Tomdog Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 I would trust in Billy G a little more had he not handed out the NMC's with the contract extensions and if he would just be realistic and except the facts about the playoffs this year. I know he can't come out and say we're going to lose for a draft pick, but he could come out and say we're not a playoff team this year due to the injuries so we're going to try to find some growth and improvement for next year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 47 minutes ago, Tomdog said: I would trust in Billy G a little more had he not handed out the NMC's with the contract extensions and if he would just be realistic and except the facts about the playoffs this year. I know he can't come out and say we're going to lose for a draft pick, but he could come out and say we're not a playoff team this year due to the injuries so we're going to try to find some growth and improvement for next year. He doesn't even has to say that much, TBH. Why? To give story hungry reporters or wanna-be/think-they-are-reporters fuel for their speculative fires? He could do like lots of GM's do: Give the media standard, stock answers, all the while, whatever is really going on behind the scenes with regards to how to go about reshaping the team, and more importantly, treading through the buyout cloud the next couple seasons, is kept behind the scenes. And if he ultimately plans well, and certain things fall right, he and the franchise should be in decent shape two seasons from now. If not, then his head may roll for not navigating the tough times properly. If I were him, I wouldn't give the media, podcasters, or any other me-too guy anything to pump themselves up over....besides, in the course of writing something just to write, things could even go over into territory where players may feel not wanted and begin the kind of malcontent culture in that locker room that supposedly existed before, which Guerin has tried to eliminate. Stock answers at a time like this is fine. From there, if people want to speculate, they are going to anyways. I just wouldn't give them anything for them to say, "Yea, but Guerin said this, that, etc". The Wild, of course, should NOT be openly tanking, but if they do see some merit in placing in such a way they get a higher draft pick, then things can be left going as they are. I don't think the players are trying to lose, but they just aren't particularly suited to go against the better teams in the league as currently constructed, and the losing will happen organically anyways. The extensions with NMC? Yea, probably not the best moves, but again, in these next couple dark ages seasons, throw chit at the wall see what sticks...when that cloud is lifted, those contract extensions should be done, or about done...Wild get a fresh slate, then it will REALLY be on Billy G to do what needs to get done with players, contracts, and hopefully, good drafting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 On 1/15/2024 at 3:10 PM, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: He doesn't even has to say that much, TBH. Why? To give story hungry reporters or wanna-be/think-they-are-reporters fuel for their speculative fires? He could do like lots of GM's do: Give the media standard, stock answers, all the while, whatever is really going on behind the scenes with regards to how to go about reshaping the team, and more importantly, treading through the buyout cloud the next couple seasons, is kept behind the scenes. And if he ultimately plans well, and certain things fall right, he and the franchise should be in decent shape two seasons from now. If not, then his head may roll for not navigating the tough times properly. If I were him, I wouldn't give the media, podcasters, or any other me-too guy anything to pump themselves up over....besides, in the course of writing something just to write, things could even go over into territory where players may feel not wanted and begin the kind of malcontent culture in that locker room that supposedly existed before, which Guerin has tried to eliminate. Stock answers at a time like this is fine. From there, if people want to speculate, they are going to anyways. I just wouldn't give them anything for them to say, "Yea, but Guerin said this, that, etc". The Wild, of course, should NOT be openly tanking, but if they do see some merit in placing in such a way they get a higher draft pick, then things can be left going as they are. I don't think the players are trying to lose, but they just aren't particularly suited to go against the better teams in the league as currently constructed, and the losing will happen organically anyways. The extensions with NMC? Yea, probably not the best moves, but again, in these next couple dark ages seasons, throw chit at the wall see what sticks...when that cloud is lifted, those contract extensions should be done, or about done...Wild get a fresh slate, then it will REALLY be on Billy G to do what needs to get done with players, contracts, and hopefully, good drafting. No, you're wrong. It already is on Bill Guerin. He made those deals. He didn't have to make them. He painted the team into corner when everyone in the league knew things were going to be tight with the dead money. You don't throw big raises & NMC's to players over 30. Especially not all 3 of them. Then toss in the front-office stuff; axing his Assistant GM who was known as the cap / contract guru; then booting a very well-liked Hockey Operations Assistant after he talked about Bill doing some unprofessional things. The spotlight is very much on Bill Guerin, as it should be at this point. This is HIS team; and he's running it HIS way and the results speak for themselves. Yes the Parise / Suter / Koivu locker room environment was toxic and entitled hierarchy existed that needed to be eliminated. I don't second guess that decision one bit and I think most Wild fans feel the same way. Suter was a cancer and Parise wasn't much better. However making that choice to cut bait wasn't just predicated on culture, it was predicated on the NHL retro-actively punishing the Wild and other clubs after they made long-term deals that we determined to be some form of cap circumvention. He had to cut them soon or wait for the possible land mine of even bigger cap hits if they retired early. Again, not ideal...yet I think most Wild fans understood the necessity of it. At this point, they don't need to openly tank. The team's performance and inconsistency is doing that for itself. It should bottom out but they have the owner who only cares about playoff round revenue money (who cares if they never go anywhere) and thus the team is mired in permanent mediocrity. Adding more middle six forwards by drafting in the last 1/3 of the draft isn't going to help us. They need some blue chip talent up front and some on the blueline. We might as well be bad and make the most of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimtown guy Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Unfortunately Spurgeon is out for the season with a messed up hip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icechipper Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 Just heard Michael Russo w Dan Barreiro. Spurgeon back/hip/shoulder take your pick out for season. Russo says cap space will allow Wild to pursue a defenseman. (Addison? Dumba? Just kidding....maybe not) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 9 minutes ago, Icechipper said: Just heard Michael Russo w Dan Barreiro. Spurgeon back/hip/shoulder take your pick out for season. Russo says cap space will allow Wild to pursue a defenseman. (Addison? Dumba? Just kidding....maybe not) Well, that's just lovely. I'm not sure how I feel about them going after a defenseman. They're not going to do anything in the Playoffs, if they can even get in the Playoffs now. Just ride the season out and regroup for next year. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimtown guy Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Didn’t see the game last night but looking at the score one must wonder was Gusty a flash in the pan last season. It’s not good right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 1 hour ago, Jimtown guy said: Didn’t see the game last night but looking at the score one must wonder was Gusty a flash in the pan last season. It’s not good right now I couldn’t watch but from what I heard it was more of a defensive failure than anything… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdog Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 Unfortunately I did watch it. Gus was brilliant at times, spotty at times and absolutely hung out to dry most of the time. Hunt must have had a sore neck as he seldom looked around for an open man to cover. There were turnovers and a parade of penalties to the best PP in the league. Last night really showed the difference between the Wild's shooters and Tampa's scorers. The Wild had some really good looks on Vasilescki and shot into his pads or belly. Tampa mostly saw the netting, regardless of how small, behind Gus. I was never a scorer but I have always thought the difference is scorers see the net behind the goalie and shooters see the goalie in front of the net. The puck usually goes to what you see. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icechipper Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 Potential defense targets for Wild, per reports: Scandella, St. Louis Carrier, Nashville Erik Johnson, Buffalo Johnson intrigues me. He's big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 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. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbgarnett Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Damn this would have been a hell of a trade for the Hawks. https://thehockeywriters.com/shanahan-veto-maple-leafs-fleury-trade/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 I see Kaapo Kahkonen was mentioned in that article...he's playing for the West Wild, aka the San Jose Sharks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbgarnett Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbgarnett Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 1 minute ago, bbgarnett said: Basically trading nothing for nothing but at least Butcher has some NHL experience and Cajkovic was part of the Maroon deal so not really a loss. Hopefully this is basically all we do and we keep our cap space and play banker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 What is it with all the Pittsburgh trades? There are 30 other teams in the league… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 Meh...this Will Butcher deal...I would look at this one as a "NJ trade via PIT", as most of his NHL time (and BEST NHL time) came with the Devils before being shuffled off to Buffalo, then the AHL to ultimately end up with the Penguins' farm system. Butcher came on strong when he first started in the NHL...mainly due to the fact that, when allowed to be more offense on the ice, he likes to shoot the puck. Somebody later on in his tenure with NJ, got the bright idea to try turning him into a 'defensive force' and when that didn't work, sent him to Buffalo, who at the time (who the hell am I kidding...they STILL need it) need defensive style defensmen....Butcher wasn't that there, and of course Dallas and Pittsburg didn't see him fit to bring up to their big clubs. This move likely is a big nothing as Minnesota will certainly need more than the likes of Will Butcher to move ANY kind of needles, but if the Wild are willing accept that he is best deployed as an offensive defenseman first, let him fire the puck at will (no pun intended), then let the forwards try to deflect or pick up the change the opposing goalie leaves behind, then he might find a little niche with Minnesota. 775K cap hit, and a UFA at season's end.....if he doesn't work out, no big deal. He can just go. If he gets back the form that had some Devils fans thinking he could help their PP and offense from the blue line in general, then Minnesota has found a nice 29 yr old d-man to possibly spell guys like Goligoski from the lineup moving forward. That all said, I honestly don't know anything about the guy MN gave up, so if that guy has some serious upside, and does well with the Pens, while Butcher disappears, then this will certainly look bad on the front office. But for now, meh, it is a small, no risk move that has my interest just a little bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 (edited) 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... Edited January 27 by CreaseAndAssist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 And Former Wild Zach Parisé officially signed a 1-year deal with Colorado. Their D sucks, they don't have a legit back-up goalie even after claiming Prosvetov off waivers, so that signing makes total sense... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 9 hours ago, Math said: And Former Wild Zach Parisé officially signed a 1-year deal with Colorado. Their D sucks, they don't have a legit back-up goalie even after claiming Prosvetov off waivers, so that signing makes total sense... So much for “I only want to play for the Islanders…”. Apparently $98M doesn’t go as far as we thought it did… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandron Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 On 1/18/2024 at 4:10 PM, Jimtown guy said: Unfortunately Spurgeon is out for the season with a messed up hip I am concerned already how good he will be after undergoing 2 surgeries (hip and spine). Usually, rehab it takes awhile. Here is a trade watch list 2024. Kind of interesting to read and to think about this: https://www.thefourthperiod.com/trade-watch-list-2024 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 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. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 On 1/29/2024 at 2:32 PM, CreaseAndAssist said: 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. So has anyone seen Doug Risebrough and Bill Guerin in the same room together? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted February 3 Share Posted February 3 So are the Wild working on their golf swings this All Star break or working on why they can’t get their act together for more than one or two games at a time… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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