CreaseAndAssist

2019 Minnesota Wild Draft Preview: Draft Sleepers

In part 4 of 4, I identify 6 more players that I think could provide great value and help that will be available beyond the 1st round.  

9 hours ago, EmptyShelf said:

I would be happy to fill you in with more offline or at a bar.  The GM hire just dumped gunpowder into an non-contained fire.....It was time for me to cease donating to a $hit$how with no end in sight

Can't wait, hopefully we can make it work this Friday.  

1 hour ago, lynxrattle said:

They should just make a decision. Either pay for the scouting and analytics and do your own drafting, or just make the picks according to Bob McKenzie's list. It's pretty much a crapshoot anyways. Of course they will not have the gall to do the latter. They'll just keep on pretending they have decent scouting and decide to make a bold pick along the lines of no-name, no-future Johansson - just to make it appear like the scouting organisation is efficient enough for its tasks.

I don't think this is as much about $$$ as it is about egos.  I think Fenton feels analytics is less than his own intuition and experience.  We'll see if those positions get replaced.  Despite all the talk about how great those two were that we lost, I've yet to hear they have jobs elsewhere.  

Bob McKenzie's Top 31...Check it out!  

Nope

I hope they didn't give him a NMC too.  Because at least give Seattle the chance to take away your mistake.  Oh well, the Sharks are one of the few teams that I think has managed to re-form itself while its aging core sort of moves on.  I'd think this would mean Pavelski is gone for sure, because I can't see how they afford it.  

Lockout...lockout...lockout.  NHL owners, they are their own worst enemies.  (sigh)  I hope there is no NMC, so they can leave him available for the expansion draft.  Why not give yourself an out?  

34 minutes ago, yave1964 said:

Ummm,  Pittsburgh is in the East. I see them quite a lot with the wife being a rabid Jackets fan. More or less our order of games goes 1)Wings 2) CBJ 3) anyone playing andhopefuly beating the Pens. I have developed a tremendous respect for the game Crosby plays by watching them the third most of any team that I watch. Maatta- not so much.

 

 Zero offense, okay, a decent clearing pass but no shot at all. He probably misses the net low and to the right more than anyone in the game. Not a shot pass, watch Maatta he shoots when he has no other option and has some mustard on it but he misses five feet wide an insane amount of time.

  He doesn't like to play the body, preferring to play the puck in his zone he is skilled with that but gets burned quite a lot by more skilled players. Cam Atkinson for instance seems to own him, Atkinson is a little guy who if you develop a physical presence early sometimes doesn't show up the rest of the game, he feasts on Maatta because neither likes the body play and Cam is a more skilled player. So I rate Maatta's hockey IQ a bit deficient as he hasn't learned how to deal with that type of player. Overall he is solid defensively within the realm of his game.

  So I am not saying he is bad, just not owrth the money, not worth the cost of a 23 year old Kahun, there were better cheaper options for a stay at home defender with little or no offense who doesn't play the body. And I do watch the Penguins more than you, I pretty much would put money on it with you being a West Coast fan and all. I. know. My. Stuff. 

 That satisfactory? 

(yawn)  Cam Atkinson eh?  Yes, that means a lot to this conversation about Olli Maatta and Dominik Kahun doesn't it?  Great, you don't like Maatta, I think anyone that reads this thread got that with your 2nd post.  Kahun has promise, but a savvy team can find more players like him.  Until the Olympics and Kahun's strong play for Team Germany, the Blackhawks were not exactly falling over themselves trying to get him to come over.  Now we'll see how well he meshes in Pittsburgh.  Just as we'll see if Maatta can exhibit some potential in Chicago.  With Jokiharju and Gustafsson, the Blackhawks don't need Maatta to lead the way on their power play.  They're simply looking for a person they feel comfortable playing in a Top-4 role.  They'd rather not rush youngsters to fill those spots.  

You watch the Penguins more than I do.  Cool.  Just think about what you said, is that really something to be proud of?  I am just stating facts.  But please tell me more about random players that have NOTHING to do with the topic in hand.  Blackhawks is one word by the way 'hockey fan.'  

14 hours ago, yave1964 said:

By impossible season I meant, theylost their goalie replaced him with a 30 something never was, they had little if any offense and yet somehow managed to stick around all season in the hunt. All the peripheral numbers suggest they should have been one of the worst teams in hockey yet they made an improbable run that fell just short for the final playoff spot.

They are the Coyotes.  Chayka hasn't seemed able to move the needle too much on this team.  The bottom few Western Conference teams helped keep Arizona in the hunt.  But then the wheels fell off for the Coyotes and they ended up missing out.  

3 hours ago, yave1964 said:

I am a HOCKEY fan. I am entitled to my opinion based on fact that Maatta is entirely overrated, he does nothing particularly poorly but nothing particularly well. Rather a snarky comment out of you and entirely uncalled for sir.Do Penguin fans really ask Wild fans for how they see their team? 

Hmm, I dunno, I see Chicago play a lot more than an Eastern Conference fan does.  And because of NBCSN I get to see Pittsburgh way more than I ever wanted to.  So I'm pretty familiar with Olli Maatta too.  I don't care what Penguin fans want.  I never said Maatta is going to change Chicago's fortunes all by himself.  But they are looking for experience without resorting to adding 'old' players.  As @Ruxpin said on a different thread but on the same topic.  Its a classic change of scenery trade.  

Kahun seemed to have real potential.  Now its up to Maata to make Chicago look smart, or look foolish.  

9 hours ago, ruxpin said:

I get what @yave1964is saying. But I also agree with crease that Maatta fills a defensive depth need. Maybe a change of scenery helps him, too.

 

And Pittsburgh does desperately need forward depth and the pick is good. 

 

Kind of like it both ways, myself. I've read some Chicago boards, and they generally hate it. Mostly because they liked the kid. 

 

The Pittsburgh boards are just talking about how cute Sidney is. 

I wouldn't expect a Pittsburgh fan to know much of anything beyond that.  Maatta has to deliver then, because you know if Kahun takes off with the Penguins that Chicago will be letting their team know they made a mistake.  

6 hours ago, yave1964 said:

I am not a Maatta fan, not much there IMHO. He broke in a house afire seven years ago and just fizzled out, he is a third pair stay at home guy which every team needs but there are cheaper better options. And Kahun as a 23 year old rookie had a solid year working his way up by years end to the second line and drawing praise from Toews for his speed and creativity. Frankly I think Chicago got hosed on this one.

Wonderful.  Do Chicago fans really ask Red Wings fans for how they see their team?  They need to improve their defense more than they need scoring.  

Well Chicago's defense isn't great and lacks experience.  Maata can help in both capacities.  I think its a low risk move for Chicago.  

Impossible season?  They didn't make the playoffs despite the fact they looked like they were on their way.  In that way they demonstrated they were very much the Coyotes like every other year.  Maybe a little promising but not nearly enough.   

2 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

I think Buffalo just did what they needed to do at this stage of their competitive cycle:
Sign a young enough guy with a legit skillset to help push this franchise forward as other players develop into full fledged NHL contenders.
That seems to be the plan anyways.

Again, I think wherever Skinner would have gone, he was going to get paid and get paid big....so if you are Buffalo, why not sign him...keep him there with Jack Eichel whom he seemed to work with real well.

Ok, so perhaps Skinner benefitted from Eichel as a linemate, but still, Skinner himself is a bonafide offensive threat. Put up decent numbers with woeful offensive Carolina teams in the past, his possession metrics seem to be pretty good throughout his career, and while he has yet to gain the notoriety of some of the players on your comparable list, I think he can be just as good....maybe he will be noticed more playing in Buffalo as opposed to Carolina, playing on an up n coming team like the Sabres.

Buffalo still needs lots of other things of course, but if they make good signings elsewhere and, more importantly, the guys they have develop correctly, I think this deal will still look good.

Not very many players at all usually live up to whatever the big contract they end up getting is....I know you know this.
But many times teams are willing to take the chance on a guy with a reasonable shot at becoming a regular contributor and a guy you can continue to build around for the majority of the contract given....as I think this is the case with Skinner.

The team has the cap space and will also have some other contracts coming off the books as soon as next year

(yawn)  There is no guarantee Skinner will live up to this deal, in fact...stats would indicate he won't over the course of the deal.  They still have players to pay.   You can't afford to give every player almost $10 million just to stick around.  Will ownership finally back off and let this team grow organically instead of thinking its going to happen by changing the guy behind the bench.  

I'd love to have Kahun with the Wild.  Decent trade for both teams.  

I thought it was kind of crappy Boughner got let go, but I guess they felt Quenneville was their guy.  Its too bad they could not have kept him, because I think he was doing a lot of things right.  

If the Panthers can snag Panarin and Bobrovsky as expected this team will be pretty damn good.  Their defense is where they need improvement because with Panarin, Barkov, Hoffman, Dadonov, they have a potent attack.    

Trading Kahun and a 5th for Maata is probably a step in the right direction.  The Blackhawks' issues are all about their blueline.  They could also use some secondary scoring too.  Kane and Toews and to a lesser extent DeBrincat are most of Chicago's offense.  They'll have to take steps to address that.  Colliton didn't seem to have too much trouble getting that club to play hard which is a good sign for them.  

Jets are a tough team to understand.  This SHOULD'VE been their year.  They had the right mix of vets and young talent but it didn't happen.  They didn't take the next step.  Laine seemed to be kind of lost and people are wondering if he's a glorified one-trick pony.  But they at least have time to figure it out.  The Jets need to start revamping some of its roster as the last few former Thrashers parts are getting older.  I thought they underperformed big time this year.  I can't imagine Paul Maurice would survive a slow start this next season.  

Rantanen and MacKinnon are both pretty impressive.  If they had some secondary scoring they could be really scary.  Their bottom lines have good speed and energy, but they don't chip in enough offensively.  Defensively, its still a work in progress but they're getting better.  Cale Makar looks like a steal and will terrorize teams for years.  I think Sakic lucked into the 4th Overall pick in the Duchene deal, but the truth is Colorado is going to get another blue chip youngster.  Things are looking pretty bright in Colorado.  

Meh, they became a better team defensively and Bishop and Khudobin were a decent combo between the pipes.  The Stars have a lot of talent in their prime and they should be better than they are.  

They're closer to challenging for a top spot in the Central than Chicago and Minnesota are, but that isn't saying much.  

On 6/14/2019 at 1:11 PM, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Moving this thread back on topic...………..

Jeff Skinner.
Tell you what... good deal and good signing for Buffalo.

I think everyone knew that whomever signed Skinner was going to have to pay some big bucks, so no one should be surprised at the $9M cap hit.
That said, the guy IS a legit scorer, seemed to work very, very well with Jack Eichel, and probably one of the more important details that many times fans overlook....he actually likes playing where he is with the Sabres.

Make no mistake...the Sabres still need a lot more in terms of scoring depth, better defensive play and more consistent goaltending, but at the very least, with Eichel and Skinner, and whomever they put in as a third member of their line, they at least have a very dangerous go-to line and while I am not a fan of teams just having "one line", if this past season has proven, it is teams CAN make headway with just one line (if they really are good enough) and the rest of the team makes some semblance of competitive play each and every night...… looking at teams like Dallas, Colorado, and Boston.

 

But look, Jeff Skinner, still just 27 signed for 8 years...it is quite possible, as long as he maintains good health (his biggest nemesis actually), that he will be a productive player throughout the life of his contract.
He HAS shown over the last two seasons that his concussion issues are now a thing of the past and if he doesn't get his lights dimmed anymore in that fashion, then the Sabres truly have a top flight winger whom Jack Eichel can call "partner" for the next several years.

I like the signing for the Sabres, I think it is a step in the right direction, bottom line...now....about the rest of the team's needs.....

This is a good deal?  For who?  Its a horrific deal, not just for the Buffalo Sabres, but the rest of the league because any comparable player is going to want that much $$$ and maybe a NTC/NMC to boot.  Buffalo will regret this deal, and they took a giant crap on the rest of the league in the process in raising the asking price of just about any free agent out there.  Stupid on every level.  

On 6/8/2019 at 9:04 AM, IllaZilla said:

Those NMC/NTC's are a bitch...

Yea, its a no take-backsie's kind of a deal.  And most of the time these are the kind of deals you wish you could take back.  

10 minutes ago, IllaZilla said:

 

Fenton will pick some kid no one has ever heard of and the act like he just drafted the second coming of Wayne Gretzky...

I thought about saying, so these 18 players have no chance to be drafted by the Minnesota Wild.  I am sure our guy with 2 years of experience will pick someone we could've had in the 6th round with our 1st pick.  

20 minutes ago, IllaZilla said:

 

I look forward to these articles.

 

Right now, I'd probably lean towards Spencer Knight first, then Seider or Harley and then maybe Krebs.

 

I get that goaltenders are big question marks in the first round (Rick DiPietro), but they could end up with a Carey Price, too. That wouldn't be a bad thing.

 

Based on your descriptions, the forwards that probably are going to be available I'm the least in love with, except for Krebs. They seem to have the most question marks. That's why I'd prefer to see them draft either Knight or one of those defensemen (Seider or Harley). But that's just me.

Here is my list of the players I assessed so far (all 18) if you're looking at what my draft board would be if I was the Wild's GM.  

1. C, Peyton Krebs

2. LD, Thomas Harley

3. RD, Moritz Seider

4. G, Spencer Knight

5. RW, Raphael Lavoie

6. LD, Ville Heinola

7. RW, Cole Caufield

8. LD, Matt Robertson

9. G, Mads Sogaard

10. C, Alex Newhook

11. RW, Arthur Kaliyev

12. RD, Lassi Thomson

13. RW, Bobby Brink

14. LD, Ryan Johnson

15. G, Pyotr Kochetkov

16. G Hunter Jones

17. G, Dustin Wolf

18. G, Isaiah Saville