Kaprizov and Boldy are the only guys on the roster that I would refuse to trade.Spurgeon has never been worth what he is being paid. The chances that he's still a quality NHL defenseman at 36-38 are not great. Brodin is more likely to still be worth keeping around, but it's still a risk.
Spending quality future assets just to try and scratch into the playoffs, seems like a bad idea to me. Even more so because anything you add now has to be a rental that you can't keep beyond this season.
Sell Dumba, Foligno, Spurgeon, maybe Greenway and/or Gaudreau as well. Hope to get a top 10 pick in a draft with a bunch of highly rated centers, and then spend the summer dumpster diving trying to piece a team together with no cap space
I don't spend any time at all on cap space issues and contracts, but I agree with your list. Brodin is a better defender than Spurgeon, but Spurgeon projected to be an offensive defensemen. I think he's regressed in that category, bringing his value down even more. At this point, if Spurgeon isn't scoring, I'd take Brodin over him any day.
Greenway has stretches that make a believer out of me, but when you average it all out, the numbers just aren't there. Same with Foligno.
I don't think the team would be much better with Parise and Suter, but it would have been nice to keep Fiala. The problem is, if you have to trade good prospects to keep him and get average stiffs in return, the end result probably wouldn't be that much different, would it? They'd still be a team scratching to get into the playoff picture.
Setting aside the salary cap discussion, who are the players you would keep? For me it's KK, Ek, Boldy, Zuc, Addison, Brodin based solely on the eye test. Honestly, the only "franchise" guys are KK and Boldy.
Eriksson-Ek is a very good young player who is probably worth more than his contract, so it wouldn't make much sense to move him. Zuccarello is a guy that should probably be moved, but I wouldn't do it just because of the relationship with Kaprizov. Hartman isn't great, but he is making under $2M per. It would be pretty hard to replace him with as good a player for less. Gaudreau would fall into the same category has Hartman. If he isn't willing to re-sign for $2M-ish, I would trade him. Foligno is looking like he's done. I would trade him as soon as possible. Greenway is a guy I like, but he's reaching the point where it might be time to move on. Reaves is not an NHL player and has no business being in the league. Steel is worse than Reaves. Dewar, Duhaime, and Shaw look like decent 4th liners who are making league minimum salaries. Wouldn't trade any of them unless I thought I was getting a better player.
Spurgeon is a quality defenseman who is overpaid for the role he plays and is getting to the age where it's probably a good idea to move on from him. Also a player who absolutely disappears in the playoffs. Brodin is very similar to Spurgeon in everything I listed above. Spurgeon I would move as soon as I found somebody willing to take him. Brodin I would probably hold on to until I got a deal I liked. Dumba I like more than most, but he won't be back. Middleton is a very good 3rd pairing defenseman who is being asked to play 2nd pair. Merrill is a solid 3rd pair defenseman being paid like it. Addison is terrible. Scoring a bunch of PP assists because you get to stand between Kaprizov and Zuccarello doesn't mean much to me.
Fleury is embarrassing. Gustafsson is looking like a great trade for Guerin. Too bad the coach won't let him play.
Unfortunately they can’t move Spurgeon unless he agrees to the trade or asks to be moved. Agree on pretty much everything else.
I’m not as down on everybody as that, but I understand where you’re coming from.
I think there’s also a reality that it’s hard to make a trade in this league. So as easy as it is for us to say trade everybody, it’s not always feasible. Most teams are against the cap so if you’re trading money away, you’re taking money back.
I don’t think there’s any way this team tanks to a top 10 pick. Too many bad teams that we have a lot of points on and nobody we’re trading is fetching a top 10. That’s why I’m fine with sacrificing a pick this season to push to the playoffs. Pending prices it may not even be a 1st. That pick isn’t making the roster before the buyouts are over and we have way more flexibility in all likelihood. The time for entry level players to step in and up is now.
I agree with the assessment on Fred and Hartzy though. Good players for the low salary. And see if you can’t trade the Rig. Steel can go on waivers at this point or just release him in the off-season.
This is a team full of has-beens that had career years last season. If they had kept Fiala they would have to make several moves to get under the cap and the players they'd have been able to bring in to replace those moved for cap space would have very likely been run of the mill. Truth hurts.
It's not the truth though. No matter how many times you try to say it.This is a team full of has-beens that had career years last season. If they had kept Fiala they would have to make several moves to get under the cap and the players they'd have been able to bring in to replace those moved for cap space would have very likely been run of the mill. Truth hurts.
It's not the truth though. No matter how many times you try to say it.This is a team full of has-beens that had career years last season. If they had kept Fiala they would have to make several moves to get under the cap and the players they'd have been able to bring in to replace those moved for cap space would have very likely been run of the mill. Truth hurts.
Bless your heart.
You're doing great.It's not the truth though. No matter how many times you try to say it.This is a team full of has-beens that had career years last season. If they had kept Fiala they would have to make several moves to get under the cap and the players they'd have been able to bring in to replace those moved for cap space would have very likely been run of the mill. Truth hurts.
Bless your heart.
Agree that Kaprizov & Boldy are the only players who are untouchable from a trade perspective. Zuc plays great with KK, but also benefits massively playing on a line with him. Spurgeon is overpaid for what he brings to the table, but Billy G clearly likes him and therefore won’t approach him regarding his no trade clause. Brodin is Wilds best D, but is always markedly less effective in the playoffs when the physicality ramps up. Need to move Greenway at the trade deadline, he’s young & someone else will thing they can turn his game around, he has a favorable contract, but he’s been pretty much a bust in MN, worse than Charlie Coyle was. Foligno may be close to done, agree on that take, he’s been just awful this year. And they’re either going to trade Dumba at the deadline or let him walk in the off-season, that appears clear. Addison is good running the power play (better than anyone else on the roster, but a liability at 5x5, but he’s young and has time to improve & is cheap. Agree on Middleton & Merrill, both are solid, but clearly 3rd pair D. The teams biggest flaw is that no center on this team is a “true” 1st line or (arguably even) a 2nd line center (not even Erik Ek by a strict definition). Hartmann & Freddy are NHL C/W’s, but 3rd liners on any Cup contender. Adding Gustafson appears at this point to being a great trade…Flower on the other hand may be in his last year, he’s close to the end. When it’s all said & done I think the Wild will miss the playoffs this year.Kaprizov and Boldy are the only guys on the roster that I would refuse to trade.Spurgeon has never been worth what he is being paid. The chances that he's still a quality NHL defenseman at 36-38 are not great. Brodin is more likely to still be worth keeping around, but it's still a risk.
Spending quality future assets just to try and scratch into the playoffs, seems like a bad idea to me. Even more so because anything you add now has to be a rental that you can't keep beyond this season.
Sell Dumba, Foligno, Spurgeon, maybe Greenway and/or Gaudreau as well. Hope to get a top 10 pick in a draft with a bunch of highly rated centers, and then spend the summer dumpster diving trying to piece a team together with no cap space
I don't spend any time at all on cap space issues and contracts, but I agree with your list. Brodin is a better defender than Spurgeon, but Spurgeon projected to be an offensive defensemen. I think he's regressed in that category, bringing his value down even more. At this point, if Spurgeon isn't scoring, I'd take Brodin over him any day.
Greenway has stretches that make a believer out of me, but when you average it all out, the numbers just aren't there. Same with Foligno.
I don't think the team would be much better with Parise and Suter, but it would have been nice to keep Fiala. The problem is, if you have to trade good prospects to keep him and get average stiffs in return, the end result probably wouldn't be that much different, would it? They'd still be a team scratching to get into the playoff picture.
Setting aside the salary cap discussion, who are the players you would keep? For me it's KK, Ek, Boldy, Zuc, Addison, Brodin based solely on the eye test. Honestly, the only "franchise" guys are KK and Boldy.
Eriksson-Ek is a very good young player who is probably worth more than his contract, so it wouldn't make much sense to move him. Zuccarello is a guy that should probably be moved, but I wouldn't do it just because of the relationship with Kaprizov. Hartman isn't great, but he is making under $2M per. It would be pretty hard to replace him with as good a player for less. Gaudreau would fall into the same category has Hartman. If he isn't willing to re-sign for $2M-ish, I would trade him. Foligno is looking like he's done. I would trade him as soon as possible. Greenway is a guy I like, but he's reaching the point where it might be time to move on. Reaves is not an NHL player and has no business being in the league. Steel is worse than Reaves. Dewar, Duhaime, and Shaw look like decent 4th liners who are making league minimum salaries. Wouldn't trade any of them unless I thought I was getting a better player.
Spurgeon is a quality defenseman who is overpaid for the role he plays and is getting to the age where it's probably a good idea to move on from him. Also a player who absolutely disappears in the playoffs. Brodin is very similar to Spurgeon in everything I listed above. Spurgeon I would move as soon as I found somebody willing to take him. Brodin I would probably hold on to until I got a deal I liked. Dumba I like more than most, but he won't be back. Middleton is a very good 3rd pairing defenseman who is being asked to play 2nd pair. Merrill is a solid 3rd pair defenseman being paid like it. Addison is terrible. Scoring a bunch of PP assists because you get to stand between Kaprizov and Zuccarello doesn't mean much to me.
Fleury is embarrassing. Gustafsson is looking like a great trade for Guerin. Too bad the coach won't let him play.
I hadn’t looked at the l standings for awhile. Didn’t realize we were such a bubble team. Better go on a run soon. Just a couple points from golfing in April.
I hadn’t looked at the l standings for awhile. Didn’t realize we were such a bubble team. Better go on a run soon. Just a couple points from golfing in April.
Dear God no. The worst thing that could happen is they squeak into the playoffs and then get steamrolled in round 1.
Saw this posted elsewhere regarding Russo - no answers provided there yet. I didn't see the tweet so I can't corroborate:
He tweeted that last night's game was only his "second home game I've covered since Dec. 29. Everybody knows why."
He received numerous replies asking why.
Nobody seems to know the reason but Russo thinks "everybody" knows the reason.
Does anyone know what he's talking about?
I hadn’t looked at the l standings for awhile. Didn’t realize we were such a bubble team. Better go on a run soon. Just a couple points from golfing in April.
Dear God no. The worst thing that could happen is they squeak into the playoffs and then get steamrolled in round 1.
Saw this posted elsewhere regarding Russo - no answers provided there yet. I didn't see the tweet so I can't corroborate:
He tweeted that last night's game was only his "second home game I've covered since Dec. 29. Everybody knows why."
He received numerous replies asking why.
Nobody seems to know the reason but Russo thinks "everybody" knows the reason.
Does anyone know what he's talking about?
The Athletic moved Joe Smith from covering Tampa to help cover the Wild this year as Russo got a "promotion" to do more national stuff like cover the All Star game, and write more about the NHL in general. He also added a 3rd podcast with a group of Athletic writers. He still covers the Wild, just not all of the games. He also is teased about being the former Panthers writer.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
I hadn’t looked at the l standings for awhile. Didn’t realize we were such a bubble team. Better go on a run soon. Just a couple points from golfing in April.
Dear God no. The worst thing that could happen is they squeak into the playoffs and then get steamrolled in round 1.
Saw this posted elsewhere regarding Russo - no answers provided there yet. I didn't see the tweet so I can't corroborate:
He tweeted that last night's game was only his "second home game I've covered since Dec. 29. Everybody knows why."
He received numerous replies asking why.
Nobody seems to know the reason but Russo thinks "everybody" knows the reason.
Does anyone know what he's talking about?
Russo also used to be the beat writer for Florida before he came to the Wilds. Along with the description of the tweet came a picture of the scoreboard between MN and FLA. I’m fairly certain that is what he meant by it.
Fleury with another highlight reel performance.
Fluery looks AWFUL. Wild outshooting Aves, yet trail 2-0 ?
The last two Colorado shots, which were thirteen minutes apart, have gone in. They’ve scored three times in their last five attempts.
Wild outshooting them 29-9, losing 3-1.
TNT doing their best to gas up the Avs and blame defensemen, but these were three shots that NHL goaltenders have to stop.
Late in the 2nd the Avs clear length of the ice on net and when Fleury saves it the crowd gives him the sarcastic cheer.
And he deserves it.
“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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The Wild have a 24 year old goaltender who is 2nd in the NHL in save percentage and goals against.
Fleury sucks for sure, but there are 2 or 3 players scoring on this entire team. It's getting old.
Wilds 2nd goal Boldy/Zuc/Karil line is electric
First Wild game for me in a while (F U Sinclair):
Boldy is gonna break out next year…he’s so close. Dropping the gloves with an equally small dude so great and smart.
I’m a big Zucc fan, he can play here til he retires
Glad we made Karil live through this cap BS cause he’s amazing…every shift.
That said: bench Addison and put Goli on the PP1 point…?…no. If you’re gonna blow it up put Dumba out there. F it they ain’t win in’ the Cup.
@streakygopher The offense sucks. It has sucked all year but has gotten even worse, something like 15 even strength goals in 15 games. They have a 4th line scrub playing on their second line and a rotation of scrub centers on the top line.
@j22 Not to mention he played lights out the last couple of games. Think the Wild would have wanted to try & get points against the AVs but I guess not?
The three guys who had good seasons last year—Greenway, Foligno and Hartmann—have done nothing to help this team. Some of the young guys, like Dewar et. al., give you hope but not points.
Goligoski needs to retire. He has lost a step, and it's more obvious every time I watch him play.
It's almost a head scratcher that they're even still in the playoff picture. Basically, one line plus Ek has carried the entire team.
Can someone more familiar with the NHL trade process explain the Wild trade last night? Feels like we paid $617k for a 4th round draft pick. Or is there more to this than I'm seeing?
Can someone more familiar with the NHL trade process explain the Wild trade last night? Feels like we paid $617k for a 4th round draft pick. Or is there more to this than I'm seeing?
They have a lot of cap space, but it only cost them 74k for a 4th round pick.
https://twitter.com/RussoHockey/status/1626795556591788033
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
No, that's pretty much it. the actual money spent is only $74,000 because most of O'Reilly's salary this year was paid in a signing bonus. They did take on 25% of his cap hit, prorated for the rest of the year, which I believe is the $617K number. Really a move that wasn't even worth the time to discuss for Guerin, but that seems to be the SOP for him.Can someone more familiar with the NHL trade process explain the Wild trade last night? Feels like we paid $617k for a 4th round draft pick. Or is there more to this than I'm seeing?
@j22 Thanks for clarifying. $74k sounds a lot better; I didn't even think about the cap hit vs. the actual cash.
This team has zero chance of a Stanley Cup run so I hope they just stand pat and eek it into the playoffs. Maybe they get lucky and steal one series win but even that would be a miracle.
Question for the day, if the playoffs start tomorrow who do they put in net? I know who I would choose but guessing it would not be the same as the braintrust.
@j22 So we got rid of a 4th round player, picked up a 2025 4th round, paid about $75k, and helped out a couple of teams. Knowing how much we can help other teams with salary caps right now, I think we could have done quite a bit better.
I am curious how Tarasenko and O'Reilly no longer being with St. Louis will ended up impacting Snuggy? In particular, how this impacts the chances of the Blues signing him this off season?
It seems to open up more spots on the Blues but if the Blues aren't where they think they need to be to compete next year do they say the best thing for Snuggy/them is to let him continue to develop with the Gophers?
I am curious how Tarasenko and O'Reilly no longer being with St. Louis will ended up impacting Snuggy? In particular, how this impacts the chances of the Blues signing him this off season?
It seems to open up more spots on the Blues but if the Blues aren't where they think they need to be to compete next year do they say the best thing for Snuggy/them is to let him continue to develop with the Gophers?
Things could obviously change, but this was the St Louis GM comments in January.
But Blues general manager Doug Armstrong wants to keep things in perspective.
“What you want to do is control expectations,” Armstrong said last week. “Snuggerud’s having a great year, Bolduc is having a very good year. Jake [too]. But they’re 20, 19 and 18.
“So their impact is probably going to come in two or three years, which is actually very good for this organization because Thomas and Kyrou are still going to be hitting their absolute steady prime at that point. But yeah, we’re really excited about the growth of some of these players.”
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
That's pretty much how I see it as well. The concept of weaponizing cap space is a great idea, but only getting a 4th rounder, 3 years from now, isn't worth the time to even get involved. Add in the fact that a team can only have 3 trades like that, and it just seems like a wasted opportunity@j22 So we got rid of a 4th round player, picked up a 2025 4th round, paid about $75k, and helped out a couple of teams. Knowing how much we can help other teams with salary caps right now, I think we could have done quite a bit better.
That Menards commercial was funny.
The Wild are playing, if anyone cares. 😉
Duhaime scores nine seconds into the second period. It is the first time the Wild have scored without Kaprisov on the ice in over 400 minutes.
Now Kaprisov scores on the PP to make it 2-0 less than two minutes in.
Guess Kap was pissed his line didn’t get the goal.
Nice bar-down snipe from Tommy Novak!
If a predator had to score, glad it was at least a former Gopher.
If a predator had to score, glad it was at least a former Gopher.
What if another former Gopher’s lackadaisical effort was primarily responsible for it? ? ?
?♀️
Preds tie it up with 47 seconds left.
And we score with 20.4 left!!
This Tommy Novak is really good (a goal and 2 assists). He must have gone to a really good college that development him quite well.
The Wild were the banker again for another NHL trade.
I'm 50% factual and 50% sarcastic. When you get to know me, you will know which is which.
LaPanta and Carter announcing the Wild took notice to the assistant equipment managers for both the Wild and Columbus being brothers. Saying it was the first time in the NHL brothers went head-to-head as assistant equipment managers.
I’ve mentioned a couple times this week that snow plow drivers and snow removal drivers are a thankless job. Equipment managers, especially assistant equipment managers are another thankless job. The job looks and sounds cool. Though what they do behind the scenes of long days and night, especially the assistants over the head equipment manager.
Keep your stick on the ice...
The Wild were the banker again for another NHL trade.
I'm getting the impression that someone in the Wild front office tried to explain the concept of selling cap space to Bill Guerin, and he just doesn't understand it. Washington eats $5M in cap for a 1st and 3rd round pick. Minnesota eats $1.275M for a 5th round pick.
Per Russo, Prorated, Wild spent $86,000 for a 5th round pick & O’Rielly was $74.000 for a 4th round pick. They can only do one more of these transactions this year. Per Russo, they still could spent up to 11 mil for rentals (at the trade deadline)
I know there are a lot of GMs in training out there who scratch their heads when the Wild step in to help out with these trades. Just a reminder that weaponizing cap space to take a long term bad contract or even a short term bad contract to help a team at the start of the season has been demonstrated to be way more valuable than trade deadline moves. If you compare what the Wild are paying for these picks, it's better than the previous four examples.
https://theathletic.com/4227673/2023/02/21/nhl-trade-market-bank-teams/
Right now teams like Arizona, Anaheim, Detroit and Chicago all have more cap space to weaponize than the Wild, so it's about relationships and accepting the market value that's out there.
2020 Toronto Lehner trade, $189k for a 5th rd pick.
2021 San Jose Janmark trade, $126k for 5th rd pick.
2021 Detroit Savard trade, $241k for 4th rd pick.
2021 San Jose Foligno trade, $320k for 4th rd pick.
2022 Minnesota O'Reilly trade, $74k for 4th rd pick.
2022 Minnesota Orlove trade, $88k for 5th rd pick
why not take on Craig Smith and his contract for the rest of the year, so you can get something of value out of the deal?I know there are a lot of GMs in training out there who scratch their heads when the Wild step in to help out with these trades. Just a reminder that weaponizing cap space to take a long term bad contract or even a short term bad contract to help a team at the start of the season has been demonstrated to be way more valuable than trade deadline moves. If you compare what the Wild are paying for these picks, it's better than the previous four examples.
https://theathletic.com/4227673/2023/02/21/nhl-trade-market-bank-teams/
Right now teams like Arizona, Anaheim, Detroit and Chicago all have more cap space to weaponize than the Wild, so it's about relationships and accepting the market value that's out there.
2020 Toronto Lehner trade, $189k for a 5th rd pick.
2021 San Jose Janmark trade, $126k for 5th rd pick.
2021 Detroit Savard trade, $241k for 4th rd pick.
2021 San Jose Foligno trade, $320k for 4th rd pick.
2022 Minnesota O'Reilly trade, $74k for 4th rd pick.
2022 Minnesota Orlove trade, $88k for 5th rd pick
Why not eat half of Foligno and Dumba's contracts and get decent draft picks for them?
There's nothing wrong with what Guerin is doing, but he hasn't added anything of value at this point.
I have to imagine moving at least Dumba is on his radar but perhaps nothing that makes sense has yet materialized. For all his mistakes he doesn't seem the type to find Dumba a better pro/con to retain than Fiala.