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  • Is It Time To Hit the Panic Button On Yakov Trenin?


    Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
    Luke Sims

    Below is a summary of Yakov Trenin’s season so far. The Russian winger has not lived up to the four-year, $14 million deal general manager Bill Guerin signed him to in the offseason. 

    • 0 goals 
    • 1 assist 
    • 11 shots
    • 31 hits
    • 7.82 PK TOI  
    • 12 games
    • $3.5 million AVV

    Trenin is not known for scoring points. He’s a physical forward who’s a defensive stalwart and can contribute to the penalty kill. Trenin has been sound defensively, but his foot speed and physicality have been lacking, and the Wild have gotten almost nothing from him offensively. 

    He has the same amount of points as Filip Gustavsson: one. Gus has a goal, though. While that is an objectively funny stat, Trenin is not a guy who scores much. Throughout his six-year NHL career, he has a career with a .267 point percentage per game and 83 points in his 311 games. 

    Trenin has been a consistent goal scorer in the NHL so far. He’s been fairly consistent, scoring at least 12 and no more than 17 goals in his first three full seasons. However, he scored 17 playing for John Hynes with the Nashville Predators. 

    He may be taking some time to adjust to Hynes’s system. Theoretically, though, he should already be familiar with it. Trenin played under Hynes in his first three seasons with the Predators. The Wild signed him to play the same role he played in Nashville: a hard-nosed, forechecking penalty killer who can occasionally chip in some goals. 

    Trenin has never scored more than 24 points in a season. Still, he’s on pace for a two. His only real saving grace is that he’s second on the team in hits behind Marcus Foligno

    The big 6-foot-2, 200 lbs. forward has not been in the most favorable position to score, and his linemates have not produced either. Still, he’s been noticeably behind the play.

    Foligno has been Trenin's most common linemate. Freddy Gaudreau, Ryan Hartman, and occasionally Marat Khusnutdinov have centered their line.

    Gaudreau and Hartman have played well. They have had bounce-back campaigns, but Foligno has three points in 12 games, which is better than Trenin – but only marginally. Foligno has been noticeable on the forecheck and in throwing big hits all over the ice. It’s hard to watch a Wild game and find an excellent play from Trenin, whether he has the puck or not. 

    The Wild recently demoted Trenin to the fourth line with Khusnutdinov and fellow newcomer Jakub Lauko. Still, Trenin hasn’t been any more productive. The Wild called up AHL forward Mikey Milne, who could potentially fill in for Trenin on the fourth line during their three-game road trip. 

    So, Trenin is likely on his way to the press box. Are there reasons for optimism about Trenin, or was this a bad contract? 

    He’s had a slow start, and at this point, you'd like to see that $14 million elsewhere. Still, some stats can shed a positive light on an otherwise decrepit start for the former second-round pick. 

    Trenin hasn’t put up numbers on the scoresheet, but he has been putting up some respectable expected goals numbers in his 12 games. Trenin’s 58.52 xGF% is third among Wild forwards, and his xGA/60 of 1.29 is second only to Gaudreau. Trenin has been solid in his own zone. While the plays have not yet turned into goals, there is reason for optimism to move forward. 

    Trenin’s start has not been what anyone wanted. Still, a moment to step out of the lineup and reset gives him time to take a deep breath and get his offensive game right. 

    All stats and data via HockeyDB, Evolving Hockey, Natural Stat Trick, and Cap Wages unless otherwise noted. 

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    Trenin seemed to upset the Ducks last night. I didn't see what he did, but they had some extra curriculars after the final horn sounded. Hopefully Trenin can find the score sheet a little more over the next dozen games. He needs to put one in the net like Foligno did last night.

    Speaking of needing to tally some points, Johansson has just 1 point his last 12 games while playing with Boldy and JEE. He's gone 8 straight scoreless.

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    He's officially T-Bag now.  Yes, we weren't expecting much from him offensively, but he's not effective defensively either.  He's a poor man's (dirt poor) Oskar Sundqvist.  T-Bag is a very large man but he's got Ryan Reeves level mobility, which is to say he's always 3 seconds behind the play. Will this contract handicap the future lineup?  Not likely, but this contract makes Freddie's look like a steal.  T-Bag is making me appreciate Foligno's game and that's saying something.

    I will assume that Guerin knew what he was getting (big body who can intimidate/fight when necessary.  think Foligno's back up) and Guerin's main interest was one more Russian in the locker room to make Kirill happier here.

     

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    1 hour ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

    Speaking of needing to tally some points, Johansson has just 1 point his last 12 games while playing with Boldy and JEE. He's gone 8 straight scoreless.

    I think you are the one who proposed putting Hartman on the 2nd line in place of Nojo.  Seems like a no brainer to me.  Also, Trenin would do better on the 3rd with Foligno and Freddy.  Nojo goes to the 4th line and either sinks or swims.

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    45 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

    He's officially T-Bag now.  Yes, we weren't expecting much from him offensively, but he's not effective defensively either.  He's a poor man's (dirt poor) Oskar Sundqvist.  T-Bag is a very large man but he's got Ryan Reeves level mobility, which is to say he's always 3 seconds behind the play. Will this contract handicap the future lineup?  Not likely, but this contract makes Freddie's look like a steal.  T-Bag is making me appreciate Foligno's game and that's saying something.

    I will assume that Guerin knew what he was getting (big body who can intimidate/fight when necessary.  think Foligno's back up) and Guerin's main interest was one more Russian in the locker room to make Kirill happier here.

     

    I’d rather he signed Raddy instead if he was looking at a comrade

    image.jpeg.76567a3fa33b100ee838ca2659c72e20.jpeg

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    11 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

    I think you are the one who proposed putting Hartman on the 2nd line in place of Nojo.  Seems like a no brainer to me.  Also, Trenin would do better on the 3rd with Foligno and Freddy.  Nojo goes to the 4th line and either sinks or swims.

    Color me crazy, but poor play on most teams includes moving down in the lineup, and working hard and producing would merit moving up.  Is it still kind of early, yeah maybe.  But I would love to see the Wild try this concept out sometime before I die.

    There also should be a NoJo countdown somewhere on Wilderness, either in games or in months until we are free at last.

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    Yeah I think there's some fair criticisms but Hartzy and Trenin are bogged down with grinders. Need to put those guys on more balanced lines IMO. 

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    2 hours ago, Will D. Ness said:

    think you are the one who proposed putting Hartman on the 2nd line in place of Nojo.  Seems like a no brainer to me.  Also, Trenin would do better on the 3rd with Foligno and Freddy.  Nojo goes to the 4th line and either sinks or swims.

    I definitely suggested Hartman on line 2. That was with the idea that NoJo would be in the press box as an injury fill in only. Develop the best young forward, possibly Ohgren, while everyone was healthy.

    Based on what Russo said in that podcast I posted the other day, I think the Wild might be trying to accrue cap space to trade for a line 2 winger later in the year, so this is probably what they'll play until injury forces a change, but you never know. They are winning a bunch, so hard to complain too much, but NoJo mostly feels like a passenger in the top 6. Occasionally he'll do something useful, but he's not driving play to make good things happen.

    I'd love to see that line with another solid wing, like Hartman. Excited about the prospect of bringing in a capable winger to improve that top 6.

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    5 hours ago, Dis-allowed display name said:

    Color me crazy, but poor play on most teams includes moving down in the lineup, and working hard and producing would merit moving up.

    But NoJo has past performance that's guaranteed to come back.

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    Trenin

    • 0 goals
    • 1 assist 
    • 11 shots
    • 31 hits
    • 7.82 PK TOI  
    • 12 games
    • $3.5 million AVV
    • bottom 6
    • vs

    • NoJo
    • 1 goal
    • 2 assists 
    • 20 shots
    • 9 hits
    • ? PK TOI
    • 13 games
    • $2 million this year
    • top 6

    Where is the real problem??

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    9 hours ago, FredJohnson said:

     

    Trenin

    • 0 goals
    • 1 assist 
    • 11 shots
    • 31 hits
    • 7.82 PK TOI  
    • 12 games
    • $3.5 million AVV
    • bottom 6
    •  
    • vs

    • NoJo
    • 1 goal
    • 2 assists 
    • 20 shots
    • 9 hits
    • ? PK TOI
    • 13 games
    • $2 million this year
    • top 6

    Where is the real problem??

    Jesus, T-bag is so bad he’s making me rethink NoJo 

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    Trenin had a career high 24pts. He's an enforcer-type guy who you don't have to keep replacing every year. He's got size and isn't old. He's not Todd Bertuzzi.

    He was always meant to be an addition that makes the Wild bigger, stronger, harder to play against. MN needs that against WPG or Dallas.

    Let's face it Duhaime wasn't scoring a ton either. Yes he's cheaper but he was also smaller. Personally, I think Trenin should be on a balanced line with skill guys too. That way you get your lines going where guys like Trenin get lifted up offensively to a degree and you still have tough lines to ice against Central teams.

    Same old argument about Foligno type guys who ususally only score 20-30pts. They get paid too much. I don't think it's that bad and I would love to see Yurov, Trenin, and some third guy next season. Not that Trenin would automatically become a 30pt guy, but if NoJo is at that scoring pace for less money, it's true he brings zero grit or toughness. Point being, Trenin is a highly-paid battle and toughness Russian. That's important to have still and will be helpful for the future Russian players MN has in it's pipeline. Veteran experience is valuable to Guerin. The extra going to Trenin this year is covered by the production from Rossi, Ek, Chisholm, Bogo, or Zuccy that we've already paid for. 

    In my opinion it's a tough spot to be because Trenin is playing with grinders on an energy line. He's had some chances and been stopped on a few that could easily have gone in. If that had been a little better bounces, he'd be ahead of NoJo who is on the top line with Ek/Boldy. I'm saying if Trenin were with those two guys, perhaps they'd be crushing teams in the corners and Trenin could be benefactor? They've got him pegged for a role and it's okay but I think the Wild have some space to optimize the lines a little better. I think Hartman should be in the top six, and I think Trenin's size should go with some more skilled guys and playmekers. Having him with Hartman & Foligno is like three amigos of grizzle with no setup skills. Greasy ones, or wristers on the rush is all they can do. I'd shuffle the 2nd & 3rd lines a bit if it were me. Once Trenin scores a goal, I think he'll begin to feel it a little better.

    So far, it's been a rough start for him on the scoresheet, no arguing that.

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    18 hours ago, FredJohnson said:

    But NoJo has past performance that's guaranteed to come back.

    But for his contract and spot in the lineup, we shouldn't have to bear the bad to eventually get the good. He's inconsistent at best and provides next to nothing when he's bad. Imo, it was bad to bring him back, and even worse to re-sign the guy expecting that so.ehow this time was going to be different.

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    9 hours ago, joebou15 said:

    But for his contract and spot in the lineup, we shouldn't have to bear the bad to eventually get the good. He's inconsistent at best and provides next to nothing when he's bad. Imo, it was bad to bring him back, and even worse to re-sign the guy expecting that so.ehow this time was going to be different.

    I was being sarcastic. I was told italics denoted sarcasm. 😳

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    The time to panic on Trenin was the second they signed him.  They paid him double what he was worth and gave him 2x too much term.  Worst signing in recent history.

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    19 minutes ago, Patrick said:

    The time to panic on Trenin was the second they signed him.  They paid him double what he was worth and gave him 2x too much term.  Worst signing in recent history.

    Truth bomb alert 🚨 

    yah, this contract will not age well.  With Fred’s resurgence and Foligno playing an effective physical game (these two must really have been injured last year because I thought they were cooked) T-Bag is the sorest thumb in this lineup.  Hey, maybe he’s playing hurt.  Or maybe we’ll all agree he’s a slow starter and he takes 4 years to hit his stride

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    I'm trying to give Trenin the benefit of the doubt.  I don't think he is actually as bad as he looks.

    I do think his signing follows the typical BG trend of 1M too much for 1Y too long for unskilled physical players.

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    2 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

    I do think his signing follows the typical BG trend of 1M too much for 1Y too long for unskilled physical players.

    Well said and very accurate.  Now the Wild org will say "this is what we needed to pay to get this type of player" but I've heard that enough now to know that's bullshit.  It's basic mismanagement of assets, again.  Winning cures all ills.

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    5 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

    Truth bomb alert 🚨 

    yah, this contract will not age well.  With Fred’s resurgence and Foligno playing an effective physical game (these two must really have been injured last year because I thought they were cooked) T-Bag is the sorest thumb in this lineup.  Hey, maybe he’s playing hurt.  Or maybe we’ll all agree he’s a slow starter and he takes 4 years to hit his stride

    Wait, is it possible that SillyG signed T-Bag in order to shut us all up about Moose, Mojo & FreddyG?

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    15 minutes ago, MrCheatachu said:

    Wait, is it possible that SillyG signed T-Bag in order to shut us all up about Moose, Mojo & FreddyG?

    Seems to be working.

    I don't think it's that bad personally. What did the Wild expect for a checking line role? What about being a tougher playoff team? What if Foligno gets hurt? What happens if Kaprizov leaves, MN has two other Russian youngsters. 

    Guerin pays for some redundancy and that's primarily what he gets ripped for. Trenin is younger than Foligno and the torch will get passed to him. He's throwing the body and getting some shots. I'm not expecting him to reach NoJo level offense. I think he'd be much better utilized on a line with two skill-playmaker guys.

    Maybe Guerin could trade him for Frederic with a 2nd rounder? Move Fred to the wing. 

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    5 hours ago, Pewterschmidt said:

    Well said and very accurate.  Now the Wild org will say "this is what we needed to pay to get this type of player" but I've heard that enough now to know that's bullshit.  It's basic mismanagement of assets, again.  Winning cures all ills.

    I don't think you're way out in left field but Guerin has had nice moves too so in a balance of wins & losses, I'd rather the GM make less expensive errors if we all agreed that's what Trenin is. Sure, you'd like to see more offense but the Wild are a top ten team. Yeah they're capable of a bad game but they're not exactly proving Guerin is a terrible GM. 

    I'm giving Trenin half a season before I give him too hard a time. I'd like to see him have a chance to play with an NHL ready Heidt or a player like Rossi who can facilitate AND finish. If it doesn't happen, let's hope the power/energy lines handle Central teams better than in the past. 

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