Why Is Matt Boldy Being Projected As A Top-5 Player?

Boldy is on the verge no doubt.  He looked like a different player ending the season and gave us glimpses of how good he might be.  It's about confidence for both Boldy and Rossi.  They lacked it for most of last season and I'm hoping they come in and show it early.

Keeping that top line together would help.  I understand the spread the wealth mentality, but Kap/Ek/Boldy destroyed goaltenders.  I get wanting to help Rossi, but they can supplement that in other ways.  Heidt tryout, Ohgren possibility, and Hartman, who always gets shit on for some reason.

Boldy works best up top, so keep him there.

IIt's all about the big games now. He's a good player. Stats are fun to consider but the big games. The times the team needs a hero. Looking for that component... 

13 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

He looked like a different player ending the season and gave us glimpses of how good he might be.  It's about confidence for both Boldy and Rossi.  They lacked it for most of last season and I'm hoping they come in and show it early.

Johansson got Boldy crushed along the boards with a poor passing decision in game 2 last year(a game Boldy scored his 1st goal of the season), prompting Boldy to leave the game and miss a few weeks. He almost certainly came back before he was fully healed from his upper body injury.

Boldy did pick up 6 assists in the 10 games after he came back from injury, but he didn't score his 2nd goal of the season until November 28th. At that point, he started scoring at roughly a point per game pace, accumulating 28 goals in his final 63 games--a 35+ goal pace per 80 games.

If Boldy can stay healthy this season, he has a shot at surpassing 80 points.

Why Is Matt Boldy Being Projected As A Top-5 Player?

Because KK97 is carrying him. (Sarcasm)

Sarcasm aside, Boldy and Ek are pretty much Kap's best muses.  Ek does all the dirty work in the middle, and Boldy actually shoots the fucking puck whether he misses or not.  Zuccarello and Kap have this unspoken and annoying pass happy bond that has yielded more fuckups than actual success the more they were together.  I have watched them lose games thanks to shifts where they passed too fucking much (twice in a row in a game late with 3rd period or OT in prime chances no less).

I'm certainly open to Boldy playing on a line other than Kaprizov's line to make it so that a team with a great defensive line cannot play that 1 line against both the Wild's top wings all game. I also understand there can be value in putting the 3 top forwards that you want to get the most ice time on the same line.

If the Wild use Rossi on the wing across from Zuccarello with Hartman centering, could that make for a decent 2nd line? All 3 have scored 20+ goals in recent years and all 3 have decent passing skills.

Zuccarello led the team in PP assists last year despite playing fewer games than the rest of the guys who are routinely on the PP--Zuccy would still play PP1. In this scenario, he wouldn't be paired with the 3 best goal scorers when playing even strength, but he'd have the next best guys to feed. Rossi and Hartman should be easily interchangeable in their roles on that line, including the faceoff circle, but Hartman might be better than Rossi as the center.

KK97 - JEE - Boldy

Rossi - Hartman - Zuccy

Trenin - Gaudreau - Foligno

Ogre - Dino - Lauko/NoJo

The following year, Yurov steps in to move Hartman down to 3rd line and NoJo is gone, but Hartman seems deserving of top 6 right now. I keep thinking Rossi can be top 6, but perhaps moving him to wing now might be better for the team long-term. Of course, another option is pushing a different wing up like Ohgren and moving Rossi or Hartman down to center the 3rd line.

The young guys will let the coaching staff know what's appropriate by how they show up and perform for training camp. It would be nice to see Ohgren carve out a major role. We all know not everyone will play 82 games, so it's possible that injury will be the way he initially gains significant ice time. Then it will be up to him to produce so they don't reduce his TOI when the team is healthy.

Dating myself a bit here...but each year Boldy reminds me more and more of Bobby Smith, less a little mass. Has the reach, instincts, and shot. Age aggression dictates PPG continues to rise simply based on experience and maturity, but I (like many) believe Boldy has another level. It has become cliched in recent past, but when he develops the 'Ef You' attitude in his play, he will be capable of so much more. Smith had that attitude, not so much after the whistle, but while play was going on, and it was a large part of his make-up as a player. 

Regardless, Boldy's future is bright...

There’s been way too many happy articles and posts these days, and I was too busy drinking to ruin the party! While on a short break, I’d like to remind all of you -

Boldy ain’t no kuch or McDavid, nor is he Matthews, draisatl, pasta or tkachuk 

He is expecting to be high in points because someone besides Kap has to score!?! But to say that he is approaching stardom is really silly!  Kap will do his part of course to inflate points for Boldy and others, but let’s not pretend that Matty is in the same tier as Kap. 

Also, pause on that “amazing career” talk - that is reserved for future hall of famers, maybe instead say “good start to a career”?

1 hour ago, FredJohnson said:

Because KK97 is carrying him.

I don't believe this is sarcasm. Ok, carrying him might be the wrong term, but because whoever makes these predictions is predicting that Boldy and Kaprizov are playing on the same line this season. Boldy does that last year and my bet is his numbers look even better. Here's the other thing, Kaprizov's should also look better!

27 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Zuccarello led the team in PP assists last year despite playing fewer games than the rest of the guys who are routinely on the PP--Zuccy would still play PP1.

Zuccarello isn't the best person to put at his current PP position. We really need a RHS cannon from that place. But, I'll bet Zuccarello could feed a guy like Laine off the 2nd line. Yeah, I'm still hoping for a Laine trade. I think Guerin has inquired and is waiting on a clearance sale price.

It’s easy to forget how young Boldy is.  As he enters his physical prime (which still may be another season or two away), it’s possible he has another level.

Jokes are made above above about line mates, but there’s certainly going to be a difference in production in playing with Kaprisov and Ek vs. guys like Rossi and Zuccarello.

The combination of Ek’s net front presence and Kaprisov’s skill shifting the attention is a dream for the third line mate.  Kaprisov doesn’t mind getting into dirty areas, either

5 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Zuccarello isn't the best person to put at his current PP position. We really need a RHS cannon from that place. But, I'll bet Zuccarello could feed a guy like Laine off the 2nd line.

I'm sure Zuccarello could feed a 2nd line PP guy too, but I believe he has reached 40 assists in an NHL season more times in his career than the rest of the Wild roster combined. Zuccarello is one of the most crafty passers the Wild have, so I think the coaches will try to maximize that skill by playing him with the top finishers on the team.

Trading for Laine seems pretty unlikely. The guys that have enough salary to offset Laine's salary all likely have Columbus on their no-trade lists. The thought of Laine is kind of tantalizing, but the current roster situation for the 2 teams doesn't make it seem like they'll find a trade that makes sense for both parties.

You'd think they'd be looking into ideas like trading Laine for Cole Caufield, or someone like that where they get a young scorer in return and may not need to retain a ton of salary. Suzuki with Laine and Slafkovsky could be a strong top line for Montreal if they were to go that route.

So is playing on a line and getting points with Kap a bad thing? Point mean goals are being scored, so if he hits this projected point total, well, who cares how they show up? Look how many points McDavid and Drai get when on the PP together or in crunch time. Matthews has Marner on his line, so are his numbers just inflated as well?

To me what is telling is the consistent rise in points each year, not some weird spike in on season, this shows it is more sustainable. This is more true especially considering the injury he had to start the year.  Some interesting comparisons:

Pasta year went from year 1 10 and 17 for 27 pts. Year 2 15g 11a for 26, then jumped year 3 to 34g 36a for 70 in 75 games (Weirdly similar right?). 

Kuch- Year 1 9g 9a 18pts, Year 2 29g 36a 65pts, year 3 30g, 36a for 66 pts (Again, weirdly similar)

M Tkachuk year 1 13g 35a 48pts, year 2 24g 25a, 49pts, year 3 34g 43a 77pts. (A 3rd time?) Tkachuk really didn't make a big jump until year 6 as he had 2 years of regression. 

(Not including Matthews of McDavid, because well Boldy isn't a generational talent)

To me these projections are not wild or crazy, watch the 2nd half of the season, he was being way more creative and aggressive creating his own opportunities as well as grinding and pushing down lower with his strength. Ideally this should continue as his body matures at age 23.

11 hours ago, Beast said:

It’s easy to forget how young Boldy is.  As he enters his physical prime (which still may be another season or two away), it’s possible he has another level.

Last year, after his slow start, a lot of people were questioning what he was doing in his offseason

It'll be interesting to see how he starts off this year.  When Kaprizov was hurt to close out the '22-'23 season, Boldy put the club on his shoulders to drag the team into a playoff spot.  When the '23-'24 season opened up he was (playing injured) and invisible.

It'll be interesting to see how he comes out of the gates this season.  There's no reason we shouldn't be able to build out two potent lines with Kaprizov/Boldy/Zucc/Rossi/Ek/'Warm Body'

12 hours ago, Beast said:

The combination of Ek’s net front presence and Kaprisov’s skill shifting the attention is a dream for the third line mate.

This really follows the way the Pens treated Crosby. Every year taking a rookie and sticking them on Crosby's line until Guentzel took the job. From the little I know this is something the Wild haven't explored enough. Wish they would take their new toys out of the box and play a little more. 

While the GAR projection is a bit of a surprise to be that far up, Boldy definitely has the talent to be in the conversation... needs to keep playing with desperation / eff me, eff u, eff who throughout the year to get to that next level. 

10 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

You'd think they'd be looking into ideas like trading Laine for Cole Caufield, or someone like that where they get a young scorer in return and may not need to retain a ton of salary. Suzuki with Laine and Slafkovsky could be a strong top line for Montreal if they were to go that route.

You'd think they'd try for that, but they'll strike out. No way Laine has much trade value at this time. CBJ may have it in their best interest to add via subtraction. People will take him but at a heavily discounted rate mainly due to his time in the player's assistance program. Is he alright? Nobody knows even if they talk with him. And nobody really knows why (fully) he was in it.

If the price is a Caufield, we're definitely out. If the price is as suggested in a national medial outlet that all they can get is a 2nd rounder and a 2nd tier prospect, well I think we could be in that race. This is not an outbid everyone to get Laine whatever the price is, this is an if the price is low go for it and maybe outbid a clearance price. Think of it this way, it's like on ebay where they list a buy it now price or make an offer. Nobody's putting in a buy it now price, and there not making high offers.

18 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

He is expecting to be high in points because someone besides Kap has to score!?! But to say that he is approaching stardom is really silly!  Kap will do his part of course to inflate points for Boldy and others, but let’s not pretend that Matty is in the same tier as Kap. 

This isn't even Hockey Wilderness positivity, but Boldy hasn't been far from point per game pace in the past. He's put up 45 point in 42 regular season games played in March and April over the last 2 seasons. He just need to get a better start and be more consistent throughout the year.

If he comes in motivated and stays healthy, Boldy not reaching 80 points would be disappointing and he has a chance at 90 if the Boldy/JEE/Kaprivoz line gets used a lot more this season. We'll see how that compares to bonafide NHL stars at the end of the season, but he was top 50 in points per 60 minutes even strength last season(minimum 20 games), and most players are still improving at his age.

1 hour ago, mnfaninnc said:

You'd think they'd try for that, but they'll strike out. No way Laine has much trade value at this time.

Caufield is being paid $7.875M, and is rather undersized at 5'7". If Columbus offered Laine and was retaining $2.5M on his deal, making it a $6.2M cap hit for Montreal, perhaps they'd consider bringing in the 6'5" scoring forward, but a lot will depend on how teams view his state of mind.

Laine hasn't been great for Columbus, but if you think a change of scenery to Minnesota would spark something in him, I'm not sure why Montreal wouldn't be in the same boat, and they have another player from Finland on their roster.

The issue for MN is that they might need to trade Gustavsson, Gaudreau, and Rossi just to get into the same realm of salary to be able to take Laine since MN doesn't have cap space. Columbus and Montreal have cap space, so it's easier to try to make a deal work. Columbus could sweeten an offer with another player or a pick as well. That's just 1 example; I simply think it will be much easier for several other teams to try to work something out for Laine if he's traded this year.

My guess is that Guerin is not spending much time contemplating a Laine deal.

23 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Caufield is being paid $7.875M, and is rather undersized at 5'7". If Columbus offered Laine and was retaining $2.5M on his deal, making it a $6.2M cap hit for Montreal, perhaps they'd consider bringing in the 6'5" scoring forward, but a lot will depend on how teams view his state of mind.

Laine hasn't been great for Columbus, but if you think a change of scenery to Minnesota would spark something in him, I'm not sure why Montreal wouldn't be in the same boat, and they have another player from Finland on their roster.

Is Caufield having issues in Montreal? If so, then I could see such a thing. But to my knowledge Montreal is happy with him. Here's the thing, Laine's market value has tanked to an area where this would be considered a huge overpayment. So there's another Finnish player on the team, big deal. My thought on fixing him is not just another Finnish player on a team, but his childhood idol in the front office who could fix him. 

If CBJ can get Caufield for Laine, they should immediately do it! That's a steal for them. Caufield is productive. From what I'm hearing, though, it's that he's so damaged that futures, and not even grade A futures may be all Waddell can get for him. 

I foresee a deal here with Johansson + Gaudreau (both threatened with waivers) + 2025 2nd + Peart/Bankier (or both if needed) = Laine 50% retained. Johansson and Gaudreau are cap dumps yet useful players for Evason. The reaction by most is that CBJ will never go for that. Well, this is probably better than the other teams are offering if they get both Peart and Bankier. If they can get more than that, they should probably do it, but we also need to find an answer for Ovechkin's office. 

19 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

Also, pause on that “amazing career” talk - that is reserved for future hall of famers, maybe instead say “good start to a career”?

Yeah, I'm also sick and tired of the watering down of Hall of Fame talk. We need a better handle on English where we can call it like it really is. 

However, Boldy should be better this season. What is your expectation of him being better?

2 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I foresee a deal here with Johansson + Gaudreau (both threatened with waivers) + 2025 2nd + Peart/Bankier (or both if needed) = Laine 50% retained. Johansson and Gaudreau are cap dumps yet useful players for Evason. The reaction by most is that CBJ will never go for that.

Yeah, that offer is far worse than what Columbus would want in return. I understand that Caufield is probably more than they can hope for, but your offer provides nothing that they can feel certain might help them win games a couple years down the road. Bankier is probably the best asset listed there and Laine is someone who has the potential to score 30+ goals. Doesn't seem too realistic.

4 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Yeah, that offer is far worse than what Columbus would want in return. I understand that Caufield is probably more than they can hope for, but your offer provides nothing that they can feel certain might help them win games a couple years down the road. Bankier is probably the best asset listed there and Laine is someone who has the potential to score 30+ goals. Doesn't seem too realistic.

Yet, this is likely where his market value is. I know they won't want that return, but they're going to have to eat a bunch of salary and get futures in return. 

2 hours ago, MrCheatachu said:

There's no reason we shouldn't be able to build out two potent lines with Kaprizov/Boldy/Zucc/Rossi/Ek/'Warm Body'

I agree but putting Zuccarello with Kaprizov has shown it isn't a good option.  It can be at times, but the result has been more negative recently due to turnovers.

The other thing and the good thing about Kaprizov / Ek / Boldy is that all 3 are willing to shoot.  Kaprizov and Zuccarello get pass happy and there's a significant bias toward Kaprizov being the shooter.  If Zuccarello would shoot more, then maybe, but there has to be less focus on a back-and-forth between the two.

The problem then is I also think having too many shorter stature players on a line is a bad thing.  Kaprizov holds his own, and Rossi has been working on it, but Boldy and Ek are stronger in the slot. 

Nothing against Rossi, but I think his stature makes him more suited as a winger.  I feel like his passing and playmaking ability is neutralized at center because he doesn't have the size to keep from getting knocked around.  I think we'd see much higher points production out of Rossi as a winger in the NHL. 

Of course we also need someone for Rossi to pass to who will also shoot.  If Zuccarello would shoot, I could see Hartman at center and Rossi and Zuccarello as wings.  It's a shorter stature line, which I don't like, but if team's are trying to focus so much on Kap / Ek / Boldy, that might work out, and hopefully Yurov is as good as we hope and can take that center spot over from Hartman the year after.  I've said a number of times that we will not see Rossi really have a turning point until Yurov is here (again, assuming he is good enough for the top 6 - though recent history would suggest that bar is fairly low).  That will finally give us the flexibility to really see what 2 scoring lines can be for us.

1 hour ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

This isn't even Hockey Wilderness positivity, but Boldy hasn't been far from point per game pace in the past. He's put up 45 point in 42 regular season games played in March and April over the last 2 seasons. He just need to get a better start and be more consistent throughout the year.

If he comes in motivated and stays healthy, Boldy not reaching 80 points would be disappointing and he has a chance at 90 if the Boldy/JEE/Kaprivoz line gets used a lot more this season. We'll see how that compares to bonafide NHL stars at the end of the season, but he was top 50 in points per 60 minutes even strength last season(minimum 20 games), and most players are still improving at his age.

Boldy had 69 pts in 75 games. That’s Larkin/Konecny category. Let’s not fool ourselves that he is about to join elites group. That is a bit of a stretch. Right now he is a tier 3 player on offense, maybe he improves more this year, but at this point it’s just not there yet to elevate him to that high of a pedestal 

ODCs tier ranking

Tier1

McDavid, Kuch, MacKinnon, Kap, Matthews, Drsisaitl, Pasta

Tier2

Panarin, Rantanen, Nylander, Barkov, Tkachuks, Aho, Petterson, Hughes, Point, Robertson

Tier2.5 (old timers that still have enough gas)

Crosby, Ovi, Malkin, Forsberg, Stammy, Sheiffle

Boldy is not in the same realm as players in above tiers. I’m fine placing him in tier 3, but that is also very competitive tier, so no shame, but tough to break into above tiers