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2019 Minnesota Wild Off Season Summer Doings


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57 minutes ago, IllaZilla said:

 

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....

 

Perhaps Aberg has some NHL Central face time to look forward to.

I laughed my arse off when Tyler Ennis, whom NO ONE gave a crap about when he was with Buffalo or the Wild, all of a sudden became a target of interviews since he put on a Leafs sweater.
Tyler Freakin Ennis.....they've got a ton of Leafs players they could have interviewed last season, and they chose Tyler Ennis. :bigteeth:

 

Guess it didn't take long for even the Toronto media hype machine to realize Ennis wasn't going to be a long term Leaf because they quickly forgot about him and he isn't even with them anymore.

Pontus Aberg....your interview, Sir, is scheduled for just after Opening Night...… 😄

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1 hour ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

Perhaps Aberg has some NHL Central face time to look forward to.

I laughed my arse off when Tyler Ennis, whom NO ONE gave a crap about when he was with Buffalo or the Wild, all of a sudden became a target of interviews since he put on a Leafs sweater.
Tyler Freakin Ennis.....they've got a ton of Leafs players they could have interviewed last season, and they chose Tyler Ennis:bigteeth:

 

Guess it didn't take long for even the Toronto media hype machine to realize Ennis wasn't going to be a long term Leaf because they quickly forgot about him and he isn't even with them anymore.

Pontus Aberg....your interview, Sir, is scheduled for just after Opening Night...… 😄

 

Well, you know, shiny new toy...

 

I kind of raised my eyebrows at the number of teams Aberg was bounced to in his first couple of seasons for being a high second round pick...that kind of got me wondering about him...

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Aberg has what scouts call high-end talent. In other words, he is an excellent skater, passer and shooter, and has slick hands. Unfortunately, just because the tools are there doesn't mean he knows  how and when to use them.

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11 minutes ago, Icechipper said:

Aberg has what scouts call high-end talent. In other words, he is an excellent skater, passer and shooter, and has slick hands. Unfortunately, just because the tools are there doesn't mean he knows  how and when to use them.

 

Agreed.
Which is why I think that if he IS going to do anything with those tools, maybe Toronto and their core of high powered forwards, is the place to do it, whereas with the Wild, he would have needed to be more of core cerebral guy himself.
With the Leafs, he can just be "one of the snipers" without putting a whole lot of thought into it.

Or maybe he is simply flushed out of the league entirely within two years or so.

Just glad he isn't the Wild's to worry about anymore.
Team has enough "projects" to get up to speed as it is.

 

By the way, they showed a Kevin Fiala video on NHL Tonight the other day where he was doing some intense agility and leg strength training routines.
Maybe looking to add some pounds while retaining his mobility for the upcoming season?

Now...if there was only a drill to keep him from turning the puck over so much... :bigteeth: 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Could visiting a preacher in the off season do any good? Lord knows this team talks a good game but when are they going to play more than one full game every two months?

 

Has anyone kept track of when they do play a full game which stars aligned? Can they paint them in the Xcel ceiling or something?

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23 minutes ago, rottenrefs said:

Could visiting a preacher in the off season do any good? Lord knows this team talks a good game but when are they going to play more than one full game every two months?

 

Has anyone kept track of when they do play a full game which stars aligned? Can they paint them in the Xcel ceiling or something?

 

Meh...couldn't hurt.

Even better though, maybe after Leipold hires a new GM, he takes a sabbatical and just lets the GM do his job for a bit. :shifty:

But you know, I understand there are some strange doings on the planet Jupiter....the "Great Red Spot" is acting strangely they say...
Not sure if that is a positive sign for the Wild..... or a bad omen..... 

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Barring anymore changes on the roster and assuming health for all players involved, this could be a possible projection for the upcoming season regarding lineups:

 

Donato   -  Staal  -  Zuccarello

Parise    -  Koivu -  Zucker

Greenway - EEK - Fiala

Foligno - Rask - Hartman

 

Luke Kunin could possibly force the Wild's hand and nose his way in the lineup with a good training camp and exhibition season.

Ideally, I wouldn't want Staal and Koivu to be the 1 and 2C's, but let's face it, Minnesota doesn't have anyone to take those roles....unless Donato can play center (and is good at it) or EEK finally steps his game up and shows he is more than a 3C.

Rask doesn't seem to fit particularly well on the 4th line, but have no where else to put him.
Come to think of it, Rask doesn't fit particularly well on this team.....although in a perfect world, if he showed ANYTHING of what he did when he had that one good season in Carolina, he could be moved to a top six C position.

Maybe that preacher can help with that...…..

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Defense pairings may look something like this:
Suter - Dumba

Brodin - Spurgeon

Hunt - Pateryn/Seeler

 

I am very interested to see what a guy like Hunt can do with a full training camp and start to the season with a team that will give him ample ice time to show what he has.
I wouldn't count on him to be a defensive stalwart, but if he can get the puck up to forwards quickly, fire quick shots from either the tops of the circles or from somewhere further down low, he could be like having a 4th forward out there (like Dumba and Spurgeon), only from the 3rd pairing.

Could be deadly on the PP too.

Edited by TropicalFruitGirl26
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4 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Barring anymore changes on the roster and assuming health for all players involved, this could be a possible projection for the upcoming season regarding lineups:

 

Donato   -  Staal  -  Zuccarello

Parise    -  Koivu -  Zucker

Greenway - EEK - Fiala

Foligno - Rask - Hartman

 

Luke Kunin could possibly force the Wild's hand and nose his way in the lineup with a good training camp and exhibition season.

Ideally, I wouldn't want Staal and Koivu to be the 1 and 2C's, but let's face it, Minnesota doesn't have anyone to take those roles....unless Donato can play center (and is good at it) or EEK finally steps his game up and shows he is more than a 3C.

Rask doesn't seem to fit particularly well on the 4th line, but have no where else to put him.
Come to think of it, Rask doesn't fit particularly well on this team.....although in a perfect world, if he showed ANYTHING of what he did when he had that one good season in Carolina, he could be moved to a top six C position.

Maybe that preacher can help with that...…..

Minnesota doesn’t have anyone to take over the 1C and 2C spots because they won’t let anyone take them over. They don’t want to upset Staal or Koivu, so they relegate guys like Kunin and Nico Sturm to the third and fourth lines. 

 

I think Gerald Mayhew might have a shot at making the big club as well and especially Nico Sturm. And I think one or maybe both Donato and Greenway start in Iowa...

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Unfortunately they will play kunin out of position at right wing because they still don’t have any right handed shots. 

The ideal breakdown would be 2 right handed centers and right handed wings. 

We can’t even put together 4 right handed wings. 

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Those line charts seem reasonable, though as of today it's Tom Kurvers job to provide Boudreau's arsenel. I like Donato's game but don't see him as a starter. Given what has been invested in contracts, I see:

Parise Staal Zuccarello

Zucker Kunin (Koivu) Rask

Donato Ek Fiala

Foligno Sturm Hartman

 

Suter Spurgeon 

Brodin Dumba

Hunt Pateryn/Seeker

 

Notes: 1. Not heard anyone say Koivu is ready. Kunin gets a shot till he is.

2. Greenway can play in Iowa where the coaches can convince him to keep two hands on his stick and skate lower to the ice and use his shoulders for position on the boards.

3. I'd want my No. 5-7 D corps to each play at least once a week. Paying a good locker room guy $1 million to eat popcorn and chart shots is stupid.

4. All that aside, at least one on that above list WILL be injured coming out of camp, so that leaves the door open for callups, with Mayhew and Soucy top of mind.

5. Finally, it is highly likely there will be a waiver wire tweak before the opener, maybe we lose or trade Pateryn for a veteran center. You don't pay Rask $4 million to center a couple of bangers like Foligno and Hartman.

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Icechipper said:

Those line charts seem reasonable, though as of today it's Tom Kurvers job to provide Boudreau's arsenel. I like Donato's game but don't see him as a starter. Given what has been invested in contracts, I see:

Parise Staal Zuccarello

Zucker Kunin (Koivu) Rask

Donato Ek Fiala

Foligno Sturm Hartman

 

Suter Spurgeon 

Brodin Dumba

Hunt Pateryn/Seeker

 

Notes: 1. Not heard anyone say Koivu is ready. Kunin gets a shot till he is.

2. Greenway can play in Iowa where the coaches can convince him to keep two hands on his stick and skate lower to the ice and use his shoulders for position on the boards.

3. I'd want my No. 5-7 D corps to each play at least once a week. Paying a good locker room guy $1 million to eat popcorn and chart shots is stupid.

4. All that aside, at least one on that above list WILL be injured coming out of camp, so that leaves the door open for callups, with Mayhew and Soucy top of mind.

5. Finally, it is highly likely there will be a waiver wire tweak before the opener, maybe we lose or trade Pateryn for a veteran center. You don't pay Rask $4 million to center a couple of bangers like Foligno and Hartman.

 

 

 

 

Some good points.

And see, that's the thing...we all know guys like Koivu and Parise are going to need time off due to some ailment or the other....that leaves the door open for someone to show what they can do. Unfortunately, in the past, guys haven't done enough to take over any positions they have been given the opportunity to lock down.
Granted, that won't account for "misusing" a guy for whatever reasons at the moment, but still, young guys WILL get opportunities...just a matter of can they take the ball and run with it.

As for Koivu, it hadn't occurred to me he may not even begin the season with the team due to something not being right with him.
If that is the case, definitely opens up a C spot right from the gate.
And I agree 100% Rask shouldn't be on the 4th line....but again, I just had no where else to put him. If he could just show something, anything that suggests he might be useful higher up, that would be wonderful.

Defense pairings? Yea, I don't believe in "popcorn guys"...it is ridiculous.
Would be cool to see the Wild have some sort of defensive rotation going if they are going to carry more than 6 defensemen.
Worked pretty well in Tampa Bay.  Yes, yes, entirely different team structures, but point being, TB had some lower tier defensemen they didn't want sitting around collecting dust...so they set up a three man rotation where one guy sat while the other two played.

Kept everyone engaged, involved, and it really gave the team a sense of who or what they had for those bottom spots....helped them make decisions who to re-sign and hang onto THIS season.
Wild could benefit from some such rotation, I believe.

I am interested to see if you may be right on some waiver wire activity.
Chances are, the players we see listed on the roster now are not the only ones from here to the beginning of the season...and some may not be on there at all.

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Oops. I forgot JT Brown, much like Boudreau often does in tight games. Suppose he could work the popcorn machine and show the kids how to hustle in practice. And if he takes them out on the town, teaches them about Uber and professional car services, at least those old enough to hoist one.

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7 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

Some good points.

And see, that's the thing...we all know guys like Koivu and Parise are going to need time off due to some ailment or the other....that leaves the door open for someone to show what they can do. Unfortunately, in the past, guys haven't done enough to take over any positions they have been given the opportunity to lock down.
Granted, that won't account for "misusing" a guy for whatever reasons at the moment, but still, young guys WILL get opportunities...just a matter of can they take the ball and run with it.

As for Koivu, it hadn't occurred to me he may not even begin the season with the team due to something not being right with him.
If that is the case, definitely opens up a C spot right from the gate.
And I agree 100% Rask shouldn't be on the 4th line....but again, I just had no where else to put him. If he could just show something, anything that suggests he might be useful higher up, that would be wonderful.

Defense pairings? Yea, I don't believe in "popcorn guys"...it is ridiculous.
Would be cool to see the Wild have some sort of defensive rotation going if they are going to carry more than 6 defensemen.
Worked pretty well in Tampa Bay.  Yes, yes, entirely different team structures, but point being, TB had some lower tier defensemen they didn't want sitting around collecting dust...so they set up a three man rotation where one guy sat while the other two played.

Kept everyone engaged, involved, and it really gave the team a sense of who or what they had for those bottom spots....helped them make decisions who to re-sign and hang onto THIS season.
Wild could benefit from some such rotation, I believe.

I am interested to see if you may be right on some waiver wire activity.
Chances are, the players we see listed on the roster now are not the only ones from here to the beginning of the season...and some may not be on there at all.

Wishful thinking on this team 

I ‘ve wanted to see a rotation system setup for many years. 

A rotation system would create huge benefits if we made the playoffs. 

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On 8/9/2019 at 7:32 PM, IllaZilla said:

Minnesota doesn’t have anyone to take over the 1C and 2C spots because they won’t let anyone take them over. They don’t want to upset Staal or Koivu, so they relegate guys like Kunin and Nico Sturm to the third and fourth lines. 

 

I think Gerald Mayhew might have a shot at making the big club as well and especially Nico Sturm. And I think one or maybe both Donato and Greenway start in Iowa...

I'll say it honestly. Ek will at best be a 3rd line center--and he isn't there yet. Rask is ahead of Ek not just because the Wild have invested a lot of $$ in him--he's a better player than Ek.

Greenway has shown more improvement in one year than Ek has shown in 2 plus change. (I know, he's not a center-- yet...) 

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16 hours ago, Tomdog said:

Wishful thinking on this team 

I ‘ve wanted to see a rotation system setup for many years. 

A rotation system would create huge benefits if we made the playoffs. 

Agree. I also wish to see for years some kind of a rotation system/rotation mode created for the Wild, and not only in defense, but in offensive lines as well including  a consistent evaluation by involving more often our prospects from the Iowa Wild. If it worked in Tampa, then I think it will work fine in Minnesota too, by building this way more effective more productive 4 lines. As sooner as we will be able to insert our prospects in the big club for evaluation then more earlier we will have a chance to determine their real effectiveness for the team. This overall way also will give the team more motivation to play better, coming from the more competitive youngsters and it will raise more interest for the fans to watch the team's play, which is diminished already. Wish that the Wild organization will do a better  research for the most effective rotation mode experience among other 30 NHL teams.
 So far I see these lines for the Wild:
Offense:
Zucker - Staal - Zuccarello;
Parise - Kunin(Koivu) - Fiala;
Rask/Greenway - Ek- Donato/Sokolov;
Foligno/Rau - Sturm - Hartman/Mayhew.

Defense:
Suter - Spurgeon;
Brodin/Menell (offensively minded defenseman) -  Dumba(if not restored in full after injury, then should be tried right handed Belpedio);
Hunt/Seeler - Pateryn(Soucy or Gordeev - both are nicely tall and heavy defensemen for a tryout).
 
And IMO, J.T.Brown should be a part of the Iowa Wild team, but not the big club.
 

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Sports Nation has coach Boudeau sending something like this:

Zucker Staal Zuccarello

Parise Kunin Fiala

Greenway Ek Donato

Foligno Koivu Hartman

Brown pushing for wing time Rask for center.

 

Suter Spurgeon

Brodin Pateryn

Hunt Dumba

Seeler 

BelPedio potential no. 7 or 8

Lineup flexible enough to 1) allow transition time for returnees Koivu and Dumba to ease into season.

2) give shutdown role to Brodin and Pateryn and save limited attack/pp role for Hunt and Dumba.

 

 

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Rotating 4 lines is what should be done quite naturally here. Those teams that have franchise forwards can have the luxury of playing those players more. The Wild right now does not have those players.

 

For next season we should have one anti-McDavid/Crosby/Kucherov -line, and three even lines. Then put our hopes mostly on good PK and PP (Dumba). 

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what I'm hoping for is more than rotating 4 lines.

I would like to see a couple forwards and defense man rotated into the lineup on a nightly basis.

This is no different than rotating goal tenders.

Give the players more rest and keep your backup bench guys fresher.

If we lose a few games because of it we get better draft position.

If we fail to make the playoffs, we probably didn't have the talent for a long run anyway. 

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14 hours ago, lynxrattle said:

Rotating 4 lines is what should be done quite naturally here. Those teams that have franchise forwards can have the luxury of playing those players more. The Wild right now does not have those players.

 

For next season we should have one anti-McDavid/Crosby/Kucherov -line, and three even lines. Then put our hopes mostly on good PK and PP (Dumba). 

Completely agree. Especially, by attentively looking for some at least small but available talent from our deeper sources out of the farm club capable to help the big club to be advanced higher as we currently are. I would be happy if we will be advanced even on an inch.

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22 hours ago, Icechipper said:

Sports Nation has coach Boudeau sending something like this:

Zucker Staal Zuccarello

Parise Kunin Fiala

Greenway Ek Donato

Foligno Koivu Hartman

Brown pushing for wing time Rask for center.

 

Suter Spurgeon

Brodin Pateryn

Hunt Dumba

Seeler 

BelPedio potential no. 7 or 8

Lineup flexible enough to 1) allow transition time for returnees Koivu and Dumba to ease into season.

2) give shutdown role to Brodin and Pateryn and save limited attack/pp role for Hunt and Dumba.

 

 

Interesting, that Boudreau preliminary put practically the same offensive lines as I did , except he moved Koivu as a center to the 4th line, which is a good smart sign for me and which I have never seen that before for the previously injured Koivu in his career. I also put an additional players in those lines because I would like to see them for the tryout as a part of the rotation mode first of all for the Wild team which he did not put yet. As well as he excluded Sturm, which I would like to see in the big club as sooner as possible, because in my opinion, he is able to organize more this so far not perfectly organized team. Agree that Boudreau is giving temporary to Koivu and Dumba some protective status/transition time, but that way he is also giving a chance to other players to show their professionalism/talent, of course, if they have it.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
2 hours ago, IllaZilla said:

Nothing to get excited about, but...

 

Wild offer Drew Stafford a PTO

 

 

Agree. An oldish(33 y.o.) player who played for 4 NHL teams already in his career is a questionable invitee for the training camp. I was surprised when checked his stats on eliteprospects.com ,but they already included him to our Wild roster for this season. Maybe he is already signed?

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