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RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft

 
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RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 6/30/2024 10:28:34 AM   
TJSweens


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Both Buium and Kiviharju are supposed to be great skaters and puck movers with hockey IQ's that are off the charts.

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RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 6/30/2024 12:35:55 PM   
Lynn G.


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This popped up in my Facebook feed today. Surprised, but not surprised. It's only been in recent decades that the rest of the country has even provided hockey opportunities that would produce NHL-level players.




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RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/1/2024 7:45:34 AM   
TJSweens


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Ryan Suter was bought out again. Now there are two teams paying him to not play for them.

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RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/1/2024 3:35:26 PM   
Phil Riewer


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Michael Russo
@RussoHockey
·
4h
#mnwild signing free agent Yakov Trenin to 4-year, $14 million contract: Sources

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RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/1/2024 3:57:34 PM   
Phil Riewer


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Darren Dreger
@DarrenDreger
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7m
4 year extension for Jake Middleton in Minnesota. Aav of $4.35 million.

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Post #: 30
RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/1/2024 4:01:10 PM   
Phil Riewer


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Minnesota Wild PR

@mnwildPR
Minnesota agrees to terms on the following two-way contracts:

F Travis Boyd: one-year, two-way contract ($775,000/$550,000)
D Joseph Cecconi (pronounced seh-KOH-nee): one-year, two-way contract ($775,000/$325,000)
D Cameron Crotty: one-year, two-way contract ($775,000/$500,000)
C Brendan Gaunce (pronounced GAWNS): two-year, two-way contract ($775,000/$550,000)
G Troy Grosenick: one-year, two-way contract ($775,000/$250,000)
RW Reese Johnson: one-year, two-way contract ($775,000/$500,000)
C Ben Jones: two-year, two-way contract ($775,000/$275,000
C Devin Shore: one-year, two-way contract ($775,000/$400,000)

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Post #: 31
RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/1/2024 6:09:43 PM   
TJSweens


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quote:

ORIGINAL: Phil Riewer

Michael Russo
@RussoHockey
·
4h
#mnwild signing free agent Yakov Trenin to 4-year, $14 million contract: Sources

Including the ever popular no move clause.

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Post #: 32
RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/1/2024 7:18:31 PM   
stfrank

 

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quote:

ORIGINAL: TJSweens

quote:

ORIGINAL: Phil Riewer

Michael Russo
@RussoHockey
·
4h
#mnwild signing free agent Yakov Trenin to 4-year, $14 million contract: Sources

Including the ever popular no move clause.

But it's only a partial no move so he's making progress.
Post #: 33
RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/2/2024 12:13:28 PM   
twinsfan


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I heard Russo on with Barriero yesterday. It's clear as day Russo is not happy with Guerin's recent signings.

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RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/2/2024 1:35:12 PM   
TJSweens


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quote:

ORIGINAL: twinsfan

I heard Russo on with Barriero yesterday. It's clear as day Russo is not happy with Guerin's recent signings.

What did he say about them?

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RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/2/2024 1:49:29 PM   
Lynn G.


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I have to admit I'm really happy that Jake Middleton got an extension. He's a decent player and it's just so easy to like that guy, with the goofy, toothless grin and his happy-go-lucky personality.

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RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/2/2024 2:05:59 PM   
twinsfan


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quote:

ORIGINAL: TJSweens

quote:

ORIGINAL: twinsfan

I heard Russo on with Barriero yesterday. It's clear as day Russo is not happy with Guerin's recent signings.

What did he say about them?

He said there are things he cannot say on the air and he wishes Dan would meet him for a beer after work so he could be more forthcoming.

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Post #: 37
RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/3/2024 10:59:41 AM   
twinsfan


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Russo is filling in for Bump today. Bill Guerin will be a guest.

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RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/19/2024 10:24:45 AM   
TJSweens


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Here's a good article on Guerin's mismanagent of the Wild roster.

Why Doesn't Bill Guerin Borrow From Bill Belichick's Core Philosophy?


By Tom Schreier - Tuesday at 11:12 AM

Bill Belichick was the New England Patriots head coach and de facto general manager from 2000 to 2023. During that time, he won six Super Bowls because of his ruthless approach to roster-building. “Better to let a player go a year too early,” he figured, “than a year too late.”

I don’t know if Bill Guerin knows Belichick or looks up to him as an executive. However, Guerin is from Worchester, Mass., 45 miles from where the Patriots play in Foxborough. Guerin was also playing for the Boston Bruins when the Pats hired Belichick in 2000. Odds are, he’s heard of the third-winningest coach in NFL history.


Hockey isn’t football, but most modern GMs adhere to Belichick’s philosophy. Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah cut Adam Thielen, who walked onto the team after playing at D2 Minnesota State, when Thielen demanded more money than he was willing to budget for him. Similarly, Twins president Derek Falvey has taken successful one-year fliers on players like Matt Wisler and Donovan Solano, only to move on from them the following season.

However, Guerin has implemented the opposite philosophy. Guerin inherited Ryan Hartman, a journeyman winger who scored 18 goals in his first two seasons with Minnesota. However, Guerin extended him for three years, $5.1 million in 2021. Hartman scored 34 goals in the first year of that extension, but it was an outlier season for the former first-rounder. Hartman’s previous career high was 19 goals with the Chicago Blackhawks in his first full NHL season.

Hartman only scored 15 goals in 59 games the following season, but Guerin awarded him with a three-year, $12 million contract last offseason. Hartman had 21 goals and 24 points last season, respectable totals for a depth wing. Still, most of his scoring has come when he’s centering the top line with Kirill Kaprizov. That sounds fine until you consider that means the Wild have a depth wing centering their top line.

While Kaprizov is elevating Hartman, Hartman is suppressing Kaprizov’s production. Winning teams pair bona fide centers with their skill players, and Kaprizov is better off playing with Joel Eriksson Ek or Marco Rossi on his line than a depth winger.

Overpaying a role player benefitting from a star player’s production is a cardinal sin for any front office, given that it leads to overpaying players and unnecessary budget crunch. However, it’s especially so for one that bought out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Parise and Suter’s $7.3 million dead cap hits are the third-highest cap hits on the team, behind Kaprizov ($9 million) and Jared Spurgeon ($7.58 million) but ahead of Matt Boldy ($7 million) and Eriksson Ek ($5.25 million).

Instead of spending responsibly during the cap hell he created, which often means playing cost-controlled rookies with upside, Guerin has continued filling Minnesota’s roster with bad-value contracts. In addition to signing Hartman last offseason, Guerin also inked Marcus Foligno (four years, $16 million) and Mats Zuccarello (two years, $8.25 million) to extensions.

“I believe in these guys,” Guerin said after signing them. “I think they are how we get better here.”

Hartman, Foligno, and Zuccarello regressed, and so did the Wild. Minnesota had a franchise-record 113 points in 2021-22. Last year, they went from a 103-point team to finishing with 87 points and out of the playoffs. Hartman went from a 65-point player two years ago to a 45-point player last season. He also oscillated between being a glue guy and a goon. Similarly, Foligno, 32, went from playing 74 games two years ago to 65 in 2022-23 to 55 last year. He had 42 points in 2021-22 but has only produced 43 in the past two seasons combined.

Signing Zuccarello, 36, to a two-year extension is less risky despite his age. Still, most of his value was his chemistry with Kaprizov. Good GMs retain role players who bring out the best in their stars. However, Zuccarello no longer plays on Kaprizov’s line. The Wild gave each player no-move clauses, meaning they’ve locked themselves into a mediocre roster that blocks their best prospects when they would have been better off moving Hartman, Foligno, and Zuccarello at the deadline.

It’s not just Hartman, Foligno, and Hartman. The Wild signed Freddy Gaudreau to a five-year, $10.5 million contract after scoring 19 goals in 2022-23 and 14 goals the year before. He had five goals and 15 points last season. They’ve had a sordid love affair with Marcus Johansson and bought the dip on Zach Bogosian. He recently extended Jake Middleton, 28, for four years, $17.4 million a year before his previous contract ended.

Conversely, they played hardball in negotiations with Kaprizov and won’t sign Rossi long-term after a breakout season. Guerin kowtows to large, veteran players but didn’t sign Kaprizov to a full-length contract and may eventually push his second-best center out of town. As a result, Guerin has built a top-heavy team with middle-class bloat. He’s practically designed a team to exist on the playoff bubble in a market full of fans tired of first-round exits.

Belichick’s fatal flaw was mismanaging Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady late in his career. He spent years asking Brady to take pay cuts so he could build a team around him, only to fail to acquire enough good receivers. Belichick chose not to re-sign Brady at the end of the 2019 season, only to watch him win the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a year later.

By failing to sign Kaprizov long-term, Guerin has mimicked Belichick’s worst trait while failing to adhere to his core philosophy. He has wantonly handed out long-term extensions with no-trade clauses to aging, declining veterans and negotiated aggressively with his best players. As a result, he only has two years to build a winner around Kaprizov before he’s stuck with a flawed team with no superstar.

_____________________________

"The eternal fate of the noble and enlightened: to be brutally crushed by the armed and dumb."
Post #: 39
RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/20/2024 2:19:03 PM   
TJSweens


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Another article detailing how all the no trade contracts for mediocre veterans creates a log jam for prospects and could force the Wild to deal good prospects.

Perception Is Not Reality With Minnesota's Roster Flexibility

By Justin Wiggins - 6 hours ago

It’s amazing how quickly perceptions can change in the NHL. Just a few years ago, Bill Guerin was the belle of the ball in St. Paul. The man with the nerve to buy out two cornerstone franchise stars was pulling all the right levers.

But that goodwill has seemingly evaporated. As soon as Guerin sold off the previous regime's “country club” roster, he replaced it with his own cozy and comfortable work environment. Guerin’s recent extensions and doubling down on a mediocre roster have left him in many fans' crosshairs this summer.

Most fans cite the market-value contracts following down seasons as a concerning trend. There’s also the plethora of no-movement contracts Guerin attached to aging vets with no discount when other NHL teams with attractive environments avoid such commitments.

But what if the consequences of a locked-in roster go beyond just the impact on the NHL team? With another seemingly successful draft this past June, Minnesota's prospect pool looks as strong as ever. The problem is…. Where are these guys going to play? Or even more dire, how many will look at the dwindling opportunities for themselves in Minnesota and decide their careers are better suited if they start them elsewhere?

Brace yourselves, Wild fans, because if this trend of roster construction continues, your favorite prospect may end up on the trade block soon.

Yes, I know, that sentence is a little aggressive. We may become numb to fear-mongering headlines during an election cycle. However, this is a real issue the Wild will need to navigate in the coming years. One quick look at the two position groups, both on the roster and in the system, paints a clear picture.


Let’s start on defense. The Wild will have locked five defensemen into place for the next two years once Faber signs his inevitable extension and four of them over the next three. Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, Jake Middleton, and Zach Bogosian are all extended, with only Bogosian and Brodin carrying no-trade protection in that time.


Then there are the prospects, and boy, are they loaded on the blue line. This year's No. 12 overall pick, Zeev Buium, may be the best of them all, and he could be in the NHL as soon as his collegiate season ends. The next tier of defensive prospects includes Daemon Hunt (2nd round), Jack Peart (2nd round), Carson Lambos (1st round), Ryan O’Rourke (2nd round), Ryan Healey (4th round), and Aaron Pionk (5th round).


That extensive list doesn’t include Declan Chisholm, whom the Wild acquired via waivers last year and is the leading candidate to quarterback their top powerplay unit this season.

Assuming Buium turns pro this spring, the Wild will have one spot on the NHL roster over the next few years. And that’s only if they can trade away a player like Bogosian. One spot in the top six for your top prospects, three of which they invested either a first- or second-round pick in.

Hunt, O’Rourke, and Chisolm's contracts expire after this season. With no clear path to the NHL, the Wild may be forced to move them for pennies on the dollar because they’ve locked in a few replacement-level defensemen on long-term deals.

It looks even more dire at forward because at least most of their extended veterans on the blue line are great contributors when healthy.

Currently, the Wild have nine forwards locked into contracts for the next two years: Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek, Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman, Yakov Trenin, Frederick Gaudreau, and Liam Ohgren. Only Ohgren, Trenin, and Boldy have no-trade protection.

That list also doesn’t include Marat Khusnutdinov, Marco Rossi, or Jakub Lauko, who will require new contracts next summer. Let’s conservatively assume the Wild keep only one of them – a surprising move that would still result in ten forwards locked into at least the next two seasons.


That leaves just two starting roster spots, at most, left for Danila Yurov (1st round), Reilly Heidt (2nd round), Hunter Haight (2nd round), Rasmus Kumpulainen (2nd round), Ryder Ritchie (2nd round), Rieger Lorenz (2nd round), and Caeden Bankier (3rd round).

The Wild have spent a lot of draft capital on guys, only to place roadblocks in front of their NHL journey with the litany of long-term contracts to aging vets. Sure, the Wild could find a way to move on from Gaudreau’s contract, but that might cost them an asset to do so.

Guerin and the Wild can move on from players with trade protection if they need to, even if it’s difficult to do so. But that’s the problem with the perception of roster flexibility – it’s only perception. The Wild are garnering a reputation for preferring veterans over developing young players (see Rossi). Eventually, one of these highly drafted prospects will not see a path forward within the organization and perhaps request a trade.


We’ve seen it before when the Wild refused to create an NHL path for Jack McBain. They granted his trade request and sent him to the Arizona Coyotes (who are now in Utah). McBain quickly grew into a serviceable third-line center with size, a trait the Wild so desperately missed this year that they spent $3.5 million per year on Trenin this offseason instead of having McBain on his entry-level contract.

Guerin and the Wild need to delicately tip-toe the line between having prospects prove their worth and giving them a chance at their dream to play in the NHL. What’s the point in routinely having a deep prospect pool if they have nowhere to play? If the fan base can clearly see how difficult it will be for some of them to crack the NHL lineup, you can bet the players and their agents will see it, too.

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Post #: 40
RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/29/2024 4:42:32 PM   
Jeff Jesser


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8 year extention for Faber. Damn good move.
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RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/29/2024 4:46:11 PM   
Phil Riewer


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quote:

ORIGINAL: Jeff Jesser

8 year extention for Faber. Damn good move.

I agree....he will only get more expensive.

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Post #: 42
RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 7/30/2024 9:23:14 AM   
Lynn G.


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Love it!

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RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 9/6/2024 10:42:50 AM   
Lynn G.


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Not too surprising, Goligoski is retiring. He wasn't exactly known for being a speedy skater or anything like that, but I suspect just his years of experience was an asset in the locker room.

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Post #: 44
RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 9/6/2024 11:32:40 AM   
Jeff Jesser


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Really good NHL career but the exact type of guys the Wild needs to get away from. Aging MN vets in the twilight of their careers. We need young talent. No more Vaneks/Cullens ect. This is another "hang on" year but we need a real FA or 2 next offseason to jump start this thing again.
Post #: 45
RE: Wild 2024 Offseason and Draft - 9/30/2024 5:06:45 PM   
Phil Riewer


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Two surprises so far in Wild camp from Russo...Ben Jones looks to make it as a 13th Forward and Hunt is ready to become 7th Defensemen but cap reasons or trading Merrill as sticking points.

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Post #: 46
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