So I had an idea the other day: what if I reversed the oft-questionable moves of Chuck Fletcher and PAUL FENTON, the past 2 GMs of the Minnesota Wild, that have occurred since the 2017 Expansion Draft? Well, I decided to do it. I reversed all the major deals the Wild have made since the Expansion Draft, whether I like them or not. I at least like the Coyle and Fiala trades within the context of the team’s situation, as they sold off older players with little term left on their expensive deals in exchange for younger, cheaper players. Most of the Wild’s other moves, though (the Tuch trade, losing Haula in the Expansion Draft, the Buffalo trade, not re-signing Darcy Kuemper, the Mike Reilly trade, and the NINO NIEDERREITER TRADE), I disagree with. I disagree with some of these deals more than others and hindsight is obviously 20/20, but some of the aforementioned deals were bad from the start. Hopefully the Wild can turn their recently poor management record around with the hire of GM Bill Guerin. Let me know what you think about the team, my Expansion Draft proposal, and anything else. Please be constructive, though, as I spent a lot of time on this :)
By the way, the players on LTIR are either players that the Wild would not have had to sign in free agency had they not made all these poor deals (Zuccarello, Hartman) or players that I would have had on the team if the cap was higher (Mike Reilly). Obviously the Wild lineup would be significantly better with these players in it (especially Zuccarello), but the cap meant I could not keep them.
*Conditions: If Vegas acquires a second 3rd round pick in 2017, Vegas can choose to give Minnesota the 2017 pick. If Vegas acquires multiple 3rd round picks in 2017, the Wild receive the 2nd highest pick. Result: Wild receive Golden Knights 2018 3rd round pick.
*Conditions: Bruins initially traded their 2019 5th round pick, with the condition that it will upgrade to a 2019 4th round pick (NYR) if they advance to the second round of the playoffs. Result: Boston advanced to the 2nd round of the playoffs, upgrading the 5th round pick to the 4th round pick (NYR).
too easy to say that, cap doesn't work and at least 2 or even 3 of these players in the top9 would be gone
Yes I agree, I just wanted to see what the team would look like had they not made any of their major deals since the Expansion Draft. This AGM team assumes that all the reacquired players would have signed the same contracts with the Wild that they did with their respective other teams, so there is obviously some degree of imperfection in this team's cap situation.
tbqh the only real detrimental moves minnesota made were the granlund and niederreiter trades.
I would add the Tuch deal and losing Haula in the Expansion Draft to that list, as well. Those 4 deals, in my opinion, are the most egregious. I don't mind the Mike Reilly deal very much because while the Wild gave up a solid 3rd pairing defenseman for a pick that led to a nobody prospect, Nick Seeler and Brad Hunt can both capably fill that 3rd pairing role. Letting Darcy Kuemper walk in free agency in 2017 hurts because he has turned into a top NHL goalie (2.33 GAA, .925 SV% last year for ARI) and Alex Stalock has been shaky at best in the backup role, but Kuemper deserves a starting role nonetheless and was never going to get it with Devan Dubnyk in the lineup.