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Minnesota Wild 2021 season preview

19 déc. 2020 à 10 h 12
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This is a kinda poring season preview to do.

They moved Staal for Johansson which was a puzzling move considering their awful C depth, they traded Kunin, a good young player for a 33 year old Bonino, which is a move that doesn't make any sense while giving extensions to Soucy and Brodin, which are 2 moves I actually like, especially the Brodin one considering Suter's age. They also signed Talbot to provide time for Kahkonen to develop which was a smart move IMO.

The X factor for them is someone stepping up at that C position and playing an awesome season. This could be Rossi but I wouldn't count on it since he's 18 or JEE. E-EK is IMO one of the most underrated forwards in the league. His defense is really good. The dude actually reminds me a bit of Phil Danault but that's just me.

To compensate for their very weak offense, they have a very very strong d-core, with Suter, Brodin and Spurgeon being able to do everything. Dumba is kinda overrated to me and I believe Soucy's underrated.

Here's how I'd build their lineup:
Kaprizov-Ek-EK-Fiala
Parise-Bonino-Johansson
Greenway-Rossi-Hartman
Foligno-Rask-Bjugstad

Suter-Spurgeon
Brodin-Dumba
Soucy-Addison

Talbot
Stalock



@MNBassman
@TanSor
@mnwild1790

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19 déc. 2020 à 15 h 44
#2
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Staal trade is bad on paper, but Staal was really slow during the play-in and showed signs of regressing throughout the year. I still don't love the trade at all, we should have gotten more, but Johansson is younger and much faster.

The Kunin trade was more about getting Khusnutdinov than Bonino. Time will tell for this one but I will say I LOVED Khusnutdinov going into the draft, I had him in the teens on my board. Plus we can move Bonino for picks at the deadline if we're out of the race. Kunin did look promising though and we had a need for right shot players before we traded him so trading away the only competent one we had isn't ideal.

As for Dumba, you're right. He is overrated right now. But that's because he was on pace for 30 goals the season he got injured and looked extremely dynamic that year and part of the season prior. The hope is that he can return to that player, and in that scenario he is very much not overrated, but right now he's not much more than a decent #4 and PP specialist.

Overall I see this as a bubble team, likely outside of the race. Kaprizov is sort of the wild card here. I also think it may be smart to keep Rossi in Europe to both let him develop more against men and not waste a year of his ELC in a 56 game season.
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21 déc. 2020 à 13 h 56
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My goal for the year as this: Youth improvement and Reviving Veterans.

Greenway, Fiala, Kaprizov, Ek, Addison (maybe), Rossi (maybe), and Kakhonen (although in backup role) all will need to step up if we are to move forward as a franchise. I think Rossi will make the team, but they may want him to develop another year in Switzerland. Addison is unlikely to make the team but I would still love to see him fight for a spot.

As for the veterans, they know their roles. Bonino, Johansson, and Bjugstad were all brought in to shake things up while still providing players who, when healthy and at top form, can play really well. The key is "when healthy and at top form." What players are we getting? Only time will tell. All players know that, with one year left, this is their opportunity to showcase that they're worthy assets to a team.

If both those two things happen, we'll be fine. But here's where I see us:

Offense: Average. This can change quickly if Kaprizov clicks right away and Fiala picked up where he left off. But we'll have to wait and see on that. If they aren't able to carry the load offensively, we'll have a hard time competing.

Defense: Elite. I'm biased but we are elite defensively. Good in our own zone, good with puck movement, I could sing our praises all day...the only (and biggest) question is...

Goaltending: ? That's right. I have no clue. What Cam Talbot are we getting? I hope to God it's the pre-2018 Talbot. If it's post-2018 Talbot, may God have mercy on our souls...

Anyways, my prediction is that we finish 6th in the Division. I hope I'm wrong but that's how I feel.
21 déc. 2020 à 17 h 37
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Rossi and Addison shouldn't be anywhere near everyday players. Swiss league for Rossi and taxi squad for Addison. MN can finish anywhere from 3rd to last in the new Division.

I can't stand the Donato, Bonino, and Staal trades the GM made. Undo those trades and MN is solidly in the 4th spot in the West this year.

Re-signing Spurgeon to his awful deal forced the 8 skaters route. It cost MN Kunin, Donato and maybe Greenway. I miss Fenton, at least he had a direction for the team. Not GMCF bandadie everything and hope it works Guerin is doing.
23 déc. 2020 à 8 h 51
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Quoting: KakkoForMauriceRichardAward
they traded Kunin, a good young player for a 33 year old Bonino, which is a move that doesn't make any sense


The fact this is actually a repeated statement is the main reason this site is a dumpster fire. Guerin did not trade Kunin for Bonino straight up, he traded Kunin for a pick he used to select Khusnutdinov and another pick he used to trade up to draft Daemon Hunt and he also got Bonino which can be a player this year and if they're out of it, he can be flipped at the deadline for more assets. It's really not hard to understand what he actually received for Kunin.
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23 déc. 2020 à 8 h 55
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Quoting: TanSor
Staal trade is bad on paper, but Staal was really slow during the play-in and showed signs of regressing throughout the year. I still don't love the trade at all, we should have gotten more, but Johansson is younger and much faster.


I'd love to know what the conversation between Buffalo and Guerin was on the Staal trade. Part of me thinks the trade involved Buffalo not drafting Rossi if he was available when they picked, which makes sense for Buffalo since they're getting Staal for this year and have Cozens already in their system. Rossi was arguably the best player available when Buffalo went, so they should have taken him.
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23 déc. 2020 à 18 h 33
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Quoting: JayTea
I'd love to know what the conversation between Buffalo and Guerin was on the Staal trade. Part of me thinks the trade involved Buffalo not drafting Rossi if he was available when they picked, which makes sense for Buffalo since they're getting Staal for this year and have Cozens already in their system. Rossi was arguably the best player available when Buffalo went, so they should have taken him.


I don't think there is anything to that. Not all the scouts were sold on Rossi being able to translate his game to the NHL. Busting on a top-10 pick isn't something any team can afford. Mitts and Nylander both had red flags and were drafted 8th in their draft years by BUF, and they haven't turned out well (yet). I think BUF's safe choice was between Lundell and Quinn at their pick and avoided the higher risk players.
1 janv. 2021 à 23 h 25
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Quoting: mnwild1790
My goal for the year as this: Youth improvement and Reviving Veterans.

Greenway, Fiala, Kaprizov, Ek, Addison (maybe), Rossi (maybe), and Kakhonen (although in backup role) all will need to step up if we are to move forward as a franchise. I think Rossi will make the team, but they may want him to develop another year in Switzerland. Addison is unlikely to make the team but I would still love to see him fight for a spot.

As for the veterans, they know their roles. Bonino, Johansson, and Bjugstad were all brought in to shake things up while still providing players who, when healthy and at top form, can play really well. The key is "when healthy and at top form." What players are we getting? Only time will tell. All players know that, with one year left, this is their opportunity to showcase that they're worthy assets to a team.

If both those two things happen, we'll be fine. But here's where I see us:

Offense: Average. This can change quickly if Kaprizov clicks right away and Fiala picked up where he left off. But we'll have to wait and see on that. If they aren't able to carry the load offensively, we'll have a hard time competing.

Defense: Elite. I'm biased but we are elite defensively. Good in our own zone, good with puck movement, I could sing our praises all day...the only (and biggest) question is...

Goaltending: ? That's right. I have no clue. What Cam Talbot are we getting? I hope to God it's the pre-2018 Talbot. If it's post-2018 Talbot, may God have mercy on our souls...

Anyways, my prediction is that we finish 6th in the Division. I hope I'm wrong but that's how I feel.


I'll take 2020 playoffs Talbot. If Wild get that then they could be a dangerous team. I am concerned about the system changes under Dean as Wild may not be as sound defensively, however they are bringing in a more aggressive offensive system so that is exciting.
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1 janv. 2021 à 23 h 32
#9
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Quoting: wabit
I don't think there is anything to that. Not all the scouts were sold on Rossi being able to translate his game to the NHL. Busting on a top-10 pick isn't something any team can afford. Mitts and Nylander both had red flags and were drafted 8th in their draft years by BUF, and they haven't turned out well (yet). I think BUF's safe choice was between Lundell and Quinn at their pick and avoided the higher risk players.


I read a lot of pre-draft scouting reports and no one thought Quinn was a safer pick than Rossi. Teams flat out didn't draft Rossi because he is 5-9 maybe. I have a hard time believing that the Staal trade was about making sure Rossi was available. I think it was really all about being quicker.
2 janv. 2021 à 8 h 18
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Quoting: OutCold13
I read a lot of pre-draft scouting reports and no one thought Quinn was a safer pick than Rossi. Teams flat out didn't draft Rossi because he is 5-9 maybe. I have a hard time believing that the Staal trade was about making sure Rossi was available. I think it was really all about being quicker.


The trade certainly did make the Wild a faster team. Staal looked so old and slow at times, but he still is a better overall player than Johanson which is the only reason I wonder what the full conversation was. Maybe Guerin just sees Johanson as an upgrade on speed and if he doesn't work out, there's no term to his deal so they're not stuck with him *cough*Rask*cough*. If he works out, they extend him and have a player going forward. I still wish they had at least gotten a pick with him, but the trade isn't a complete fleecing like the experts on here suggest. I can see what Guerin was going from on a couple perspectives.
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2 janv. 2021 à 10 h 29
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Quoting: OutCold13
I'll take 2020 playoffs Talbot. If Wild get that then they could be a dangerous team. I am concerned about the system changes under Dean as Wild may not be as sound defensively, however they are bringing in a more aggressive offensive system so that is exciting.


I hope we can get consistency out of him. I don't mind the signing but without seeing him in action with our team in front of him, I'm not sure what to make of him. Season's just around the corner so I'll guess we'll see soon enough!
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