CreaseAndAssist

I think the moves made in the last two weeks confirmed this team was re-shaping itself big time. And I don't think its over just yet. Smart move to get a guy who has just 1-year left on his deal to get three decent picks. Wild made two great selections in the 2nd round.

I know this may kill you to wait, but I am at school and its parent-teacher conferences today. I won't have a post-Day 2 article up until this evening. But it will be loaded full of analysis, quotes, etc. So far, the Minnesota Wild are doing a FANTASTIC job with this draft. We won't know for sure what we have in a few years, but these are good selections IMO.

Yes, it was a part of the trade of Luke Kunin for Nick Bonino, we also got a 3rd round pick too. Bonino only has 1 year left on his deal; so we added more picks which we landed two quality 2nd rounders and have another pick to use too! Smart move.

The Minnesota Wild draft Marco Rossi 9th Overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft Here is my analysis of the Rossi selection, the player I had listed first in my forwards article. I provide more analysis, plenty of scouts quotes, highlights and more. Enjoy and discuss!

Wild Trade Donato and Dubnyk to the Sharks I covered both deals here. The team will certainly look a whole helluva lot different next season, and I'm not complaining. The fact the Wild had to pay half of Dubnyk's salary sucks, especially since they had to chip in two potential 7th round picks just to make it happen. I'm guessing we'll see more moves; but I am not sure I'd say its a rebuild but it certainly is a full-scale renovation. Whether they're better or not is tough to say.

Its official now...didn't miss anything from it.

I can't imagine too many NHL teams would want to add him at this point. There just isn't a whole lot there anymore. Russo speculated that he probably isn't going to be going back to play in Finland this year since that season has already started, but I'm sure those clubs would let him join late. Either way, I think he might be waiting a while in free agency before someone calls for his services.

Obviously they were not going to talk specific players, but I think he understands that the draft is a reflection of what they want the team to be. So I think its safe to say we will learn alot about Bill Guerin's vision as we watch this draft unfold.

IMO, too much money for a 3rd pairing defenseman. Especially for a team that is already spending too much on its blueline.

Brackett's interview with Russo and Beyond the Pod was pretty good.

I spoke about the locker room stuff on a recent podcast I participated in. The Sota Pod, Episode #87

Minnesota Wild re-signs Carson Soucy to 3-year, $8.25 million deal I share some thoughts on the deal and what it means for this team moving forward. I think it pushes Dumba one more step to being traded, the question is traded for what. Yet I think there might be other consequences to this deal too. Enjoy and discuss.

What? No post about Svetlakov scoring a game winning goal? 2 points in nine games, but they're both goals. I should also point out that Filip Johansson has no points in two games with Frolunda.

2020 Minnesota Wild Draft Preview: Sleepers & Steals I profile some players who I think might be some greater later round selections for the Wild. Enjoy and discuss!

Glad you like it. I have one more draft article ready to go; this one called Sleepers & Steals. The 2021 draft is really defense heavy in case anyone wants to start planning ahead.

We had one, we traded him, albeit an aging one. Still, a low, low risk move kind of like what the Wild did with Alexandre Daigle years back when they signed him to a three-way contract.

The Minnesota Wild Trade Eric Staal for Marcus Johansson (sigh) Good thing the season hasn't started yet, I'm not sure I'm ready for 2-3 articles per day. Anyways, its an interesting move for a team that already had one reclamation project to deal with. Enjoy and discuss... I'm most indifferent about it. If the Wild got a 'steal' in the deal with Pittsburgh, Buffalo probably got a steal in this one.

Minnesota Wild sign Jonas Brodin to 7-year $42 million Contract Extension (sigh) This team loves hanging on to the same players that help contribute to its middling finishes. The length of the term and the NMC for most of it is again maddening. This team just can't get out of its own way. Why do we always decide we want the players with the leverage; because it'd be a shame if the country club culture felt threatened by a move; so lets cement them here.

Amen to that. I don't care about where they are from. Can they make this team better, and at this point; make us a faster and younger team. Bjugstad is younger, but faster is debateable. We'll see how long he can stay healthy.

He was too good for the AHL, but now he's playing in the KHL's minors? Uh, ok. Menell has 5 points in 3 games. Lodnia, from what I've heard has looked fast out there which is a good sign as we all know this organization needs more speed in such a bad way. Falkovsky, he might be a 'prospect' but as a guy who played in the ECHL last year...he barely registers on my radar.

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the veteran players like Jared Spurgeon takes him in, sort of like Mario Lemieux did for Sidney Crosby. It may help him continue to improve his lanague skills and acclimate to a new culture better. But we'll see. No doubt it will be a big change for him.

Matt Dumba's King Clancy Award, An Opportunity for Something Greater I wrote this as news broke about Dumba's King Clancy win. I know it probably won't go over well with some posters around here, but I think it needs to be said. I really hope what he's doing now continues; not just for hockey but for society in general.

Its actually pretty easy to ask to be traded. The question you should ask, why didn't he?

This is some pretty woke commentary by radoran and I'm not being even slightly sarcastic. Koivu also insisted he was the #1 center for about a decade too. He'd get pouty / angry if the team didn't have him on the board as the top line center. But hey, some Wild fans really believed he was the best captain ever.

This is pretty much my feelings on it all. I am not in the least sad to see him go. Heck back when they solved the last lockout I had hoped the team would use a compliance buyout on him. And then in 2017 I wrote this for Gone Puck Wild. If anything, hearing it was finally over brought a smile to my face, the way it might be when you finally pay off a car or something like that. Not a big smile, but one that was a sign of glad that is now behind us. Like Hockey_78 said, Mikko was very well paid in his time with the Wild and more or less given 100% autonomy and top ice time for the majority of his career. I don't think we ever saw Mikko really stand up for his teammates despite being team captain. We saw him yap at guys from time to time, but we didn't see him do anything really selfless for the team. But hey, because this organization hasn't accomplished much in 20 seasons, lets retire his jersey!?!? I think there is a fair chance I might just miss paying attention to that cheesy and predictable Wild moment.