Leaderboard

This is the part of this post I'll agree with. I'm sure Leo & bill wish they'd begun their offer at $13M and worked their way up to $14-$15M. Still making him highest paid player in league. Starting at $16M looks dumb now.

Ek's first full NHL season was 75 games with six goals, ten assists. Yurov instead of NoJo cannot be understated in terms of the overall way-betterness. Let's hope he and Trenin can play together and have great chemistry for a couple years til Yurov is established as an NHL guy.

I thought he looked pretty good the other night against the Jets, other than the blooper turn over the led to a goal. Now if that's happening every game, then I'm concerned and he should be sent down to Iowa, but we have to give these kids a longer leash to play through mistakes and learn. Offensively he made some nice pinches and plays to keep the offense alive, if he's paired with a defensive defenseman like Brodin, just like Spurg and Buium will likely be paired together, that's a great complimentary partner. Would also help Brodin stay healthy playing less minutes, and balance all three pairs time on ice.

Let's wait a month or two, or even a year or two, before making these kinds of assessments. He has yet to play a regular season game...

Last time the Wild advanced far in the playoffs, they had Roloson and Fernandez, who both posted at least 3 wins and 7 starts in the playoffs, after both exceeded a .920 save percentage in the regular season. Definitely best to have more than 1 goalie you can count on to win big games.

This is the part that I find very interesting. Capflation is difficult to get used to, but Tony put it in pretty good terms. So, in the year after, when the cap goes up again, I suspect that $6.8m is the new $5m in '27. It's a bit of an overpay in year 1, but after that, it appears that Goose will give us some real value in the position. Thanks, Tony, I've changed my stance on the contract.

I call your Dean and raise you a scalptrash or a mnhockeyfan03

It's not so much if Pewter is on board. If Dean goes positive, then he'll froze over.

I’ve also liked what I’ve seen from jiri. He’s making his fair share of Declan Chisolm blunders but his size +dawg+offensive instincts make the growing pains easier to endure. He could become a big nasty offensive dman someday

Are the Wild a better team now than the previous regime? I would say yes, because they have a higher ceiling with Kap and Boldy than Parise and Suter. The "young core" back then had bright spots like Granlund and Brodin/Dumba, but I can't say any of them elevated the team by themselves. I think Guerin has work to do. He gave up a few high draft picks for Jiricek and Nyquist, but he hasn't thrown them ALL away. He still gave the team several first rounders now and later to either backfill the depth or send away IF things are available. Top line guys and even pure 2nd line scorers don't grow on trees. Fletcher was convinced the Parise/Suter team was ready. All he ever did was send away high draft picks for 4th liners. Guerin is hedging his bets that they are, while keeping options open. With Kap, they have a much better chance to at least draw other players to play here. Kap leaving or even getting a 2nd liner in return would have been a death knell to any options.

Oh dear. The article invoked Mojo's name. Someone get the crosses, salt, and rosaries. Anyway If it takes time, it takes time. With nearly all the higher end guys staying with their teams, it is becoming less and less likely to just find a trade or free agency partner. You got a work with the players you grabbed. I'm just happy Yurov wasn't a man on an island. Rossi re-signed, so Yurov can work on bottom lines. For all we know, that's his ceiling. No sense forcing him to be what he clearly isn't right now.

Haight in over Yurov for the Blues game. Based on what I saw in preseason, I think this is the right move. Was really hoping Yurov would have been stronger out of the gate but at least it sounds like he's making strides.

No, just no. Over ten years in the league, 22 goals as a high water mark. I am sure he is a grit guy, but why not have cap space for the deadline? If Guerin signs him he should be fired immediately but I think he will sign him to a 3 year, no-move deal.

Sorry guys.. The cold truth is that this signing makes Kirill look greedy. Smart move by McDavid. His endorsements will jump. All of Canada will love him for this...and he increased his odds of putting his name on the Cup.

Gustavsson is an above average NHL goalie--top 10 in save percentage two of the last 3 seasons. Wallstedt hasn't proven himself yet and he will be a restricted free agent, so Guerin can likely keep him around under a favorable deal for a few years and figure things out later. The cap could be over $120M in a few years and they might be able to afford any guys they need. I don't think Guerin has signed a long-term deal that has been truly bad yet. People complained about the Gaudreau deal, but he scored 18+ goals 2 of the last three seasons and he was able to trade him for a 4th round pick. Trenin wasn't an incredible signing, but he does have a physical presence and I think he'll prove to be useful on both ends of the ice this season. Guerin has watched Gus develop into a professional since trading for him, and I assume he came to camp looking as good as he ever has. The Wild could be well positioned to make a run in these next few seasons, while Boldy, Eriksson Ek, and Rossi are on extremely good deals. Per Puckpedia, the Wild project to have around $20M of contract value they could bring in at the trade deadline, so along with growth from their youth, the team they take to the playoffs could be more talented than the one that starts the season.

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.

2-3 new defensemen. New backup goalie. Minimum of 4 new forwards. Doesn't sound like the same old team to me. Rossi also worked out a ton in the offseason and might have more to offer. Trenin is likely faster and has a better understanding of his role. Health will be key, but the Wild have a chance to be better than last year. The guys gone are Fleury, Merrill, Chisholm, Gaudreau, Brazeau/Khusnutdinov, and Nyquist. There are reasons to believe that Wallstedt, Buium, Jiricek, Tarasenko, Sturm, Yurov, and Ohgren might be able to deliver more than the guys they are replacing. Johansson is likely replaced in the lineup by Tarasenko, but will probably have a role until Zuccarello returns. Haight & Hinostroza could prove to be solid fill-ins for guys who miss time, and same could be said for Lambos. If they have multiple top line forwards missing time again, I would agree that they will struggle, that's the key to your concern about doing things the same...the Wild were leading the league in points in December when they were healthy. That doesn't sound awful to me, so hopefully they can have better health once Brodin and Zuccarello are back from their injuries. Boldy and Rossi could take steps forward in their development, and maybe Buium and Jiricek can prove to be better than Merrill and Chisholm by the time 2026 rolls around. I know they'll have some rookie moments, but if we can see growth from the youth, maybe their compete level for the playoffs jumps to new levels.

If this team goes anywhere in the playoffs it will be because the young guys under 25 of Boldy, Rossi, Yurov, Ohgren, Faber, Buium and Jiricek are bringing it. For that reason alone I would like to see big minutes for all of those guys this year.

Hey, if you are in Iowa any chance you can keep the rest of us updated on the guys down there? We used to have a guy who followed the Baby Wild closely but he has moved on. I, for one, would greatly appreciate it and I am sure there are many others who would agree!

Buium really shines in PP and 4-on-4 situations. Give this man any open lanes, it's almost like watching what Kap used to do along the boards. He just separated himself from people with ease. The issue is going to finding out when and where to do that. I do think he understands that more than Jiricek does. That or he at least has speed and agility to cheat and make up for his mistakes more often.

I love this part of Buium's game. He feels like he can do anything regardless of the circumstance. Then the competition will gradually teach him what he can/can't do. Fiala had this mindset too. This is the opposite of what's going on in Ogzy's head right now.

Excellent Buium article in The Athletic today. Here are 2 excerpts: Faber had some really nice things to say about Buium, but the next part was talking about Buium's playoff experience:

I don't see any reason why they cannot be a good battery for 5 years. The Wall isn't going to take away starts from Goose for at least 2 more seasons. If he does take some away, Goose is just more rested. The Wall isn't getting paid top dollar in his next deal. They can co-exist. In fact, they should thrive together.

No. Gustavsson had to be resigned. Were they going to let him walk, or be distracted all season? He's the better goaltender right now, so why wouldn't they commit to him? Like every player trying to make the team, go ahead and take their spot. It's up to Wally.

Careful being so positive around here.

I'm not at all surprised that McDavid took less money than Kaprizov, but I was quite shocked to see it was below $14M, keeping him as only the 2nd highest paid on his own team. McDavid's team has been close though, and he has to believe that he can win there in the next few years, particularly with Florida(and Vegas) now having to adhere to a more reasonable postseason salary cap. The other aspect is the endorsement money that he makes as the premier player in Canada, which is likely a lot more than Kaprizov has available to this point of his career. And if McDavid does hoist the cup for Edmonton, those dollars would likely jump up substantially. It's been over 30 years since any Canadian team won the Stanley cup. If McDavid can bring the cup back to Canada, where hockey is their #1 sport, his status will elevate to a level he couldn't reach by doing it for a US team, and his endorsement deals will likely be far greater than his salary.

Actually it’s hard to extrapolate past team failures with future success. Why? Florida was a dumpster fire for years, now they are a contender every year. The league is as competitive as ever, this group of players doesn’t care what happened 10 years ago in MN. The Wild as a whole have enough “Cap Friendly Deals” to afford Kap at his number. It’s go time in MN.

McDavid signing extension for $12.5M AAV over 2 seasons. He wants his name on the cup in the next 3 seasons. I guess the league didn't force him into a high contract value, as was suggested by others.

People like to hate Guerin. You are right he really hasn't made a bad signing. Everyone screams but they gave up Marat or Hunt or signed players with no move clauses. Marat will probably not play in Boston this year. Hunt is a body that fills a roster spot. The no move clauses are to players that are tenured players. It is a lot easier to hate on the GM instead of looking at the reason why the moves are made.

I think Yurov has more staying power due to slightly better defensive awareness. But as scoring wingers, not so much. Speaking of staying power, Buium when given open ice is insane. He's already a potential game changer. I'd like to say the same about Jiricek, but he is trying way too hard to play in the offensive zone. He confused offensive zone time as "I got a be a 4th winger.". Buium has the ability to get back inside if it goes wrong. Jiricek does not. He should stick to slappers from the point.

Where’s all the Billy bashers on this one?? Very fair deal. Hell even p-train was on board with this one!

Buium looks terrible tonight?

Full starting lineup. The AHL guys have almost all been assigned to Iowa already. Haight is around, but not playing unless something changes in pregame warmups. Kaprizov-Rossi-Boldy Yurov-Eriksson Ek-Tarasenko Johansson-Hartman-Ohgren Foligno-Sturm-Trenin Middleton-Faber Buium-Spurgeon Bogosian-Jiricek (Haight on the fifth line) They are playing Foligno line 4 tonight only to get more minutes for the younger guys and save him for the regular season. That is not where he'll play regular season. Not sure who's in goal. Sounds like they want to start with Yurov on the wing until he gets better on faceoffs or another C option misses time.

It is a lot easier to replace a bunch of second and third liners and backfill when you know that first line is pretty much accounted for. Even moreso if a first line guy is out there in a trade and doesn't just poo poo Minnesota outright.

The wild defense has had a habit of making good goalies look great. We've never had a guy like Oettinger/Vasilevskiy/Hellebuyck/Bobrowsky who have nights when they're unsolveable. We've made good goalies look great by an aggressive backcheck with defensive minded forwards and employing guys on the back-end who are defense-first guys who don't get caught cheating in the offensive zone. I remember about a year ago on this board, there were plenty of voices who wanted to jettison GusBus into the sea after his '23-'24 season

Wally would need to have an unbelievable season for the Wild to let Gus depart via trade or UFA, which seems unlikely at this point. If the Wild are entering the win now window of contending, we're going to need both Gus/Wally, but especially Gus, you don't roll the dice on your number true 1 goalie option, letting a 27 yr old go in favor of an unproven 22 yr old. If Gus starts well enough, I hope the Wild extend him before Xmas. After investing in $17M in KK97, Gus is looking like the Wild's best option as starter for the next couple years.

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!

Anonymous agents commenting on this deal, as quoted in The Athletic Agent 3: “Sometimes it’s just luck and circumstance. Kaprizov had all of the right leverage — a rising cap, a team that had a bunch of guys already signed. The other reality is the cap’s set too low this year. I think you’re going to find that the cap is not just going to be at $104 (million) next year, and I think that $113.5 (million in 2026-27) is going to end up being like $120 (million). So the cap is going to go much higher, and sometimes it’s timing and situation, and I think that’s what happened here.”

Any time you sign a superstar to a big contract, there is hidden risk. Most of it is injury risk. The Vikings had a lot of risk signing Jefferson, the Twins Mauer and Buxton. But, with that risk, you also have reward. I'm ok with the deal, and I think we can swallow it, especially after the Rossi numbers came back favorably. I had really thought he would only sign a 2 year deal and then look for his big one. 3 years helped. Next, we need to remember not to overspend on Goose. His numbers say he's a $7-8m goalie. The eye test says differently, that he's a $5m goalie. Guerin, I think, trusts the eye test more. I would throw out 5 x $5m, just like Rossi to see if his agent bites. If not, leave it on the table and let's see how this season goes. I do not believe that The Wall will be due a big raise at the end of his deal. We could keep stable goaltending in house for less than $10m for quite awhile. Looking ahead at the kids, I believe most will go the bridge route. Jiricek is not due a big raise at the end of the year. Lambos will be under $1m. OgZ likely doesn't get much his 2nd contract as he's still developing. Yurov might grow into something, and I do think Buium might get a big deal or a mid range bridge. With the cap going up, the subtraction of some of our vets, this is a very team friendly cap roster. Now the question is, what can Guerin bring in to help?

Oh man, giving me some bad flashbacks thinking of some of his d-zone giveaways right in front of the net. Kid could skate and stick handle but boy was he a liability in the d-zone. I have high hopes for Jiri and think he has a bright future, kids only 21 and is on an upward trajectory. For a lumbering giraffe he's made some slick moves near the point that have deked defenders and created offense for himself. Think he's only going to get better, want to see him in the opening night lineup over BOGO. Edit: Agree with you on the dawg too, plus he has a huge reach advantage that he's used to break up passes and entries.

Now watch US get punished for tampering. 😳

I think we've got the first half of the contract before he starts to really decline, assuming he doesn't develop any chronic issues before then. But by the point his stats start going down, the cap should be considerably higher too so a $17M AAV likely won't be as big of a shock then as it is right now. Also, we are technically in year 3 of Guerin's 5-year plan 2.0, so the team clearly plans to turn themselves into Cup contenders over the next couple seasons. I'd expect some big moves in the coming months to help them try to do that, whether they're one-year rentals for this season or more long-term additions for the remainder of the plan.

Just doing 1st rounders here back to Judd's 1st year. Going back to 2020 Rossi #9 only 5 players after him have more points than he does but with more games played (some by a lot). After Rossi really the only superstar is Jarvis w/213pts in 304gp. 2021 Wally #20 & Lambos #26..Great argument can be made here. Johnston was available 3 picks after Wally. Kids a stud so you could definitely say Johnston should've been picked and Wally snagged if he was still available at pick 26. Knies was available before Peart in the 2nd round, probably a miss there. After him there is a pretty big dropoff on GP. Lambos trending up however. 2022 Ohgren #19 & Yurov #24..Ohgren bust? After Yurov the phenom Hutson was available 2nd round. Other than him the 1st rounders outside of Yurov have 93gp 34pts across 8 players. 2023 Stramel #21 huge TBD on him, could very well be a miss. The guys after him in the 1st have a combined 15gp 2pts. 2024 Zeev #12. The guys after him have a total of 4gp 1pt. Point being, you can't say that Bill/Judd have struck out looking on these picks and it's not like other teams are finding hidden superstars in later rounds that are NHL ready from the jump or being developed quickly in the AHL. Mid-late 1st round picks aren't a lock for stardom and rounds 2-3 are rarely filled with star talent (outside Hutson which every teams scouting dept. should be chided).

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

Think you've got too much youth/inexperience on that line IMO. If I was Hynes here's how I would roll opening night. Boldy-Rossi-Kap Tarasenko-Ek-Yurov (chemistry from last game) Foglino-Hartman-Ohgren Trenin-Haight (Sturm?)-Vinnie (probably MOJO but please!!)

Oh boy here we go...Rossi trade train departing early from the station this year. Why on earth would Buffalo trade Thompson early in the season?

I would not be surprised if they try a run at Panarin. The Rangers seem to be hisitant on resignining him. Panarin and Kaprizov share the same agent and there has been some speculation prior to Kaprizov signing that perhaps Panarin would talk him into joining the Rangers. Perhaps the reverse is at play and Kaprizov can talk Panarin into joining the Wild? Though he's getting up there in age at 33 over the last 4 years he's averaged just under 80 gp with 34g and 65a. He's been good in the playoffs as well with 43 gp, 11g/22a/33pts.

One 35 yr old 97 is more valuable than three peak Charlie Coyle’s grinding out middle six minutes getting second assists. Think current day Slap Nutz * 200%.

I have negotiated plenty of contracts. What you have shared, in a vacuum is absolutely accurate. And if you are using the free agent date as the final deadline your logic is sound.....except, that deadline isn't it. In a perfect world, we would be able to make a reasonable deal where 2 parties of equal footing sit down and hammer out a deal, however this is not what has happened here. Guerin was put behind the 8 ball by his owner earlier in the year. I'll give you that and with that advantage Theo. Kaprizov isn't a free agent, but if he isn't signed to an extension before he becomes one, the Wild seriously have to consider trading off his rights. Advantage Theo. There is a bunch of fear around the Twin Cities that they are not a destination place for stars. They watched Gaborik walk away after an injury plagued last season and were very afraid this would happen again. Perhaps the owner was too since the prior happened just after he bought the team. Advantage Theo. Salary cap has gone up. Advantage Theo. The interesting thing here is that this should have been an advantage for OCL since he would have inside information on how much the owners think the cap will go up. However, he comes out ignorant of this, and clearly blows the advantage. This isn't getting fleeced, this is just downright stupidity on this point. While I alluded to it earlier, the Wild timeline before everyone including a fanbase got terrified was opening night. Since Theo could have just waited it out, but Guerin really couldn't or he'd risk losing a huge asset, he needed his timeline, not Kaprizov's or Theo's. Advantage Theo. In theory, a regular negotiation happens between 2 arms lengthed parties agreeing. In this case, one party is under duress, and is more forced into the deal, much like the foreclosures and short sales of 2008-11. Banks were generally unwilling to work with a potential buyer when the advertised price was below what was owed. I ran into this plenty during that time. And that is the leverage that Kaprizov/Theofanus had in this negotiation. Now let's talk a little about getting fleeced. Because Kaprizov is a top of the market kind of guy, his comparable now resets the market for top of the market guys. So while selling the penthouses of the NHL will now require something over $15m, what we haven't seen is the next tier reset. Kaprizov's contract is now a leader where other players will try to get into that neighborhood. The dynamic is far more complex than a fleecing. If you are a negotiator, you know very well when you have someone over the barrel. While there was plenty of time on the player's side, Guerin was over the barrel and for his job, and the value of the franchise, he needed a deal way more than the player did. Fleecing is what happened when Herschel Walker came to town. This was not that.

Isn't that what Foligno, Trenin and Midsy are on the payroll to do. Please not another: Maroon/Reeves/Brazeau/DLo waste of space