

I'm thinking that's how Billy views it. His view is the only one that matters. Billy has not publicly bad mouthed Rossi like he did Fiala he has used more of a back handed approach. We need to get Ek some help on that line. Pretty obvious who he was talking about. And he has publicly said nothing to support Rossi. He's letting it be known he is on the block. When you don't see value in someone it's hard to get value in return. Billy is a lousy poker player.

No. Just no. Norm Green still sucks.

I'm still rooting for the Wild. I realize my chances aren't good. Don't care. Lol

Nice article, Tony, and some really good comparisons to what the Wild could become. No problem seeing the Stars win it all and watching Granlund, Dumba and Oerttinger celebrate. Modano, too, probably. For me there's just something sentimental about the Oilers and the Cup finding its way back to our friendly neighbors to the north. I'm in my 60's and loved watching Edmonton in their hay day. Nothing against the other three remaining teams, but it would be nice to see the Cup where there is snow and ice and cold.