2015-16 Minnesota Wild: The Hunt Is On!

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

 

 

Thread for the Minnesota Wild season.

 

Team and player updates, commentary from myself and other Wild fans.

Fans of other teams are welcome to put in their opinions on the team as well.

 

The Wild's time is NOW.

No more "the future" mantras..that is over and done with.

 

Minnesota has two ridiculously highly paid players in  Zach Parise and Ryan Suter who are in their primes and have had a few shots at post season runs....well, these guys won't be getting any younger, and Minnesota has other vets who are in their primes still in Mikko Koivu, Jason Pominville, Devan Dubnyk, and Thomas Vanek, who should still be good, but for how much longer?

 

Time's be a-wastin.

Time for the Wild to get it done and get it done now.

 

Young players on the rise Charlie Coyle, Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker, Marco Scandella, Darcy Kuemper, and of course, Matt Dumba...all these guys are no longer considered "too young to play big minutes" or "too young to know better".

Those guys have arrived and now its time to translate that into championship caliber play on the ice.

They need to be just as big a part of the team success as the vets. They HAVE to be.

 

Minny will be starting out their schedule a bit road heavy, playing only one of the first 5 games at home.

They see the Avalanche on the road to open the season, the Blues at home, then on the road in Arizona, before heading to California to face down some very stiff competition in Los Angeles and Anaheim.

 

Let's Go Wild, the State of Hockey is expecting a winner this season!

Blackhawks be damned......

 

[yave1964]

I have been saying forever that the only thing the Wild need is a top line center and still say it but none are available.

Maybe Staal from Carolina but he would be a rental and is past his prime.

Maybe Bozak or Kadri would be a good fit and could probably be had for a pick.

But here is my choice of who I think the Wild should target.

Patrice Bergeron.

He plays the best two way game in the league, is a faceoff God, can pass or shoot, Vanek would score 40 with him setting him up.

Boston is a mess and the fire sale will start sooner than later. Bergeron for Coyle and one of your defenseman would get it done and would make the Wild the team to beat in the West.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Some team news before the Wild drop the puck on their season in Denver, CO:

 

From the Wild's website:

http://wild.nhl.com/club/blogpost.htm?id=41691

 

Tyler Graovac, a tall 6'5 200 pound, 22 yr old Center, has made the team.

He had been playing and practicing with Charlie Coyle and Thomas Vanek as his wings and apparently has impressed Mike Yeo enough so that it looks like this could be Minnesota's opening 2nd or 3rd line...Vanek on it suggests it is a 2-line, but Vanek HAS spent time on the 4th last season while Coyle has been a regular 3rd liner, sometimes 2nd liner, so tough to tell.

 

 

 

I honestly don't know anything about Graovac, so if someone else knows more about him, please post.

Just looking at numbers, it appears that even in juniors, Graovac was not a prolific scorer but was far from barren in that department too.

Over short samples, he put up numbers like a PPG guy, but over longer stretches in the minors, his numbers dip a bit.

 

Still though, he will be sharing a line with two good offensive minded players in Coyle and Vanek, and perhaps that is the spark Coach Yeo is looking for.

 

Also, according to that article, D-Mike Reilly will start the season in AHL Iowa, likely play there for the year, unless there really is a need to call him up.

 

Other players:

Justin Fontaine, a bottom six fixture and the enigmatic Erik Haula, were both day to day with injuries...Haula made the team, while Fontaine was put back on IR.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

@yave1964

 

Coyle and a D-man for Bergeron, eh?

 

I'd hate to trade away Coyle, as he has become one of my favorite Wild players, but I've always raved about Bergeron, and if he could actually play for the Minnesota Wild at just 30 years of age, AND it took Coyle to get him, I think the Wild would have to at least seriously think about that one.

 

The salary numbers won't work straight up, so the D-man going would have to add to Coyle's salary to even that up.

Bergeron is a 6.8M cap hit..Coyle is just a 3.2, but perhaps if Boston would take offensive defenseman Jared Spurgeon (2.6 hit), and maybe another bottom six guy, that would all help to offset Bergeron's salary.

 

Spurgeon can be an outstanding player, but Matt Dumba's apparent emergence has made him a bit expendable, IMO.

Dumba looks like he can do everything Spurge does, but with a larger body frame and obviously, younger too....though Spurgeon himself is no old goat at just 25 years old.

 

Bozak? Kadri?

Meh...dunno bout those two.

I mean, if the purpose was to get a TOP LINE center (assuming Granlund doesn't become that this season), then those two won't cut it either as I believe, they are more 2 or 3 C's.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

According to various sources, this is what the Wild will look like line-wise when they open the season tonight in Denver, CO:

 

Top Line:

Parise-Granlund-Pomminville

 

Second Line:

Zucker - Koivu - Vanek

 

Third Line:

Haula - Coyle - Niedderreiter

 

Fourth Line:

Porter - Carter/Graovac - Dalpe

 

4th line on Minnesota is usually the most fluid, so it really can be any number of players, maybe even some guys from the third line moved down and swapped out.

 

Also, Granlund appears that he will be getting the lion's share of responsibilities on the top PP unit.

 

Defense pairings:

 

1-- Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin

2-- Marco Scandella, Jared Spurgeon

3-- Matt Dumba, Christian Folin

 

Nate Prosser will be the team's 7th defenseman, although he could see regular time in the bottom pairing if Folin struggles, or some other guy gets off to a slow start.

Also, Matt Dumba could be catapulted up to the top pairing with Suter (as he was last season) if he shows signs of picking up where he left off (fingers crossed).

 

Scandella and Spurgeon have been like yin and yang for several seasons, I expect them to continue that, but Coach Yeo on occasion has split them up so that Spurgeon can take minutes with Suter, and Scandella time with either Dumba or Prosser if he is in.

 

Goalies are a no-brainer:

Devan Dubnyk will get the lion's share of the starts, starting with the Avs, but Darcy Kuemper IS expected to do more than watch Duby run out there for 30 straight starts this year....Wild NEED a focused and sharp Kuemper this season!

 

Backstrom's status is still in the air, though for now, he is simply the team's third string goalie.

I would think if Backstrom is healthy and wants to play, he may agree to a trade elsewhere, and thus the Wild will have to showcase him at some point.

 

Wild @ Avalanche, tonight, nationally televised game on NBC Sports.

Let's Get Wild!

[Unleashed Fury]

I will be watching the Wild and Avalanche tonight.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Thurs, Oct 8, 2015

Minnesota @ Colorado

Final: Wild 5, Avalanche 4

 

Talk about explosion.

If this is a sign of things to come, then the Wild may have their best season yet in a long, long time!

 

Avs were in control of this game being up 3-0 (two on the PP) after 1 period...then later on when the Wild tried mustering a comeback with a goal, brought it back out to 4-1 Avs.......then, Zach Parise and company just-went-OFF!

 

Hat trick for Zach and some additional goals from Thomas Vanek and Nino Niedderreiter, and Minnesota sent Patrick Roy, his team, and the entire Pepsi Center crowd home a grumbling mess!

 

Funny thing about this game:

Wild got down early, yet for some reason, I STILL felt Minny had a chance in this.

Minnesota, prior to exiting the first frame down 3-0 WERE getting chances....and Colorado, while hard hitting and have excellent offensive players, aren't really known these days for having airtight defense, unless Varlamov is standing on his head covering for defensive gaffes by his teammates.

 

The key was going to be keeping the Avs off of Dubnyk, who was less than stellar in this game.

Minnesota certainly did that....boy did they do that.

 

Hard for the Avs to score when Zach Parise and company are all over the place in the offensive zone, right? Yep.

 

Now, let's hope the Wild don't get into the habit of falling behind early just to try and comeback on most nights. They have the talent and speed to do so, but man, let's play some championship hockey for 60 minutes on a consistent basis please.....and Devan Dubnyk HAS to live up now to his contract.

Not expecting a repeat of last season for Duby, but am expecting better than he showed here.

 

Very, very exciting game to kick off the Wild season.

They say some teams tend to have another's number for various reasons....I think its safe to say many Avs fans are starting to really hate (if they didn't already) the sight of the green n red from the State of Hockey going back about two or three seasons now.

 

Up next for Minnesota, home opener in St. Paul on Saturday night, with another division rival, the St. Louis Blues supplying the opposition.

Very different type team Minny will see in the Blues....and also not the type of team you want to fall behind on.

 

Still though, I believe the Wild's speed can overcome the Blues' power game.

St. Louis will come in with a bit of an attitude as well, especially since Minnesota ousted them in last year's playoffs.

Hope Nate Prosser gets a go in this game....he can match sandpaper with the best agitators in the league, and can put on a pretty mean check too.

[Unleashed Fury]

This game last night was an amazing. Dubnyk and the boys could have thrown in the towel, but they gave it 110% and what a great comeback.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

This game last night was an amazing. Dubnyk and the boys could have thrown in the towel, but they gave it 110% and what a great comeback.

 

Agreed.

 

As long as they don't make a habit out of falling behind, the season should go well.

Central Division, IMO, STILL the toughest in hockey, and if you're the Wild, you don't wanna keep tempting fate by falling behind consistently!

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Sat, Oct 10, 2015

St. Louis @ Minnesota

Final: Wild 3 , Blues 2

 

Two in a row for Mike Yeo, two in a row for Mike Yeo!

 

Pretty solid win against a pretty solid team....and another game where the Wild exploded for goals at a given point in the game.

This time, scoring two goals late in the second 25 seconds apart putting the team up 3-1 at the time.

 

This is fantastic, to see the team be able on consecutive games played just whip out the scoring sticks suddenly......however, I'd prefer more consistent play.

 

Blues pushed back hard late in the game, managed to get back one goal, and really, were quite close to tying this thing up late as well.

 

Good to see guys like Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle come up with some great nights (scoring in bunches), but I think we all know that can't possibly be maintained throughout the season, and when you boil it all down, it is going to come down to steady, consistent offense by ALL team members, plus better defensive positional play.

 

Much better outing for the goalie Devan Dubnyk over the first game in Colorado, so that was a plus towards consistency.

 

But two division rivals (hungry rivals too) and two wins.....and without letting the opponent garner points via OT's or SO's....can't ask for better than that in the standings.

 

Some other things of note:

Blues tried their usual "bully play", to which Minnesota responded appropriately, but not so crazy as to engage St. Louis in all out fisticuffs and still maintaining their focus on the actual play.

 

Wild seem to be a much faster team than the Blues, so no sense in 'slowing down' for them by engaging in constant stoppages with roughing.

But like I said, Minnesota responded just enough to let St. Louis know they were not going to be intimidated....all the while leading where it counts, on the scoreboard.

 

Wild get a bit of an early break....next game won't be till Thursday...at which point they will begin a West Coast road trip, starting in Arizona, then off to LA and Anaheim.

 

I think Wild fans understand the Cali teams will be tough, but get a load of the Coyotes.....two games, two wins so far, against the Kings and Penguins no less!

Max Domi and company putting the league on notice that Arizona WON'T be an easy stop? Could be.....

[Unleashed Fury]

The Wild's division is tough with the likes of the Blues, Preds, Blackhawks, and also the Jets can give teams trouble.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Almost forgot to put in my take from the Wild-Coyotes game, so here goes, a quick capsule, as the Wild are currently engaged against the LA Kings as I type this.

 

Thurs, Oct 15, 2015

Minnesota @ Arizona

Final: Wild 4, Coyotes 3

 

Red hot AZ met red hot MN...something had to give.

 

Wild took it to the young Coyotes early, building up a relatively fast 4-0 lead....but those Yotes showed why they started out the season so well.

They never went away, scratched and clawed their way back to 4-3 before finally succumbing to the Wild.

 

But make no mistake...with as good a start as the Wild had to this game, they basically had to hang on to win it.

Devan Dubnyk wasn't particularly sharp in this one, but his team picked him up with defensive coverage and, of course, just enough offense to get the win.

 

Lots of penalty calls in this game, some just, some questionable, but it made for a choppy game at times, obviously lots of special teams play.

7 PP chances for the Yotes, 5 PP chances for the Wild.

Minnesota score on one of their chances, while keeping the Yotes off the scoreboard on all of theirs...turned out to be the difference in the game.

 

Zach Parise continues to be white hot, and he led the way once again in this game, registering a goal and an assist, while leading all shooters with shots directed towards the net...both SOG and missed shots toward AZ goalie Mike Smith.

 

Coach Mike Yeo, despite the win, was still a bit critical of his team....his contention being, the Wild didn't play a full 60 minutes.

He is right.

Had Minnesota done that, perhaps this game ends at 4-1 or 5-1 in favor of the Wild.

Some players echoed his sentiments after the game.

 

Great to see both players and coaches not simply being satisfied with the 'W', but instead continue to look for ways to improve their game and be ready for the even tougher teams that will eventually come along on the schedule.

 

As I said, I made this post as the Wild are currently facing off against the Kings.

Wild are currently in a scoreless game entering the 2nd period.

They have so far looked pretty good against LA...though they have had periods of miscues on defense that have given the Kings prime scoring chances.

 

Backup Darcy Kuemper is in net for this one, and he has been razor sharp to this point.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Friday, Oct 16, 2015

Minnesota @ Los Angeles

Final: Kings 2, Wild 1 (OT)

 

Despite backup Darcy Kuemper's very good play in this one and despite the spurts of good chances the Wild got, it simply wasn't enough against a Kings team that, for at least this game, certainly looked like the ones that had won two Cups not so long ago.

 

LA was supposed to be a struggling team...a team looking to figure out what exactly is wrong with them, and possibly a team with a head coach on the hot seat.

Well, frankly, if you asked Coach Mike Yeo and the Minnesota Wild, they saw no such thing.

And judging by this game, I have to wonder what all this "Kings struggling" is about as well.

 

Team looked fast, looked mean, they defended well, Jonathan Quick looked on point and won a 'typical LA Kings' low scoring, one-goal game.

 

Minnesota was game for sure. Going down 1-0, they continued to generate chances (gave up plenty too) and finally tied the game and forced the OT.

Anze Kopitar did the rest for LA in that frame.

 

Still though, LA hit everything that moved, clogged the passing lanes, and just generally made life difficult for the Wild players.

Most nights, the Wild can outspeed and outskate their opposition, but in a rare display of strength AND speed by the Kings this year, LA was able to match just about everything Minnesota did.

 

Darcy Kuemper.

Really, not to be lost in all this is his play.

He actually looked confident out there. Not anything like the guy who forced the organization to go looking for Devan Dubnyk last season.

 

Oh sure, the boxscore will show "the backup goalie lost 2-1"....but watching him make key saves at times when the Kings could have put this game out of reach early and seeing his concluding 35 save, .946 sv % effort, tells a different story.

One that says that Kuemper may be back to form. That Devan Dubnyk doesn't HAVE to make a ridiculous run like he did last year. One that says the Wild simply have to play their game and not worry anymore that he is in net..........and one that says, that third string goalie Nik Backstrom may never see the light of day on the Wild crease again...sad as that is for long time Minnesota fans.

 

I am not really that disappointed in the effort Minnesota put out in this game.

The result is not what fans of the team wanted, but it wasn't like the Kings completely steamrolled the Wild.

Kings were tough for sure, but Minnesota played right with them...and the backup goalie, Darcy Kuemper was a big reason why.

 

LA, at least for this one night, just looked the championship selves.....complete with superstar game winning goal by Captain Anze.

 

The Wild roll on down the interstate and head into Anaheim tonight.

Facing another team that is "struggling".

Will the Anaheim Ducks finally find the true contender they are supposed to be and repel the Wild like the Kings did?

 

It's possible. The Ducks are sure due.

Except that the Minnesota Wild aren't really concerned about the Ducks' troubles.

In fact, if the Wild play like they did against the Kings, they just may add on to Anaheim's troubles.

That is the plan anyways.

 

Go Wild GO!

[Unleashed Fury]

It's going to be a tough night for the Wild. They're playing in Anaheim and the Ducks are off to a bad start. They are going to be pretty desperate to get wins because the Duck fans are expecting a lot this year from the Ducks. As I am typing this they Ducks are leading 2-1 in the 2nd period.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

@Unleashed Fury

 

I was shaking my head just about the entire game. From where I sat, I thought Minny outplayed the Ducks in just about every facet....yet never led in the game.

Devan Dubnyk, IMO, let in two pretty soft goals in the first period and I think that made all the difference.

I know, I know...games like this will happen.

Some will say it 'evens up' for games like the first one, where the Avalanche had Minnesota dead to rights, yet the Wild stormed back and won that after being down 4-0.

 

And with that, here we go...

 

Sun, Oct 18, 2015

Minnesota @ Anaheim

Final: Ducks 4, Wild 1

 

If there was ever a poster child for games that aren't fair, THIS one had to be it.

From the opening puck drop to the final horn, I thought the Wild well and truly deserved to win this game.

 

All the chances Minny got.....all the skating around Ducks players, sometimes making them look stationary....all the times Wild shooters got Anton Khudobin out of position....

Then Duby lets in a pair of goals I thought that maybe he should have stopped....and of course, the Ducks tack on goals late to further inflate the box score in their favor.

 

The casual box score peruser will look at this and go, "Oh, the Ducks won 4-1 against the Wild...Anaheim is back on track".

Maybe, maybe not. Maybe an ugly win like this is one that propels the Ducks to going back to being the contenders they were supposed to be in the first place.

But from what I saw, that team STILL has issues.....issues that the Minnesota Wild, maddeningly, could not take advantage of.

 

I said in the shoutbox that the Ducks had no business being in this game....much less winning it 4-1. By my reckoning (yes, reckoning....all us Southerners "reckon"), this should probably have been a 5-2 or so win for the Wild.

 

Yea, like I said earlier, that is how the game goes. And I am sure Minnesota will have games THEY have no business winning and will.....such as the aforementioned Avs game.

 

I guess I am just perturbed because during this road trip, both the Kings and Ducks seemed to have "gotten well" at the expense of the Wild.

And Minnesota was squarely in BOTH those games.

 

Well, moving forward, the Wild can simply look at their efforts in those two game, this Anaheim game in particular, and say, "Well, we just have to keep playing just like that...at that pace, getting those chances, and the goals will come".

Of course, here is hoping Devan Dubnyk DOESN'T play like he did in this Ducks game. Personally, I thought he looked quite mediocre.

 

For now, I will be chalking this up to early season doldrums, but still, the Wild invested in this guy based on last season, and while it IS insane to think he will repeat last season's performance, there is no reason to doubt he can still have a good season and help his team to the playoffs and beyond.

 

35-22 edge for Minnesota in SOG, went hit for hit with the Ducks, beat them in the face off dot, and took away more pucks than they gave away....not to mention that as a team, Minny looked MUCH faster than Anaheim.

Should have added up to a W....it didn't.

 

Goaltending by Dubnyk has to improve a bit more and the Wild could have perhaps attacked the net a bit more (lots of perimeter shooting, albeit GOOD perimeter shots), so that perhaps more penalties could have been drawn and give the PP more than just one crack at Anaheim's net.

The handful of slam dunk chances the Wild had simply went by the boards and the Ducks DID tighten their defense just a bit as the final period wound down.

 

I still can't believe some of those chances the Wild wiffed on......Nino, Nino, NINOOOO....the wrap around is your friend! 

[Unleashed Fury]

@TropicalFruitGirl26 Your analyzes of the game is spot on and your writing is beautiful. Not just this post, but all your posts.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

@TropicalFruitGirl26 Your analyzes of the game is spot on and your writing is beautiful. Not just this post, but all your posts.

 

Awww, thanks.

I do try.

Little known fact about me..... when I was in college I toyed with the idea of going into sports journalism.

 

Several twists and turns later (including kids), and I never did do that, and while I am quite happy with my life, it's places like this that give me a place to let loose my inner 'beat writer' 

And it's always nice to hear from people who get some enjoyment from what I post.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Looking ahead to tonight's game...

 

The Wild were the victims of the Kings getting their first win...they were also the victims of the Ducks getting their first win.

Minnesota played well in those, but not well enough to win, obviously.

 

Lo and behold, here is Columbus, winless, and here are the Wild once again.

Jackets are in town with new coach John Tortorella, and while I do wish Torts and his new Jackets well, I also want the Minnesota Wild to delay their first win for just one more game.

 

Hers is to hoping the Wild don't fall victim to yet a THIRD winless team who gets that W at their expense...

 

Go Wild, GO!

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Minnesota Wild are 2-1 since I last posted in this thread.

 

Wins at home against Columbus and Anaheim, but a loss on the road ( game the Jets controlled, but the Wild made it a game).

Minny is still hanging in there pretty well with their Central Division rivals and now tonight, get a visit from what could be, the upstart Edmonton Oilers.

 

Slow start for the Oilers, leading many to believe "Oh, here we go again....losing games as usual", but the team has played much more competitive as of late.

They had a short three game win streak against teams like Calgary, Vancouver, and Detroit.

They did lose their last two, but those opponents are heavyweight, expected playoff teams (Washington, Los Angeles..who are red hot lately BTW), and still, Edmonton managed 4 goals against the Caps and played the Kings close before finally falling 3-2.

 

The Wild definitely do not want to take the Oilers lightly and Minnesota may also want to stay out of the penalty box against this team as Edm is operating at a near 20% PP efficiency, while the Minnesota PK is sub 80%.

 

As always, lots of skill to go up against when the Wild meet the Oilers, not the least of whom, is one Connor McDavid.

And boy has McDavid picked things up over the last several games. He is looking every part the number on pick and all it would take is a lapse here, a lapse there on defense to give this young man an opportunity to extend his scoring streak, which currently sits at 5 games.

 

Some slow starters for Minnesota:

Mikael Granlund, who has just one goal and 5 points through his first 8 games, but has seen his PP time reduced due to not being as dynamic as he can be.

Jason Pominville, zero goals, 5 points through 8 games.

Erik Haula, no points in the 8 games he has played.

 

Some others have been carrying the team, such as Zach Parise, Thomas Vanek (yes, THAT Thomas Vanek...haha), and Nino Niedderreiter, but if the aforementioned three can pick up their games, it will certainly bolster a Wild offense that while not being terrible, sure could use contributions from its core players to keep wins coming at a consistent pace.

 

In goal, things can get worrisome here.

Deven Dubnyk had a sore knee not so long ago (they are saying he is better now), and Minnesota certainly is going to need a healthy Dubnyk if this teas has any chance to not only make the top 8, but to drive far once there.

 

Darcy Kuemper, as Duby's backup, looked pretty good in his loss against the Kings earlier this season, but looked downright terrible against the Jets when Wpg built up a 5-1 before Minny made it game, yet ultimately lost 5-4.

 

The big worry here, obviously, is Devan Dubnyk needing to be healthy, but if he isn't, WHICH Darcy Kuemper shows up on game day to play in his place??

And if Duby does end up going on IR for whatever reason, WHO backs up Kuemper.......Nick Backstrom? Who has not seen action all season and has basically been a forgotten man?

 

Maybe I am overreacting, but this goalie situation in Minnesota STILL feels a bit volatile to me.......I hope I am wrong, I hope Dubnyk has things in hand, and I hope Kuemper has returned to the form that made the Wild brass think he was worth a two year extension in the first place.

 

Oil at Wild tonight...should be fast, should be fun.

[AJgoal]

Wild claim Jarrett Stoll off waivers.

[OccamsRazor]

@TropicalFruitGirl26

 

The Minnesota Wild have claimed forward Jarret Stoll on waivers from the New York Rangers.

 

I didn't see AJ's post but i posted this so double the info!

 

What ever become of Chris Porter you guys claimed from the Flyers?

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

@TropicalFruitGirl26

 

The Minnesota Wild have claimed forward Jarret Stoll on waivers from the New York Rangers.

 

I didn't see AJ's post but i posted this so double the info!

 

What ever become of Chris Porter you guys claimed from the Flyers?

 

Thanks for the info OR and @AJgoal .

 

Didn't know about this till you guys  mentioned it here.

 

Minnesota COULD use some size up front (actually, overall team size has been an issue for a few seasons now), however, I just wonder if Stoll will really get much ice time.

Coach Mike Yeo seems to have established a pattern during his tenure as Wild coach of being very impatient with larger players who can't skate as well as his smaller skilled players can.....even though they may bring an element his team currently lacks.

 

Mike Rupp, Chris Stewart, and Justin Falk (the OTHER Justin Falk   ), are some examples of large players, who, while not the most skilled, brought some toughness to the team....but were used very little by Coach Yeo.

 

Nate Prosser is a current Wild defenseman who gets playing time ONLY if there is injury, and yes, he is a bottom pair D-man, but he is 6'2 215 and also brings a hard edge to the team.

 

Jarrett Stoll is a large body, at his best, he can initiate a good forechecking game.....but I wonder how much ice time he will actually get under the Minnesota coach.

And besides all that, if Stoll were that useful, why would the Rangers waive him in the first place?

 

At any rate, it's a pick up that will only cost the Wild a waiver fee, but I won't be holding my breath that Stoll will make much of a difference (or even if he will be given every opportunity to make a difference).

 

As for your answer, @OccamsRazor regarding Chris Porter, he has been getting regular playing time on Minnesota's 4th line.

He only plays about 9 or 10 min a night though.

 

When he is on the ice, I think he does his job quite nicely. Finishes checks, harasses puck carriers pretty well, and always seems to be where he needs to be to prevent big plays by the opposition...he and his linemates (usually Erik Haula and Justin Fontaine) also have a knack for generating scoring chances, although that line doesn't make good on the actual goal too often.

[OccamsRazor]

“To get Drouin, it would probably cost Matt Dumba. That’s what I’m being told. That is who the Lightning want — and the Wild, if they haven’t already agreed to that being the price, [are] definitely considering that.

“The problem is you don’t know what everybody else is offering. They Wild thought they had a great chance at [Ryan] Johansen, but then all of a sudden, the second Seth Jones was the name that swooped in, Columbus was making that move.

“It’s very clear right now that [Wild GM] Chuck Fletcher is trying to give this team a shot in the arm. They’re bland on the ice.”

http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2016/01/13/report-wild-in-on-drouin-lightning-want-dumba/

Russo confirmed that the Wild did offer the Blue Jackets Jonas Brodin in a potentialRyan Johansen trade.

The Wild can make Dumba available in a Drouin deal as they have depth on the blueline – Brodin, Dumba, Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella, Mike Reilly, Louie Belpedio.

HHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm........thoughts?

[Podein25]

2 hours ago, OccamsRazor said:

HHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm........thoughts?

Why can't the Wild offer Brodin plus instead of Dumba?

[OccamsRazor]

1 hour ago, Podein25 said:

Why can't the Wild offer Brodin plus instead of Dumba?

I guess for money reasons Dumba is on a ELC still for 890K and Brodin is signed for 4.1 mill for 5+ plus more years.