CreaseAndAssist

Kemell has looked impressive by what I've seen.  He looks like he could be a pretty good scorer in the future for that club.  L'Hereaux is a decent pest player the Predators have always been good at utilizing going back to the Jordin Tootoo days.  

Maybe it's time people start booing this team when it wins...

Firstov started out real hot but he's cooled down quite a bit from that pace.  He gets the odd goal every now and then but I still think it's mostly unlikely he comes back.  I think the organization would've liked to have seen him be a go-to offensive element in Iowa; but he didn't want to ride the bus.  Like it or not, I think Guerin and the other management feel that's part of earning your stripes so to speak.  

Mason Shaw is looking a bit faster; in his last game he showed some wheels on a breakaway.  I am not sure I'd call him up to play with the big club just yet but I feel he'd fit in helluva lot better as a 4th liner than Adam Beckman will.  Just my 2 cents.  

Adam Beckman being called up.  Meh at this point.  He hasn't been as good this year as he was last year for Iowa.  I can't imagine him having a big impact in Minnesota.  

In other (sigh) worthy Wild news, I guess Russo reported the team says it's going to come back and push hard for the playoffs when they return to action on Wednesday against Chicago.  This team can't even fail right...

Khusnutdinov's KHL season is going to end on Feb. 25th.  Russo has speculated the team will probably sign him, burn a year of his entry level contract to see what he can do.  And for anyone not watching at home.  Metallurg Magnitogorsk gave Yurov kind of a cheap offer $330k for next season so the #mnwild might as well jump in and offer him the standard rookie deal and see if he comes over sooner.  

Either way it's intriguing that we may see them a bit sooner than what was generally expected (at the earliest, next year).  Won't make a difference this season...but might as well have the kids here now than wait until they are 23-24.  

13 hours ago, Tomdog said:

Yes it will, but does anyone really see some of our 2nd and 3rd line players being any more than that on a true cup contending team?

Does anyone see an aging small Spurgeon being a top 4 pairing on a contending team?

 

 IMO no. 

We never said any of those things.  It is why we invite a tear down as do a growing number of Wild fans.  It was fairly evident on Michael Russo / Joe Smith's latest mailbag too.  Most folks see it as a flawed team that should probably be gutted and in the more immediate sense not worth making any moves to 'save' its playoff hopes.  

19 hours ago, Tomdog said:

One thing I will give BG credit for is that he hasn’t moved significant draft picks or future talent in any of the trades he has made. 
Mostly it has been a nothing player for a player that might turn it around with the Wild. 
I have a feeling that when the cap crunch is over most of the 2nd 3rd line players will end up being 4th liners and defenseman like Mids and Spurg will be 3rd pair guys. 
At least that’s how I see it unfolding. 

It will be an awfully expensive 4th line.  

Wild pick up defenseman Declan Chisholm off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets.  He's a 6'1" defenseman who put up ok points with the Manitoba Moose but he hasn't been given much of a shot at the NHL yet.  (sigh)  Sounds like a lot of other defenseman we have.  

On 1/27/2024 at 10:34 PM, IllaZilla said:

Not sure how the Wild expect to build a Cup team when the farm team is terrible. If your draft picks are garbage, then your only route is UFA’s, which are expensive and tend to cause cap problems…

It's also hard to give the kids some high pressure games to compete (i.e. develop) in if the farm can't make the playoffs.  I can't imagine the organization is real thrilled about how things are going down in Iowa.  

2 hours ago, Tomdog said:

That’s a tough subject. Not sure what BG can do with Spurgeon. Pretty hard to trade a player who is out for surgery and with the trade restrictions due to kick in. His value now is as low as it could be. 
Bad timing for the injuries for sure. 
Probably have to ride it out. 
As far as fan base tolerance for being bad that’s maybe a bigger problem. 
Everyone wants to see their team win, but at this point I don’t mind so much when they let wins get away from them, because I know it will lead to a better draft position. 
I don’t think trading away the most valuable players is the way to go though. 
If I had my way they would trade away the dead weight and the non returning players for whatever they can get and give the players with promise an audition. 
I don’t really want to see games like the coyote’s game but they can play well and still lose. 
I’m sure the owner doesn’t feel that way, but I’m not sure how realistic he is. 
Just my opinion. 

Thanks for listening.  I don't think we suggested we trade everyone. 

But I'd be fine with a tear down, and I don't mind the idea of being bad for a few seasons to then build ourselves into a contender.  I don't mind much when they lose either, for the same reason you said; better draft position.  

Another thing that our poll didn't determine; was how many of the "They won't do it ever" group really wishes the team would tear it down.  But even as is...a growing portion seem to be in favor of that instead of the 'Tweak, Rinse and Repeat' insanity this fanbase has endured for the better part of a decade.  

I'd rather tear down that than desperately trade futures (prospects and/or picks) for some old rental.  Or just tear it down to the following pieces: Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, Faber, Rossi, Wallstedt...the rest can go.  

10 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

So much for “I only want to play for the Islanders…”. Apparently $98M doesn’t go as far as we thought it did…

C'mon @IllaZilla, New York is an expensive place...give him a break.  

Crease And Assist: Episode #33 Oh Captain, My Captain

In this episode, @MNSOTA and I discuss what Wild GM Bill Guerin will likely do with Jared Spurgeon being out for the season as well as discussing whether this fanbase is willing to be bad in order to be good for the long-term.  Check it out!  

Here is Iowa's latest loss.  The two empty netters make the game look more lopsided than it really was but this team has just two wins in January.  TWO.

The deal is meant to help Iowa who now is without Andy Welinski.  And with Mermis already promoted to the big club, they need a veteran defenseman presence.  Cajokovic had been a good soldier with the Iowa Heartlanders.  If anyone really loses in this deal its the Iowa Heartlanders who are enjoying their best season ever this year.  

Butcher will likely be Iowa's veteran leader on the blueline as its mostly made of Wild prospects.  

As @Fargocase used to call these deals, a Tony Tuzzolini trade...

12 hours ago, Tomdog said:

The only way Bedard doesn’t get the Calder is if he misses over half the season. 
Even missing games they will resort to goals per games played versus goals scored. 
+\- will be totally ill relevant as well. Bedard can be the worst +\- on the team and it won’t matter.  

I think his name was put on the trophy before the season started...figuratively.  But I agree with your sentiment.  

7 hours ago, Tomdog said:

Some of Shaw’s issue may be linked to confidence. 
It might take him a while to trust that leg again at game speed. 
Or he just doesn’t have it anymore. 
I’m hoping for the former not the latter. 

I have no doubt confidence is a part of this.  At one point he had a collision near the boards after checking an opposing skater.  He was on one knee and thanks to a stoppage he just kind of stayed there on one knee.  I'm sure he had a lot on his mind as he took his time before getting back up on his skates and making his way back to the Iowa bench.  

I see Kaapo Kahkonen was mentioned in that article...he's playing for the West Wild, aka the San Jose Sharks.  

Yea, those teams might not see those players for a while.  I don't feel bad for them one bit either.  

I got asked yesterday what I saw from Mason Shaw.  He played again on Monday; played better but you could tell it was either his struggle to be at 'game shape' or perhaps he's playing through a lot of pain...but its not quite the same.  He's trying, zero doubt about it, giving all that he can but the burst doesn't seem to be there.  Not what he had before his last injury.  Will it emerge again...hard to say.  But I have little doubt he's going to work his ass off trying to get there...even if it never happens.  

On another positive note; Adam Beckman is playing better.  And Daemon Hunt is playing with confidence and a lot of initiative.  

The Washington Capitals are a sad sight to see.  They still have great hands but the legs seemed to have diminished greatly for a lot of them.  Johansson had two last night, how many had that on their #mnwild bingo card?!  The team is earning wins, getting closer to that wildcard spot but part of me is kind of ambivalent about it.  

Still, it's more entertaining to watch a team that is trying, working hard and scoring...but part of me still kind of feels its all kind of a sad tease for what will likely be more playoff futility.  

I know Wild fans are calling for Brock Faber to get the Calder, but there is no way he gets it over Connor Bedard.  We may see a great young defenseman but most non-Minnesota media types don't take notice of him over a flashy forward playing in a bigger media market on an Original Six team.  

23 hours ago, Icechipper said:

Potential defense targets for Wild, per reports:

Scandella, St. Louis

Carrier, Nashville

Erik Johnson, Buffalo

 

Johnson intrigues me. He's big.

Johnson gets hurt a lot.  And he lost his 'one of us' status for being a d-bag when he was with Colorado.  After screwing up his knee in a golfcart accident, I don't think he's the sharpest knife in the drawer.  I'll pass.  The others...also pass.  I am with @IllaZilla, we might as well leave the cap space and just be bad and use our cap space to help other clubs and get some other assets / picks in the process.  

Not sure anyone saw this, but Mason Shaw returned to the lineup this weekend in a 4-1 road loss to Rockford.  Iowa plays Texas tonight.  Iowa needs to get on a heater as much as Minnesota does if it hopes to make the playoffs.  Bankier seems to be getting better and better.  

I watched the Florida feed for this one.  They were pretty whiny with all of the penalties in what was a fairly chippy game.  Duhaime tagged Lockwood pretty good.  It was more of a nailbiter than it needed to be but they managed to get it done.  

I just hope Fleury isn't out for a while.  Losing Dewar isn't ideal either, but it happens when teams are trying to tag one another in an ornery game like this one.  

I didn't have high hopes going into this one.  As the 1st period rolled and the Hurricanes were just toying with the Wild and peppering Filip Gustavsson with scoring chances it didn't look good.  But we found a way to hang in there and it was kind of like watching Rocky; where he's getting mauled but he's hanging on and when does punch he seems to draw blood.  Kaprizov's goals had to really drive the Hurricanes crazy.  

But it was a gritty victory against a pretty damn good Hurricanes team.  It will be interesting to see how this week goes with Hockey Day Minnesota capping it off this weekend.  

2 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

I wouldn't put too much stock in those articles. He really has no incentive to waive his NMC. He's got his name the Cup multiple times, he's #2 all time for wins (And the way teams are resorting to the 1A-1B tandems I really don't see anyone catching him), and he doesn't want to be away from his family.

 

Those writers are grasping at straws because the Wild are at that point where they have to take a hard look at the team and decide if they are a Playoff team. GMBG seems to think so. But it's kind of a moot point, because the extensions for Foligno, Hartman, Zucarello, and Gadreau eliminated any buying or selling. They have nothing to sell, and can't buy because of the cap hit. For better or worse, this is the Wild team for the next two seasons...

Boom goes the dynamite!  Honestly, this is 100% right.  This is your Minnesota Wild team; as uninspiring as it mostly is right now.  It will just get a little older but its not going to be able to change much at all.  I agree, I don't think Fleury leaves because as @IllaZilla points out he has absolutely nothing to prove.  This is his victory lap season and I think he's enjoying savoring the moment as much as he can.  

As for tonight's game.  Yea, I'm not too optimistic.  Even if they play with an effort more akin to what they had against the Islanders I don't see Tampa just failing to show up like New York did.  That in itself will make it pretty tough for the Wild to have a chance.  Hopefully the team keeps #4 in the press box and let Daemon Hunt continue to play.