sweetshot
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Posts posted by sweetshot
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On 11/5/2019 at 11:04 AM, IllaZilla said:
The team was intent on making the Playoffs last year. They were borderline in/out of the Playoff picture. So they are not going to put an AHL goalie between the pipes "just to see if he can handle it." They are going to go with the veteran net minder, a known quantity.
Rushing guys like Kahkonen and Robson is exactly what the Wild are known for. Before a guy proves anything in the AHL, they'd yo-yo guys back and "just to give them a taste". Leave them in Iowa to see how they perform over a whole season. Everyone was wetting their pants over Kahkonen's five shutouts early on last season and guess what? He lost his job to NHL journeyman Andrew "The Hamburglar" Hammond. Kahkonen wasn't ready.
Kuemper just matured later than everyone thought. It happens all the time. I'm betting the Flames wished they had hung onto Martin St. Louis too...
I wouldn't compare anybody to Kuemper--not sure maturity had anything to do with his success. Until having a career year last year, Kuemper's first 3 years in the league were among his best statistically, the Wild actually did a good job of working him in slowly.
There is absolutely no good reason not to try a player with the big club before sending him down if necessary. In Kahkonen's case, maybe he's just another inconsistent or streaky goalie. IMO, you can't necessarily say he wasn't ready.
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11 hours ago, IllaZilla said:
Be interesting to see if he actually benches a Staal or a Parise...I find it interesting that Fiala gets benched for his numerous turnovers, but when a vet is having issues, they are allowed to "work through it"...
Yes it will--It's a tough spot for BB. He definitely believes in the vets more than the young guys, although IMO we've seen all Fiala has to offer. And he was pretty clear about the lack of team speed and the type of game they need to play in order to win some games. Big problem is, they don't have the type personnel overall that you need to play that way.
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10 hours ago, Hockey-78 said:
I think he was evasive, careful with his words. The reporters, especially that one guy, was much more straightforward. But yeah, that "work through it" yet again. It grows old, fast...long due.
Thanks for the link.
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Check out BB's comments after the loss to the Leafs. Very frank and revealing...
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On 9/5/2019 at 9:57 AM, Podein25 said:
Because it's the dog days of summer, Laine is trending on twitter dot com in Canada this morning. For no reason other than people spit balling trade scenarios. None started by me.
But the Jets really should trade him.
He sure could have answered that "do you hope it's Winnipeg" question better. I wonder if his answer is based more on his feelings for the Winnipeg area or his teammates.
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8 hours ago, IllaZilla said:
Maybe Ok-ing the deal. I doubt he was involved in negotiations. Leipold seems like more of a fanboy to me than a guy who really digs into negotiations.
But who knows with this clown show...
Probably just signed a blank check--he is a max cap owner, ya know...
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23 hours ago, IllaZilla said:
Those were just the top ten prospects under 23 that The Athletic listed. Eleven through 23 were:
11. Louis Belpedio D (Good: Skating, hands, skill, compete. Bad: No projectable role. Doesn't do anything particularly great)
12. Brandon Duhaime RW (Good: Skating, hands, skill, compete Bad: Does everything well, just not great.)
13. Adam Beckman LW (Good: Scorer, skill, finisher Bad: skating, undersized (6'1", 168 lbs))
14. Kaapo Kahkonen G (Had impressive first half of the season, faded in the second half. Needs to show more to move up)
15. Ivan Lodnia RW (Good: Skill, playmaking, scoring Bad: size, skating)
16. Connor Dewar C (Good: Skating, scoring, playmaking, compete Bad: speed, size)
17. Fedor Gordeev D (Good: size, skating, skill Bad: hockey sense)
18. Filip Johansson D (Good: skating, compete, hockey sense Bad: scoring)
19. Hunter Jones G (Good: athletic goalie Bad: loses focus, trouble tracking puck)
20. Simon Johansson D (Good: skill, playmaking, scoring Bad: skating, defense)
21. Marshall Warren D (Good: skating, compete Bad: size, inconsistent offense)
22. Dmitry Sokolov RW (Good: scoring, skill, shot Bad: defense, play away from the puck)
23. Matvei Guskov C (Good: playmaking, size, vision Bad: inconsistent)
Honorable mentions:
Brennan Mennell
Luke Johnson
Damien Giroux
Nick Swaney
Nikita Nesterenko
Sturm wasn't included in the Top Ten List because he is 24. But he was reviewed as their #4 prospect (which is odd). Sturm is being projected as a 3C-4C.
According to The Athletic, Hentges does everything well (speed, quickness, skill, set up, finish, compete, etc.), just not spectacularly. He was an integral part of the #1 ranked St. Cloud State team as a freshman. If he continues to develop, he is projected as a bottom six guy.
And that's the knock with most of the Wild prospects. They project as good players, not great players. None of them project as players that will make a difference or that you can build a team around.
And it's nice seeing someone who isn't involved with the team making these evaluations. I think Wild fans have a tendency to overvalue the prospects and players on the team.
On 8/16/2019 at 7:30 PM, IllaZilla said:Basically the Wild have a bunch of good prospects, but no one who is a difference maker...
IMO Khovanov could be a diamond in the rough...
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On 8/9/2019 at 2:17 PM, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:
Nope. No signs yet that Point will sign with the Lightning, however, from what I have been reading the Bolts are confident they can get something done before training camp starts.
A few links:
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/lightning/2019/07/26/why-lightning-fans-dont-need-to-freak-out-about-brayden-point/https://www.gohabsgo.com/articles/report-brayden-point-rejected-habs-offer-sheet/
One very good thing in the Bolts' favor is that Points seems to WANT to stay in Tampa Bay.
And why wouldn't he? Not only is it the organization that gave him his chance to be a star player, but it is a winning organization that, despite recent setbacks, still is on track to be a legit Stanley Cup contender for a few years to come.
From what I understand, the locker room is pretty tight knit as well and players all over the league, both current and retired, can probably attest to how important that is not only for a winning culture, but for how much fun a player has "coming to work everyday".
Montreal supposedly made a nice offer to his agent...it was turned down....and Point even seems to understand the situation with the Bolts' cap situation, though he obviously wants to maximize his own earning potential...and rightly so.Probably why things have taken as long as they have been.
Some things I've seen talked about were bridge deals. A lesser amount than he would like, for a shorter term, to then, afterwards, cash in on a big max term, max dollar contract.
3, 4, or 5 year bridge deals are being talked about. And with Point being only 23, it means that even after a 5 year bridge deal, he would still be in his prime at 28 to sign a big deal either with the Lightning or somewhere else.
And is it a coincidence that the time frame for such a bridge deal goes right with when contracts such as Alex Killorn, Ondrej Palat, or even Tyler Johnson expire (each of those players are making anywhere from 4.5M to 5.2M each)? Hmmmm…….
Will post things regarding Brayden Point on this thread as they become available.
Other posters, are of course, more than welcome to add stuff as they hear them (links would be nice) or simply comment on the Point negotiations, how long a contract he ultimately gets and whether he stays on after a bridge deal (if that is the case).The weather ain't bad either...
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On 8/9/2019 at 7:32 PM, IllaZilla said:
Minnesota doesn’t have anyone to take over the 1C and 2C spots because they won’t let anyone take them over. They don’t want to upset Staal or Koivu, so they relegate guys like Kunin and Nico Sturm to the third and fourth lines.
I think Gerald Mayhew might have a shot at making the big club as well and especially Nico Sturm. And I think one or maybe both Donato and Greenway start in Iowa...
I'll say it honestly. Ek will at best be a 3rd line center--and he isn't there yet. Rask is ahead of Ek not just because the Wild have invested a lot of $$ in him--he's a better player than Ek.
Greenway has shown more improvement in one year than Ek has shown in 2 plus change. (I know, he's not a center-- yet...)
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On 8/11/2019 at 7:39 AM, CreaseAndAssist said:
This...is 100% correct. I don't think the fans will stay away in droves. Do I think season ticket sales will be far tougher to sell, you bet. Yet, I have a simple solution to that. The team didn't have to spend the money it did this summer on Zuccarello. It will be inconsequential. It could've just saved the money, given the kids more ice time and let them develop with more quality opportunities. Instead, we're going to relegate the youngsters to lesser / bit roles...because we have to justify all that $$$ we spent on players over 30-years old.
The new GM, whoever he is...is going to walk into a team that has even more money tied up to more 32 & older guys than did Fenton. And most of the decent move-able assets we had, we mostly dealt away for little to nothing in return. We have a $4 million a season center that has no spot to play and he's signed for 3 seasons including this one. We have NMC's to geezers meaning we'll have to risk losing the 'gamebreakers' we got in return in those previously mentioned deals.
The truth is, this team was a laughingstock BEFORE we fired Fenton.
3 reasons for the Zuccarello signing:
1. Shows that they did something to try to improve the club--keeps the fans in the seats.
2. It does--at least short term--improve the team or at least helps keep them at a competitive level--keeps the fans in the seats.
3. Fenton's respectability.
I see this as mainly a business move with the goal being keeping the seats full. If it happens to actually improve the Wild and makes them a better team, great. If not, reasons 1 and 2 achieve the main goal.
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On 8/5/2019 at 2:57 PM, IllaZilla said:
I personally wouldn't mind this, but the owner is in a "win now" mode.
That's why he came out right after he fired Fletcher and stated that he felt the team didn't need a rebuild, but just a few "tweaks". And shortly after the Niederreitter/Coyle/Granlund trades, he made a video for the season ticket holders emphatically telling them that the Wild were NOT in rebuild mode...
So I don't think Hextall's "Just be patient" mantra will work on Leipold...
As long as CL is the owner, all we can really hope for are tweaks, as he looks at his team as a business first and foremost.
Keeping the seats full is the key, and all that's ever been necessary to do that since he's been owner are tweaks here and there to keep the team competitive.
That may/will be? changing soon but IMO hasn't yet. Probably won't until RS/ZP can't play anymore. As long as he is giving the appearance (max cap team, ie) his goal for the Wild from a competitive standpoint is to win the Cup--and he may actually believe that's what he is doing--the fans will keep filling the seats regardless of how close they actually are to doing that.
I believe the majority of the fans have spoken in this regard and really don't care about how CL runs the team--we are happy enough with having a good team that's fairly competitive and gets to the playoffs once in a while--we don't care that much about winning the big prize(its a Minny thing).
From that standpoint, CL is the perfect owner.
Maybe CL and the Wild get lucky sometime and CL's method of running the team actually leads to the ultimate success, but that can only happen if he surrounds himself with the right people--and we've seen how good he is doing that
Go Wild!
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22 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:
No, he isn't. He said as much on Barriero the day it was announced Fenton was fired. Also, Russo said Kurvers isn't in the mix mostly because of his health concerns.
It amazing how many different people, not just Minnesota media but national media that either tweeted or wrote parts of articles saying how the Wild should not hire Chiarelli. Even though he may fit the experience requirement, but given his mistakes and with the talent he's squandered in his tenures in Boston and Edmonton...they know fans will riot and credibility will be damaged further by hiring Chiarelli.
Just kidding about Nanne.
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6 hours ago, lynxrattle said:
I can not believe what a soap opera the Wild has turned into. We really need a very good GM now. Someone who's at home co-operating with people, who doesn't feel threatened by the fact people will have differing opinions. Hextall sounds risky in that way, too introverted or paranoid, or what is it, but why the need to have a small inner circle? Chiarelli has been a disaster for the oilers. The others sound ok. But is any of them a really exceptional GM?
Couple of them are decent, but IMO none of them are exceptional. The ones that have proven themselves at some point in time as exceptional we know about and are all taken. It seems to be a very small group of individuals qualified for the position and most have been GM's previously. Maybe there is a relatively unknown candidate(s) out there for whom this would be his first GM job, but I really have a hard time trusting CL to find him.
I'm very concerned for the Wild right now as they are at a crossroads, this is probably the most important decision this franchise has ever had to make to this point.
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Rumor has it that Nanne is interested....
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3 hours ago, IllaZilla said:
I wonder if the Wild might be better off just letting Kurvers act as interim GM until next season when they might get a better pool of candidates...
I think they definitely would. Just don't do anything and hold down the fort until next season and hire the new man then.
The current list of experienced candidates currently is terrible--IMO most should not ever be hired as GM again.
After reading many of J.R. Ewing's posts and seeing for myself what Chiarelli had done with the Oilers, I will change my loyalties to a different team if CL hires him.
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Obviously, CL is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Didn't PF work for him at Nashville for 15+ years??
It's unbelievable in all that time CL had no idea of PF's issues playing with others. You'd have thought CL would have seen something.
Or did PF, after finally getting the GM position, think he was King and became and A-hole?
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6 minutes ago, CreaseAndAssist said:
Nah. Leipold shouldn't be let off the hook for cutting the cord. He still let it go on too long. If he was there at Free Agency and just let the Zuccarello deal happen, IMO he's just as guilty for the lack of foresight by this organization.
How long ago do you think CL made the decision to fire PF?. He had to have okayed the Zucarello deal, didn't he?
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10 hours ago, ruxpin said:
Today
LMAO!
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5 hours ago, Hockey-78 said:
"Star Talent that passed through Minnesota"...
"Matt Cooke"...
#theeuphemismofalltime
OK, maybe it was a bit of a stretch...
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If you want to include a cheapshot on the team you could possibly include Matt Cooke.
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23 hours ago, hf101 said:
Ryan Donato signed a 2 year deal worth $3.8 million.
I guess his reported bad attitude when getting sent down to Iowa for their playoffs last year wasn't too bad...
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21 hours ago, EJ0226 said:
I wish we could have gone for Brock instead but like @CreaseAndAssist said, he looked at this roster, just like Kessel and said hell no. I seen a few twitter messages about that a while ago. Can't remember who it was as I have so many that I follow. I believe Russo.
That Zuccarello signing.....sigh. Mats has been on a decline since the 2015-16 season. He is basically a Zucker in the points department. Around the same points but scores goals less. Wild need a goal scorer. So it's like they traded a set up guy, Granlund, to end up signing another set up guy around the same price except we don't know if this guy will work out. At least with Granlund we knew what we had.
Zuccarello is not actually on the decline--his points per game has been consistent since his 3rd year or so. Nothing wrong with him as a player IMO, I like him a lot actually.
The problem is that the Wild signed him for too many years considering his age and the almost inevitable decline in production that for most players begins at about 30 or so.. To the Wilds defense he hasn't shone that decline yet, and he's got less than 10 years in the NHL, so he may be one of those guys that continues to produce at an advanced age. Even so...
The real killers are the NMC and partial no-trade in years 4-5. You just can't keep giving these clauses to older players. If it was necessary to do in order to sign him--then DON'T sign him.
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On 7/1/2019 at 10:01 AM, csummers said:
Sooner or later, you should try to win.
Isn't that exactly what Philly are trying to do now?
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3 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:
Although Mileski made a good point in the latest Beyond the Pod episode. As much as the team would like to rebuild, it can't because of the deals it signed with #11 and #20. Those contracts are virtually impossible to get out of. Both because of the length, the current age of these players and the fact they were given NMC's too. Yet, and this has been stated in other threads I believe...any player who could be given that kind of financial security would probably take it.
If you were told in your present working career, that you would, 1) have your job no matter what for what was left of your career, 2.) the company was going to pay you very well for the rest of your career, and 3) your company would not be able to change your work situation unless YOU approve it. Of course you'd probably take it. It means stability in a very exclusive way that few players are ever offered.
Plus, at the time you probably feel you're going to really be loving the new company you're going to work for and its in a fairly nice place to live and raise a family which you are about to start or have only recently started to grow. But now...a little over halfway through, one of those players is having some regrets about it. Because, of how those deals have shaped the team's decision making and limited its flexibility...its at a point where it desperately needs a rebuild and the organization's deal they made with you is preventing that from taking place and you still want to win the big prize. You want to win that prize, so you suggest you might entertain a transition to a new company. The problem is, your present deal is guaranteed and that would have to be figured out to make it happen. The Wild would no doubt have to retain money to whomever we traded him for and we'd likely just sort of dump him off and be happy with the cap space and flexibility it would give us. But if that player retires before his deal is done the team gets crushed with the cap recapture penalties.
Meanwhile, the other worker that was given that exact same deal as the previously mention employee has no regrets. In fact, he is very very comfortable and uses his relationship with the owner to continue to demand and do whatever he pleases. He knows he can't be moved, and one call or text to the owner and any obstacle in his way will be removed no matter if that person is allegedly an authority figure or not. This player dictates his own work situation and thus it dictates what other players work situations are. So it becomes more important for other players to have this players' approval than that of the boss (coach) and a warped power dynamic is created. Soon, workers in other companies that may have been interested in joining that company hear about the strange and toxic environment and want nothing to do with this company. So the only way that company can try to bring in talent from the outside is to grossly overpay it or lean heavily on personal / regional connections and hope they hadn't heard about that toxic environment to be scared off too much.
Sound familiar?
And this doesn't even include the #9(wears the "C") dynamic that exists in the lockerroom. What a "CF"!
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Matthew's has the Co-Vid
in Toronto Maple Leafs
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Or he suffers no symptoms and is Asymptomatic. 23 members of the Clemson football tested positive--most showed no symptoms(once again, Asymptomatic) and a few had mild symptoms--none of the 23 were hospitalized.