**** 2023-24 MINNESOTA WILD GENERAL SEASON THREAD ****

[Tomdog]

The only excuse Guerin could have for the extensions, and worse yet the nmc, is if he had hand shake agreements for team friendly deals.

Not very plausible but I can see no other excuse. 

[CreaseAndAssist]

Not sure how team friendly I'd say they were.  We overpaid and gave too much term to Marcus Foligno.  But I agree in principle that it makes you wonder if he had some kind of earlier agreement.  However, including the 'handshake' deal to Goligoski these deals have only kept around old bones way too long.  

[IllaZilla]

Boy there are a lot of Homers on the Athletic comment boards. 
 

A lot of “If the team had Spurgeon all season” or “If Foligno wasn’t hurt…”

 

My Dad used to say “If “if” and “buts” were candy and nuts we’d all have a Merry Christmas”. 
 

I prefer Burgess Meredith’s character in Grumpy Old Men comment: “You can wish in one hand and crap in the other and see which fills up first”. 

 

 

[Tomdog]

Yea if they had Spurgeon,  they wouldn't have Chisolm or Bogosian, and they would probably make the playoffs and lose in the 1st round. 

If the team had been honest with themselves they would have worked on their future instead of fighting a lost cause.

They could have revamped their pathetic PP.

They could have given their young guys more ice time and development. 

And the reward would have been a top 10 or better draft position and, a better PP, and a better 4th line.

But that opportunity is long gone.

[CreaseAndAssist]

13 hours ago, Tomdog said:

Yea if they had Spurgeon,  they wouldn't have Chisolm or Bogosian, and they would probably make the playoffs and lose in the 1st round. 

If the team had been honest with themselves they would have worked on their future instead of fighting a lost cause.

They could have revamped their pathetic PP.

They could have given their young guys more ice time and development. 

And the reward would have been a top 10 or better draft position and, a better PP, and a better 4th line.

But that opportunity is long gone.

 

Not saying its all that fun anymore, but listen to Russo / LaPanta's latest show.  Russo didn't go back at Tony in this latest one...but geez.  

 

Oh go into the locker room and see how it goes if you ask this team to tank!?!?  You don't know how much pride those guys have in the room!  Blah blah blah...

 

If those guys had any pride they wouldn'tve sleep walked through most of the middle of the season putting them in the position they did.  Even the firing of a coach wasn't enough of a kick to the ass to get them to playing hard each night.  

 

This team needs to tank, but its in denial about it.  They think it will just magically be different even though they're doing the same damn thing.  

[Tomdog]

That's the whole get into the playoffs and anything can happen mindset.

Get in and you're a chip,chair and a chance from a Stanley Cup.

Reality is good, well constructed, well coached teams win the Cup.

I believe this team is good, the rest not so much.

[IllaZilla]

4 hours ago, Tomdog said:

That's the whole get into the playoffs and anything can happen mindset.

Get in and you're a chip,chair and a chance from a Stanley Cup.

Reality is good, well constructed, well coached teams win the Cup.

I believe this team is good, the rest not so much.

That’s all they are. A good team. Not a great team. Great teams win a Cup. Good teams get bounced in the first round. 
 

And no. Get into the Playoffs and anything can happen. False. You either have to have a lot of talent or a good head of steam going into the Playoffs. The Wild have never had either. They’ve never had talent, and they always stumble into the Playoffs. 
 

Until this team commits to a rebuild and gets some real talent on the roster, they will continue to spin their wheels. 

[CreaseAndAssist]

18 minutes ago, IllaZilla said:

That’s all they are. A good team. Not a great team. Great teams win a Cup. Good teams get bounced in the first round. 
 

And no. Get into the Playoffs and anything can happen. False. You either have to have a lot of talent or a good head of steam going into the Playoffs. The Wild have never had either. They’ve never had talent, and they always stumble into the Playoffs. 
 

Until this team commits to a rebuild and gets some real talent on the roster, they will continue to spin their wheels. 

 

Exactly.  The same one and done crap and then trying to delude themselves and the fanbase that they're inching closer to being a contender.  

 

The Wild usually are fading as they go into the post-season and for the most part their 'stars' have been MIA in the post-season and our season ends a week and a half after the conclusion of the regular season.  

 

Pride can be a weakness when it makes you do stupid things like the same thing over and over and hoping for a different result.  

[IllaZilla]

Russo had a pretty good article in the Athletic that more or less lambasted the Wild. 
 

Basically the Wild have no scoring beyond Kaprizov, Eriksson-Ek, Zuccarello, and Boldy. Rossi had 20 goals and Faber should finish top 2 in Calder voting, so there is some hope there. 
 

But the rest of the offense, especially Johansson and Gadreau, were basically worthless this season. Same with the defense. Beyond Faber and Brodin, the rest of the defense was useless. This season showed how little depth the Wild truly have. 
 

And when the team needed solid goaltending, Gustavson went AWOL. 
 

With the significant cap hit the Wild had, they couldn’t afford injuries and as many passengers as they had. 
 

It’s going to be more or less the same team next season with all the NMC’s and the cap only going up $4M or so. 

[Tomdog]

3 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

Russo had a pretty good article in the Athletic that more or less lambasted the Wild. 
 

The Wild or Guerin? 

In my opinion there should be a worst GM award to offset the GM of the year award.

BG would be a top candidate this year. Other than claiming Chisholm, getting a 3rd for Duhaime and trading for Bogosian,  I don’t see much to brag about. 

[Alexandron]

I just looked at Marco Rossi stats and compared with the last season stats. They show are a very nice progress. Last season in 19 played games he had 1 assist; +/- -7. This season so far in 77 played games ( hope he will play all 82 games) he has 38 points (21 goals; 17 assists; +/- +1). Definitely his personal training with coaches and other specialists entire last summer made a very positive impact. Maybe Gaudreau and Johansson will do same thing this summer too? If we are not able to trade them then club should have an individual training for them as well.

Otherwise, we need more talents, more stars. Conclusion is very simple. Without them we will not have a Stanley Cup in a nearest future.

[Tomdog]

All the players 30 years old and above need to be on a more aggressive workout routine. 

That would be Hartman,  Foligno, Gaudreau,  Johansson, Spurgeon and Bogosian. 

After 30 it really gets tough. BG should really start demanding a stronger fitness program for these older guys.

This year Johansson really fell apart when his shift time got extended,  you could almost predict the goal coming when he got trapped on the ice for a while. 

[Tomdog]

Fleury showing why he is the prank king.

Duhaime never had a chance. 

[CreaseAndAssist]

22 hours ago, Tomdog said:

All the players 30 years old and above need to be on a more aggressive workout routine. 

That would be Hartman,  Foligno, Gaudreau,  Johansson, Spurgeon and Bogosian. 

After 30 it really gets tough. BG should really start demanding a stronger fitness program for these older guys.

This year Johansson really fell apart when his shift time got extended,  you could almost predict the goal coming when he got trapped on the ice for a while. 

 

No doubt, but this will still become more problematic as they get older.  Spurgeon has struggled to stay healthy the last two seasons.  Marcus Foligno has had his struggles too.  The mileage just builds up and even if you're in great shape you find yourself being injured and once injured you spend a lot more time in recovery.  

 

Either way, it begs another question of why did Bill Guerin decide to invest in so many years in these older players when you know you have so many young players coming up?  

 

As far as Fleury getting back Duhaime...yea, you mess with the bull, you get the horns!  

[IllaZilla]

23 hours ago, Tomdog said:

All the players 30 years old and above need to be on a more aggressive workout routine. 

That would be Hartman,  Foligno, Gaudreau,  Johansson, Spurgeon and Bogosian. 

After 30 it really gets tough. BG should really start demanding a stronger fitness program for these older guys.

This year Johansson really fell apart when his shift time got extended,  you could almost predict the goal coming when he got trapped on the ice for a while. 

 

He could demand it, but would the CBA allow it?

[Tomdog]

Maybe demand is the wrong term, but just as they advised Rossi, they should advise these older guys. 
Maybe in the future he should start adding it to the older guys contract. 

[IllaZilla]

I’d like to know how Nashville can get players to play there without tossing around NMC’s while the Wild have given out the most in the NHL. 

[CreaseAndAssist]

13 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

I’d like to know how Nashville can get players to play there without tossing around NMC’s while the Wild have given out the most in the NHL. 

 

100% exactly why I don't buy the "you have to offer NMC's" ******** argument.  No you don't, if that was true every team would have about the same amount and they clearly do not.  I did an episode about it where I went over the amount of NMC's and NTC's each team had.  No other team in the league has more NMC's than the Minnesota Wild.  Total, between NMC's and NTC's I think there was one team that had more than we did (Toronto if memory serves me correctly).  But some clubs had very few; like Nashville as you mentioned.  

[Jimtown guy]

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Minnesota Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin today announced the National Hockey League (NHL) club has recalled forward Liam Ohgren from the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Ohgren, 20 (1/28/2004), has skated in three games with Iowa since being assigned to the team on April 2. The 6-foot-1, 201-pound native of Stockholm, Sweden, collected 19 points (12-7=19) in 26 games with Färjestad BK in the Swedish Elite League this season, ranking T-6th on the team in goals. He also helped Sweden earn a silver medal at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship, serving as team captain and recording three assists in seven games.

 

Ohgren previously played two seasons (2021-23) for Djurgarden in Sweden, totaling 22 points (12-10=22) and eight penalty minutes (PIM) in 61 games. He ranked fifth on Djurgarden in goals (11) and plus/minus rating (plus-15) while skating in 36 games during the 2022-23 campaign. Ohgren collected 58 points (33-25=58) and a plus-41 rating in 30 games with the Djurgarden Under-20 team of the Swedish Junior League during the 2021-22 season and was named the league’s Best Forward after leading all players in goals, points and plus-minus rating. He served as alternate captain for Sweden at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship, recording two goals in seven games, and notched one assist in seven games at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship as Sweden won a bronze medal.

 

Originally drafted by Minnesota in the first round (19th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft, Ohgren signed a three-year, entry level contract with the Wild on July 16, 2022. He will wear sweater No. 28 with Minnesota. The Wild travels to play the Vegas Golden Knights at 9 p.m. CT on Friday, April 12, on Bally Sports North Extra and KFAN 100.3 FM.

 

[CreaseAndAssist]

Ohgren has looked ok down there.  I think the smaller ice and the way the natural way that speeds up the game was still moving a bit fast for him at the AHL level, but they probably just are appealing to the buzz of having another 1st rounder get a look at the big league.  

 

He has a decent shot...he hasn't found the back of the net in Iowa, but it will be interesting to see if he can get a goal in Minnesota.  Khusnutdinov certainly hasn't piled up a bunch of scoring chances since he arrived.  But I think Khusnutdinov is more of a middle to bottom-6 player even if he's small.  

[IllaZilla]

17 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said:

Ohgren has looked ok down there.  I think the smaller ice and the way the natural way that speeds up the game was still moving a bit fast for him at the AHL level, but they probably just are appealing to the buzz of having another 1st rounder get a look at the big league.  

 

He has a decent shot...he hasn't found the back of the net in Iowa, but it will be interesting to see if he can get a goal in Minnesota.  Khusnutdinov certainly hasn't piled up a bunch of scoring chances since he arrived.  But I think Khusnutdinov is more of a middle to bottom-6 player even if he's small.  

If Ohgren follows Eriksson-Ek's trajectory, he'll be good in about 10 years, and Khusnutdinov has been described as a 3C, so we just replaced Dewar with Khusnutdinov. So I'm not holding my breath on either of these guys...

[CreaseAndAssist]

54 minutes ago, IllaZilla said:

If Ohgren follows Eriksson-Ek's trajectory, he'll be good in about 10 years, and Khusnutdinov has been described as a 3C, so we just replaced Dewar with Khusnutdinov. So I'm not holding my breath on either of these guys...

 

Yea some folks are hook, line & sinker on these guys like they will all just be studs.  I am with you, I'll believe it when I see it.  

[Tomdog]

5 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

If Ohgren follows Eriksson-Ek's trajectory, he'll be good in about 10 years, and Khusnutdinov has been described as a 3C, so we just replaced Dewar with Khusnutdinov. So I'm not holding my breath on either of these guys...

From what I have seen of Marat, I would say we downgraded from Dewar. 

[CreaseAndAssist]

I would agree.  He's like Dewar-lite.  

[Mad Dog]

From the outsider's point of view, I think the most glaring need for you guys is to find a star center to play with Kaprizov.  He can't do it all (nobody can); he is not a superhuman. You tried Hartmann and Joel Eriksson so far, and the results were less than impressive.  Both are nice, fine players, but you need Mark Scheifele or Dylan Larkin type player - not necessarily a superstar, but a consistent point-per-game center. I really think that's what should be Guerin's priority this summer.