So regardless if the club makes the playoffs this season it's not too early to begin speculation on next season and what moves the team will make over the summer to become a factor. I have outlined some moves that I believe can make this team a contender next year for at least the division and will give some reasons why they make sense.
Free Agents:
Saku Koivu-he has already stated he would like to at some point be teammates with his brother and this would be his best shot. I honestly believe the Wild will land him unless the Habs really want him back.
Jordan Leopold-he's a Minnesota guy who I believe still has his family stay back in the Twin Cities during the season. He would be relatively inexpensive and could probably be had for around 1.5-2.0m/yr. He would give the Wild the option of not signing Bergeron and possibly moving Zidlicky if the right trade came along?
Trades:
This one is easy; I don't think anyone believes Josh Harding will be back next season. When you need to add offense it is hard to believe you can afford a 1A and 1B goaltending tandem and therefore find it likely Harding will be dealt to a team desperate for a young goaltender. I strongly believe they will add a player like Joffrey Lupul who would fit nicely with Bouchard on the 2nd line. The most likely teams? Toronto, Colorado, Edmonton, Philly and Detroit.
Draft:
I'm going with the assumption the club will pick somewhere between 7-12 in the draft which will allow them the opportunity in a seriously talented draft to add a player who can perform on one of the first two lines within the next couple of years. Jordan Schroeder is a player all Gopher fans are very familiar with and is projected to go in the early to mid 1st round. Outstanding season for a college freshman who was only 17 and should still be in high school. If the Wild took him I don't believe they would sign him until the summer of 2010.
Their own FA's:
If Gaborik leaves they need to be creative with regards to adding at least one legitimate goal scorer (depending on what they acquire for Harding). Veiulleux gone bye-bye. Skoula I would definately re-sign.
Scoring:
If Gabby does leave I would concentrate on the following players: Gionta, Samuelsson, Cammalleri, Franzen or someone in their prime who can add 25-30 goals and spread the scoring out effectively.
Here is how the club would look next season if I were GM.
Miettenen/M. Koivu/UFA signing or Gaborik
Bouchard/S. Koivu/Lupul???
Nolan/Sheppard/Clutterbuck
Gillies/Olvecky/Bruno
Boogaard/Pouliot
All I care is that Lemaire retires, and Skoula is not re-signed. I want to see a different style of hockey, and Skoula would be absolutely terrible without Lemaire's style.
can't afford Lupul or Koivu. Most of the former gophers dont really wanna come back yet from what most have stated.
But I'm with Lux 100%
I'm not quite sure where you get your cap numbers but if the Wild loose Gaborik and can't afford to add anyone then my season tickets are worth nothing. Also, if you take additional scoring out of the mix for additions and Lemaire retires this team will loose 50 games next season. But hey they might all be 6-4 games so it will be cool
I'm not quite sure where you get your cap numbers but if the Wild loose Gaborik and can't afford to add anyone then my season tickets are worth nothing. Also, if you take additional scoring out of the mix for additions and Lemaire retires this team will loose 50 games next season. But hey they might all be 6-4 games so it will be cool
Okay let me break it down for you then. Keep in mind its 0230L for me right now and I'm sick as a dog from Bud Light (from which I'll never drink ever again) :
- The wild are sitting at 42.3M right now in salary cap for the 2009-2010 season
- We have 6 UFA's next year that are in the starting roster (meaning that doesn't include prospects or farm team members like Albers or Hamilton)
- We have 3 RFA's next year on the starting roster, one being our backup who will want more cash than his 725K (and rightfully deserves it)
- Saku Koivu is making $4.7M this year
Using the same salary cap from this year (56.6M) by signing Koivu we would be at $49.3M, leaving $7M to sign 9 players, all of which will be in the $1M-$2M range.
We could possibly pick up Leopold at the expense of losing Skoula and trading either Johnnson or Zidlicky (would save up around $7M then) and then we could theoretically sign Saku.
This doesn't include the fact that we all know that DR is going to try to resign Gaborik for another year under the promise of either "Changing the team to be more offensive" or "To bring your stock up so you can either be traded to a SCF caliber team for things" or "to boost your stock up for the 2010-2011 season." I honestly won't be surprised if he throws out $7.8M to him just to try to appease him and hopefully bring him back. He is a fan favorite and outside of now Burns, Koivu, Backstrom....he's the only one that people can put a face with the name or he's the first they'll name off. Average Wild fans love him because he can score and he's fun to watch...about the only time those fans will call for DR's head is if we lose Gaborik. Something I would be my underpaid salary on he is going to try to avoid.
The reason so many of us want JL to retire is because:
- His type of defensive hockey doesn't win championships now. Even the Devils have become a more offensive team and there is not another team out there that relies so much on a trap system and "dump and shoot" tactics as much as we do.
- As the only HC of this team, none of us have seen what potential some of these players really do have. Burns could possibly be up there in points if the team wasn't playing so conservative. Many still blame JL for putting him on the Wing out of his natural position and who knows what effect that has had.
- You can't say we would lose 50 games because a new coach came in. Did Detroit lose 50 games when Babcock went there? This type of thinking reminds me far too much of people who are afraid of change.
but then let me ask you this question:
Who would you rather have on the team? Gaborik or JL as head coach? Cause if JL stays (under what Leopold and DR have both said they intend to do) Gaborik is going to leave and we'll watch him score 50 goals on a Eastern Conference team. How pissed would all of us be if he signed with either Detroit to be with Hossa (which according to DET sources is close to being resigned along with Franzen too) or Vancouver to be back with Demitra? Just the thought of him on the Canucks makes me wanna throw up.
next question:
With how poor our wing players are right now (and not signing Gaborik) do we really want another Center when we should be looking for players who can play on the Wing? Cause your not going to tell the Captain of the Habs or our Captain they are playing on the wing instead of center, for both of them that is their natural position.
In all honesty we shouldn't of "*****ed around" last offseason with Gaborik/Hossa/Demitra drama fest and went after Vanek hardcore. He was entertaining offers from other teams. I would of much rather paid him the $8M we were throwing at Gaborik or the $7.5M to Hossa. Live and learn I spose
Okay let me break it down for you then. Keep in mind its 0230L for me right now and I'm sick as a dog from Bud Light (from which I'll never drink ever again) :
- The wild are sitting at 42.3M right now in salary cap for the 2009-2010 season
- We have 6 UFA's next year that are in the starting roster (meaning that doesn't include prospects or farm team members like Albers or Hamilton)
- We have 3 RFA's next year on the starting roster, one being our backup who will want more cash than his 725K (and rightfully deserves it)
- Saku Koivu is making $4.7M this year
Using the same salary cap from this year (56.6M) by signing Koivu we would be at $49.3M, leaving $7M to sign 9 players, all of which will be in the $1M-$2M range.
We could possibly pick up Leopold at the expense of losing Skoula and trading either Johnnson or Zidlicky (would save up around $7M then) and then we could theoretically sign Saku.
This doesn't include the fact that we all know that DR is going to try to resign Gaborik for another year under the promise of either "Changing the team to be more offensive" or "To bring your stock up so you can either be traded to a SCF caliber team for things" or "to boost your stock up for the 2010-2011 season." I honestly won't be surprised if he throws out $7.8M to him just to try to appease him and hopefully bring him back. He is a fan favorite and outside of now Burns, Koivu, Backstrom....he's the only one that people can put a face with the name or he's the first they'll name off. Average Wild fans love him because he can score and he's fun to watch...about the only time those fans will call for DR's head is if we lose Gaborik. Something I would be my underpaid salary on he is going to try to avoid.
The reason so many of us want JL to retire is because:
- His type of defensive hockey doesn't win championships now. Even the Devils have become a more offensive team and there is not another team out there that relies so much on a trap system and "dump and shoot" tactics as much as we do.
- As the only HC of this team, none of us have seen what potential some of these players really do have. Burns could possibly be up there in points if the team wasn't playing so conservative. Many still blame JL for putting him on the Wing out of his natural position and who knows what effect that has had.
- You can't say we would lose 50 games because a new coach came in. Did Detroit lose 50 games when Babcock went there? This type of thinking reminds me far too much of people who are afraid of change.
but then let me ask you this question:
Who would you rather have on the team? Gaborik or JL as head coach? Cause if JL stays (under what Leopold and DR have both said they intend to do) Gaborik is going to leave and we'll watch him score 50 goals on a Eastern Conference team. How pissed would all of us be if he signed with either Detroit to be with Hossa (which according to DET sources is close to being resigned along with Franzen too) or Vancouver to be back with Demitra? Just the thought of him on the Canucks makes me wanna throw up.
next question:
With how poor our wing players are right now (and not signing Gaborik) do we really want another Center when we should be looking for players who can play on the Wing? Cause your not going to tell the Captain of the Habs or our Captain they are playing on the wing instead of center, for both of them that is their natural position.
In all honesty we shouldn't of "*****ed around" last offseason with Gaborik/Hossa/Demitra drama fest and went after Vanek hardcore. He was entertaining offers from other teams. I would of much rather paid him the $8M we were throwing at Gaborik or the $7.5M to Hossa. Live and learn I spose
A couple of things first you can disagree with me but I believe S. Koivu has signed his last significant deal. He's 34 with an injury history similar to Gaborik and I believe you might be able to get him for 3 yrs/9m and with the 8M savings on Gaborik, letting some guys go including hopefully Zidlicky all of a sudden you would have some $$$ to spend on scoring.
With regards to JL like Gretzky said he's a good offensive coach if you have talent. Look at what Jersey did when he coached there. He had MacLean and others who scored 30+ consistantly and they won a cup. Getting players that can score is not his responsibility it lies with DR who has failed the organization. Who outside of Gabby has proven to be high octane offensive talent since this team started 9 years ago.....nobody.
As for Harding I still believe he will be moved at the draft and while I used the idea Lupul + a pick I'm not convinced the Wild want his 25-30 goals for the cost. It could conceivably be Sam Gagner for Harding??? Something along those lines.
And finally I'm not saying for sure they would loose 50 next year with a different coach but they would probably be much worse. Did you watch this game today the only reason we competed with the Wings was because they played a patient defense first game. You can say you want the team more offensive but as of now they just don't have the horses to keep up. Had they tried to run and gun with the Wings today it would have been 8-3.
Last edited by NM Squirts: 04-05-2009 at 02:02 PM.
And finally I'm not saying for sure they would loose 50 next year with a different coach but they would probably be much worse. Did you watch this game today the only reason we competed with the Wings was because they played a patient defense first game. You can say you want the team more offensive but as of now they just don't have the horses to keep up. Had they tried to run and gun with the Wings today it would have been 8-3.
The only reason the Wild competed with the Wings today was Backstrom. The offense sans Gaborik was non-existent and so was the defense, conservative play and all.
A couple of things first you can disagree with me but I believe S. Koivu has signed his last significant deal. He's 34 with an injury history similar to Gaborik and I believe you might be able to get him for 3 yrs/9m and with the 8M savings on Gaborik, letting some guys go including hopefully Zidlicky all of a sudden you would have some $$$ to spend on scoring.
He's also the Captain of one of the most prestigious teams in the league, and as many Habs fans will tell you they don't ever want to lose him because unlike Kovalev, Saku has stuck with that organization even when it was in the tubes and he could of gone somewhere else and made the same (if not more). Plus his fight with cancer rallied that team even more. To pull him away is going to be frankly either be his own option or because the Habs won't sign him. At 34, he still has a few more years he can make some cash if he so chooses to. Plus, he has a better chance at winning the cup there than he does in Minnesota and I still think he wants that the most. And keep in mind his injury stuff has a lot more to do with cancer than Gaborik's glass lower body. Why are you so gung ho on getting rid of Zidlicky? For someone who wants more offense, your looking at the wrong overpaid player on D.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BP Mites
With regards to JL like Gretzky said he's a good offensive coach if you have talent. Look at what Jersey did when he coached there. He had MacLean and others who scored 30+ consistantly and they won a cup. Getting players that can score is not his responsibility it lies with DR who has failed the organization. Who outside of Gabby has proven to be high octane offensive talent since this team started 9 years ago.....nobody.
You can't hold that against 70% of the players on the team, frankly because they play dump and shoot. The way Nolan has played this year, he could of been a 35 goal scorer on a more offensive team. Yes, it is more DR's fault than anyone's, but JL has the power to tell him what they need...instead DR goes after fan favorites who we have no business going after. All that wasted time on Hossa when we could of went after someone else. After he made his choice to go to the Wings, nothing was left but table scraps.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BP Mites
As for Harding I still believe he will be moved at the draft and while I used the idea Lupul + a pick I'm not convinced the Wild want his 25-30 goals for the cost. It could conceivably be Sam Gagner for Harding??? Something along those lines.
At this point I would love to have Philly's Giroux or any other of their top prospects for him. The Wild simply need to rebuild once again and basically start over building around Koivu/Burns.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BP Mites
And finally I'm not saying for sure they would loose 50 next year with a different coach but they would probably be much worse. Did you watch this game today the only reason we competed with the Wings was because they played a patient defense first game. You can say you want the team more offensive but as of now they just don't have the horses to keep up. Had they tried to run and gun with the Wings today it would have been 8-3.
I agree with you to an extent, but Backstrom was keeping them in the game. The SOG prove that more than anything, no? 44 to 23....They should be lucky it wasn't 8-3 with the amount of shots they are letting get to Backstrom. During that road trip, we were outshot by over 40 goals and only won 1 game. That isn't defense when your goalie is moving around that much. But keep in mind, I'm in Honduras and I only get to watch the games that are on VS or NBC (which was like 5 this year).
Quote:
Originally Posted by BP Mites
and that would be why I want Zidlicky moved and his 3.3M applied to finding true offense.
Johnnson is the worst of the two and defnitely overpaid. Zidlicky takes a ton of penalties but he is producing more goals and assists than Johnnson is. I don't even wanna know how many giveaways Kimmy has.
I respect your opinion and I agree with you about 60% of the way bro, just some things I am seeing this team do that they shouldnt' be doing. We didn't have the most elite team in 2003, but look how far that got us. However, that is also before the rules changed and the trap and "defense first" went away pretty damn quick. Every team needed to evolve and we didn't plain and simple.
He's also the Captain of one of the most prestigious teams in the league, and as many Habs fans will tell you they don't ever want to lose him because unlike Kovalev, Saku has stuck with that organization even when it was in the tubes and he could of gone somewhere else and made the same (if not more). Plus his fight with cancer rallied that team even more. To pull him away is going to be frankly either be his own option or because the Habs won't sign him. At 34, he still has a few more years he can make some cash if he so chooses to. Plus, he has a better chance at winning the cup there than he does in Minnesota and I still think he wants that the most. And keep in mind his injury stuff has a lot more to do with cancer than Gaborik's glass lower body. Why are you so gung ho on getting rid of Zidlicky? For someone who wants more offense, your looking at the wrong overpaid player on D.
You can't hold that against 70% of the players on the team, frankly because they play dump and shoot. The way Nolan has played this year, he could of been a 35 goal scorer on a more offensive team. Yes, it is more DR's fault than anyone's, but JL has the power to tell him what they need...instead DR goes after fan favorites who we have no business going after. All that wasted time on Hossa when we could of went after someone else. After he made his choice to go to the Wings, nothing was left but table scraps.
At this point I would love to have Philly's Giroux or any other of their top prospects for him. The Wild simply need to rebuild once again and basically start over building around Koivu/Burns.
I agree with you to an extent, but Backstrom was keeping them in the game. The SOG prove that more than anything, no? 44 to 23....They should be lucky it wasn't 8-3 with the amount of shots they are letting get to Backstrom. During that road trip, we were outshot by over 40 goals and only won 1 game. That isn't defense when your goalie is moving around that much. But keep in mind, I'm in Honduras and I only get to watch the games that are on VS or NBC (which was like 5 this year).
Johnnson is the worst of the two and defnitely overpaid. Zidlicky takes a ton of penalties but he is producing more goals and assists than Johnnson is. I don't even wanna know how many giveaways Kimmy has.
I respect your opinion and I agree with you about 60% of the way bro, just some things I am seeing this team do that they shouldnt' be doing. We didn't have the most elite team in 2003, but look how far that got us. However, that is also before the rules changed and the trap and "defense first" went away pretty damn quick. Every team needed to evolve and we didn't plain and simple.
If you believe because he has more goals and assists than Johnsson; Zidlicky is more valuable then I'm not even going to waste my time arguing anymore. That was about the 30th bad pinch that cost the Wild a goal this season. Funny thing is I have coached traveling hockey for years and I was watching with my Mite age son who plays defense and when they showed the replay he told me exactly what Zidlicky did wrong. Now honestly how sad is that.
I've been far more impressed with him than I have been with Mr. Overpaid Johnsson, and "I've improved, but I still suck" Skoula, who everybody seems to think are the team's best defenseman.
I've been far more impressed with him than I have been with Mr. Overpaid Johnsson, and "I've improved, but I still suck" Skoula, who everybody seems to think are the team's best defenseman.
Total agreement
BP, any way you can find the giveaways at all for both of them? I honestly don't know where to look or I'd find it. I know its been more than a few games, but ya it was a fault on his part and cost the game...but the Wild shouldn't of been in that situation either. Not Backstrom/Harding's fault Datsuyk continues to highlight reel them.
How many games have been won because of goals by him as well? Johnnson may be a little better on the d-side, but I've watched him be atrocious for how many years now for how much he makes?
This isn't a "rub in the salt" type thing but bringing opnions in, this is what is going on with the Star Tribune's forum on one of Russo's columns:
Quote:
Figures that S/T would come up with such a lame poll--Not one ? about DR? The new wild owner better realize soon that the State of Hockey is not about selling a bucket of Manure. It is about skilled, tough, must win guys who give an honest effort every game. Our highschools are full of them. For this bunch to make the playoffs would have been a joke. A coach who thinks Yawnson is and NHL D tells me he has aged a bit too much. As great as Jl WAS, he ready for the short green grass in Florida.
Luckynuts
Johnsson's contract could be worse New Jersey owes Rolston $15m over 3 more years and because of his age there is no buying out that contract which could hamper the Devils trying to sign Parise, Zajac or Martin in a couple of years.
As for the Yawnson comment all that tells me is whoever wrote it has absolutely no hockey knowledge at all. Please don't ever get closer to the game than watching it from the stands. Whoever posted that reminds me of when I coached Wayzata traveling back in the '90's and we had a kid who along with his parents was all about the number of goals he scored. This kid couldn't find his own zone with Will Steeger guiding him!
At any rate we lost an important game to Osseo 5-4 and this kid had 1 goal and was minus 3. As I was leaving the arena his mom was just raving about "how well he played" because he scored. That was the breaking point for me and I resigned from coaching the next week.
The jest of the story is just because Zidlicky has added some offense doesn't mean he has played well this year. If you dig into his statistics he has only 1 goal and 5 assists at even strength which is awful; not to mention the -15 for a d-man.
Regarding all of the love for Zidlicky he basically admitted in today's St. Paul paper he has struggled this year and obviously some people won't even take his own word for it.
Last edited by NM Squirts: 04-09-2009 at 01:53 AM.
Johnsson's contract could be worse New Jersey owes Rolston $15m over 3 more years and because of his age there is no buying out that contract which could hamper the Devils trying to sign Parise, Zajac or Martin in a couple of years.
As for the Yawnson comment all that tells me is whoever wrote it has absolutely no hockey knowledge at all. Please don't ever get closer to the game than watching it from the stands. Whoever posted that reminds me of when I coached Wayzata traveling back in the '90's and we had a kid who along with his parents was all about the number of goals he scored. This kid couldn't find his own zone with Will Steeger guiding him!
At any rate we lost an important game to Osseo 5-4 and this kid had 1 goal and was minus 3. As I was leaving the arena his mom was just raving about "how well he played" because he scored. That was the breaking point for me and I resigned from coaching the next week.
The jest of the story is just because Zidlicky has added some offense doesn't mean he has played well this year. If you dig into his statistics he has only 1 goal and 5 assists at even strength which is awful; not to mention the -15 for a d-man.
Regarding all of the love for Zidlicky he basically admitted in today's St. Paul paper he has struggled this year and obviously some people won't even take his own word for it.
I was just putting out there that the opinion is out there as well. You and I both know that Johnnson doesn't deserve the amount of cash he's getting when Burns and Shultz are making $1M less than him. No?
Yes, points aren't everything (look at the Norris debate and the argument that the Green nuthuggers are stating for that point), but for a team that is struggling just to score...its a very big thing when it happens because we are losing by 1-3 goals in almost 60% of the games, if not more. We could have the best defensive team (not sure if the team is still leading the league in GA), but fact remains offense is a huge thing we have always needed for this team. Too much dependancy on three players (especially this year) to perform. You can't expect to win a Conference championship, let alone the SCF, like that. Changes need to be made
