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I like JEE's play without the puck. Hope the game slows down a bit for him when he has the puck on his stick.

Interesting article! Guerin is in an unusually powerful position for a first time NHL GM. Leipold must be smart enough to realize that he can't possibly risk angering or thwarting virtually any Guerin decision short of a long term player buyout. A second GM fiasco within a short time frame would likely ruin the brand (arguably already teetering a bit).

Appears to be a very solid pick. Ya got hope Wroblewski's euphoria about Boldy is more truth than hyperbole..

Totally agree! Love the idea in the 2nd or 3rd, especially this year. Like 2 guys on your list, Sogaard and Jones

Goaltending is such a current critical development void in the Wild organization. I fear that with Fenton's "old school" philosophy, he could overlook the, IMO, critical component in drafting a netminder....the psychological profile.

Yeah, two strikes against him. But he can thank his lucky stars that DeBrincat paved the way.. BTW, my reference of "safer" pick was in regards to the KHL factor, both coming and future leverage (threat) of returning.

You're probably right about Podkolzin being gone before #12. But I wouldn't be surprised if the Russian factor fear doesn't have teams picking 5-11 considering the perceived "safer" bet of a Boldy, Zegras, Broberg, Cozens, Krebs, Dach, Caufield etc. And one other possible factor. I'm guessing that out of the first 11 picks, it's 50-50 that at least one team may end up going slightly off the board.

Excellent article by Dom Luszczyszyn in the Athletic about Paul Fenton not learning from his mistakes of selling low. Here's an excerpt... While a majority of the league is moving towards using data to better assess player value, the Wild seem to be moving away from it considering the deals they’ve already made and the deals they may make going forward. While other teams are bolstering their analytics staffs, Minnesota has instead squandered the huge competitive advantage of hiring talent early by letting Andrew C. Thomas go earlier this year and seeing Alexandra Mandrycky walk shortly after – two WAR On Ice alums and some of the brightest minds in the business. The strangest part of it all is not just how easily avoidable this all can be with a deeper look under the hood, but that it’s a mistake the team should have already learned from after dealing Niederreiter. The Wild may be right to trade Zucker considering the team looks destined for a rebuild, but not when his value is at its lowest and not for a return disproportionate to said value.

Granted it's only one pick, but I found both the pick and the suggestion by Russo that the Fenton regime was falsely blaming it on Flahr, troubling.

I thought the Fenton plan was to get younger and faster. Well, maybe one of his new loyal acolytes can share with him that pursuing Kessel and Pavelski and nixing the Staal deadline deal is just a wee bit off course.

IMO, unless Greenway is dealing with an injury or personal issue, his character has become a question mark.

Well, if you're right (and you most likely are), the Wild are in big trouble. Love Staal, but he's a short term 2C, Koivu very short term 3C. How in the world can these two match up skating wise against the West's speedy top centers (McDavid, McKinnon, Seguin, Petterson, Horvat, Hertl, Karlsson, Draisatl, Scheifele, Hintz, Schmaltz, Monahan, Nugent-Hopkins etc. IMO, the Wild have two must haves this off season. A #1 center and a RW sniper. (3rd is an upgrade in the goalie pipeline) Not holding my breath.

Not exactly. Rask is 26, JEE 22, Sturm 24 with other possible centers Kunin and Greenway (former BU coach insists it's his best position) 21 and 22 respectively. That said, Fenton IMO, has to acquire a first line center under the age of 29.

His skill is tantalizing...his playoff inconsistency is worrisome. But he is still young. Would love to see a psychological profile If Marner get his 10M plus per and the Leafs add a high profile RHD, I suppose Nylander is more likely to be moved than, IMO the safer option, Kapanen.

Totally agree on Lee currently not being a fit. Not so sure that Greenway couldn't possibly be moved. Of course your points on his cost/contract benefit limit that possibility. IMO, depends if someone is willing to give up a RW of similar age. Seat of the pants example...... package deal which would include Kapanen Toronto is more cap strapped than the Wild.

Never thought of that comparison, but you might be on to something. Bottom line. WAY too many LH forwards. Logic would suggest, since Parise and Fenton's new darlings Fiala and Donato are not likely to be traded,..... Zucker and/or Greenway would be the ones to be moved.

Disappointed in the reports on Greenway & Donato. Russo also stated he thought Greenway was playing at "half speed". Hopes it's an aberration and not a character issue.

If Fenton doesn't come up with a #1C and 30 plus goal RW, he can call it whatever he wants, but IMO, the results will likely be a 2020 top 5 draft choice.

Suter may or may not be an issue in the room, but man, he could have taken the 7.8M and sat on his "tractor". Instead, he came back unbelievably early from such a hellacious inury. Russo said he couldn't even walk without a pronounced limp at the outset of the season.

My reference was directed towards players acquired not traded away. Stewart was originally acquired from Buffa!o for a 2nd rd. pick.

I agree. In the first round, the Wild have virtually always gone with the safe pick. In hindsight, it's rarely been the best pick, but I would also note that because it's not the best pick, doesn't necessarily make it a bad pick. IMO, I can't come to the conclusion that JEE, Kunin & Tuch were bad picks

Of course hindsight in drafting is an easy exercise. I still contend that overall drafts, which historically outside the top 10 leave you with far less than 50 percent chance of success, become even more problematic when you trade away a significant share of your top 2 picks.

No doubt, although when you give up 5 first and second round picks over a short time period, your odds of success are obviously obliterated.

Yikes! Dead last in the league! The ghosts of the Moulson, Stewart and Hanzal trades continue to haunt the Wild.

Source please on articles you referenced.