Gnarkill

No more "two way" Finns that play soft and don't use their body.

The team is loaded with "2nd or 3rd line centers" that would be 3rd and 4th line centers on any other team. Staal was our #1 but he's not a true #1 anymore in the NHL imo he's just the best we had. When you plan on scouting and drafting for that spot you aren't guaranteed anything either and probably have a couple of years before the player is ready to be a #1 or #2 center in the NHL unless its a elite/franchise/generational player.. which we never seem to be in the position to draft. I don't think its smart to stop kicking tires on all possible fits with expiring contracts just because the former regimes sucked at kicking and re-signing. I agree on the big "ifs" of Bjugstad and Johansson and don't think they'll have a crazy turn around but even if they don't they'll either end up out at the deadline if someone is interested in a rental or at the end of the season if no one is interested in center depth at the deadline. I think the big thing is this team not handing out more stupid contracts with NTCs and NMCs.. we've all had it with that bs in the past.. and while its not Guerinteed rental players on expiring deals and a bad season might be your best bet to land in the area where you can pick that top six center of the future.. it just might be some rough hockey to watch for a couple seasons. The big thing is setting this team up for the Seattle expansion draft correctly to make sure we don't get a repeat of the Great Vegas Giveaway. That was rough.

I agree lol I'm all for 1 year fringe player contracts or reclamation projects that expire soon if it will make Parise and Suter both want out. Getting out from one or both of those contracts would be huge moving forward. At this point the Wild HAVE to get worse to get better.. they f'd around too much trying to just put band aids on long-term problems with the roster and trying to adjust on the fly without actually rebuilding. As for MJ.. I don't know enough about the guy to even comment on him as a player. I don't follow Buffalo too closely. I guess I'm just hoping he comes in, plays as a serviceable center and stays healthy. Can't find those centers we need if you don't kick tires on everything.

Not hyped about this deal but don't hate it either.. low risk and he's under 30. The Wild need depth in the middle badly.. so if he stays healthy and it works out great.. if not .. cut him loose.. no biggie. I actually am relieved to see Guerin kicking tires on deals like this instead of just going after a declining veteran center. I'd rather see what Bjugstad can do for a season than lock up another old overpaid player for multiple years.

Thanks for the time and loyalty, Koivu. That being said.. this was fantastic news!

I'm up north in Bemidji, MN and it seems like when anyone from any of the major MN sports teams or anyone that's athlete or celebrity comes up this way they've usually stayed at Ruttgers Birchmont Lodge on the lake. I don't know if they have a deal with the teams or if it's just the preferred vacation spot for fishing and stuff but that's where they're always at I have a friend that has a membership to work out and swim there and he meets all kinds of people(not so much this year obviously). Sadly, even though it's a beautiful spot to stay and they have private cabins and it's also on Lake Bemidji.. they could find better fishing in some of the low key lakes around here.. but Lake Bemidji is pretty darn decent!

According to Russo: It doesn't surprise me... guy has been selfish his whole career here.. why should he want to help the team get something back that would help instead of him just clogging a roster spot for the rest of the season and being useless? Nice job Craptain Koivu.

The only thing that makes me gun shy about trading Dumba ... is the fact I'm reading the exact same argument people made for trading Burns years ago.. and use to justify the trade to this day "he didn't show consistency until he was gone yadda yadda". I agree, if Dumba is what he is at this point he's trade bait .. but a small part of me worries the Wild just haven't given him enough time. I'm by no means saying he'll end up as great as Burns but Dumba shows flashes of what could be a very, very good defenseman and he's about the same age as Burns was when the Wild cut ties if I remember correctly. Unless they're getting a proven #1 or #2 center plus other assets back I wouldn't be in a hurry to trade him. At least not yet. If he does choose to pull the trigger.. BG better be getting something very solid in return here as the team can't afford to be set back further by losing more of the Wild's assets for minimal return. Even if a team is in blow-up full rebuild mode they should be getting back more value for the future than what the Wild has been in past trades.. and please no more over the hill aging vets with NMC/NTC.

To be honest and I’ll probably get crap for this but.. if he stinks it up in Nashville and is going to sign for cheap somewhere..l like him enough as a player to bring him back for a year or two once Koivu is out.. as long as he’s getting 3rd liner money and not expected to be our #1 or #2 center. He could thrive as a 3rd line Center or wing with the right line mates that can bury their chances and he can fill in occasionally on line 2 if there are injuries. The big negatives I always had with him here were the lofty expectations and big cap hit.

I like this hire better than the other names that were floating around out there.. hopefully he can convey that message and if certain players don't listen they're shipped out or benched no matter what their price tag is. The locker room has needed someone to come in and clear out the cancerous players for a long while now and it needs to happen no matter if it sets the team back a few years or not. I'd rather be patient and see a proper rebuild that takes a handful of years than sit through more of this mediocre crap with tweaks and wishful thinking. This team needs to stop the "win now" mentality that isn't working and start building for the future a few years down the road with the hopes Kaprizov will come over and be one of those young pieces to build around. I have no problem watching a basement dwelling team for a couple years if there is a clear path they are taking to clear the books and improve in the long run.

I agree with you.. the only name out of those listed that I would even consider is Lombardi.. no thanks on the rest. I'd have no confidence in any of the others coming into this mess.

Yes, it's called "Booty O's" and is sold by the WWE.

I actually really like Zuccarello as a player but that NMC is gross. I agree with Illa I have the feeling the Wild is going to lose a young player that they really don't want to lose when it comes time for Seattle to take someone from the roster. The last thing I wanted to see was the team box itself into a corner and face the same situation they did when they lost Tuch and Haula to Vegas.. Unless they can work a miracle and get Parise or Suter to waive the no trade AND be selected by Seattle(at which point I doubt they would even be selected) they appear to be screwed.

It's the off season so I thought it would be fun to put ourselves in Fenton's shoes and see what each of us would do even though the game's trades aren't super realistic or anything its just something I did to kill the time. If you want to try your hand at it feel free to post your results here! I did franchise mode with the most current online roster(april or whatever it was) on the hardest setting with "hard" trade settings. For those with xbox one and xbox live gold membership.. I'd like to mention that NHL19 is currently a free "Games with Gold" game for the first half of the month! so get it while you can if you didn't already have it! I also decided to basically go full rebuild so in no way was I trying to build a contender right off the bat! I ended up with: Zucker-Kunin-Tuch Fiala-Donato-Kapanen Greenway-Barbashev-Aaberg Foligno-Ek-Brown Fehr Burns-Dumba Spurg-Brodin Prosser-Seeler Hunt Dubnyk Stalock Draft picks up coming year: 1st, 2- 2nds, 3 3rds Following year: 2- 1sts, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 2- 5ths, 7th all picks beyond that untouched I have Fehr, Dubnyk and Brodin still on the trade block.. hoping to grab a top 6 C, bottom 6 RW, a top 4 D, or a better/younger Goalie. Basically just looking for the best deal possible and then build the rest through the draft/FA. I didn't do anything with Iowa(other than bring Prosser up) or the unsigned guys until I get around to the next draft. The team doesn't look great on paper but I think with a few good drafts and off season moves over the next couple seasons I'm on the right track. It's a wonder what you can do with no NTC/NMCs on a video game.

Via Russo's twitter: "Fenton says he’s trying to fix this on the fly without a rebuild" ... here we f'n go again.