I would assume the Wild are melting the phone lines to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as we speak…
Personally, I think there’s more going on then we know. Being denied access to the US via Dubai and then the Caribbean Islands.
On draft night it sounded like Bill was in on some info, but wouldn't divulge. Shortly after Bill's interview following the first pick I think it was Kevin Weekes implied he also knew some information and it was positive. I can only assume both knew Kaprisov was on his way to the US at the time. But it was likely before Kaprisov was denied entry into the country as now it all appears to be a shit show.
I wonder if Bill knew then what he knows now would he still have drafted another Rusky.
Cam and the wife traded to NHL's version of Siberia..
https://twitter.com/RussoHockey/status/1546972564442025985
https://twitter.com/sarah__mclellan/status/1546975083507449856
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
The cap penalty is certainly going to be very painful and make it hard to compete the next 3 years.
Losing Kaprizov this year and being terrible for a good draft pick may be a decent option. Their farm system seems to be in great shape for when we come out of cap hell.
Seems like a really good deal to get a 3rd year out of Middleton at that price. I thought he was really good for the Wild and helped Spurgeon quite a bit.
Okay I was hoping that J22 would have already posted his wish list for Wednesday at 12 ET instead of hindsight 20/20, but here we go!
I look at the Tablot trade as what everyone was kind of hoping for going into the draft. I'm guessing that the teams looking for goalies didn't view Cam as much of an upgrade and it becomes basically a salary dump trade. Everyone knows the Wild are tight against the cap and teams aren't in the mood to help teams in that situation.
So I think the optimist has to look at the move as freeing up cap space without giving away any assets and hope the players coming back make up for the loss. Clearly BG likes MAF and is going to roll with him while their top goalie prospect adjusts to the AHL this year and they have a backup that can play some games.
The cap gymnastics to sign Malkin would be impressive because it would have to take moving another piece for a pick probably. I mean is moving Kulikov with a pick for 'future compensation' a possible move? It might be worth it, if Malkin and using an entry level contract defensemen is the result. [Although of course Malkin signs anyway at $6.1M AAV... almost impossible for BG to come up with that money]
So what do they do with the cap space? I know Russo was wondering if they sign an 'impact forward' after originally planning on a bottom six forward like Johan Larsson, Colin Blackwell, Darren Helm or Trevor Lewis.
https://theathletic.com/3355725/2022/06/12/nhl-top-50-ufa-2022/?source=twitterhq
Johan Larsson-Projected contract: $1.1 million x one year
Colin Blackwell-Projected contract: $1.0 million x one year
Trevor Lewis-Projected contract: $1.0 million x one year, good defensive value for No. 3 PK in NHL last year.
Darren Helm-Projected contract: $1.0 million x one year
Maybe another?
Michael Raffl who has a $1.8M market value and played significant minutes on the No. 2 PK team in the NHL makes a lot of sense to me, 6' 205 lbs middle six defensive forward. https://theathletic.com/3063063/2022/04/18/nhl-player-cards-dallas-stars/
Aaaaand Malkin is off the board. Staying in Pitt for four more years.
Seems like a really good deal to get a 3rd year out of Middleton at that price. I thought he was really good for the Wild and helped Spurgeon quite a bit.
Okay I was hoping that J22 would have already posted his wish list for Wednesday at 12 ET instead of hindsight 20/20, but here we go!
I look at the Tablot trade as what everyone was kind of hoping for going into the draft. I’m guessing that the teams looking for goalies didn’t view Cam as much of an upgrade and it becomes basically a salary dump trade. Everyone knows the Wild are tight against the cap and teams aren’t in the mood to help teams in that situation.
So I think the optimist has to look at the move as freeing up cap space without giving away any assets and hope the players coming back make up for the loss. Clearly BG likes MAF and is going to roll with him while their top goalie prospect adjusts to the AHL this year and they have a backup that can play some games.
The cap gymnastics to sign Malkin would be impressive because it would have to take moving another piece for a pick probably. I mean is moving Kulikov with a pick for ‘future compensation’ a possible move? It might be worth it, if Malkin and using an entry level contract defensemen is the result. [Although of course Malkin signs anyway at $6.1M AAV… almost impossible for BG to come up with that money]
So what do they do with the cap space? I know Russo was wondering if they sign an ‘impact forward’ after originally planning on a bottom six forward like Johan Larsson, Colin Blackwell, Darren Helm or Trevor Lewis.
https://theathletic.com/3355725/2022/06/12/nhl-top-50-ufa-2022/?source=twitterhq
/a>Johan Larsson-Projected contract: $1.1 million x one year
Colin Blackwell-Projected contract: $1.0 million x one year
Trevor Lewis-Projected contract: $1.0 million x one year, good defensive value for No. 3 PK in NHL last year.
Darren Helm-Projected contract: $1.0 million x one year
Maybe another?
Michael Raffl who has a $1.8M market value and played significant minutes on the No. 2 PK team in the NHL makes a lot of sense to me, 6′ 205 lbs middle six defensive forward. https://theathletic.com/3063063/2022/04/18/nhl-player-cards-dallas-stars/
/a>
Wishlist for free agency? That's funny. The fact that you're breaking down AHL level players says more than I ever could
Looks like the Wild went out and signed a bunch of 2nd liners!
Not sure this is looking like a playoff roster. No scoring added to take the place of Fiala!
Not sure this is looking like a playoff roster. No scoring added to take the place of Fiala!
They may not be a playoff team, but I don’t think scoring was their biggest issue last season aside from on the PP. imho their biggest weakness right now (if they don’t improve special teams) is going to be in net, although have they really solved for the C position at all?
Looks like the Wild went out and signed a bunch of 2nd liners!
I’m sure they are all great in the locker room though.
I know you hate the fact Guerin cut Parise and Suter. But there is no way the Wild are a contender with those two on the team. Think of this as a head start to success.
Looks like the Wild went out and signed a bunch of 2nd liners!
I’m sure they are all great in the locker room though.
I know you hate the fact Guerin cut Parise and Suter. But there is no way the Wild are a contender with those two on the team. Think of this as a head start to success.
How do the buyouts give the Wild a head start in any way?
Looks like the Wild went out and signed a bunch of 2nd liners!
I’m sure they are all great in the locker room though.
I know you hate the fact Guerin cut Parise and Suter. But there is no way the Wild are a contender with those two on the team. Think of this as a head start to success.
How do the buyouts give the Wild a head start in any way?
The buyouts gave the Wild one year, and that’s gone. They have put themselves in a bad spot for a few years. This is not a playoff team this year and if by some miracle they do, it can’t be credited to Guerin. I’m not at all sure how so many here see him as a good GM, he looks out of his depth.
Looks like the Wild went out and signed a bunch of 2nd liners!
I’m sure they are all great in the locker room though.
I know you hate the fact Guerin cut Parise and Suter. But there is no way the Wild are a contender with those two on the team. Think of this as a head start to success.
How do the buyouts give the Wild a head start in any way?
The buyouts gave the Wild one year, and that’s gone. They have put themselves in a bad spot for a few years. This is not a playoff team this year and if by some miracle they do, it can’t be credited to Guerin. I’m not at all sure how so many here see him as a good GM, he looks out of his depth.
I like Guerin. He inherited the Parise/Suter cluster - F from Fletcher & Leopold (which was actually a BUSINESS success) that simply didn’t translate to playoff success. So implying that Billy is out of his depth as a GM is a LMAO assertion. He’s won two SC as a player & 2 SC as a team executive. He knows a lot more about Hockey & building a contender than any of us RUBES. Will his plan succeed? Who the hell knows. But he’s going to do things his way & has Craig’s blessing to take his shots… :popcorn:
My view on Guerin is that when he got here he saw the issues that were going on in the locker room and didn't shy away from solving a couple of those by sending Parise/Suter on their way. Everyone knew that those two players were not going to see the end of those contracts here in Minnesota, and if you thought otherwise I have some oceanfront property in Iowa to sell you. Guerin is making the tough calls and he knew he had one season to play with before having to deal with a tight money situation before he could get back to "normal" spending in three years.
I've heard it a lot and read it a lot in the last week that Guerin will probably just stack the deck with young players through the draft, trades, or free agency so that when the Wild come out on the other side of this cap hell he has plenty of cards to play with. Who knows...some of this youth could end up playing very well which will only help the Wild and those players by increasing their value to the team or in a trade.
I don't think for one minute that Guerin is in over his head as a GM. He just was dealt to deal with two bad back loaded contracts with players clearly past their prime.
I am the official Iowa Hawkeye football fan of GPL!
Not only were Parise's and Suter's contracts bad, the players themselves didn't play up to their value...not even close. Worse, not only did they fail to provide veteran leadership, apparently these two goof balls were a locker room distraction and created off-ice drama. It's a mess that Guerin had to deal with, and he felt that swallowing a razor blade was more desirable than a death by a thousand cuts.
Somebody had the fantasy that bringing those two guys in here was going to be the bedrock of a Stanley Cup run or two. Instead, the exact opposite happened.
My view on Guerin is that when he got here he saw the issues that were going on in the locker room and didn’t shy away from solving a couple of those by sending Parise/Suter on their way. Everyone knew that those two players were not going to see the end of those contracts here in Minnesota, and if you thought otherwise I have some oceanfront property in Iowa to sell you. Guerin is making the tough calls and he knew he had one season to play with before having to deal with a tight money situation before he could get back to “normal” spending in three years.
I’ve heard it a lot and read it a lot in the last week that Guerin will probably just stack the deck with young players through the draft, trades, or free agency so that when the Wild come out on the other side of this cap hell he has plenty of cards to play with. Who knows…some of this youth could end up playing very well which will only help the Wild and those players by increasing their value to the team or in a trade.
I don’t think for one minute that Guerin is in over his head as a GM. He just was dealt to deal with two bad back loaded contracts with players clearly past their prime.
I don't really like speaking about "locker room issues" because I have no idea what really went on in the locker room. But, I will say this. Bill Guerin has now run Parise, Suter, Koivu, Staal, Fiala, and Talbot out of town because "they weren't good in the room". At what point do we start to wonder who the real problem is?
Keep in mind Guerin is also the guy that thinks Jared Spurgeon has leadership qualities.
I will agree that it is hard to really put much stock into locker issue talk because usually it comes from someone who is butthurt at some point about something that probably doesn't relate to anything or anyone particular. I wouldn't put all those names into the "ran out of town" list though. Parise/Suter yes, Staal and Koivu didn't have age on their side, and Fiala was financial. Talbot thought he deserved a Darcy Keumper type contract with the guarantee he was the "man" in net. Even Keumper didn't deserve a five year contract and I think he will see only two years of that.
I am the official Iowa Hawkeye football fan of GPL!
Driving out a bunch of players who are 40 is the biggest problem in your eyes?
i do agree that the Fiala move was a result of bad asset management though.
Driving out a bunch of players who are 40 is the biggest problem in your eyes?
i do agree that the Fiala move was a result of bad asset management though.
Not having the slightest clue how to operate under a salary cap is their biggest problem.
Suckering people into thinking it had to be done because of " Locker room culture" is just the current discussion.
Driving out a bunch of players who are 40 is the biggest problem in your eyes?
i do agree that the Fiala move was a result of bad asset management though.
If Guerin “really” wanted to sign Fiala to a long term deal…he would have. If he wanted to keep Suter on the team (and in the locker room as part of the leadership group) he would have. But he DIDN’T. You can always make moves with players, whether they have “no move” clauses or not…see Ryan McD trade from Tampa to Nashville. Everybody has their opinion… :whistle:
The Wild are televising their 3 x 3 prospect games right now on their youtube channel
Driving out a bunch of players who are 40 is the biggest problem in your eyes?
i do agree that the Fiala move was a result of bad asset management though.
Not having the slightest clue how to operate under a salary cap is their biggest problem.
Suckering people into thinking it had to be done because of ” Locker room culture” is just the current discussion.
Keep pretending there wasn’t a locker room issue. Put the phrase in quotes all you want. None of us can confirm but where there is smoke there is usually fire. I don’t know if you’re Suter’s cousin or what but you really can’t let go of this and it’s very weird.
Driving out a bunch of players who are 40 is the biggest problem in your eyes?
i do agree that the Fiala move was a result of bad asset management though.
Not having the slightest clue how to operate under a salary cap is their biggest problem.
Suckering people into thinking it had to be done because of ” Locker room culture” is just the current discussion.
Keep pretending there wasn’t a locker room issue. Put the phrase in quotes all you want. None of us can confirm but where there is smoke there is usually fire. I don’t know if you’re Suter’s cousin or what but you really can’t let go of this and it’s very weird.
I don't think that I've ever even implied that I know what was going on in the locker room. I don't think that I've ever implied that getting rid of Parise and Suter was a bad idea. I don't think I have even discussed the buyouts in the last year, unless it was to correct terrible takes like the one you had earlier.
Seems kind of weird that you would be the one to bring up the buyouts and then accuse me of not being able to let it go.
Driving out a bunch of players who are 40 is the biggest problem in your eyes?
i do agree that the Fiala move was a result of bad asset management though.
If Guerin “really” wanted to sign Fiala to a long term deal…he would have. If he wanted to keep Suter on the team (and in the locker room as part of the leadership group) he would have. But he DIDN’T. You can always make moves with players, whether they have “no move” clauses or not…see Ryan McD trade from Tampa to Nashville. Everybody has their opinion…
Driving out a bunch of players who are 40 is the biggest problem in your eyes?
i do agree that the Fiala move was a result of bad asset management though.
If Guerin “really” wanted to sign Fiala to a long term deal…he would have. If he wanted to keep Suter on the team (and in the locker room as part of the leadership group) he would have. But he DIDN’T. You can always make moves with players, whether they have “no move” clauses or not…see Ryan McD trade from Tampa to Nashville. Everybody has their opinion…
Just saying there’s gotta be a better way to deal with the cap than getting rid of a point per game RFA.
Well at least this writer admits Dumba is actually a forward at the end of the article.
Driving out a bunch of players who are 40 is the biggest problem in your eyes?
i do agree that the Fiala move was a result of bad asset management though.
If Guerin “really” wanted to sign Fiala to a long term deal…he would have. If he wanted to keep Suter on the team (and in the locker room as part of the leadership group) he would have. But he DIDN’T. You can always make moves with players, whether they have “no move” clauses or not…see Ryan McD trade from Tampa to Nashville. Everybody has their opinion…
Driving out a bunch of players who are 40 is the biggest problem in your eyes?
i do agree that the Fiala move was a result of bad asset management though.
If Guerin “really” wanted to sign Fiala to a long term deal…he would have. If he wanted to keep Suter on the team (and in the locker room as part of the leadership group) he would have. But he DIDN’T. You can always make moves with players, whether they have “no move” clauses or not…see Ryan McD trade from Tampa to Nashville. Everybody has their opinion…
Just saying there’s gotta be a better way to deal with the cap than getting rid of a point per game RFA.
Yes moving Fiala was not a good move. You don't move 25 year old players with his pedigree that have been producing the way he has the last 3 years with replacement level Centers Gaudreau & below NHL level Rask, on NHL second lines. We saw what he could do with half a line for 40 games. With top PP minutes and a legitimate Center he will flirt with 100 points.
The Wild have 4 mil in cap space its hard to believe Guerin couldn't figure out the other half and kept Fiala.
If they go with Boldy and Rossi making their way as linemates with a Gaudreau level player, that is not going to be great for their development.
Fiala has had 1 season with a pt/gm and has never performed in the playoffs so let's not exaggerate his trajectory. While you'd prefer to not have to lose him I'd love to hear the moves Guerin could have made to keep him.
Fiala has had 1 season with a pt/gm and has never performed in the playoffs so let’s not exaggerate his trajectory. While you’d prefer to not have to lose him I’d love to hear the moves Guerin could have made to keep him.
Yeah! Blame the guy for with the second most points in your teams history for the team’s collapse in the playoffs! This is proven to be the fix! ?
How losing Fiala off his line affects Boldy production is the big concern now. How much of his success was predicated on playing with an explosive skater & puck possession player (Fiala) is TBD. I think the #1 PP will be fine, I’d like to see Boldy out there with KK & Zuc. The worst part about trading Fiala was his relatively young age…in the end, as good as Fiala is, BG didn’t want to committ that kind of money LT (7.875 for seven years) when he’s already paying KK 9.5 and that will go up significantly when his contract expires in 4 years…
Fiala has had 1 season with a pt/gm and has never performed in the playoffs so let’s not exaggerate his trajectory. While you’d prefer to not have to lose him I’d love to hear the moves Guerin could have made to keep him.
Yeah! Blame the guy for with the second most points in your teams history for the team’s collapse in the playoffs! This is proven to be the fix! ?
I blamed Joe Mauer for his yearly post-season “turd in the punch bowl.” I still think it’s fair.
Fiala has had 1 season with a pt/gm and has never performed in the playoffs so let’s not exaggerate his trajectory. While you’d prefer to not have to lose him I’d love to hear the moves Guerin could have made to keep him.
Yeah! Blame the guy for with the second most points in your teams history for the team’s collapse in the playoffs! This is proven to be the fix! ?
I blamed Joe Mauer for his yearly post-season “turd in the punch bowl.” I still think it’s fair.
Fiala’s linemates have mostly been replacement level players until Boldy arrived. Replacement level is comparing against a low standard.
For forwards that means if you were replaced at random by a 13th forward (for D it’s a 7th D).
Gaudreau offers the Wild a little more than 1 point in the standings versus a replacement level player. Rask a point. Those were Fiala’s Centers the last two years and in the playoffs, on the Wild’s second line. How many teams use that level of player in their top 6, let along two on the same line? Answer not many, especially playoff teams.
Until Boldy arrived he was playing with two replacement level players.
Nothing could be easier than eliminating a Gaudreau/Rask level center in a playoff series, especially by a good team. Not ideal when that is your top 6.
I don’t think people realize how big of a hole he covered up this last two years. It will most likely be on full display this year.
Fiala has had 1 season with a pt/gm and has never performed in the playoffs so let’s not exaggerate his trajectory. While you’d prefer to not have to lose him I’d love to hear the moves Guerin could have made to keep him.
Yeah! Blame the guy for with the second most points in your teams history for the team’s collapse in the playoffs! This is proven to be the fix! ?
No one blamed Fiala alone for anything and yet those "second most in history" disappeared. In fact vs his regular season output his playoff points were down, PIM were up and his +/- also worse in the playoffs. So again if they could have kept him great but can anyone say how that could have been done without massive bloodletting elsewhere and then for what?
Fiala has had 1 season with a pt/gm and has never performed in the playoffs so let’s not exaggerate his trajectory. While you’d prefer to not have to lose him I’d love to hear the moves Guerin could have made to keep him.
Yeah! Blame the guy for with the second most points in your teams history for the team’s collapse in the playoffs! This is proven to be the fix! ?
No one blamed Fiala alone for anything and yet those “second most in history” disappeared. In fact vs his regular season output his playoff points were down, PIM were up and his +/- also worse in the playoffs. So again if they could have kept him great but can anyone say how that could have been done without massive bloodletting elsewhere and then for what?
Trade Foligno
Gaudreau or Jost
Kulikov
Fiala has had 1 season with a pt/gm and has never performed in the playoffs so let’s not exaggerate his trajectory. While you’d prefer to not have to lose him I’d love to hear the moves Guerin could have made to keep him.
Yeah! Blame the guy for with the second most points in your teams history for the team’s collapse in the playoffs! This is proven to be the fix! ?
No one blamed Fiala alone for anything and yet those “second most in history” disappeared. In fact vs his regular season output his playoff points were down, PIM were up and his +/- also worse in the playoffs. So again if they could have kept him great but can anyone say how that could have been done without massive bloodletting elsewhere and then for what?
Trade Foligno
Gaudreau or Jost
Kulikov
Trade Foligno for? Release or trade the others and do what…? That’s going to get them not only under the cap but keep this current roster competitive enough to make the playoffs next year with MAF as the starting G? I don't see it.
Fiala has had 1 season with a pt/gm and has never performed in the playoffs so let’s not exaggerate his trajectory. While you’d prefer to not have to lose him I’d love to hear the moves Guerin could have made to keep him.
Yeah! Blame the guy for with the second most points in your teams history for the team’s collapse in the playoffs! This is proven to be the fix! ?
No one blamed Fiala alone for anything and yet those “second most in history” disappeared. In fact vs his regular season output his playoff points were down, PIM were up and his +/- also worse in the playoffs. So again if they could have kept him great but can anyone say how that could have been done without massive bloodletting elsewhere and then for what?
Trade Foligno
Gaudreau or Jost
Kulikov
Trade Foligno for? Release or trade the others and do what…? That’s going to get them not only under the cap but keep this current roster competitive enough to make the playoffs next year with MAF as the starting G? I don’t see it.
You asked for an example.
Gaudreau/Jost, Kulikov are all replaceable. They have little to no value versus whomever would be taking their spot.
Plus they have Rossi in the mix
I much rather have Fiala Rossi Boldy on the second like next year and Fiala locked up. Than whatever they are going to try and pull off.
It doesn't matter that they're replaceable - that lineup doesn't get them back to the playoffs and if somehow miraculously it did they'd lose in the 1st round again anyway. They had to start building for the future and I'd be surprised if Dumba and/or Spuergeon aren't next.
I suppose if they want to bottom out (and not keep KK? Lol) then trading Fiala is one way to do it but if you’re trying to field a competitive team anytime soon I don’t see how that helps. There’s definitely other ways to get under the cap.
It doesn’t matter that they’re replaceable – that lineup doesn’t get them back to the playoffs and if somehow miraculously it did they’d lose in the 1st round again anyway. They had to start building for the future and I’d be surprised if Dumba and/or Spuergeon aren’t next.
Just to clarify. Your latest argument is that it's much better for the future of the Wild to trade a 25 year old 85 point player, than it would be to trade three 30 year old plugs? Really?
It doesn’t matter that they’re replaceable – that lineup doesn’t get them back to the playoffs and if somehow miraculously it did they’d lose in the 1st round again anyway. They had to start building for the future and I’d be surprised if Dumba and/or Spuergeon aren’t next.
Just to clarify. Your latest argument is that it’s much better for the future of the Wild to trade a 25 year old 85 point player, than it would be to trade three 30 year old plugs? Really?
At the end of the day, Guerin didn’t want to invest almost $8 million per year for 7 years on Fiala. If he “really” wanted to keep him long term, he’d of found a way by juggling some deck chairs. If Fiala turns into a consistent 80-100 point scorer in LA for the next 7 years the trade will age BADLY. Frankly, I like Guerin, but I questioned extending Greenway, I’m not convinced he’s worth his contract. Dumba is in the last year of his contract and I wish they’d use his shot on the power play, one of his strengths. But as soon as 23-24, Faber may take Dumba’s spot in the top 2 pairings (a major part of the Fiala trade.
It doesn’t matter that they’re replaceable – that lineup doesn’t get them back to the playoffs and if somehow miraculously it did they’d lose in the 1st round again anyway. They had to start building for the future and I’d be surprised if Dumba and/or Spuergeon aren’t next.
Just to clarify. Your latest argument is that it’s much better for the future of the Wild to trade a 25 year old 85 point player, than it would be to trade three 30 year old plugs? Really?
I'm not saying you trade Fiala for the future per se, but if you want to go there only one of those scenarios would net you anything you'd want with which to rebuild.
What I have been clear in saying is I didn't foresee them being able to keep Fiala while also being able to replace enough of their stiffs with enough talent to get back to the playoffs while remaining under the cap. You don't agree with that great.
Okay so the Wild have $4.3M in cap space going into the season and it looks like Guerin is going to stay with his roster instead of being aggressive to add another piece.
Is he going to wait out the season a bit to add someone via trade?
Jonathan Toews's $10.5M cap hit and $6.9M real salary will dwindle down to something the Wild might be interested in as the season progresses. Certainly seems like Chicago is in tank mode and just needs a dance partner for Toews or Kane's massive cap hits.
Other pending UFAs...
| PLAYER | AGE | POS | CAP HIT | SALARY |
| 3. Vladimir Tarasenko | 31 | RW | $7,500,000 | $5,500,000 |
| 4. Ryan O'Reilly | 32 | C | $7,500,000 | $6,000,000 |
| 5. James van Riemsdyk | 34 | LW, RW | $7,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
| 6. Max Pacioretty | 34 | LW | $7,000,000 | $5,250,000 |
| 8. David Pastrnak | 27 | RW | $6,666,667 | $6,400,000 |
| 20. Jonathan Huberdeau | 30 | LW | $5,900,000 | $6,200,000 |
| 21. Jonathan Quick | 37 | G | $5,800,000 | $2,500,000 |
| 22. Joe Pavelski | 38 | RW, C | $5,500,000 | $5,500,000 |
| 28. Patric Hörnqvist | 36 | RW | $5,300,000 | $5,300,000 |
| 29. J.T. Miller | 30 | LW, C | $5,250,000 | $4,500,000 |
Okay so the Wild have $4.3M in cap space going into the season and it looks like Guerin is going to stay with his roster instead of being aggressive to add another piece.
Is he going to wait out the season a bit to add someone via trade?
Jonathan Toews’s $10.5M cap hit and $6.9M real salary will dwindle down to something the Wild might be interested in as the season progresses. Certainly seems like Chicago is in tank mode and just needs a dance partner for Toews or Kane’s massive cap hits.
Other pending UFAs…
PLAYER
AGE
POS
CAP HIT
SALARY3. Vladimir Tarasenko
31
RW
$7,500,000
$5,500,0004. Ryan O’Reilly
32
C
$7,500,000
$6,000,0005. James van Riemsdyk
34
LW, RW
$7,000,000
$5,000,0006. Max Pacioretty
34
LW
$7,000,000
$5,250,0008. David Pastrnak
27
RW
$6,666,667
$6,400,00020. Jonathan Huberdeau
30
LW
$5,900,000
$6,200,00021. Jonathan Quick
37
G
$5,800,000
$2,500,00022. Joe Pavelski
38
RW, C
$5,500,000
$5,500,00028. Patric Hörnqvist
36
RW
$5,300,000
$5,300,00029. J.T. Miller
30
LW, C
$5,250,000
$4,500,000
If Kaprisov is stuck in Russia for the season, does he have a cap hit?
I don't think he's 'stuck in Russia' so much as he (like many other European players) right now doesn't have the necessary visa?:
https://theathletic.com/3388771/2022/07/01/nhl-russia-putin-ukraine/
I don’t think he’s ‘stuck in Russia’ so much as he (like many other European players) right now doesn’t have the necessary visa?:
https://theathletic.com/3388771/2022/07/01/nhl-russia-putin-ukraine//a >
It's a good article. Ridiculous situation, but I do work with the government so I believe it.
That said, Kaprisov seems to be in a stickier situation in that the Russian government seems to be poking it's nose into whether or not Kirill bought fake Russian military ID to avoid his requirement to serve. I believe that's why, just after this article was published, Kaprisov tried twice to get back into the US (only to be turned away for lack of visa).
Okay so the Wild have $4.3M in cap space going into the season and it looks like Guerin is going to stay with his roster instead of being aggressive to add another piece.
Is he going to wait out the season a bit to add someone via trade?
Jonathan Toews’s $10.5M cap hit and $6.9M real salary will dwindle down to something the Wild might be interested in as the season progresses. Certainly seems like Chicago is in tank mode and just needs a dance partner for Toews or Kane’s massive cap hits.
Other pending UFAs…
I just have a hard time seeing this team make any noise, especially in the playoffs. They have historically struggled to score goals, and disappeared in the playoffs. Last year they scored way more goals than ever before in the regular season, got home ice, and then didn't play well enough to get it done. Not to mention choosing a bad time to make a goalie move, and likely starting the wrong guy form the beginning of the playoffs.
MAF is not the MAF from 5-6 years ago. Goalies, generally, tend to fall off after age 32 season.
https://thehockeywriters.com/3-old-goalies-breaking-the-curve/
It is not until age 32 when a significant decline starts and by 35, a goalie’s performance begins to fall off a cliff. Of course, there are the rare instances like Dominik Hasek, Martin Brodeur, and Roy who were all productive into their late 30’s.
MAF is listed as a goalie who was breaking the age curve, but the article is a few years old, and I don't think his current stats are breaking any curves... MAF will probably be fine under the Wild's system. But can this team win with fine goaltending? I always hear that all the Wild need is average goaltending and they will go far. Well... I would argue they got close to average goaltending with Talbot and Fluery, and it got them another first round loss.
League average save percentage has been on a decline for the last 3 seasons: https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/stats.html
NHL Average SV% was .907 last year, and Talbot was .911, Kahkonen was .910, and MAF was .910. All pretty similar.
In the playoffs, MAF fell to .906. The Wild's Shooting percentage went from 11.4 in the regular season (2nd in the NHL) to 8.2 in the playoffs (10th).
The Wild scored 310 goals last year (!!!!! -- Their previous best was 266 in 2016-17.) We lost 33 goals with Fiala gone. That is a big offensive hole to fill.
Ryan Hartman scored 19 goals his rookie year in 76 games (.25 GPG), and in the next 6 seasons scored a combined 39 goals in 281 games (0.14 GPG). Last year he goes on a tear and scores 34 (0.41GPG). Do we believe he can do that again? He is playing with much better players than he used to... Maybe he can.
Marcus Foligno scored 23 goals last season after maxing out at 13 and usually hovering right around 10 in his previous 10 seasons. He is 'only' 30, but he is
EK scored 26 last season, 19 the year before, but 8, 7 and 6 in the years before that. He is young enough and looks like a guy who could do it again.
The hope is the void of Fiala is filled collectively. Especially with a full season of Boldy. I just think we had too many guys with outlier seasons last year to expect that to continue. I don't think MAF is going to be stealing any games, and I think we are going to struggle to score goals. Hopefully I am wrong, and they score 320 this season, and MAF is an all-star.
I am afraid the next 3 seasons could get pretty painful to watch. Dumba comes off the books next season, but that Spurgeon contract is looking like a big anchor for the next 5 seasons. Having $14M off the cap before you even pay 1 player is hard to come back from.
I don't understand a lot of the moves being made. Re-signing Goligoski to a 2 year deal. A guy you were healthy scratching at the end of the season and playoffs, a 36 year old, 3rd pairing at best defenseman for $2,000,000/year. Couldn't you sign a FA for $1,000,000 and open up some cap space? Jon Merrill is another one, what is he providing for $1.2M for 3 seasons that couldn't be replaced by a guy making near league minimum on a 1-2 year contract. Nico Sturm was a UFA at the end of the season. You weren't going to keep him. Why did you trade one under-performing player for another who was MORE expensive and under contract for an additional season?!? I don't understand that move at all. The Jordan Greenway extension seemed expensive, but maybe that's the going rate for a player like him now.
I get the buyouts, we were going to be stuck with them on the team or without them on the team. Just sucks to pay Ryan Suter to play somewhere else basically, when he could probably fill the role we are paying Goligoski or Merril for. Maybe he sucked in the locker room, fine, whatever, who knows. But losing sucks the life out of a locker room too. Getting rid of good players you can no longer afford sucks for a locker room.
Maybe they can fix the PP and PK and everything will be great for the Wild, and I can look like Chicken Little. I hope that is the case actually.
I think John Merrill Is underrated. He played well and he has great size, which this D corps badly needs.