Is It Over for the Wild?

[Vanimal46]

The Wild hopefully hit rock bottom yesterday after losing 7-2 to the Jets. The excuses are running out for this team. They're fairly healthy (minus Parise) and their core has remained in tact for the last 4 years. For some reason this year is different. Once the team is trailing in a game, there's no fight in them to make the game competitive. 

 

Is it time to go full rebuild? They have 1 albatross contract (Parise) and 1 near albatross contract (Suter) on the books already. Both are still signed for the next 5 seasons. Many of their young core members over the last 4 years received contact extensions. Question is, are they really worth the price tag? 

 

What would you do if you were running the Wild? Wait to see what happens? Or start the rebuilding process now?

[Winston Smith]

After some poor drafting, passing on Boeser and taking Ek for one, and a few bad trades where do you start a rebuild? Lack of draft picks hurts and who could you trade that would bring back anything good?

Maybe at the deadline you could get something for Stall and Dumba. Could you really get equal value for guys like Nino and Coyle, I have my doubts Chuck can.

[Mr. Brooks]

I said after last season that it was time for full tear down and rebuild, and was of course mocked and ridiculed.

 

You trade any and every piece you can. Equal value doesn't matter. The most important step is becoming bad enough to get a few top 3 picks. This is a league dominated by superstars, of which the Wild have none.

 

Suter's contract might still be moveable. Parise's obviously would not be.

 

Try a new window in 5 years.

[Vanimal46]

This day was bound to happen... Didn't think the window would close so early. Chuck was giving away 1st round picks like it was Halloween candy, and now here we are.

 

They may have to fire Chuck to go full rebuild. 

[Mr. Brooks]

This day was bound to happen... Didn't think the window would close so early. Chuck was giving away 1st round picks like it was Halloween candy, and now here we are.

 

They may have to fire Chuck to go full rebuild.

He should have been fired immediately after last year's bizzare season ending press conference, where he practically acted shocked that there wasn't a victory parade for a pathetic first round exit.

[SF Twins Fan]

 

After some poor drafting, passing on Boeser and taking Ek for one, and a few bad trades where do you start a rebuild? Lack of draft picks hurts and who could you trade that would bring back anything good?

Maybe at the deadline you could get something for Stall and Dumba. Could you really get equal value for guys like Nino and Coyle, I have my doubts Chuck can.

 

Wait...you want to give up on Ek after 35 total games played in the NHL? Nino, Coyle, Gradlund, Zucker, Brodin and Spurgeon would all fetch 1st round picks / young players with high upside if the Wild went into a true rebuild and started selling off players.  

[rdehring]

Fletcher should have been replaced at the end of last season.  All the draft picks he traded for the two guys at the trading deadline last year with both being gone at the end of the year was a move for which he should have been terminated.

 

Do they have some talent, yes.  But the man in charge hasn't taken them down the right path to have a shot at the Cup.

[Winston Smith]

 

Wait...you want to give up on Ek after 35 total games played in the NHL? Nino, Coyle, Gradlund, Zucker, Brodin and Spurgeon would all fetch 1st round picks / young players with high upside if the Wild went into a true rebuild and started selling off players.  

I don't think I said anything about giving up on him. But I recall the draft he was picked the tv guys all expected the Wild to take Boeser and were surprised when they took Ek. At this point Boeser would look really good in the Wild lineup. In 5 years maybe it looks the other way.

[Pardon My Dinger]

It’s over all right. But there’s not going to be any rebuild in the near future, given the contract situation. Gotta tank for a few years.

[SF Twins Fan]

In my opinion the Wild need to try and get out from under the Ennis contract and Reilly.  Ennis is making $4.6M this season and next and Reilly $725,000.  With Vanek's buyout coming off the books next season and if they can get rid of Ennis and Reilly they would have ~ $19M in CAP space.  They will have to resign Zucker and Dumba.  Zucker will get a large raise to probably ~ $5.5M but the way Dumba is playing he probably won't increase much higher than the $2.55M he's making right now.  Let's put him at ~ $3.5M.

 

With those changes the Wild would still have just north of $9M in CAP space.  They would have 8 fwds under contract, 5 def and 2 goalies.

 

Add in Kunin ($925,000) and Ek ($894,167).

 

They would then have $7,966,409 in CAP space and need 3 fwds and 2 def.  

[Mr. Brooks]

In my opinion the Wild need to try and get out from under the Ennis contract and Reilly. Ennis is making $4.6M this season and next and Reilly $725,000. With Vanek's buyout coming off the books next season and if they can get rid of Ennis and Reilly they would have ~ $19M in CAP space. They will have to resign Zucker and Dumba. Zucker will get a large raise to probably ~ $5.5M but the way Dumba is playing he probably won't increase much higher than the $2.55M he's making right now. Let's put him at ~ $3.5M.

 

With those changes the Wild would still have just north of $9M in CAP space. They would have 8 fwds under contract, 5 def and 2 goalies.

 

Add in Kunin ($925,000) and Ek ($894,167).

 

They would then have $7,966,409 in CAP space and need 3 fwds and 2 def.

All that does is keep open a window of mediocrity, IMO.

This is not a team that is a couple of good role players away. They lack superstars, and superstars aren't available in free agency. They are only available by picking top 2 or 3 in drafts. (I'm aware there are probably a few outliers found later in the draft. )

[Vanimal46]

Ryan Suter may have filled us in accidentally about the attitude of the team... 

“We thought it was going to be easy,” Suter said. “I’m assuming we thought they were just going to back down, and they woke up and came at us.”

 

This quote was after the 7-2 blowout loss. Why would you ever think a hockey game on the road would be easy? It's mind.boggling. 

If you heard the quote on the radio, it's even more baffling the way he said it. 

[Pardon My Dinger]

Suter’s a real dip****. So very talented, but man alive! Show some heart just once.

[Deduno Abides]

The Mikko Koivu extension was an ultimate Wild move - expensive, multi-year contract for a non All Star during his declining years. Good enough to be a piece of a first round playoff team, as long as he doesn’t decline further, but not a top player on a conference championship team and using too much money to allow you to get one. The Wild is showing that a team can keep the first round playoff treadmill going for a long time, but that the strategy of getting expensive veterans will not let you get farther than that.

[Monkeypaws]

There is a lot of hockey to be played yet. 

 

I admit the Wild haven't really looked the part of a contender at all this season, but we see that every season with this team.

 

I still think they will gel this season, and the later the better, as long as it doesn't mean missing the playoffs.

[DaveW]

Russo reporting that this is the last year of Fletchers contract, great, that means we are gonna trade our next 13 first round picks for another aging crappy 'scorer' at the deadline.

 

[Vanimal46]

 

Russo reporting that this is the last year of Fletchers contract, great, that means we are gonna trade our next 13 first round picks for another aging crappy 'scorer' at the deadline.

 

 

Good to hear this is the last year on Fletcher's contract. Hopefully someone reasonable will convince Leipold to sell some pieces instead of going all in again. 

[SF Twins Fan]

 

The Mikko Koivu extension was an ultimate Wild move - expensive, multi-year contract for a non All Star during his declining years. Good enough to be a piece of a first round playoff team, as long as he doesn’t decline further, but not a top player on a conference championship team and using too much money to allow you to get one. The Wild is showing that a team can keep the first round playoff treadmill going for a long time, but that the strategy of getting expensive veterans will not let you get farther than that.

 

That's absolutely false. Koivu does so much for this team that doesn't show up in the stat sheet.  Also, for the points that he puts up he is right in line with what the going rate is. The top players in the league are now making $12M a season and next season his CAP hit will be $5.5M.  His contract is not a problem for his production.

 

Edit : The main problem the Wild have run into is trading away so many draft picks. Also, I really feel like Fletcher butchered the expansion draft last year. Losing Haula and Tuch will hurt going forward. Tuch is going to be a really good player for the years to come.

[SF Twins Fan]

 

All that does is keep open a window of mediocrity, IMO.
This is not a team that is a couple of good role players away. They lack superstars, and superstars aren't available in free agency. They are only available by picking top 2 or 3 in drafts. (I'm aware there are probably a few outliers found later in the draft. )

 

The Wild had that second most points in the Western Conference last season and they completely dominated the series against the Blues. They didn't lose because they weren't as talented. They lost because Jake Allen was the best goalie on the planet and completely stood on his head. It also didn't help that our best player (Granlund) broke his wrist in the first game of the series.

[Mr. Brooks]

The Wild had that second most points in the Western Conference last season and they completely dominated the series against the Blues. They didn't lose because they weren't as talented. They lost because Jake Allen was the best goalie on the planet and completely stood on his head. It also didn't help that our best player (Granlund) broke his wrist in the first game of the series.

It's not like it's a one year thing. Every year it's another excuse why the Wild are just so unlucky in the playoffs.

 

You know it's not illegal for our goalie to stand on his head and match Allen, right?

[SF Twins Fan]

 

It's not like it's a one year thing. Every year it's another excuse why the Wild are just so unlucky in the playoffs.

You know it's not illegal for our goalie to stand on his head and match Allen, right?

 

I agree. I don't believe Dubnyk is as good as the top tier goalies in the league and it's more obvious this season than the past 3 he's been here. Dubnyk is as good as the defense plays in front of him. The Wild forwards aren't as good this season as they were last season and obviously our defensemen are worse as well.

 

Losing both Haula and Pommer from the forwards hurts a lot because they were sound two way players and were responsible. They weren't flashy on offense but they were solid. Stewart and Foligno are the same crappy player that isn't responsible on the defensive side and Quincy, Reilly and Olofsson are all bad or at least inconsistent on the defense side of things. All of these moves have exposed Dubnyk for the mediocre inconsistent goalie that he is.

[jimmer]

 

It's not like it's a one year thing. Every year it's another excuse why the Wild are just so unlucky in the playoffs.

 

I swear when I first read that, I thought you said Twins instead of Wild :-)

[Vanimal46]

 

Edit : The main problem the Wild have run into is trading away so many draft picks. Also, I really feel like Fletcher butchered the expansion draft last year. Losing Haula and Tuch will hurt going forward. Tuch is going to be a really good player for the years to come.

 

Trading away draft picks is killing the farm system for sure. And they bent over backwards to ensure Matt Dumba remained with the Wild. Unfortunately he hasn't been worth the cost of keeping him so far this year. 

[Deduno Abides]

That's absolutely false. Koivu does so much for this team that doesn't show up in the stat sheet.  Also, for the points that he puts up he is right in line with what the going rate is. The top players in the league are now making $12M a season and next season his CAP hit will be $5.5M.  His contract is not a problem for his production.

 

Edit : The main problem the Wild have run into is trading away so many draft picks. Also, I really feel like Fletcher butchered the expansion draft last year. Losing Haula and Tuch will hurt going forward. Tuch is going to be a really good player for the years to come.

Your opinions are valid, but they don’t make any of my statements false.

 

Expensive.

Multi-year.

Non All Star.

In his declining years.

Good enough to be a piece on a first round playoff team.

Not a top player on a conference championship team.

Using too much money to allow the team to get a top player, i.e., in combination with the Wild’s other expensive contracts with declining non All Stars, they will be challenged to afford a top player.

 

That doesn’t mean Koivu is terrible.

[Pardon My Dinger]

Koivu’s extension really isn’t that expensive.

[jimmer]

Don't look now....

[Deduno Abides]

Is Stalock one of the best names ever for a goalie?