The Athletic Says It's Time To Panic In the State Of Hockey

Let’s make the playoffs so we can keep the first round loss streak going!! 

Yep we need to keep that one and done streak going. Time to panic? I don't know are we ever able to feel confident and relaxed in the state of hockey?  Even when we had the best season in team history we couldn't get out of the first round. Given the history of this team even when the team does well or even extraordinarily well it seems like a mirage in the desert it's not real so you don't really believe. 

Brodin is going to be a bigger hole to fill when Spurgeon was out. I still think the Wild are going to somehow drag themselves into a playoff spot. It will come down to the last few games of the season where the Wild have to win and team x,y and z have to lose or team y gets a loser point etc. etc. They will find themselves in the playoffs and keep that one and done streak going.  Or maybe they will win the division! Either way the streak stays alive! 😀

Looks like Russo has let his "The Wild kinda suck, so I'll them know it" vibes hitting others in the Athletic.  He's not wrong, but it can be a bit much.

Quote

And they dropped games in Vancouver and Calgary on their latest road trip.

I thought that they lost games to Vancouver and Edmonton, not Calgary!

Time to panic? I don't think so! More like a soft tank maybe? Bwahahaha

So, the Athletic national writers opine on the Wild? I never trust national writers! They have no pulse on the team and do very little research. 

Even in the losses to Edmonton and Vancouver, I still thought we played the right way and far better than the beginning of the season. The win vs. Seattle was just a grind it out 4 in 6 game where both teams looked exhausted at times. 

We're going to see some new stuff come tomorrow as Hynes builds this team more like the way he likes. Also, note to Hartman: You may have been put on the 4th line, but Hynes has a tendency to reward lines that are going. That 4th line could easily look like #2 in TOI if they're going.

9 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Hartman: You may have been put on the 4th line, but Hynes has a tendency to reward lines that are going.

Hartman + Dewar + Maroon = Offense^Grit

The Athletic Says It's Time To Panic In the State Of Hockey

The Athletic is never wrong!

Panic? Panic would be an acceptable reaction to this team's current performance if there were any actual legitimate expectations to begin with. We're watching one of the oldest, most stubborn teams in the NHL when it comes to rebuilding. If you have any expectations left, now would be a good time to vacate them from your consciousness. We will continue to spin our wheels for the remainder of the year and likely the years to come until we commit to a rebuild.

It seems like the wild have boxed themselves in for the next few years.  We seem inclined to bringing in older, aging players then tying their hands by giving the older players contracts with no movement clauses.  This seems to indicate no real direction for the team.  We as Wild hockey fans are just supposed to be content with having a team.  Very disappointing.  

1 hour ago, cloddish said:

Panic? Panic would be an acceptable reaction to this team's current performance if there were any actual legitimate expectations to begin with. We're watching one of the oldest, most stubborn teams in the NHL when it comes to rebuilding. If you have any expectations left, now would be a good time to vacate them from your consciousness. We will continue to spin our wheels for the remainder of the year and likely the years to come until we commit to a rebuild.

I would argue that most of the reason that we are spinning our wheels right now is that we are already in a rebuild.  Not a traditional one, but a rebuild nonetheless.

I like the last two comments because it's good to have both takes on it. There is the debate over mode of rebuild and cases can be made for each. Plenty of pros and cons.

The Wild have not over-committed big on AAV or term. A little yes, but not a lot. When you combine that with value they've gotten on contracts the overall picture isn't bad. The penalties falling off along with the numerous kicks at the can MN has had in recent drafts are going to pay off with a pretty complete group. There will be layers of experience and if Wallstedt is the man, you could say a rebuild has been nearly finished. 

Rossi was a great example this year of a guy who got over the hump. Dewar has some finishing skill. Faber is obviously a guy who will be a core player. The pieces are coming together slowly. There's never any guarantee either way.

5 hours ago, raithis said:

I would argue that most of the reason that we are spinning our wheels right now is that we are already in a rebuild.  Not a traditional one, but a rebuild nonetheless.

With all due respect, that is what I mean when I say commit to a rebuild; a full and proper rebuild from the ground up.

2 hours ago, cloddish said:

With all due respect, that is what I mean when I say commit to a rebuild; a full and proper rebuild from the ground up.

Maybe if we were in Pittsburgh.  You don't do full tank unless you have aging talent.

12 hours ago, Will D. Ness said:

Maybe if we were in Pittsburgh.  You don't do full tank unless you have aging talent.

With the Wild's current roster average age sitting at 29.34 years old, which happens to be in the top 3 for oldest teams in the NHL right now; I'm fairly certain we would fit the bill for having a team with aging talent.

11 minutes ago, cloddish said:

With the Wild's current roster average age sitting at 29.34 years old, which happens to be in the top 3 for oldest teams in the NHL right now; I'm fairly certain we would fit the bill for having a team with aging talent.

That average will drop considerably after Goose, Flower, Bogo & Maroon are off the roster after the end of the season.

6 minutes ago, cloddish said:

With the Wild's current roster average age sitting at 29.34 years old, which happens to be in the top 3 for oldest teams in the NHL right now; I'm fairly certain we would fit the bill for having a team with aging talent.

I would argue that our aging players aren't all that talented with the exception of Zucc and Spurg.  Brodin is what 30?  Players like KK97, Boldy, Faber, Rossi... are all young and what you would hope to acquire by tanking for a number of years.  

The window of opportunity is always fleeting as well and so timing also is important.  Tanking when you have this much young talent instead of developing a winning culture is counter productive when you do the math.  The long shot gamble of tanking for a draft pick that will take years to be a contributing factor in a championship run is actually pretty small.

Take into account the draft lottery as well...  I mean a full rebuild is basically betting the farm on a craps shoot.

Pittsburgh is prime for a full rebuild.  Minnesota maybe 5 years ago.