I don't think Spurgeon will get moved, he probably has told management he plans on retiring at the end of next season and that he wants it kept quiet, he looked worn out at the end on the playoff run. Guerin has too much respect for Spurgeon to trade him in his last year.
Brodin I would not move on from considering the Wild has not been able to draft defensemen that can make impact in the NHL. They have a 1st round draft pick and many 2nd round draft picks that are defensemen that are not with the Wild any more or aren't good enough to play in the NHL.
The above along with the diaster know as Jiricek will probably keep the Wild from winning the cup in the next few years.
I can see that scenario playing out with regards to Spurgeon. but that would just go back to my original point. You don't get to pretend to be "all about winning" if you aren't willing to make the hard decisions. There's no time to throw away another season just to keep from hurting Spurgeon's feelings.
My opinion on Brodin is that he may be the most overrated player they have had. Skates like he's one of the best players in the world. produces like a mediocre number 4-5 defenseman. Can't kill a penalty, is one of the worst offensive players I have ever watched, is incredibly soft while also being seriously injury prone. Big time NO THANKS
I don't think Spurgeon will get moved, he probably has told management he plans on retiring at the end of next season and that he wants it kept quiet, he looked worn out at the end on the playoff run. Guerin has too much respect for Spurgeon to trade him in his last year.
Brodin I would not move on from considering the Wild has not been able to draft defensemen that can make impact in the NHL. They have a 1st round draft pick and many 2nd round draft picks that are defensemen that are not with the Wild any more or aren't good enough to play in the NHL.
The above along with the diaster know as Jiricek will probably keep the Wild from winning the cup in the next few years.
whatever happened to Jack Peart lol
Just another in the long list of "all around" dmen the Wild have drafted that are decent at everything but not good enough at any particular skill to be able to play in the NHL. Peart could maybe still develop into a Hunt kind of player, but not sure that's saying much
I don't think Spurgeon will get moved, he probably has told management he plans on retiring at the end of next season and that he wants it kept quiet, he looked worn out at the end on the playoff run. Guerin has too much respect for Spurgeon to trade him in his last year.
Brodin I would not move on from considering the Wild has not been able to draft defensemen that can make impact in the NHL. They have a 1st round draft pick and many 2nd round draft picks that are defensemen that are not with the Wild any more or aren't good enough to play in the NHL.
The above along with the diaster know as Jiricek will probably keep the Wild from winning the cup in the next few years.
I can see that scenario playing out with regards to Spurgeon. but that would just go back to my original point. You don't get to pretend to be "all about winning" if you aren't willing to make the hard decisions. There's no time to throw away another season just to keep from hurting Spurgeon's feelings.
My opinion on Brodin is that he may be the most overrated player they have had. Skates like he's one of the best players in the world. produces like a mediocre number 4-5 defenseman. Can't kill a penalty, is one of the worst offensive players I have ever watched, is incredibly soft while also being seriously injury prone. Big time NO THANKS
think ive said this before, but sounds like we have the same arguments with our friends regarding Brodin lol
his contract is just a little easier to stomach with the new cap. think he's fine as a 2nd pair, 2nd pk type of guy but i wouldn't say he's a + in either of those roles on a SC type team. now luckily you can stomach that a bit more because you have +++ guys in Faber and Hughes who will eat a ton of minutes, but you don't want to arrange the rest of your roster thinking you're going to want to run them 28min/night
I don't think Spurgeon will get moved, he probably has told management he plans on retiring at the end of next season and that he wants it kept quiet, he looked worn out at the end on the playoff run. Guerin has too much respect for Spurgeon to trade him in his last year.
Brodin I would not move on from considering the Wild has not been able to draft defensemen that can make impact in the NHL. They have a 1st round draft pick and many 2nd round draft picks that are defensemen that are not with the Wild any more or aren't good enough to play in the NHL.
The above along with the diaster know as Jiricek will probably keep the Wild from winning the cup in the next few years.
I can see that scenario playing out with regards to Spurgeon. but that would just go back to my original point. You don't get to pretend to be "all about winning" if you aren't willing to make the hard decisions. There's no time to throw away another season just to keep from hurting Spurgeon's feelings.
My opinion on Brodin is that he may be the most overrated player they have had. Skates like he's one of the best players in the world. produces like a mediocre number 4-5 defenseman. Can't kill a penalty, is one of the worst offensive players I have ever watched, is incredibly soft while also being seriously injury prone. Big time NO THANKS
think ive said this before, but sounds like we have the same arguments with our friends regarding Brodin lol
his contract is just a little easier to stomach with the new cap. think he's fine as a 2nd pair, 2nd pk type of guy but i wouldn't say he's a + in either of those roles on a SC type team. now luckily you can stomach that a bit more because you have +++ guys in Faber and Hughes who will eat a ton of minutes, but you don't want to arrange the rest of your roster thinking you're going to want to run them 28min/night
You can't have 4-5 defensemen on a roster who can't kill penalties. It's really just that simple. That's how you end up with what the Wild called a penalty kill in this playoffs. And years prior as well if we're being honest. You can't have a $6M defenseman who can't play either special teams, provides zero offense, can't play in front of his own net, Can't play below his own goal line. And the cherry on top of it all is that he's a guarantee to miss 20 games a year and completely disappear in the playoffs.
I don't think Spurgeon will get moved, he probably has told management he plans on retiring at the end of next season and that he wants it kept quiet, he looked worn out at the end on the playoff run. Guerin has too much respect for Spurgeon to trade him in his last year.
Brodin I would not move on from considering the Wild has not been able to draft defensemen that can make impact in the NHL. They have a 1st round draft pick and many 2nd round draft picks that are defensemen that are not with the Wild any more or aren't good enough to play in the NHL.
The above along with the diaster know as Jiricek will probably keep the Wild from winning the cup in the next few years.
I can see that scenario playing out with regards to Spurgeon. but that would just go back to my original point. You don't get to pretend to be "all about winning" if you aren't willing to make the hard decisions. There's no time to throw away another season just to keep from hurting Spurgeon's feelings.
My opinion on Brodin is that he may be the most overrated player they have had. Skates like he's one of the best players in the world. produces like a mediocre number 4-5 defenseman. Can't kill a penalty, is one of the worst offensive players I have ever watched, is incredibly soft while also being seriously injury prone. Big time NO THANKS
think ive said this before, but sounds like we have the same arguments with our friends regarding Brodin lol
his contract is just a little easier to stomach with the new cap. think he's fine as a 2nd pair, 2nd pk type of guy but i wouldn't say he's a + in either of those roles on a SC type team. now luckily you can stomach that a bit more because you have +++ guys in Faber and Hughes who will eat a ton of minutes, but you don't want to arrange the rest of your roster thinking you're going to want to run them 28min/night
You can't have 4-5 defensemen on a roster who can't kill penalties. It's really just that simple. That's how you end up with what the Wild called a penalty kill in this playoffs. And years prior as well if we're being honest. You can't have a $6M defenseman who can't play either special teams, provides zero offense, can't play in front of his own net, Can't play below his own goal line. And the cherry on top of it all is that he's a guarantee to miss 20 games a year and completely disappear in the playoffs.
agreed. Hughes doesn't kill penalties and don't think they want him out there blocking shots (hate that he doesn't play EA time defensively though as think his mobility could be a huge asset).
Faber can PK and PP2. Hughes PP1. means they need 3 PK heavy guys out of the remaining 4. Brodin I think is fine on the 2nd unit. Spurgeon provides nothing to either unit at this point. Middleton was okish in the past but you can't play him with Spurgeon. Have to find a way to move 2 of those guys to let you invest in someone who can eat those minutes while playing bottom 2 pairs but PK1.
Billy got all his praise this year. going to really see what he's made of this offseason as the team is not that far away and you only have 1 year for sure of hughes left to sell him on the vision
I don't think Spurgeon will get moved, he probably has told management he plans on retiring at the end of next season and that he wants it kept quiet, he looked worn out at the end on the playoff run. Guerin has too much respect for Spurgeon to trade him in his last year.
Brodin I would not move on from considering the Wild has not been able to draft defensemen that can make impact in the NHL. They have a 1st round draft pick and many 2nd round draft picks that are defensemen that are not with the Wild any more or aren't good enough to play in the NHL.
The above along with the diaster know as Jiricek will probably keep the Wild from winning the cup in the next few years.
I can see that scenario playing out with regards to Spurgeon. but that would just go back to my original point. You don't get to pretend to be "all about winning" if you aren't willing to make the hard decisions. There's no time to throw away another season just to keep from hurting Spurgeon's feelings.
My opinion on Brodin is that he may be the most overrated player they have had. Skates like he's one of the best players in the world. produces like a mediocre number 4-5 defenseman. Can't kill a penalty, is one of the worst offensive players I have ever watched, is incredibly soft while also being seriously injury prone. Big time NO THANKS
think ive said this before, but sounds like we have the same arguments with our friends regarding Brodin lol
his contract is just a little easier to stomach with the new cap. think he's fine as a 2nd pair, 2nd pk type of guy but i wouldn't say he's a + in either of those roles on a SC type team. now luckily you can stomach that a bit more because you have +++ guys in Faber and Hughes who will eat a ton of minutes, but you don't want to arrange the rest of your roster thinking you're going to want to run them 28min/night
You can't have 4-5 defensemen on a roster who can't kill penalties. It's really just that simple. That's how you end up with what the Wild called a penalty kill in this playoffs. And years prior as well if we're being honest. You can't have a $6M defenseman who can't play either special teams, provides zero offense, can't play in front of his own net, Can't play below his own goal line. And the cherry on top of it all is that he's a guarantee to miss 20 games a year and completely disappear in the playoffs.
agreed. Hughes doesn't kill penalties and don't think they want him out there blocking shots (hate that he doesn't play EA time defensively though as think his mobility could be a huge asset).
Faber can PK and PP2. Hughes PP1. means they need 3 PK heavy guys out of the remaining 4. Brodin I think is fine on the 2nd unit. Spurgeon provides nothing to either unit at this point. Middleton was okish in the past but you can't play him with Spurgeon. Have to find a way to move 2 of those guys to let you invest in someone who can eat those minutes while playing bottom 2 pairs but PK1.
Billy got all his praise this year. going to really see what he's made of this offseason as the team is not that far away and you only have 1 year for sure of hughes left to sell him on the vision
I wouldn't even say that Faber should be on the PK. He's awful at it.
When Faber suffers D-zone/PK breakdowns it’s mostly his tendency to overthink his coverage, trying to be a hero doing everything. It was noticeable in some of his biggest games when he was a Gopher and it’s noticeable now. LaCombe is the same way, with the Ducks now too.
all that to say yeah I don’t think you gain anything by putting Faber on the PK versus any random depth D like your #5-6. Might as well let him take on more even strength minutes instead. I also think there’s a systems mismatch, a lot of the PK guys have proven they can kill penalties pretty damn well before
The Wild are just stuck in their defensemen. The defensemen for Florida and Vegas are long, strong, and good at clogging up the neutral zone to prevent the type rushes that MacKinnon and McDavid make.
When the Wild traded for Hughes, I didn't think it solved their defensive problems. As Vegas and Florida have shown you get to the cup finals with strong defense. I thought Andersson from Calagry would have been better for the Wild then Hughes.
As for Faber he was not asked to be a powerplay guy with the Gophers, he is still learning.
Early this season my son, who played 10 years of youth hockey asked if I knew Faber was going to be this good when I watched the Gophers (my friend and just gave up season tickets to the Gophers after 31 years) which I thought was odd question from somene who has playing in mens league for the at leat 10 years. I told him Faber did was asked of him and most games I didn't notice him because he was doing his job, playing great in the defensive zone.
I would perfer Faber be a penalty kill and top 5 on 5 defensemen then trying to add high level offensive densemen to his game.
yes but it's gotten closer at the NHL level due to Faber's progression offensively. most advanced analytics cards have them almost a standard deviation different offensively. Fabes almost doubled his points this year getting to play with Hughes. Add to it that Anaheim was near the worst team in the league in Lacombe's 1st year and Faber walked into a playoff caliber team playing with 2 of the league's best players and its not surprising their raw numbers are closer.
That all said, I'd take Faber every day of the week as he's significantly better defensively while providing some offensive punch.
I posted the NHL comparison because the claim was the disparity "still is".
I do think Lacombe is still better offensively. That being said, I'll still take Faber as the all around player who has a growing offensive game. Don't think that's a controversial take.
As for Faber he was not asked to be a powerplay guy with the Gophers, he is still learning.
Faber’s NHL career has pretty clearly demonstrated that Bob made a huge mistake in never using Faber on the Gophers’ regular PP units
faber has wildly improved in his offensive game versus what he offered while at the U
And Jackson Lacombe was and still is better offensively. No way Faber should've been on the PP over him.
You can have 2 D-men on a PP unit. Faber & Koster both running PP2 might’ve done really well.
On PP2 yeah maybe. Didn't the 2nd PP have Luke Mitts and Koster on it that year already though? So you could say Faber should've been playing over Luke I guess, but I don't really question the strategy of saving some minutes on him since he was key everywhere else in the game, and our PP was ridiculous without him.
PP2 had a couple big goals against BU in Tampa if I recall.
Kinda disjointed, but... there are 16 teams in the Western Conference. Since the 2004 season, 13 different teams have won the conference championship at least once. And there are 4 teams that haven't won it, with their initial season listed by year. Yes, that makes 17 teams total, but that's because Detroit moved to Eastern conference.
Until today, I hadn't heard of the award. Given for leadership on and off the ice, with a focus on humanitarian efforts. So basically the NHL's version of the NCAA Hockey Humanitarian Award.
Until today, I hadn't heard of the award. Given for leadership on and off the ice, with a focus on humanitarian efforts. So basically the NHL's version of the NCAA Hockey Humanitarian Award.
Very well done, Marcus.
I am surprised you have not heard of it before because he is the third Wild recipient in the last ten years. Zucker and Dumba both won it while in MN.
'29, '40, '74, '76, '79, '02, & '03
GPL's Resident Cabin Enthusiast & Cadets Hockey Fan
Anyone think that there is actually any traction to the rumors that Larkin could end up on the Wild?
The Wild are aggressively shopping for centers, that much seems obvious from the rumors we've heard so far. As far as any (real) traction I imagine something would leak and you'd hear about it from the Wild reporters. If I had to guess more of these dealings would shake out during the draft.
Anyone think that there is actually any traction to the rumors that Larkin could end up on the Wild?
Minnesota needs a center probably worse than any team in the league.
Minnesota has a very favorable spot for a center to come in and play with Zuccarello/Kaprizov. Would also play on the PP with those 2, plus Boldy and Hughes.
Larkin just won a Gold Medal with 3 current Wild players and Guerin was the guy who put him on the team
Anyone think that there is actually any traction to the rumors that Larkin could end up on the Wild?
Minnesota needs a center probably worse than any team in the league.
Minnesota has a very favorable spot for a center to come in and play with Zuccarello/Kaprizov. Would also play on the PP with those 2, plus Boldy and Hughes.
Larkin just won a Gold Medal with 3 current Wild players and Guerin was the guy who put him on the team
Larkin is really good friends with Quinn Hughes.
Who would you prefer Larkin or Hischier? Hischier can resign on July 1st, but him and Devils are not on the same page right now.
Anyone think that there is actually any traction to the rumors that Larkin could end up on the Wild?
Minnesota needs a center probably worse than any team in the league.
Minnesota has a very favorable spot for a center to come in and play with Zuccarello/Kaprizov. Would also play on the PP with those 2, plus Boldy and Hughes.
Larkin just won a Gold Medal with 3 current Wild players and Guerin was the guy who put him on the team
Larkin is really good friends with Quinn Hughes.
Who would you prefer Larkin or Hischier? Hischier can resign on July 1st, but him and Devils are not on the same page right now.
Probably Larkin. Larkin is already signed for the stretch of years that the Wild can contend. I don't watch Hischier enough to really try to break down the differences between him and Larkin. They seem like pretty similar players. Would kill for either
Anyone think that there is actually any traction to the rumors that Larkin could end up on the Wild?
Minnesota needs a center probably worse than any team in the league.
Minnesota has a very favorable spot for a center to come in and play with Zuccarello/Kaprizov. Would also play on the PP with those 2, plus Boldy and Hughes.
Larkin just won a Gold Medal with 3 current Wild players and Guerin was the guy who put him on the team
Larkin is really good friends with Quinn Hughes.
Who would you prefer Larkin or Hischier? Hischier can resign on July 1st, but him and Devils are not on the same page right now.
Probably Larkin. Larkin is already signed for the stretch of years that the Wild can contend. I don't watch Hischier enough to really try to break down the differences between him and Larkin. They seem like pretty similar players. Would kill for either
i don't see any way NJ let's Hirschier hit FA. Have not heard anything about the not on the same page given they're talking about resigning now and the stuff from a month ago was the Devils had no GM
The only "trade" referencing the wild is us sending Hughes there which ain't happening.
Hirschier is probably a better player than Larkin right now (and advanced analytics back that up) and is 2 years younger. Only benefit is he's on an expiring contract so may be "cheapened" in that sense.
I like Hirschier significantly more as a player. I would have to think NJ throws 12-14million at him and resigns him long term for what looks like a really weird contract at the time its signed and ages well.
“When your best friend is the son of God, you get tired of losing every argument.”
― Christopher Moore, Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
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have a hard time saying he's "foregoing" a payday when he's getting a 6 year contract worth 19.8mil (3.3AAV) given he was making 900k last year for a guy that gives you 15-20 pts/year and hits/PKs. Definitely need those guys, but that doesn't sound like some massive discount given the contract length
McCarron is everything that Foligno pretends to be. The guy who won't let the other team get away with anything and forces them to answer for it whether they like it or not
Probably a $2M player at 5x5 but the Wild are paying for faceoffs and PK. This signing also makes it possible to trade one of Trenin, Hartman, Foligno if the need or opportunity comes along.
I personally like what he brings to the team but thought it was ridiculous when Russo started throwing numbers out as high as $5M per. This contract doesn't bother me
Probably a $2M player at 5x5 but the Wild are paying for faceoffs and PK. This signing also makes it possible to trade one of Trenin, Hartman, Foligno if the need or opportunity comes along.
Cap is going up... $104 26-27, projected $113 27-28.
While the Wild are going to be tight to the cap, there's a lot more money to spend across the league. I think I read there's like $660M of cap space out there for next year. There are nine teams that have significant spending necessary to get to the salary floor of $76.9M. McCarron getting 3.2% of the cap seems like a fair price. Centers are going to be tough to sign.
Probably a $2M player at 5x5 but the Wild are paying for faceoffs and PK. This signing also makes it possible to trade one of Trenin, Hartman, Foligno if the need or opportunity comes along.
Cap is going up... $104 26-27, projected $113 27-28.
While the Wild are going to be tight to the cap, there's a lot more money to spend across the league. I think I read there's like $660M of cap space out there for next year. There are nine teams that have significant spending necessary to get to the salary floor of $76.9M. McCarron getting 3.2% of the cap seems like a fair price. Centers are going to be tough to sign.
it's kind of the difficult part to predict with the NHL doing an AAV approach and no ability to restructure deals as you have guys on the cheap locked in on long-term deals and way underpaid without a way to really "reset" the true market value with enough guys each year. Don't know if any sport has seen this much of the league "locked" into contracts while the cap jumps 20% without the ability to adjust guys under contract numbers. It's part of why KKs contract looks so gross, but it's also the luck of when you get to hit the market. There will be some guys getting way overpaid the next couple of years with all the extra cap around
Doug Armstrong the GM of the Blues who just retired mentioned that with the salary cap going up so fast that small and mid-market teams won't have the money to spend to the cap. That is not good for the competive nature of the league, is the NHL going to be more like MLB?
