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  • Certainly Feels Like Wild Will Not Make Deadline Trades

    Image courtesy of © Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
    Thomas Williams

    By Thomas Williams -

    That's Wild

    As we head into the two-week break forced by the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Minnesota Wild are in a good position in the standings but not so good when it comes to some flexibility. With under a month until the March 7 trade deadline, the Wild are projected to have under $200,000 in cap space available to them to make any additions. Of course, that would be impossible to add anyone without subtractions with the minimum NHL salary well above that dollar amount.

    The Wild are most likely not going to make those subtractions. Mainly, because who would it be? Is any team going to take on Ryan Hartman's contract? Hell, Wild GM Bill Guerin probably thinks that Hartman can still provide that Playoff Edge and will not want to move him out for an upgrade, at this point.

    Of course, there is the possibility to briefly add a player and have the team go above the cap threshold by over $9 million with Kirill Kaprizov currently on Long-Term Injured Reserve. But what happens when he comes back? The Wild star should return before the playoffs and that could cause a heap of financial issues. And for a team that is not so removed from the NHL itself having to manage the Wild's cap for them, we're not too sure that a move like that could be made.

    Maybe we're just bad at math and assume Kaprizov returning would cause major issues, but with limited space and prices to get an impact player fairly high; are the Wild really going to make any major additions?

    Zeev Buium is on his way. Maybe that's the big addition Guerin is counting on.

    • Speaking of, Buium really is a bona fide top prospect in all of hockey. [Hockey Wilderness]
    • Five Wild players are heading to Montreal and Boston for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. [NHL.com]

    Off the trail...

    • Why team will and won't win the 4 Nations tournament. [TheScore]
    • How Brady Tkachuk is leading his Ottawa Senators to a playoff push and should play a major role on Team USA. [ESPN]
    By Thomas Williams  

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    mnfaninnc

    It doesn't look like there is money to buy at the deadline. It would have to be a money in/money out type of deal. Is there a way to do that? Maybe, but likely expensive.

    I'm trying to wrap my head around the defense now and what's coming. Now, fully healthy, looks like:

    Middleton-Faber

    Brodin-Spurgeon

    Chisholm-Bogosian

    Merrill-Dermott

    But, what will be? 2 years of Spurgeon, both on the books and on the roster really gums things up. I think he'll need to be subtracted and if we can make a deal where we don't retain, even better. He's played well this season, but at $7.5m that's quite a boulder in the cap. I really miss capfriendly, but according to puckpedia he has a 10 team no trade designation, or if you're a positive person at 21 team trade clause 😁.

    This is what it would look like if we traded Spurgeon out next season:

    Middleton-Faber

    Brodin-Jiricek

    Buium-Bogosian

    Chisholm

    This is a really young unit, but still has some veteran presence. Lambos and Spacek would be the callups for injuries. They will likely be ready for their debuts next season too. 

    What is the benefit of trading out Spurgeon? His roster spot and the longterm commitment to Jiricek who should be ready to go. We lose Spurgy's savvy play, but gain size in his spot and $6.5m in cap space. Buium likely starts out as a 3rd pairing guy but I'd assume he probably proves himself throughout the season and doesn't end up there. 

    What do we do with Chisholm? He can play both sides. He can play in the top 4 and hold his own. He's young at 25, and based upon stats this year probably doesn't make more than $1.2m next season. Yes, that's the same price Merrill is making this season. Is he more valuable to keep as #7 at that price, or, is he a piece that we should move? 

    For a comparison, when Soucy came aboard and Seeler was here, they split the #6 duties until Soucy just played better. Seeler was shipped out since it wasn't fair for him to be sitting around doing nothing. He was a better player than that. Guerin came into the organization in August 2019. He was the one who found a better situation for him in Chicago, and then on to Philly. I know you can never have too many defenders, but it seems like Chisholm is better than #7, and with Lambos improving, perhaps, he needs a new address?

    The other thought is having Bogosian as #7 and Buium and Chisholm be partners, one playing their off side and both can do that. I'd imagine that it would look something similar to early in the year when Chisholm and Merrill were splitting games. Or, do we trade out Chisholm and hire an older vet who can sit in the Prossbox for a long time and play when needed without missing a beat? He'd essentially be a "break glass in case of emergency" player, and if it was an IR injury, Lambos or Spacek would then be called up. 

    The last question to ask is what would a Spurgy trade do to the locker room? Everyone could see that Jiricek filled in well when Spurgeon was hurt. It was a different style but a good result. As a GM goes, Guerin has been our best GM at navigating the locker room and putting in guys it needs or that click. Spurgeon is much more than a player, he's the captain. How would this affect the other 20+ guys on the team? Would it be wise to go this way:

    Middleton-Faber

    Brodin-Spurgeon

    Buium-Jiricek

    Bogosian

    In this scenario Chisholm is traded and we do not recoup $6.5m in cap space. If Spurgeon has an injury, Jiricek moves up. If Brodin or Middleton have injuries, Buium moves up, Lambos is called up. If both Brodin and Middleton are injured at the same time, well, we have a bit of a problem. 

    The last scenario could work too. This would be that Spurgeon decides to call it a career. His body can no longer take the punishment. I do think this is somewhat likely too. Immediately, I would say Spurgeon has a role on the player development side of the organization and starts working with the young defenders in Iowa. Guerin signs him for probably more than his role is worth to make up for the 2 lost years of his contract. I think this could work out longterm as I see Spurgeon being a valuable asset. But, does he want to stay away from his family or have some time with them? Also, IMO, with no evidence, I really think Spurgeon wants to hit that 1,000 games played mark for his legacy. That would mean at least 1 more season.

    I, of course, do believe that 46 will be hanging from the rafters soon. Koivu is now the standard for this and I was against hanging 9 from the rafters since the Wild hadn't really won anything during his tenure. Jared Spurgeon has done everything Koivu had done on the defensive end and deserves the same honor that Koivu got. I do believe the organization still needs both alumni players moving forward in the FO. 

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    Imyourhuckleberry

    As I've mentioned before, trading Chisholm for Nyquist is the type of move the Wild likely could make, maybe just adding a 5th round pick for Nashville to retain the cap hit difference. With roughly 1/3 of the season remaining, the cap hit difference for the two players is less than $1M.

    Perhaps the Wild do stand pat after adding Hinostroza, the AHL leader in points per game this season. They are unlikely to be involved in any headline making deals, but could make moves at the margins if they are so inclined.

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    mnfaninnc
    5 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

    As I've mentioned before, trading Chisholm for Nyquist is the type of move the Wild likely could make, maybe just adding a 5th round pick for Nashville to retain the cap hit difference. With roughly 1/3 of the season remaining, the cap hit difference for the two players is less than $1M.

    I'm just not much of a Nyquist fan, and don't feel like he's got the grittiness I'm looking for. I think it was Mr. Cheatachu who went through the stats and he's essentially a Johansson. He had a decent run with us a couple of years ago, but, have we heard that story before?

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    Imyourhuckleberry
    3 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

    don't feel like he's got the grittiness I'm looking for.

    I agree with that. There's plenty of other guys who would be fine replacements for Johansson, it's just that the Wild have familiarity with Nyquist and he has some creativity in creating scoring opportunities that the team lacks with NoJo.

    If you put him with Boldy and JEE, that line would score more frequently than they do with Johansson, and the difference could be significant. He compared their scoring this season, but all of Nashville's stats are down this season compared to prior years(31st in scoring compared to 10th last year).

    Nyquist posted 52 assists just last year and Johansson has never exceeded 36 in a season despite playing with Ovechkin early in his career. He spends a lot of time with Boldy and JEE on the Wild and doesn't exceed 20 assists.

    I'm not calling it a massive upgrade, it's just an achievable upgrade for a team that likely doesn't want to give up a lot in future assets.

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    SkolWild73
    11 minutes ago, Will D. Ness said:

    I would roll the dice on Nyquist over Nojo any day of the week.  I wouldn't give up on Chisholm though.

    I like Chisholm too, but I wonder what the plans are for him next year.  Bogo is signed through next year.  With Zeev and Jiricek potentially playing next year, I am not sure there is room, unless they have a plan to trade Spurgeon.

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    Will D. Ness
    27 minutes ago, SkolWild73 said:

    I like Chisholm too, but I wonder what the plans are for him next year.  Bogo is signed through next year.  With Zeev and Jiricek potentially playing next year, I am not sure there is room, unless they have a plan to trade Spurgeon.

    True.  Chisholm is probably the odd man out.  Bogo is at that point in his career that he can be 7D whereas Chisholm deserves to play somewhere.

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    Imyourhuckleberry
    24 minutes ago, SkolWild73 said:

    I like Chisholm too, but I wonder what the plans are for him next year.  Bogo is signed through next year.  With Zeev and Jiricek potentially playing next year, I am not sure there is room, unless they have a plan to trade Spurgeon.

    That's exactly the reason I think the Wild would consider trading him. He's a guy who likely has a little value somewhere, but isn't necessarily a player they would miss greatly. Buium and Jiricek are close to being ready.

    Faber, Brodin, Spurgeon, and Middleton are playing as long as they are on the team. Chisholm is a free agent and likely needs a contract increase. I suspect the Wild may opt to simply replace him rather than sign him to a larger deal. Lambos might be ready for NHL minutes next year as an injury replacement.

    I think the Wild could trade out at least 1 defenseman this year and Chisholm probably has the most trade value of guys they might be willing to trade. Merrill could fill in this year until Buium arrives. It's not that I dislike Chisholm, it's just a question of whether the Wild see him as a fit next year given their strong mix of both youth and veterans in their system.

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    M_Nels

    M_Nels 561

    Posted (edited)

    17 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

    That's exactly the reason I think the Wild would consider trading him. He's a guy who likely has a little value somewhere, but isn't necessarily a player they would miss greatly. Buium and Jiricek are close to being ready.

    Faber, Brodin, Spurgeon, and Middleton are playing as long as they are on the team. Chisholm is a free agent and likely needs a contract increase. I suspect the Wild may opt to simply replace him rather than sign him to a larger deal. Lambos might be ready for NHL minutes next year as an injury replacement.

    I think the Wild could trade out at least 1 defenseman this year and Chisholm probably has the most trade value of guys they might be willing to trade. Merrill could fill in this year until Buium arrives. It's not that I dislike Chisholm, it's just a question of whether the Wild see him as a fit next year given their strong mix of both youth and veterans in their system.

    My thoughts exactly. Don't understand the talk about trading Spurgeon either, he's signed for 2 more years and will likely retire here. This isn't "Chel" where you can trade guys willy nilly. Doubt any teams are lining up to take on that contract for a guy his age unless Minnesota retains and I don't see that happening.

    He's playing well again after the surgeries and the injury from the slewfoot and is still 2nd pair caliber. Unless he has another major injury I see him playing out his contract in Minnesota.

    Bogo becomes your 7th D unless the Wild unload him for a pick or prospect. Chisholm is the odd LHD out with Buium coming in.

    Mids-Faber

    Brodin-Jiricek

    Buium-Spurgeon

    Edited by M_Nels
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    SkolWild73
    1 hour ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

    That's exactly the reason I think the Wild would consider trading him. He's a guy who likely has a little value somewhere, but isn't necessarily a player they would miss greatly. Buium and Jiricek are close to being ready.

    Faber, Brodin, Spurgeon, and Middleton are playing as long as they are on the team. Chisholm is a free agent and likely needs a contract increase. I suspect the Wild may opt to simply replace him rather than sign him to a larger deal. Lambos might be ready for NHL minutes next year as an injury replacement.

    I think the Wild could trade out at least 1 defenseman this year and Chisholm probably has the most trade value of guys they might be willing to trade. Merrill could fill in this year until Buium arrives. It's not that I dislike Chisholm, it's just a question of whether the Wild see him as a fit next year given their strong mix of both youth and veterans in their system.

    I agree with everything you said:)

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    SkolWild73
    54 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

    My thoughts exactly. Don't understand the talk about trading Spurgeon either, he's signed for 2 more years and will likely retire here. This isn't "Chel" where you can trade guys willy nilly. Doubt any teams are lining up to take on that contract for a guy his age unless Minnesota retains and I don't see that happening.

    He's playing well again after the surgeries and the injury from the slewfoot and is still 2nd pair caliber. Unless he has another major injury I see him playing out his contract in Minnesota.

    Bogo becomes your 7th D unless the Wild unload him for a pick or prospect. Chisholm is the odd LHD out with Buium coming in.

    Mids-Faber

    Brodin-Jiricek

    Buium-Spurgeon

    I agree.  Not a bad problem to have.  What I really like is the mix of young guys and veterans.

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