Marco Rossi Might Have Just Saved the Wild's Season

I’m at a point this season where I keep asking “what’s the point?” In no way could this current team get past round one of the playoffs. Everyone keeps saying “but Kirill and Ek will be back!” Yeah, that’s great, we’ll probably win a few more games than we normally would, but it’s unrealistic to expect those two to win the cup for us. Not with Billy’s bottom six busts plaguing the second line. Honestly, the season is done, let Kirill and Ek heal instead of pushing them back before they’re really ready.

It’s great that Rossi and Boldy decided to show up and actually win a home game yesterday, but two clutch goals aren’t enough to silence the deafening noise of blowing a top 8 standing in the league. 

The very definition of "Backing into the Playoffs".  Can Kirill and Ek be saviors ... will they even be ready to play?  

With Vancouver's regulation loss yesterday, it would appear as if they are hooked up to several machines on life support. Calgary now is the only team to worry about, and a win vs. San Jose on Wednesday should do it. 

Now it's about getting Ek and Kaprizov back healthy and I suppose there is no Midsy update? 

Yurov contract termination watch is now on. Will Metallurg keep him until May 30th?

Ryder Ritchie scores the series clincher for Medicine Hat.

Calgary had already clinched. Riley Heidt brings Prince George back from the dead to tie the series at 3. Heidt had 4 goals in the last 2 games with a hat trick last night. Game 7 is tonight.

Baby Wild on a 4 game winning streak, yet, The Wall does not seem to be playing. Vaj is almost at .500 now and has moved above the .900 sv% target. Haight's got 20 goals as a rookie, not bad. Milne has 15. 

While not mathematically eliminated yet, the Baby Wild are roommates with Vancouver at this time. 

54 minutes ago, Trade Deadline Hero said:

It’s great that Rossi and Boldy decided to show up and actually win a home game yesterday, but two clutch goals aren’t enough to silence the deafening noise of blowing a top 8 standing in the league. 

I think this is a misconception of this whole team. Coming into the year, the national consensus was a lottery pick team. My expectations were to be fighting for a WC spot. That's the very definition of competitive. 

Anyone who had visions of grandeur for this team this year was fooling themselves, and I warned a couple of months back not to be fooled by this team, it wasn't that good.

With a draft that is expected to be below average this season, Shooter traded out the 1st for a future player. Let's just say the 1st was our draft pick and he moved up several spots to take a player about ready for the NHL.  So, playoffs or not, we weren't getting draft compensation for missing the playoffs. 

This team is not deep. That's its main flaw. Injuries will derail this team far quicker than other teams in the league. And, that's exactly what has happened. Enjoy the playoffs, there's no pressure at all on the Wild, they are making it there. They will get the 2 demanded playoff games, and maybe a couple more. 

Now, if I'm Shooter, I'm looking closely at this team in the playoffs and seeing who is a plus and who is a minus with the eye test. The minuses need to be subtracted off the roster in the offseason. Even if they don't make it out of round 1 this year, notating the push back, the ability to score or lack of, the compete level, and ability to handle traffic will be scrutinized from the top. 

In the last 2 months, the Wild have put up several stinkers. They're just plain exhausted and gave it their all, being undermanned and to a forward having to elevate in the lineup above their role. This should be applauded. Going through the cap recapture and making the playoffs in 4/5 years is a tremendous feat. But, make no mistake, this playoff run is about season's to come, not this season. 

Players should rest up when they can and be ready to go come playoff time. My expectation is that they will lose in the 1st round and have no other gear to climb too, except for a few players. More will be needed, but the showing off of their usefulness going forward is what that 1st series is about. For Boldy, Rossi and Faber, tilting the ice in their favor is going to be really important. For guys like Trenin, Moose and Breezers, this is about showing they can be important clogs on a playoff team. This means getting secondary scoring and a bunch of hits. 

Quote

if the Wild go on a losing streak and Calgary does the opposite, they could still find themselves out of the playoffs. But now it is much less likely and we can safely assume the Wild are going to be the West's second Wild Card team.

While it might feel impossible given the St. Louis flamin' hot streak, the Wild are still alive for the 1st wild card. 4 wins for the Wild and only 6 points for St. Louis in their last 4 games would put the Wild back into 7th in the conference.

36 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

The Wall does not seem to be playing.

Russo mentioned he will be back next week and hasn't played since March 15th. It's an undisclosed injury. 

He also mentioned that the Wild do not have the cap space to sign Yurov until next season. There is thought that he rushed back into the lineup after ankle surgery for his club and he's not really healed yet. 

I just saw the replay of Midsy getting pushed head first into the boards and I'm really pissed off at Francois St. Laurent. From the St. Laurent angle, the push looks pretty minor and thus a minor penalty. However, do to the launch and injury to the player, you still call the 5 minute major so you can look at other angles and can then reduce the sentence or wipe it out entirely. 

If you look at the angle from behind the net, this hit is dangerous, egregious, and warranted the 5 + game. These are exactly the hits the NHL is trying to eliminate from the league. St. Laurent had no angle to see the full impact, yet he had tools to be able to do so. This is referee negligence and the NHLPA should be demanding his suspension. But, since this happened to the Wild, and nobody cares, little will happen because of it.

I'm looking to see a DoPS suspension, and am finding nothing, so, once again, neither the officials nor the DoPS care if a Wild player is injured. I don't think this would require a hearing, but 3-4 games sounds reasonable. 

The Wild players are going to have to deal with this among themselves. They cannot count on either referees or DoPS to keep them safe. What will change things is the willingness to meltdown, or leaving a destructive wake behind them with a body count of injuries. For that, I am squarely looking at Trenin, Foligno, Breezers, and Hartman. You 4 are the guys who have to deal with it now.

I think Horvat made a mistake, and his long reputation of being a clean player should be taken into account by the team. But, hits like that cannot go unchallenged, and Horvat needed to answer the bell, especially after the game became 3-1 and the Wild were listless. Also, you don't ask a player to answer the bell, you just go pound them. It's their decision to defend themselves. 

Rossi was already in bill's doghouse, but the Ghost Protocal Rossi we've seen the last 10-15 games have sealed his post season trade bait fate.  Yes I know he scored yesterday.  It's the prior 15 games when the team needed him to step up (and he didn't) that matters.  I'm a Rossi fan and can appreciate his NHL skill but parting way's with him in exchange for some grown ass middle six talent makes the team better.

With the Blues and Jets playing tonight, a regulation win by either team might help the Wild to not face the Jets in round 1. Winnipeg has a chance to drop into 2nd in the division if Dallas wins out and they drop a couple of games.

As I mentioned above, the Wild still have a chance to pass the Blues if they earn 2 more points than St. Louis in their final 4 games.  The Wild currently have one of the easiest remaining schedules in the league.

If Vancouver loses in Dallas Tuesday or Colorado on Thursday night, they will be eliminated from the playoffs before they have a chance to face the Wild on Saturday. I'd like to think the Wild can defeat them at that point, along with San Jose and Anaheim.

The Friday night game against Calgary could be their toughest remaining game and Calgary hasn't been as good to this point of the year, so perhaps the Wild can win out with a Kaprizov triumphant return?

A quick look at the top 50 UFA list reveals a very low interest bunch. Nyquist is listed at 42, Breezers at 45.

Sam Bennett is the guy on that list that most interests me as a 3rd line C. Nico Sturm doesn't even make the list, which tells me he was forgotten. That could be a nice under the radar signing. I really think we go the trade route to get better, but those guys could certainly supplement some guys being traded out. Both guys are big and physical, Bennett being more physical, the exact type of player you want on a playoff team.

4 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

Rossi was already in bill's doghouse, but the Ghost Protocal Rossi we've seen the last 10-15 games have sealed his post season trade bait fate.  Yes I know he scored yesterday.  It's the prior 15 games when the team needed him to step up (and he didn't) that matters.  I'm a Rossi fan and can appreciate his NHL skill but parting way's with him in exchange for some grown ass middle six talent makes the team better.

Furthermore, Rossi's disappearance coinciding with 97's injury provide evidence that Rossi is the beneficiary of 97's talent, more than Rossi is his own play driver.

1 minute ago, mnfaninnc said:

Nico Sturm doesn't even make the list, which tells me he was forgotten.

I liked it better when you were obsessing about Brady. 

4 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

With the Blues and Jets playing tonight, a regulation win by either team might help the Wild to not face the Jets in round 1. Winnipeg has a chance to drop into 2nd in the division if Dallas wins out and they drop a couple of games.

As I mentioned above, the Wild still have a chance to pass the Blues if they earn 2 more points than St. Louis in their final 4 games.  The Wild currently have one of the easiest remaining schedules in the league.

Honestly, I don't think it matters much if we face the Jets or Vegas. Both are heavyweights and we'll need a stiff dose of lady luck to beat either.

Just now, Pewterschmidt said:

I liked it better when you were obsessing about Brady.

What makes you think I've stopped? I mentioned trade, and that's the only way B. Tkachuk gets here. When the B. Tkachuk rumors were swirling that he was tired of losing, I was willing to sacrifice both Rossi and Boldy to get him. I'm still not opposed to that, though Boldy has shown a physical side that has laid dormant until recently. I can't say I don't like it either.

Rossi improved from 40 pts to 60 pts in one season.  I don't really give a crap about play driver/passenger business.  He won the game last night by taking Zucc's crazy pass home.

52 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Anyone who had visions of grandeur for this team this year was fooling themselves, and I warned a couple of months back not to be fooled by this team, it wasn't that good.

That early season performance had me thinking we’d be 2st/3nd in the Central. 🤨

8 minutes ago, Pewterschmidt said:

I liked it better when you were obsessing about Brady.

Craig Oster is B. Tkachuk's agent, and he's an agent who's signed over $1B in contracts. He has 75 guys. 2 are Wild players: Zuccarello and Vaj. Surely Shooter has this guy on speed dial! Maybe a friendly conversation is due him about Zuccy, and then an inquiry on if Brady is happy in Ottawa? 

6 minutes ago, FredJohnson said:

That early season performance had me thinking we’d be 2st/3nd in the Central. 🤨

I completely understand, but it was foolish to think that injuries weren't going to catch up to us. We're thin depthwise, and our roster isn't fully young. I wouldn't have expected Kaprizov and Ek to be gone, I would have thought our 30s guys would have been, but we did not have the team to run a marathon with. They sprinted good, but just couldn't hold up.

7 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Honestly, I don't think it matters much if we face the Jets or Vegas. Both are heavyweights and we'll need a stiff dose of lady luck to beat either.

I understand where you are coming from, but I'd still prefer Vegas since it seems like the Wild have had fewer injuries handed to them from Vegas over the years, and it feels like the Wild might have a better chance of getting pucks past Adin Hill(2.49 GAA and .906 save%) than Hellabuyck(2.04 GAA and .924 save%).

Hellabuyck's 36.7 goals saved above average leads the league and is substantially higher than Adin Hill's 7.8. I like the chances of the Wild locking a good offense down defensively more than I like the chances of them solving one of the top goalies in the game over the course of a 7-game series.

Just now, Imyourhuckleberry said:

I understand where you are coming from, but I'd still prefer Vegas since it seems like the Wild have had fewer injuries handed to them from Vegas over the years, and it feels like the Wild might have a better chance of getting pucks past Adin Hill(2.49 GAA and .906 save%) than Hellabuyck(2.04 GAA and .924 save%).

Hellabuyck's 36.7 goals saved above average leads the league and is substantially higher than Adin Hill's 7.8. I like the chances of the Wild locking a good offense down defensively more than I like the chances of them solving one of the top goalies in the game over the course of a 7-game series.

Fair points. For me, it's about building rivalries, and I think the Jets and Blackhawks have the best chance of being hated rivals. St. Louis, Dallas, and Colorado are also good hard games, but due to proximity, I think Jets and Wild should battle hard! Plus, we owe them one....well, I guess we owe Vegas one too.

On paper, I do agree that going into the Pacific is a better matchup for us. Should we defeat Adin Hill, I think we can beat the Kuemperor or Skinner.

Also, to keep on the Rossi thing, he does make mistakes or "doesn't drive play," so to speak. But do you know what he does if he makes those mistakes or penalties? Comes up with clutch goals or assists to balance it out.

4 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

I think the Jets and Blackhawks have the best chance of being hated rivals. St. Louis, Dallas, and Colorado are also good hard games, but due to proximity, I think Jets and Wild should battle hard! Plus, we owe them one....well, I guess we owe Vegas one too.

The Jets are enemy #1 IMO and I think as of right now they are the most hated rival. Until Chicago rights the ship I don't see them as big rivals, Dallas right now is enemy #2 followed closely by the Aves.

2 hours ago, Trade Deadline Hero said:

I’m at a point this season where I keep asking “what’s the point?” In no way could this current team get past round one of the playoffs. Everyone keeps saying “but Kirill and Ek will be back!”

The Wild have players who have never experienced playoff hockey. Sure, they won't win much this year, but the experience thesis guys will get is invaluable. Think Faber, Rossi, Buium, maybe Yurov, Chizzy, maybe Ohgren. The playoffs are a very different animal than the regular season. It will be time for all the boys to grow all the way up.

Great comments by all.  Even if Kaprisov and Ek get back for playoffs it's going to take them a couple of games to get back into it.  Losing Kaprisov when he was having such a great start hurts.  But it also shows how little depth this team has.  Too many guys not showing up to play.  Not just Boldy and Rossi.  I wonder what Kaprisov really thinks of this team after relaxing for the past two months.  I'm sure he can't be too impressed.  I hope he stays but I wouldn't be surprised if he bolts to a better organization