CreaseAndAssist

If it happens, as long as its part of a trade rather than just seeing him go via free agency I'd be fine with it depending on the return.  

Will Kirill want to stick around?  Or will he seek a championship elsewhere?  

You want to see him leave the Wild?  

1 hour ago, IllaZilla said:

I do agree that Evason is stubborn. There were times that his line combinations just weren’t working but he refused to mix things up. I also don’t think he is very good making adjustments on the fly. 

What I think will be interesting to see if Guerin continues to make excuses for Evason this season. 

(shrugs)  I think they will keep saying they're not making excuses to only make excuses because they know the sheeple will buy it.  The team doesn't want to buy out the coach, especially as it still is in a cap crunch.  

I don't think his promotion makes one ounce of difference; Guerin was able to do as he pleased even before he was named President of Hockey Ops.  Now he's his own boss...accountable to probably the owner and that's about it.  

22 hours ago, Alexandron said:

Bill Guerin added to his GM title a new title of President of Hockey Operations:

 

https://www.nhl.com/wild/news/wild-announces-executive-promotions-072523/c-345429564

 

Woopty doo.  This is a total non-story.  His role doesn't really change and it doesn't do anything to improve the team on the ice.  He just gets a fancier title and a bigger paycheck.  Good for Bill, but for the team...meh.  

The only real takeaway from it is it proves Craig Leipold is buying ANYTHING that Bill Guerin is selling him.  If you're happy with that great...if not...well that's the world the Wild are living in now.  

15 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

I have not seen the Wheeler article, but most sites on the interwebz have the Wild at a C+/B- for their picks. 
 

Seems about right for the Wild. 

Yea, it seems like a meh return in a supposed deep draft.  

On 7/20/2023 at 8:04 AM, IllaZilla said:

 

It would be nice to see some of the Wild draft picks start sticking. But I'm not sure where he would play. Only spot I can see potentially is if Rossi poops the bed.

 

And I'd rather see Beckman getting meaningful ice time in Iowa rather than sitting in the press box in St Paul. He'll probably get a shot this year, because it is inevitable that someone will get hurt...

Adam Beckman was able to play more in a Top 6 role last year compared to the Bottom 6 role he played the season before in Iowa.  Not only did he produce more offensively, but you could see his confidence grow as the year went on.  That was about the opposite of his first pro season where he shot the puck a ton and didn't find the back of the net very often. 

I don't care what # Beckman wears with the big club as long as he can contribute in a meaningful way.  Goals, hits...show us you are not just a warm body on a line and I'm probably happy.    

Anyone see Wheeler's article grading the 2023 draft classes?  Basically the Wild reached too early in the draft and other than the Riley Heidt pick which is a high risk possibly high reward he seemed to think most of our guys are long shots to make it and that the grade would've been near the bottom instead of 'overtime losers' as he had them rated.  

15 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

I think we’ll finally see what type of coach Evason really is this season AND what type of scouting department the Wild has. There won’t be any big Zuccarello type signings to fill in the holes. It’s going to be “run what you brung”. 
 

Evason has shown either he is unwilling or unable to make in game adjustments on the fly. He also has a tendency to “stick with what works” for too long when it isn’t working. 
 

I don’t know. It certainly is going to be an interesting season. Maybe we’ll finally see that rebuild and the Wild end up in the top five of the lottery draft. Not that I have any confidence in the Wild’s scouting department…

I agree, there has been enough 'soak' time on some of these young players to see whether they will actually make an impact or that it was just a but of hopes and / or hype.  

Other than the fact Bill Guerin seems to like Dean Evason, I don't see a particularly skilled tactician.  I see a guy who mostly just runs the same stuff and hopes it works.  With all of these back to backs this season, you can bet that might really make Evason hesitate to have the team practice under the guise that rest is more valuable.  

I too hope its a Come to Jesus moment for the organization and they finally just are bad and we can get a few players that can actually move the needle for this organization from a one-&-done dud into something that can actually contend.  

19 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

What you posted in point #1 got me thinking about how BG said in an earlier podcast that the cap crunch wasn’t an excuse for the team getting bounced in the playoffs again, but when Evason gets criticized for not getting past the first round, he defends him by saying he is dealing with a team that is hamstrung by the cap crunch. So which is it?

I agree.  Yea that was a pretty obvious contradiction.  I still think its odd he mentions its season four for Dean Evason etc, so what?  How many more seasons does he need to learn from before he finally learns enough to be able to coach a team beyond the 1st round?  

I agree with the idea of giving opportunities for Iowa players on the bottom lines.  I'd rather see the kids get experience.  

1 hour ago, Jimtown guy said:

Really enjoyed the conversation with Dan. Just ordered his book. Great job 

Thanks a lot, I'm glad you enjoyed the interview.  It was certainly a fun conversation to have!  He's a great guy!    

$1.1 million for Duhaime.  Meh.  Although his physical dimension is what sets him apart.  Neither Sammy Walker or Adam Beckman are going to match those physical tools Duhaime has; however...even though the team has just spare change left...its not like even saving a few hundred thousand dollars would matter that much.  

My only hope is Duhaime is supremely motivated as he's playing on a 1-year deal.  

Episode #19: Dan Whenesota

In this episode, @MNSOTA and I are joined by Minnesota sports author Dan Whenesota.  We discuss Dan's journey into writing / making documentaries about Minnesota sports as well as the Minnesota Fighting Saints, the Minnesota North Stars and which current (male) pro sports team in Minnesota is closest to a championship.  Check it out!  

2 minutes ago, Confrontational said:

Well, he'll be wearing #20 - so hopefully just another reason for Suter to fade into the sunset of our memories...

Hopefully he can work the gliding and lazy shifts out of it.  

On 7/8/2023 at 7:58 PM, IllaZilla said:

Minnesota has always been a soft team. They almost always have been dead last in hits. They prefer positional players to physical players. Problem is when you get to the playoffs a team full of Nancy boys isn’t going to get far. And to have EEK go down right before the playoffs and have the team basically implode just shows how far away from a Stanley Cup this team is. Great, Guerin brings in Pat Maroon. Won’t matter a lick if Boldy and Foligno and Hartman etc. continue to disappear in the playoffs. Pat Maroon’s the kind of player you add when you are ready to make a Cup run. The Wild are no where near that. 

True, but that should make him a bit of a trade asset at the deadline.  Especially if he plays well with the Wild prior to that, but if he looks disinterested it probably won't yield much.  But overall, you are right.  We have been a soft team.  But we haven't drafted a lot of grit either; either at forward or on the blue line.  

Guerin's interview stated that Hartman needs to play his game and not try to be something he's not (i.e. try to be a skill guy like Kaprizov or Zuccarello).  So I think the organization recognizes it needs to be grittier to be successful in the playoffs.  Still for a 7th round pick, it seems like a decent get with relatively little risk.  

On 7/9/2023 at 10:38 AM, Alexandron said:

I listened an interview of Danila Yurov which he had on 7/7/23. Interpreter was not very good. Simple questions and answers he had difficulties to translate. But Danila's English was not bad at all when he was talking on English. From my understanding Kaprizov sent to him a supporting letter and helping him now in Minnesota. Probably Danila will play one more season in KHL to finish his professional preparation and then he will play directly in NHL.

Guerin didn't seem to have issues with what Yurov had to say.  In fact, he gave him a lot of credit for improving his English language skills considerably in one year.  Yurov seems focused on coming over after next season.  

It shouldn't matter, hockey is hockey.  This team wants to play gritty and heavy game.  I don't think they will draft only from nations where they feel they can find gritty players; they will draft players they think are gritty.  Kaprizov texted Yurov and welcomed him to Minnesota; he also said he is waiting to play with him.  

In case anyone caught Russo's latest Straight from the Source podcast, Guerin had some very interesting things to say about prospect camp in general.  I will summarize to save people time.  

1.  Guerin openly wondered whether having the prospects skate in drills and be put through their paces was actually necessary.  If anything, it sounded like he valued the meet-n-greet value / team-organization bonding way more than having them due drills although he said that would have to be something that Brad Bombardir and the player development folks felt comfortable with before they did away with the hockey stuff altogether.  Guerin said he wondered if the competitive nature of previous prospect camps was actually harmful because of how much stress and pressure it put on the younger players.  Seems to fly in the face of his comments about how players need to have "FU" in their game and having initiative when they get the chance.  

2.  Guerin said he told the prospects that the camp was not evaluative.  He said it was development focused.  He said evaluation is more about training camp and perhaps the prospect scrimmages they'll have against Chicago & St. Louis this September.  

3.  He said he talked a lot with Danila Yurov, said he talked to him for about an hour.  Said he was excited about camp and just meeting with the players in general.  

4.  He noted how many players have chosen to stay and train in Minnesota over the summer including Matt Boldy, Ryan Hartman, Filip Gustavasson, Calen Addison, Vinni Lettieri, John Merrill and Marco Rossi.  He said Rossi was the only one they ASKED to stay and train here.  The others just did so on their own.  

The rest was a lot of food and drink stuff that wasn't that important or interesting.  

On 7/8/2023 at 8:22 PM, IllaZilla said:

Huh. That defensive stud Matt Dumba hasn’t signed anywhere yet…

Yes, I certainly have noticed that.  I got told by someone on Twitter is that he 'probably has a standing offer' from Arizona but is just waiting right now.  Bullschitt...no one wants him.  Or at the very least, no one wants him at the price he's seeking.  I think the stories of teams being 'interested' was just hopeful hype from the agents hoping to prompt a deal.  Oh and I should mention that fan thought Dumba would get a deal at about $5 million per season. 

I'd guess the interest he has now is matched by the 'interest' he was able to create around the trade deadline the last few years.  Unless we gave him away, no one wanted him.  

11 hours ago, Confrontational said:

Interesting listening and reading from you guys - you guys know so much more than many of us that just don't have the time, for whatever reason, so thanks...  

 

Down here in Texas from MN for 17 years now (born Brainerd, St Cloud for 25 years, Burnsville for several) - (no stars fan btw) - but come on here to understand what's happening with the team...  It's frustrating to keep hearing what frustrated me to kind of give up on the team and see it's still happening...  Parents still in MN - played up until 5 years ago (53) - and my father (81) still tries to keep me updated on Wild things when we talk - I think he shares my frustrations - and wonders how fans don't hold some people's feet to the fire - especially on the PP and PK - especially special teams...  There's just so many moving parts all the time with coaching/players/management...  Seems like those things are always in flux and as soon as one takes a step forward - other take two steps back...  

 

He also noticed a completely different personality in Suter during a couple of those games - and how aggressive/cheap he was - especially on Krill. He commented that he never did that during the MN years...

 

Anyways, a MN fan, have moved on after too many years of the above and Mikko - but still keep an eye on 'em and maybe looking for an excuse to reengage a little...  But, I find them so frustrating...

 

Ok, babbled enough...  I'll blame the beers...

First of all, thanks for listening and reading, we greatly appreciate it.  

IMO, I've had that same conversation with myself many times.  In fact, when Seattle joined the league I thought about starting over with them.  Yes, they didn't have it as tough as Minnesota / Columbus / Atlanta / Nashville did in those late 1990's early 2000's expansion but GM's learned their mistakes after Vegas' addition and so Seattle didn't have it quite as easy.  Still, it was a new organization and I've liked their hard-working style.  

The Minnesota Wild feel like they are in a never ending loop of mediocrity.  Half of the league qualifies for the playoffs and throughout most of it...the Wild don't do anything once they get there.  They are unwilling to be bad to get the players that could push this team out of that cycle and it just continues to repeat itself.  

And because of that; timing has often seemed to work against them.  We finally get lucky enough to draft a superstar, but then his prime years are likely going to be squandered by the cap hell for Suter and Parise.  I know people said those moves were necessary but maybe that was the biggest mistake in franchise history.  They never led the team on a long playoff run and now we're in a holding pattern as our superstar ponders whether to stick around or seek greener pastures.  

As far as the fanbase goes, the Billy Goat homers are just crazy.  They will accept anything this Wild organization puts in front of them.  But those people have always been around.  @IllaZilla & @MNSOTA can certainly attest to the early days when the team was cheap by choice of how many folks would trot out "we're just glad hockey is back" and accept the fact it wouldn't spent another $200k to keep Cliff Ronning around after their deepest playoff run (ever)?  

I don't blame anyone for stepping away from it and feeling its better for their own sanity / mental health or just not wanting to be as angry about things you can't control.  

My dad (76 I think) is a more casual Minnesota sports fan even though he reads a lot and watches a fair amount but he doesn't get into the details as much; and at times I ask myself if its worse that I do because it often leaves me more frustrated.   

True and he improved markedly by shifting from center to wing.  But of course...that means you missed on addressing that need for a center.  Stramel is at least supposed to be good at draws.  The rest is what he needs to improve and work on.  

1 hour ago, IllaZilla said:

 

Maybe it was just coincidence that these Minnesota-born players were available when the Wild drafted. Minnesota born players made up 15 out of 49 US players drafted. So you are looking at about just shy of one third of the US born players coming from Minnesota. Next closest? New York with six. So there were far more Minnesota born players to pick from than any other state. Ultimately Minnesota drafted three Minnesotans, Arizona and Tampa Bay drafted two, and eight other teams drafted one.

 

I certainly hope they didn't pick a player based on where he is from. That's just plain dumb. I would hope the Wild brain trust has more sense than that. But who knows. They certainly didn't subscribe to taking the best player available. They drafted based on need, which never seems to work out. 

 

I'm not sure why people here get all hung up over the "one of us" thing. I don't think the Bruins go out of their way to draft Massachusetts kids, or the Red Wings go out of there way to draft Michigan kids. It's like Minnesotans have this inferiority complex or something. And if the FO drafted kids to appease the "homers" they should all be fired.

No argument with you here.  I don't care where they are from, but proportionately this was a fairly good year for Minnesota-born prospects when you think about American-born kids as a group.  

I don't have an issue with going for need at this point, because how many more years are you going to kick the can down the road on centers?  However, was Stramel the best one available at #21?  I think that seems to be a fairly big reach.  

David Edstrom taken at #32 by Vegas may not be 223lbs, but he's 6'3" and doesn't mind being a net front-presence and I think he had a better chance to being an NHL'er than Stramel.  

3 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

I don’t mind getting inexpensive players like Maroon for a season to fill a third-fourth line role. I’m tired of the big fat multi year UFA contracts this team keeps handing out because they can’t draft and develop scorers. 

Or centers...or scorers...

Also, one last thing and its another thing I feel perhaps I should've brought up on the podcast.  Do you think they drafted Minnesotans to try to create more buzz for a team that knew it wasn't going to be able to do anything substantial in free agency.  Is it an attempt to appeal the provincial homers who fall over themselves because of the "one of us" crap?  

On 7/3/2023 at 10:22 PM, Alexandron said:

I just looked for Development Roster at Summer Camp which is going to happen on July 7-9. It seems intriguing: 2 from Czehia; 1 from Slovakia; 1 from Russia; 2 from Sweden; 1 from Finland; 1 from France; 9 Minnesotans. Interesting all 4 goalies are invitees. Maybe one of them will present an interest for the Wild club future roster.

This shouldn't matter AT ALL.  The only thing that should matter is can they play and have they shown improvement.  But please...continue to fixate on where they are from.  

On 7/4/2023 at 8:51 AM, ClusterChuck said:

Reavo gets 3 years ...Amazing but good for him. See Ya !!
Maroon's message in coming to Minny was such a stereotype response. 
He looked like his dog just died and had to be all Rah-Rah about his year here.
Great to have you and the experience but settle down there Pat.

Btw, So many people get bent out of shape when the word Minny is used. 
Too bad, Deal with it because if the shoe fits......

Yea, pretty much typical cliche crap you say when you go to a new team.  He know he'll probably get moved at the deadline too.