IllaZilla

I just can’t even with this team…

2 minutes ago, Tomdog said:

Dewar trade value goes up with every game 

Yeah, let’s unload Dewar but hang onto flotsam and jetsam like Johansson and Gadreau…

According to Michael Russo of the Athletic the Wild have just signed Marat Khusnutdinov to a two year entry level deal…

Way to give up a goal with 26 seconds to go in the intermission…

1 minute ago, Tomdog said:

I really don’t see the point in trading either Dewey right now. 
1- How much do they expect to get for Duhaime? I’d say maybe a 5th rounder? Is that enough to possibly disrupt the locker room?

2- Dewar is worth more, a 2nd rounder?, maybe? But again is it worth disrupting the locker room and shortening an already very short depth chart?

3- Who replaces them? Shaw? One of the KHL guys? It surely isn’t someone from Iowa. 
Am I that far off on what I think the return on these guys are?
It seems to me trading the Deweys is the sign that they have given up on the playoffs. 

They are looking at Shaw or Khusnutdinov, potentially Yurov as replacements. Shaw I can see, but the other two? I thought Khusnutdinov and Yurov were supposed to be more top six guys. 

Latest rumors out there are the Wild are possibly moving on from Dewey 1 and Dewey 2. Duhaime is a UFA and the Wild haven’t even begun negotiating with him. Dewar is an RFA with arbitration rights, so depending on if he takes the Wild to arbitration he may be moved. And since Guerin made all the logical trading pieces unmovable with NMC’s, that’s pretty much what he has to “improve” the team at the trade deadline. 

Too bad Iowa's poor season won't result in a better draft pick. And does anyone on that team know how to play defense? My God, -19, -12, -15, -11, -20, -28???

54 minutes ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

John Hynes told reporters that Joel Eriksson Ek is fine in case anyone missed it.  

Still can't figure out why that wasn't boarding or at least a cross-check penalty...

2 minutes ago, ClusterChuck said:

Better not call anything on that collision.
Letteri was skating a line and the Kracken didn't have his head up.

But now there will be fisticuffs because “The Code”…

Johansson ties it up…

30 seconds? Are you kidding me??!

The only thing I remember from King of the Hill was “That boy ain’t right…”

3 hours ago, Tomdog said:

That really doesn’t look very impressive for the Wild. 
Didn’t see anything about a right shot defenseman or a stand out 1st line center. 

Well, that’s what happens when you constantly draft in the 15-20 range. You get a bunch of nice players, but not great players. 
 

Wallstedt and Yurov were projected as bona fide NHLers. 
 

#3-5 were projected as good players but probably not top six. 
 

#6-15 were projected as third line to depth players, maybe even topping out as career AHLers. 

The Athletic has been ranking NHL prospect pools in February. The Wild have come in at #11, down from #1 last year (graduating Marco Rossi, and Brock Faber and losing value with 2023 #1 pick) The top prospects are:

1. Jesper Wallstedt G - projects #1 goaltender

2. Danila Yurov C/LW/RW - projects top six forward

3. Liam Ohgren LW - projects top nine forward

4. Riley Height C - projects top nine forward

5. Marat Khusnutdinov C - projects third liner

6. Charlie Stramel C - projects bottom six forward 

7. Daemon Hunt LD - projects solid NHL defenseman

8. Carson Lambos LD - projects 3rd pairing defenseman 

9. Caedan Bankier C/LW - projects AHLer, maybe bottom six

10. Adam Beckman LW - projects AHLer, maybe bottom six

11. Hunter Haight C - projects all over the place

12. Rasmus Kumpulainen C - projects 4th liner

13. Rieger Lorentz LW - still developing 

14. Jack Peart LD - projects depth defenseman 

15. Ryan O’Rourke LD - projects #6-#7 defenseman 

4 minutes ago, wildstars95 said:

the team was better off tanking ...for a  top draft  spot 

 

Yup. But Craig wants that Playoff money, so…

9 hours ago, notfondajane said:

Kris Letang said the Pens are not committed to winning. It sounds like the Wild are on the same path.

Unfortunately the Wild are committed to winning. They just don’t have the talent to do much. 
 

They’ll probably do just enough to get into the playoffs and then flame out. Or just miss the playoffs and get a 15-20 pick. Continue the cycle of mediocrity and the “Wait ‘til NEXT season!” mantra…

1 minute ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

Well, yea, at this point in his career, he is a complete 'hanger-on', trying to get his championship, even if he is an unnecessary player on a given team.
He was done when the Wild bought him out, as I don't recall anything of note he did with the Islanders.

A far cry from when he was healthy and at his best with the Devils and Wild, that's for sure.

My issue with him is his whole "I don't want to be part of a rebuild" attitude, bad mouthing team mates for doing fly-bys after scoring, and the "Woe is me, we can't win" when his big fat contract made it nearly impossible for the team to bring anyone of note in.

11 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Ohhh, yea...and some guy  named Zach Parise was seen skating around in an Avalanche sweater tonight..  

Total bum...

Wild re-sign Mason Shaw

Wild sign Mason Shaw for the rest of the season

5 hours ago, Alexandron said:

Sadly, it seems Wild didn't offer a standard rookie deal and didn't signed him. According to recent news  Danila Yurov signs extension with Metallurg team of the KHL for another year. Which means, we probably will see him here not too soon. Maybe during the season 2025-26 or even later.

The Hockey News published an interesting article regarding this prospect:

https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild/news/wild-prospect-danila-yurov-could-be-the-next-marián-gáborík

Guerin made it clear in an Athletic article that he as no issue with letting the Russian players mature in the KHL. Let them come over when they are ready. But I think part of this is that the Wild have zero cap space this year and next year. The Wild have some breathing space this year with Spurgeon on LTIR. But he won't be on LTIR next year (hopefully). So all that relief will go away. And earlier in the season, before Spurgeon went on LTIR, the team could only call up certain players from Iowa or they would exceed the cap. If a player made over $800K in the NHL, the Wild couldn't call them up. 

They might have a little more wiggle room next season if the cap goes up as predicted, but not much. And there are some players that are going to get raises unless the Wild jettisons them (Dewar, Duhaime, Beckman, Chisholm, etc.) And then the Wild will have to replace them. 

Let the kids mature in Mother Russia and come over when they are ready.

These fools are going to win the game…

Pat Maroon out 4-6 weeks with a back injury. There goes one of the few trade pieces the Wild had...

Be interesting to see if the Wild put their money where their mouth is. But they can’t do this win one, lose one, win two, lose one, win one, lose two, etc. They’ve put themselves in a position where they need an Edmonton-like run to just get to the wildcard spot. The last Athletic number crunching gave them a 17% chance of making the Playoffs.

13 minutes ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

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...

I read that and it basically is the same thing they've been saying all year: We've got to play better. Well, duh.