[Closed] Gophers Off Season Thread

Jess Meyers.

[media] https://twitter.com/DylanLoucks4/status/1513308052065329166 [/media]

That's a good sign even though it may not seem to be. They can fax contracts. The GM doesn't need to travel to get a signing.

I was happy with the progress this team made. I am also happy that fans got to have fun Mariucci again. Hopefully this is a springboard for things to come.

Favorite Games this Season:

8.) Wisconsin Beat-Down

7.) Sweep in Columbus

6.) Come back at Penn St.

5.) Silencing the Ralph

4.) Controversial overtime in St. Cloud

3.) Putting down the Broncos

2.) Stomping Michigan at Yost

1.) UMass win

Most of all, I enjoyed the buzz running up to the big games. The fan base really needed something to look forward to this year.

While NIL is going to be a thing certain places so players can get more money in their pocket, I think it’s going to be a minimal thing for hockey players in general and minimal overall at Minnesota. One thing the NCAA did allow was institutions to reward student athletes for academic performance, it’s optional and only about 20 schools previously indicated they were going to opt-in to this. The reality is up to $2900 cash can be handed out and not every school will do this.

Athletics at more prominent educational institutions have become somewhat of a joke.

I guess I want people to get off my lawn and go to college and honor a commitment they made to that college to play a sport and be a student, not be a free agent making endorsement deals and being paid to play. That’s what the pros are for. ??

I'd be fine with that if the colleges weren't making people rich based on the player's performance.

Someone posted it here around the time that Laffer left but since Stauber left very few Gopher goalie have played in the NHL. I think we’ve only ever had 5 drafted too

Yes. The point is, if we can get quality goaltending, we don't need NHL draft picks. Especially given how goalies get drafted. Jeff Frazee was a second round pick. Wilcox was 6th round.

Moe, LaFontaine, Wilcox, Patterson, Kangas, Frazee, Hauser, Moen, Callinan, Newman, Stolp, Stauber, Blue, Pietrangelo, Kudebeh, Joswiak, Moen

That's the list of drafted goalies that have played for Minnesota since 1970.

There were games we got competent goaltending….there weren’t many games our goalie outplayed opposing goalie. We need to find a guy that changes that.

OK…lol…Ben is 23 thou ? silly me…Jess ?

Maybe you saw it but you're not understanding what he wrote. He clearly recognizes Ben is not coming back.

I’m still holding out hope. .1% is still a chance.

Without some incredible play by Justen Close the MN St. game would have been 10-1. He played well with terrible support.

Ha, what did you think score of Denver game would have been without Chrona?!

Yeah he clearly outplayed McKay it wasn’t even close.

I was going to say that he was no Hobey McKay!

What is a fax? LOL.

I work with the federal government and even they stopped faxing 6 or 7 years ago.

He wore the A for Team USA I am sure he would do just fine with a college program

Come on Orlando Solar Bears Sign Walker

No one really screams captain on the roster for next year. If Cruikshank would have come back and got his play going more he'd be a definite candidate having already wore a C for two years in D1.

The longer guys like Faber and LaCombe stay unsigned the longer they give me false hope. Meyers is just taking long because he's probably weighing offers from like half the league. Johnson is intriguing, from what I'm hearing the possibility of him returning is more likely than what I had imagined. I firmly believe Knies will be back.

Koster has shown some spunk and "vocalness" before. Great with the media from what I've seen. Seems like an outspoken guy and leader. He's my pick.

A lot of questions remain on who of our defense will go pro. Close’s success is directly correlated the D corp in front of him.

Close is a solid option but not a world beater by any means. He will rarely win you a game but he will rarely lose you a game too. Because of Close I'm not concerned about goaltending, I'm intrigued. Big difference.

For the guys who do come back, one has to think that the combination of how close they got this year, the excitement around the program down the stretch, and the talent coming in (Cooley as well as the others) will be big factors in their decision to stay. As many have mentioned, the NHL isn’t going anywhere. Why not come back one more year and really go for it one more time. Other than maybe Faber none of the guys mentioned had a completely dominant season. They would be a force to be reckoned with if they all came back. But now I’m getting my hopes up only to watch all of them sign. Damn it

LaCombe was fantastic in the second half of the season, and Johnson was steady every single game.

Johnson reminds of Brodin from the stand point that he makes plays with his feet (not in the same class but then nobody is) but doesn't have the offensive instincts that a guy like LaCombe does. Even so, he's a shut down defenseman and had a great season. The one thing he lacks is size, but there's a lot of defensemen in the NHL that aren't physically imposing.

From Dec-Apr LaCombe was as dominant as 39 and 89. Surprised will be an understatement if the Ducks don't sign him.

No, that’s my point. He was dominant for half a season. Wouldn’t he want to be dominant for a whole season before moving on?

I just commented this but as excellent as LaCombe was the second half of the season he was really fighting it in the fall. Does that weigh in on the decision for him to move on for either party? Not arguing just genuinely asking.

I agree with this sentiment. Think that will be a reason we see Knies back to play with Cooley and make another run at it (and also part of why the Leafs will be comfortable with him staying in that he will be playing with NHL caliber guys, getting PP and likely PK time).

I am guessing (with guessing being the key word) is that Lacombe made some mistakes early and most all of them ended up scoring on Laffer so he became hesitant to play his way in the first half. With better play in net, he could utilize his normal style without the risk of making a mistake being such a penalty.

I’d say if he was dominant in the fall then struggled down the stretch he’d be more likely to stay but it’s the other way around so the Ducks (and himself) are probably high on 2 right now.

I have seen tweets from this guy all year advocating Faber to sign. Probably one of the first to break anything.

https://twitter.com/mayorNHL/status/1513543904460648450

Just search Brock Faber on twitter and there are like 2k tweets from the past 2 days of Kings fans begging him to sign.

Just think what it would be like as Meyers if he does have 10 or so teams courting him. Finding the right mix of contract, pipeline, playing time, and development would be sooo incredible.

Sure there are teams that might pay more and let you play NHL right away, but they may also be teams who can't develop talent to save their lives. But do you want to go to a team that has a lot of competition at your position? And then, do you really want to move to Columbus or play for Arizona?

What is exactly the right mix for him?

LaCombe isn't going right to the NHL if he signs other than a few games as a reward for signing. He'll have to play in the AHL for a while.

Brock Faber can step right into an NHL lineup.

Matthew Knies also could step right into the lineup, but it's tough to get special teams time in Toronto if he goes now.

Do the Wild see Meyers as a NHL fit right away, or would he have to spend time in the AHL if he signs with them?

https://twitter.com/evegoe/status/1513592168711081993?t=Sgr-LbkITZUDzKhTkcHMvA&s=19

In the Russo article on the Athletic, he said Meyers had 24 meetings set up for Sunday and Monday. We can presume that’s 24 teams that want to sign him or at least give him their pitch.

The contract will be the same no matter where he decides to go. Starting in the NHL will be something that he can negotiate, but nobody is going to promise to keep him in the NHL if he can't cut it. Where his best fit is depends on what level of player he/they thinks he is. Minnesota for example has little need for bottom six forwards, but are desperate for top six centers. If Meyers signs with the Wild, but can't keep up with either the Kaprizov or Fiala lines, then he's probably looking at AHL time.

to play for the wild, you'd essentially be asking if he can take Gaudreau's or Jost's spot (or he moves to the wing on the 4th line). There's unfortunately not a ton of places to fit Meyers into the Wild's forward group right now with how they're constructed. And Fiala and Bjugstad are the only guys on contracts set to expire plus they will bring Rossi up next year in all likelihood

Yeah, there's also the question of if Meyers is a center in the NHL or if he will be better off on the wing.

I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think he will sign with the Wild.

But a team like the Wild may be able to use a player like Meyers next year when the cap is artificially smaller. Will he get ice time this year? Maybe not. But could he get ice time next year when Fiala is gone? And have two years to play at the NHL level with relatively low expectations for the team to contend?

Might not be the worst scenario.

Probably a good scenario. He is not playoff eligible anyways, so the absolute most he’d play if he signed today would be 10 or so games for anyone. This years rosters probably have slim to no effect/affect (still don’t know when to use which one) on where he signs. It’s all next year stuff, and the Wild do have space next year. I like our chances to keep him in state.

They see him as a player that fits their systems and I've heard the deal for him will include the chance to get at least an NHL game before the end of the season. I'm sure if he signs with the Wild though Meyers will understand that he may have to play in the AHL next year as Bill Guerin seems to value that experience for players. He can't play in the playoffs though regardless of where he signs because no one currently has his rights. I think March 21 was the deadline for that possibility.

https://twitter.com/jessrmyers/status/1513614997552865283?s=21

Would have liked for Grant to stay for his covid year as he is an older guy and was a captain at CC. That said, the Gophers have a couple of guys that play the same game as he does with the Farm Kid, Perbix and Huglen. Best of Luck to Grant. I'm sure he will try to find a team where he can try to win a Champy.