2019 Minnesota Wild Off Season Summer Doings

[IllaZilla]

8 hours ago, Alexandron said:

Sincerely, I had tears in my eyes when I have seen how our crowd/fans supported our team to put at least one goal into the Boston net last game. Last night was 10^th shutout against us (7^th on home ice). Is that team’s respect of the fans who spent money and time to drive and see those games for nothing? Just came a question - What it would happened if we will not sign 4-5 oldish unproductive players last summer and did not do any signings and trades during the season? Is that was necessarily or not to improve the team's production or that was just a better chance to bring our team to the last place? I have feeling that we will get the last place in our Division this season. Or maybe that was a strategic plan to get a better draft in 2019? I am still impressed about Carolina results by looking how just one player Nino(for the trade of Rask) helped to bring that team from nowhere in the mid of the season to the playoffs spot. Definitely Aho without Nino was not able to do that. Any goals, any points are counting in a professional sport.  That is the most matter part of it. 

I don't think the Wild had any intention of not making the Playoffs. The signings they made (Fehr, Brown, Hendricks, etc.) were simply guys to fill out the fourth line. Nothing special. Even Pateryn was brought in to fill out the third defensive pairing. These guys were brought in as complementary pieces, something to shore up perceived weaknesses, not something that will push the team to the next level. But the fourth line and the third defensive pairing were not the Wild's problem.

 

The problem was that for whatever reason the supposed young core (Coyle, Niederreitter, Zucker and to a lesser extent Granlund) plateaued or regressed in their development.

 

This forced the team to rely more on aging veterans (Koivu, Staal, Parise and Suter). These guys should be in the support role for the younger core players, not be leading the charge. But I have sneaky suspicion there was never any intent to build around Coyle et al. I think the team chose to build around Koivu, Parise, and Suter. I have no proof of this, but it just seems like the team goes out of its way to keep those three happy to the detriment of everyone else...

 

One thing I think this season really showed was the horrendous lack of depth the Wild has. Losing Dumba hurt, he seemed on track for another career season. But Dumba is one player, and he's not on the level of a Sidney Crosby where if you lose a player like that, it can torpedo your season. But the GM felt he needed to go out and bring in Brad Hunt rather than call someone up from Iowa. 

 

And even the trades at the trade deadline were curious. I get the trade for another struggling player (Niederreitter for Rask), maybe the change in scenery will ignite something. But, man did that trade blow up in Fenton's face. It ranks up there with the Leddy/Johansson for Barker deal. And trading Granlund made no sense, particularly this season if they were trying to make the Playoffs. He was one of the top scorers on the team, and was signed through next season (2019-20). And all Fenton could get was a prospect? When Fletcher traded for Jason Pominville (good scorer with one year left on his deal), he gave up a first round pick and two young prospects (Jeff Hackett and Johan Larsson). Either Fletcher was an idiot for giving up that much for Pominville, or Fenton is an idiot for only getting a marginal prospect for one of the teams top players.

 

And if they were going to throw in the towel, you don't just trade Coyle, Niederreitter and Granlund. You clean house. Maybe unload Spurgeon and Fehr. Unload Staal for sure. But he didn't. It's like he wanted his cake and eat it to, and it was an abject failure. The team missed the Playoffs, but didn't really improve their draft situation. They are going to end up with another first round pick in the 15-20 slot. They'll probably get a good player, but no one to build a team around. 

 

This team is a mess right now, and until the owner, GM and certain players stay in their lanes, the team is going to continue to be a mess...

[lynxrattle]

The fact pointed out by @CreaseAndAssist, that we can't even find 3rd and 4th line players from our prospects - that is just horrendous. I feel that is not just a huge failure from the scouts but also from those parts of the organisation that are trying to develop our prospects. Of the tens, hundreds of players that play or have played in Iowa or are Wild draft picks, all those players and we can't find basically anyone that could be developed into a 4th liner?

[rottenrefs]

My opinion over the past 8 years hasn't really changed. The Wild have an owner who likes his pets.

 

Locker room dysfunction has been discussed for 6-7 years now. That hasn't changed.

 

The coaches: Richards, Yeo, Torchetti and now Boudreau have all had their hands tied as well as many players. Eight years ago I said it all lands on Craig Leipold and I still hold that same view. One can blame Fletcher and we have, but to a higher degree during the Yeo years I don't think even he or his assistants had much say in the utter stupid moves to keep playing $7 million dollar a year players without getting sh!t for results.

 

Between Fletcher and Fenton the same old crap is still the same old crap. Every single one of these "Upper Management" a-hole's are to blame for NOT being able to get results out of their assets as best as the team sees fit. None of them have made decisions based on doing what's best for the team. Nor many of the genuine supportive players either.*

 

Leipold, keen as keen can be like a smug a-hole in a pig kissing contest... Loves throwing his sweet touch on his commands each time he dumps something or someone respectfully valuable... By saying and pointing out, "I didn't re-sign (insert name here) last year, the year before his contract ran out - so that should have been an indication to you all he wasn't coming back.' We've heard that several times.

 

And as I've said before, this whole organization is ALWAYS 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months or 3 years behind; to making the right decision when it's most needed. The insane always running the asylum is always too little too late.

 

None of this sh!t is breaking news and none of it is new news.

 

edit: The genuine players... Management wouldn't know how to give them their due and it shows.

 

Edited April 7, 2019 by rottenrefs

[Gnarkill]

Via Russo's twitter:

 

"Fenton says he’s trying to fix this on the fly without a rebuild"

 

 

... here we f'n go again. 

[Jimtown guy]

9 hours ago, Gnarkill said:

Via Russo's twitter:

 

"Fenton says he’s trying to fix this on the fly without a rebuild"

 

 

... here we f'n go again. 

Oh goody 

[lynxrattle]

What does that even mean? If this is not a rebuild what is? We've already dumped the age group at the middle. We can't get rid of some and surely we aren't keeping the Browns and the Rasks in the long run. 

[IllaZilla]

1 hour ago, lynxrattle said:

What does that even mean? If this is not a rebuild what is? We've already dumped the age group at the middle. We can't get rid of some and surely we aren't keeping the Browns and the Rasks in the long run. 

 

Fenton has a different definition of “rebuild” than most people do. The same way he has a different definition of “game breaker” than most people do...

 

Would not surprise me if Brown is buried in Iowa next year or even bought out. Rask  is going nowhere for at least a year, because if Fenton buys him out or trades him it means he made a mistake, and he’s not going to admit to that. 

[EJ0226]

On ‎4‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 12:30 PM, Gnarkill said:

Via Russo's twitter:

 

"Fenton says he’s trying to fix this on the fly without a rebuild"

 

 

... here we f'n go again. 

You want to know something even better and leans more towards the Parise and Suter have say on this team over coaches and GMs? Russo quoted Parise saying Parise does not want to go through a rebuild at his age and stage of his career. Funny how Parise says that and now Fenton and comes out and says this. They are the cancer cells and the Wild are busy injecting chemo into the good healthy cells.

16 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

 

Fenton has a different definition of “rebuild” than most people do. The same way he has a different definition of “game breaker” than most people do...

 

Would not surprise me if Brown is buried in Iowa next year or even bought out. Rask  is going nowhere for at least a year, because if Fenton buys him out or trades him it means he made a mistake, and he’s not going to admit to that. 

Depends on who Suter and Parise like the most. Let's not fool ourselves, it's pretty clear that those two have more impact then any coach or GM.

 

Funny, I am listening to Paul Allen and he is talking to Bruce and asked Bruce about watching the games last night and how much it stings. Bruce just said what stings is watching the teams play with intensity and excitement. And listening to him you could hear you wanted to say more but stopped himself. This team is in extreme danger for the next 6 years unless 4 things happen:

1- Craig Leipold just signs the checks and tells players to talk only to the coaches and GM.

2- Fenton learns to be a GM and ask his coach what he needs and goes out and tries to fill that void. No forcing players into a line up or making coaching decisions.

3- The coach being allowed to coach the way he needs too and bring the players he wants into the line ups.

4- The players shut up, sit down and learn they are just players and nothing else. Shut up, play 100%, listen to your coach, do what your coach says and check your ego at the door. Any disobedience should be punished and announced. And in Parise and Suters case a act like that with Adam Oates could be pushed to void the contract with the SPC and should. Doesn't matter how good you are, if you are a cancer you need to go.

In reality I can only see 1 of these happening. As much as it sucks but if the team looks like this next year from the get go people need to stop watching and going to the games. it's the only way to force Leipold to listen.

[IllaZilla]

15 minutes ago, EJ0226 said:

You want to know something even better and leans more towards the Parise and Suter have say on this team over coaches and GMs? Russo quoted Parise saying Parise does not want to go through a rebuild at his age and stage of his career. Funny how Parise says that and now Fenton and comes out and says this. They are the cancer cells and the Wild are busy injecting chemo into the good healthy cells.

Depends on who Suter and Parise like the most. Let's not fool ourselves, it's pretty clear that those two have more impact then any coach or GM.

 

Funny, I am listening to Paul Allen and he is talking to Bruce and asked Bruce about watching the games last night and how much it stings. Bruce just said what stings is watching the teams play with intensity and excitement. And listening to him you could hear you wanted to say more but stopped himself. This team is in extreme danger for the next 6 years unless 4 things happen:

1- Craig Leipold just signs the checks and tells players to talk only to the coaches and GM.

2- Fenton learns to be a GM and ask his coach what he needs and goes out and tries to fill that void. No forcing players into a line up or making coaching decisions.

3- The coach being allowed to coach the way he needs too and bring the players he wants into the line ups.

4- The players shut up, sit down and learn they are just players and nothing else. Shut up, play 100%, listen to your coach, do what your coach says and check your ego at the door. Any disobedience should be punished and announced. And in Parise and Suters case a act like that with Adam Oates could be pushed to void the contract with the SPC and should. Doesn't matter how good you are, if you are a cancer you need to go.

In reality I can only see 1 of these happening. As much as it sucks but if the team looks like this next year from the get go people need to stop watching and going to the games. it's the only way to force Leipold to listen.

 

I get Parise not wanting to go through a rebuild at his age. He's getting up there, has been injury prone and may not have that many years left in the NHL. But Parise wanted his cake and eat it too. He wanted the cash AND the security of a long term deal. He didn't need to demand a ten year deal. He could have taken a five year deal and seen how the team developed. If the team is making progress towards the Cup, then go after an extension. If not, cut bait and hook up with a team that looks promising. But he put all his eggs in the Wild basket and now isn't happy...

 

I'm not too hopeful that Kunin, Donato, Fiala and the rest of the youngsters are going to develop any better than Coyle, Niedereitter and Granlund did. Maybe they will. But the locker room was known to be a mess last season. This season Fenton shipped out Niedereitter, Coyle, Granlund (and almost Zucker), and the locker room is still a mess. 

 

And you are 100% correct. The only way things will change with the Wild is when people stop buying tickets and merchandise. People can write letters to Craig, make snappy posts in the StarTribune comment section and complain on these boards all they want. But as long as they continue to buy season tickets and merchandise, nothing will change... 

 

 

[ClusterChuck]

52 minutes ago, EJ0226 said:

This team is in extreme danger for the next 6 years unless 4 things happen:

1- Craig Leipold just signs the checks and tells players to talk only to the coaches and GM.

2- Fenton learns to be a GM and ask his coach what he needs and goes out and tries to fill that void. No forcing players into a line up or making coaching decisions.

3- The coach being allowed to coach the way he needs too and bring the players he wants into the line ups.

4- The players shut up, sit down and learn they are just players and nothing else. Shut up, play 100%, listen to your coach, do what your coach says and check your ego at the door.

All 4 great points.

I'd like to see at least #3 happen just to see if Boudreau can really handle this team.

Then #4 would actually be possible too.

 

I wonder what the waiting list for 'The Warming house' is like now. As long as there's people in there waiting for tickets, CL will be happy.

 

Edited April 11, 2019 by ClusterChuck

[EJ0226]

4 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

 

I get Parise not wanting to go through a rebuild at his age. He's getting up there, has been injury prone and may not have that many years left in the NHL. But Parise wanted his cake and eat it too. He wanted the cash AND the security of a long term deal. He didn't need to demand a ten year deal. He could have taken a five year deal and seen how the team developed. If the team is making progress towards the Cup, then go after an extension. If not, cut bait and hook up with a team that looks promising. But he put all his eggs in the Wild basket and now isn't happy...

 

I'm not too hopeful that Kunin, Donato, Fiala and the rest of the youngsters are going to develop any better than Coyle, Niedereitter and Granlund did. Maybe they will. But the locker room was known to be a mess last season. This season Fenton shipped out Niedereitter, Coyle, Granlund (and almost Zucker), and the locker room is still a mess. 

 

And you are 100% correct. The only way things will change with the Wild is when people stop buying tickets and merchandise. People can write letters to Craig, make snappy posts in the StarTribune comment section and complain on these boards all they want. But as long as they continue to buy season tickets and merchandise, nothing will change... 

 

 

Just a quick edit but Parise and Suter were 13 years.

[Jimtown guy]

In the seven seasons preceding the Parise and Suter acquisitions, the Wild averaged 89.4 points per season.

In the seven seasons since acquiring Parise and Suter, the Wild averaged 90.0 points per season.

Conclusion: The acquisition of Parise and Suter has added NOTHING to the points column.

Edited May 29, 2019 by Jimtown guy

[EJ0226]

14 hours ago, Jimtown guy said:

In the seven seasons preceding the Parise and Suter acquisitions, the Wild averaged 89.4 points per season.

In the seven seasons since acquiring Parise and Suter, the Wild averaged 90.0 points per season.

Conclusion: The acquisition of Parise and Suter has added NOTHING to the points column.

Incorrect on that they haven't added anything. They actually added a huge anchor the team can't cut in the salary cap. So, technically  they did add to this team just in the wrong spots

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Oh goody.
Anthony Bitetto signs with the Jets.

Wild got the better of the two 'scrap heap' defenseman in Brad Hunt....let Bitetto go turn pucks over in Winnipeg for a bit. 

[IllaZilla]

2 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Oh goody.
Anthony Bitetto signs with the Jets.

Wild got the better of the two 'scrap heap' defenseman in Brad Hunt....let Bitetto go turn pucks over in Winnipeg for a bit. 

Yay! Another chance to sweep the Jets!

[hf101]

Ryan Donato signed a 2 year deal worth $3.8 million.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

8 hours ago, hf101 said:

Ryan Donato signed a 2 year deal worth $3.8 million.

 

Should get full top six minutes....has a chance to show the Wild that the flashes he showed last season weren't a fluke.

I really hope he works out.
He showcases what the Wild really need, and the way they SHOULD be built...around pure speed, puck shooting, and overall north-south hockey.

 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Another interesting signing, at least for me...Gabriel Dumont.

Yes, a mostly career AHL'er, with brief stints at the NHL level with the Lightning, Senators and Canadiens, but he is a small fast guy...who hits.

Two way contract for him, so he is likely signed to anchor the Iowa Wild, but in a pinch, as an injury callup, might be a surprising addition to a Minnesota bottom six as a quick strike hitter, despite his sub 6' sub 200 pound frame.
He played reasonably well alongside some of the talented forwards in Tampa Bay when called upon.

[sweetshot]

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...

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

6 hours ago, sweetshot said:

I guess his reported bad attitude when getting sent down to Iowa for their playoffs last year wasn't too bad...

 

Meh, you know as well as I sometimes "reports" can be overblown, particularly by people who think they know it all.....and certain player's reactions can either be misinterpreted or made into a bigger deal than they should be.

Personally, I think Donato, along with some other Wild players were disappointed at missing the NHL playoffs and Iowa making it in and playing down there seemed more like a "consolation" prize.
While certainly a good experience, I can see why a player like Donato (or Greenway too) can see the AHL playoffs as 'secondary' when they were getting accustomed to possibly playing in the big show playoffs.

At any rate, the signing is good, and it even looks like it is a "show me" contract, where Donato, if he really believes he is regular NHL material, should be plenty motivated, help push the needle on this team, and possibly parlay that into a much bigger NHL contract.

On top of all that, the Wild needed to be sure they get more of Donato anyways..... I mean, the handful of trades Fenton made during the season last year, were for the most part, terrible. This Coyle for Donato and a pick deal looked to be the best one. I would have hoped the Wild would want to get more out of Donato, and they are giving him his chance. 

[IllaZilla]

On 7/18/2019 at 5:28 AM, sweetshot said:

I guess his reported bad attitude when getting sent down to Iowa for their playoffs last year wasn't too bad...

 

Russo reported that Donato looked "lost" most of the time during his brief stint in Iowa. But what he got paid has nothing to do with that.

 

PLAYER	% MATCH	SIGNING TEAM	SIGNING DATE	SIGNING AGE	LENGTH	YEARS	TYPE	SIGNED AS	ARB. ELIG	ARB. REQ	EXPIRY	POS	HANDED	GP	P	C.H.%	CAP HIT	AAV
Jankowski, Mark	95.9%	CGY	Jul 25, 2018	23	2	2018-20	Standard	RFA	✔	✔	RFA	C	Left	73	25	2.11%	$1,675,000	$1,675,000
Ritchie, Brett	94.2%	DAL	Jul 6, 2017	23	2	2017-19	Standard	RFA	✔		UFA	RW	Right	117	34	2.33%	$1,750,000	$1,750,000
Dickinson, Jason	93.8%	DAL	Jul 11, 2019	23	2	2019-21	Standard	RFA	✔	✔	RFA	C	Left	105	27	1.84%	$1,500,000	$1,500,000
Sanford, Zachary	93.8%	STL	Jul 8, 2019	24	2	2019-21	Standard	RFA	✔	✔	RFA	LW	Left	99	28	1.84%	$1,500,000	$1,500,000

 

I copied these from CapFriendly.com. Donato has played the least amount of games of the top four matches (68), but has tied for the most points (34), giving him the best points per game ratio. We always complain that the team can't score. If you want a scorer, you have to pay them. And it's a good two year, Show-Me type deal.

 

The big question is will the Wild start giving these young guys more ice time, or are they again going to rely on aging veterans to carry the team...

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

5 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

 

Russo reported that Donato looked "lost" most of the time during his brief stint in Iowa. But what he got paid has nothing to do with that.

 

 

Well, he will have a full training camp, exhibition season, and basically a clean slate to acclimate himself to his surroundings with the Wild with no excuses.
We will see whether he takes advantage of this or not.

[IllaZilla]

5 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

Well, he will have a full training camp, exhibition season, and basically a clean slate to acclimate himself to his surroundings with the Wild with no excuses.
We will see whether he takes advantage of this or not.

I certainly hope so. Getting sent to Iowa for the AHL Playoffs didn’t seem to affect Luke Kunin. He put up 8 points in 11 games, with 6 goals. In those same 11 games, goal scorer Donato put up 6 points, with 2 goals (both goals in one game). And Greenway had 0 goals and 5 assists and was reported to be lollygagging around the ice (by a seasoned reporter, not a blogger) for most of the Playoffs. 

I have a problem with the AHL Playoffs being a “let down” for these guys. If they were in the NHL they’d be golfing. That says to me that Donato and especially Greenway would rather be golfing than to lower themselves to play in the AHL Playoffs...to me that’s a character flag, but that’s none of my business

️...

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Well, Pontus Aberg signs a $700K deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
One less forward that likely wasn't going to do well with the Wild that they have to worry about.

If Aberg was going to rebound in any way, he will definitely need more elite scoring around him to do so.
He seems more like a guy who needs others to elevate him rather than he elevating linemates….he did ok with Anaheim when playing with either a healthy Getzlaf, Perry, or Rakell, so he may do well in Toronto with the top six type guys they have.

With the Wild, he would have needed to help pull up a line due to the team having less firepower, and I don't think he was capable of that.

Hmmm....Toronto signed Ennis off of us last off season, Aberg this season..... maybe we found a place to send our unmentionables!

A big thing here for me, though, is Aberg was a Nashville Predator while Paul Fenton was there, if I am not mistaken.
Nice to see that just because a guy was a player for the GM elsewhere, that he didn't try retaining him even though it may not have been the best thing to do.

Fenton's made some questionable moves already, I'm just glad to see he didn't add on to it using up a roster spot on Aberg.
Leafs...you can have him.

[IllaZilla]

16 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Well, Pontus Aberg signs a $700K deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
One less forward that likely wasn't going to do well with the Wild that they have to worry about.

If Aberg was going to rebound in any way, he will definitely need more elite scoring around him to do so.
He seems more like a guy who needs others to elevate him rather than he elevating linemates….he did ok with Anaheim when playing with either a healthy Getzlaf, Perry, or Rakell, so he may do well in Toronto with the top six type guys they have.

With the Wild, he would have needed to help pull up a line due to the team having less firepower, and I don't think he was capable of that.

Hmmm....Toronto signed Ennis off of us last off season, Aberg this season..... maybe we found a place to send our unmentionables!

A big thing here for me, though, is Aberg was a Nashville Predator while Paul Fenton was there, if I am not mistaken.
Nice to see that just because a guy was a player for the GM elsewhere, that he didn't try retaining him even though it may not have been the best thing to do.

Fenton's made some questionable moves already, I'm just glad to see he didn't add on to it using up a roster spot on Aberg.
Leafs...you can have him.

 

Fenton didn't even qualify Aberg (who was an RFA) so that tells you how bad an impression Aberg made on Fenton, especially considering Fenton was the assistant GM in Nashville when Aberg was drafted by Nashville....