Bear Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 (edited) https://www.twincities.com/2021/07/02/wild-sign-joel-eriksson-ek-to-eight-year-42-million-contract/ too much? Edited July 2, 2021 by Bear 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 (edited) Wow. I like EEK's progression and I think he was worthy to keep around with the team, but for five and a quarter, I hope he has more than 40-45 pts a season in him! Some might say the length is too much, but I am ok with that seeing as how he will only be 32 at the end of this contract, but 5.25AAV is usually for mid to mid-upper level scorers or players who score decently enough with some Selke chops EVERY year. Guys like JG Pageau of the Islanders (5M) or Alex Killorn of the Lightning (4.45M) are what I expect for 5.25M. Those guys score a bit (plus Pageau is a premier FO man, and Killorn is an agitator extraordinaire and clutch playoff performer), but play lots of defense as well, check the bejeezus out of people and lead on the ice by example each and every shift. If EEK can do things like those guys for instance, the Wild may have found their 'do a bit of everything' guy. I hope they have, because 5.25 is a lot to tie up on a guy if he ends up becoming just another bottom six plug type player with little else to give. Hoping the good we saw from him this past season is who he is becoming and not just a passing phase. Ideally, maybe a 3-3.5M AAV, three year bridge deal (kinda like Craig Smith has right now, a player EEK can be compare with), would have been best, then by all means break out the 5M+ after that if he is more Pageau and Killorn than Smith. I guess for Minnesota, you just gotta do what you gotta do to keep a player they feel is a core piece moving forward. I'm rooting for him! Edited July 6, 2021 by TropicalFruitGirl26 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimtown guy Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 He’s improved a ton since he was drafted but I do not like contracts more than 5 years. Too many have come back and bit teams in their rear ends. Hopefully this one doesn’t 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 2 hours ago, Bear said: too much? Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icechipper Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 He's 24 and coming into his best years. Also big, rangy and durable. Good player good signing. Fearless too, meaner than Greenday... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 10 hours ago, Jimtown guy said: He’s improved a ton since he was drafted but I do not like contracts more than 5 years. Too many have come back and bit teams in their rear ends. Hopefully this one doesn’t You'd think hey how about a 50 point season first before a 8 year deal but hey what do I know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted July 3, 2021 Share Posted July 3, 2021 Whenever there is no NMC a Wild fan needs to feel lucky... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 25 minutes ago, lynxrattle said: Whenever there is no NMC a Wild fan needs to feel lucky... I am already feel lucky that at least one out of 3 important young key players for this team ( EEk, Kaprizov and Fiala) was able to sign a contract during his off season. Now, I am patiently waiting to other two to sign their contracts. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey-78 Posted July 4, 2021 Share Posted July 4, 2021 On 7/3/2021 at 1:47 AM, Bear said: https://www.twincities.com/2021/07/02/wild-sign-joel-eriksson-ek-to-eight-year-42-million-contract/ too much? I'd rather say too long. 5 years should've been enough. He's no 1st line center. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 On 7/2/2021 at 6:08 PM, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: Wow. I like EEK's progression and I think he was worthy to keep around with the team, but for five and a quarter, I hope he has more than 40-45 pts a season in him! Some might say the length is too much, but I am ok with that seeing as how he will only be 32 at the end of this contract, but 5.25AAV is usually for mid to mid-upper level scorers or players who score decently enough with some Selke chops EVERY year. Guys like JG Pageau of the Islanders (5M) or Alex Killorn of the Lightning (4.45M) are what I expect for 5.25M. Those guys score a bit (plus Pageau is a premier FO man, and Killorn is an agitator extraordinaire and clutch playoff performer), but play lots of defense as well, check the bejeezus out of people and lead on the ice by example each and every shift. If EEK can do things like those guys for instance, the Wild may have found their 'do a bit of everything' guy. I hope they have, because 5.25 is a lot to tie up on a guy if he ends up becoming just another bottom six plug type player with little else to give. Hoping the good we saw from him this past season is who he is becoming and not just a passing phase. Ideally, maybe a 3-3.5M AAV, three year bridge deal (kinda like Craig Smith has right now, a player EEK can be compare with), would have been best, then by all means break out the 5M+ after that if he is more Pageau and Killorn than Smith. I guess for Minnesota, you just gotta do what you gotta do to keep a player they feel is a core piece moving forward. I'm rooting for him! I said more or less the same thing on Twitter and it started a sh$tstorm with a portion of the Wild fanbase. Eriksson Ek had a pretty good season, he is a pain to play against and until he got hurt in the playoffs I think you could argue he was one of our more effective players in the post-season too. However, the 8-year deal is what bothers me. Not as much about Eriksson Ek is just the fact this team is tied down with so many long-term big contracts as it is. Suter - $7.5M (36 years old) - 4 years left Parise - $7.5M (36 years old) - 4 years left Zuccarello - $6M (33 years old) - 3 years left Spurgeon - $7.57M (31 years old) - 6 years left Brodin - $6M (27 years old) - 7 years left Eriksson Ek - $5.2M (24 years old) - 8 years left That's just under 50% of the Wild's cap space in 6 players for at least the next 3 seasons. If you put Dumba's $6M deal on this list (2 years remaining) that's 57% of the Wild's cap space for the next two seasons. While Eriksson Ek being 24, the deal expires when he's 32 which is pretty good compared to most of the other long-term deals on this list. Yet, with all of these deals (not to mention) you kind of paint yourself into a corner as you attempt to fill out the rest of your roster and you have almost no space to sign a top quality free agent like a Mika Zibanejad, or Alexander Barkov. There just isn't any room for it. 5 of those contracts I listed above have No Movement Clauses too. That really makes it tough for a GM with that many immovable contracts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icechipper Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 Guerin is a good GM. NHLs problem is that players have more tenure than coaches and GMs rarely last as long as their plans, so, somebody else's problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted December 21, 2021 Share Posted December 21, 2021 A broken hand, collar bone? Not good anyways. A center short on a team with no 1C, even before the injury. Eek is irreplaceable. Everyone needs to step up, and Rossi given a chance in the big team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted December 24, 2021 Share Posted December 24, 2021 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted December 24, 2021 Share Posted December 24, 2021 Michael Russo @RussoHockey Guerin wouldn't give specifics about Eriksson Ek's injury. Wouldn't say if he's having surgery/timetable; it's clear he'll be out for awhile. Regarding Eriksson Ek and the Winter Classic, Guerin said, "It stinks." Wouldn't divulge callup, but re: Rossi, you've got to "earn it." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted December 24, 2021 Share Posted December 24, 2021 An interesting article came from hockeywilderness.com yesterday: https://www.hockeywilderness.com/2021/12/23/22851532/minnesota-wild-injury-update-joel-eriksson-ek-marco-rossi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted December 24, 2021 Share Posted December 24, 2021 Looks like an opportunity for Mason Shaw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 On 12/24/2021 at 1:39 PM, lynxrattle said: Looks like an opportunity for Mason Shaw. I still would prefer first a tryout for Rossi. Mason had 2 NHL games already, but Rossi - none. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 16 minutes ago, Alexandron said: I still would prefer first a tryout for Rossi. Mason had 2 NHL games already, but Rossi - none. From what Russo hinted at a podcast, Guerin does not think Rossi is playing the right way yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 4 minutes ago, lynxrattle said: From what Russo hinted at a podcast, Guerin does not think Rossi is playing the right way yet. Why Guerin is making all decisions, but not coaches (Evason and Army)? Is he dictating to them who should play and who should stay? Last year we lost an opportunity in a tryout of Boldy in the big club because of him. Team lost already last 4 games in a row , lost 8 points as well, and losing their chemistry on stupid "pandemic" breaks on 200% (triple doses of vaccines)received on each NHL player instead of checking the blood level of antibodies like other countries do. Why we should not give to Rossi a chance to demonstrate his talent for the big club? Maybe he will be more productive there than any other forwards we tried already? Why 2 first round picks(Boldy and Rossi) played Zero games in NHL so far? And actually both pretended to be a forwards on the top Wild lines. When they will get a valuable NHL experience? In my opinion, sooner is better like other clubs do with their first round drafts. I am also still mad on Guerin , because he did not re-signed a contract with Sokolov this summer and did not give to him a chance to play at least 1 game in NHL during 3 seasons. Now that player is having 30 points (20 goals; 10 assists) in 27 played games in VHL (Supreme Hockey League) and 1 goal in 4 played KHL games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 I think Guerin, Evason and Army are all about playoffs success. It doesn't matter so much if they score, because even McDavid doesn't keep on scoring during the playoffs. They need to be solid all around, not just offensively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 14 minutes ago, lynxrattle said: I think Guerin, Evason and Army are all about playoffs success. It doesn't matter so much if they score, because even McDavid doesn't keep on scoring during the playoffs. They need to be solid all around, not just offensively. Yeah. I agree. We all (including fans) do too, but see the same results for many years with low playoffs production and 1st round elimination as a routine outcome for our team. So far we have, practically, one productive line (Kaprizov- Hartman- Zuccarello), and the other one was good before too (Greenway-EEK-Foligno), but, unfortunately, both players EEK and Greenway are injured. We added Fiala and Gaudreau to Foligno, but not sure if that line will be consistently productive (I would try Pitlick in that line too instead of Gaudreau). And the other last 2 lines practically are not producing. Plus Spurgeon who was a productive defenseman is injured also (2 times already in that season). Kind of skepticism is prevailing above optimism in that picture. The any players from lines #3 and #4 should step up well to boost the fans optimism. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdog Posted December 26, 2021 Share Posted December 26, 2021 I think Evason wants to make sure all the forwards are willing and capable of covering for defensmen when they go offensive. With the wild defensmen jumping into the offense it would be a disaster if the young guys didn't cover for them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted December 27, 2021 Share Posted December 27, 2021 Very likely so. I can understand that, but am also missing the scoring. We don't have pure goal scorers, so Boldy and in time maybe Novak who right now is playing for Czechia in WJC, would be sorely needed. We are so dependent on these guys learning to be full-rounded players, offensive and defensive. If we look at for example Patrik Laine's struggles, it's clear that scoring is just not enough. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted December 27, 2021 Share Posted December 27, 2021 Just finished watching on YouTube very talented analytic podcast Locked on Wild with Seth Toupal and Alex Micheletti. Today's program talked about who will replace injured Erickson Ek especially for the next game against Blues. Their prediction is Hartman will be moved to a second line with Greenway and Foligno. Rask will be moved to a 1st line with Kaprizov and Zuccarello. Bjugstad will be a center for a 3rd line and Mason Shaw will be a center for the 4th line. It was an interesting discussion also if Giroux from Flyers will be a nice fit with Fiala. Their GM Fletcher can trade this player to us for a couple Wild promising prospects which he drafted when he was a GM of the Wild team. Another proposal for our team was Hertl from Sharks, but they doubt if that will happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted December 27, 2021 Share Posted December 27, 2021 Our Philly fans from the forum would be thrilled to get rid of Giroux. They might have too high hopes for him, but they might as well be on to something, as well. I'd be very worried if Guerin would make a trade for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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