First things first, I'm not a Wild fan so I do not know all of their players and their potential. However, I hope I'm able to make pretty fair trades because of this. I have no bias, if the trades suck, it's because I suck.
For Kaprizov's contract, I copied what Kucherov had before his 9,5M deal. I think Kaprizov could benefit from a bridge deal since his true value would show in the next 3 years. Also, the salary cap would be much higher. I understand he doesn't have much leverage in the negotiations due to his RFA status with no arbitration rights, but he is the whole organization, they need him to play and not sit as Nylander did. With a deal like this, Kaprizov could make McDavid money on his next deal and wouldn't have to be stuck on some 8 million a year. Wild on the other hand gets one of the best bargains in the league for 3 years. Kaprizov has the balls to bet on himself. According to CapFriendly, he'll still be an RFA when his deal runs out.
You could also copy the Draisaitl contract of 8x8,5 million, or sign him to a hybrid-bridge deal of 5 years, but that would make building a team on a flat cap much harder.
For Fiala's deal, I used Forsberg and Nylander as comparables. So 6 years and roughly 8% of the cap. However, both Forsberg and Nylander had two 60 point seasons under their belts before their deals, and Fiala's highest point amount is 54 so I took about a 6th of his salary away. And that's how we got to 5,5M. That's also quite close to Eriksson Ek's deal, and Fiala isn't taking less than him.
The single biggest need for the Wild is a #1 center. Or at least a guy who can fill that role until Rossi takes it (I'm thinking it takes about 3 years for him to do that). No, they don't need to trade their whole organization for a guy like Jack Eichel, but it could be the Sabres who bring Wild the much-needed relief. I'm thinking of Reinhart because I was convinced of his play as a center late in the season. He was almost point-per-game and thrived in his new position. I could see him upping his game like Sam Bennett did with Florida this past season. And if he doesn't work out as a center, the Wild would have a proven 25-goal-winger. I don't see that much risk in acquiring him.
I also think it would be better for the Wild to have two 1B centers (Reinhart, Ek) rather than trying to go for Eichel or a similar elite center who would cost the moon from the sky.
I have seen a lot of Sabres fans giving Reinhart 8-year deals and over 7,5 million a year. There's no way he'll make more than, for example, Kyle Connor ($7,142,857). Right now, Reinhart is a better version of Fiala, and he will get paid as so. I found a lot of similarities between Reinhart and Chris Kreider. Reinhart is a bit better than Kreider, but Kreider was an UFA when he made his 6,5M AAV contract. I think Reinhart being an RFA forces him to take what Kreider got, so I copy-pasted Kreider's contract for him.
After looking at the Wild's UFA players, I decided I wouldn't want to extend any of them. That leaves a hole for a bottom-line winger, so I went and got Joel Armia. He is a guy I've been following ever since he was drafted and I really like him. I'm wishing my team signs him this offseason, but now that he's killing it in the Stanley Cup finals, I believe there will be many suitors. I would be amazed if Wild wasn't one of them. He isn't an offensive machine but he does have some skills. Most importantly, I believe he would be an amazing pickup for the 3rd or 4th line that would really provide some great depth and boost the Wild's penalty kill to be among the best in the NHL.
The last spot on the roster will be tricky to fill, as what I'm left here is 1,1M to acquire an NHL-level player. I don't think anyone from the Wild's reserve list will be able to earn that spot so they have to go fishing for bargains. They could resign Bonino, but that would most likely be too expensive. I found many interesting options (Sceviour, Fogarty, Kuraly, Sheahan) but decided to grab Travis Boyd. I've watched a few of his games and even though he didn't blow me out of my socks, I also didn't wonder who let him on the ice. He did the little things well and had a pretty decent advanced stats line on a bad Canucks team. Boyd is from Minnesota, which sealed the deal. I gave him 2x1M so the Wild would have him on a cheap contract for a bonus year if the change in scenery makes him suddenly become a machine or something. He can also play center, which is a plus.
I don't have Rossi playing in the NHL yet because I really think he could benefit from a season in the AHL. He played a total of 5 games this season and all of that talk from him being close to dying due to covid makes me skeptical he is ready for the big show. The Wild really don't have a reason to throw him to the wolves right away.
I think Seattle takes Greenway. They will be able to get a lot of good goalies (Raanta/Kuemper, Driedger, Khudobin) so I don't believe they see Talbot as their future in net. Wild could try to play with picks and save Greenway but it could result in what they did in the Vegas draft. That wasn't pretty.
Rask is more or less a cap dump, so the Wild can afford Reinhart's new deal.
I really think the Sabres should not pick Owen Power in this year's draft, but rather go for Matt Beniers. However, they're the Sabres, they see a 6'5 defenseman and start foaming at their mouths.
That's why I picked Khusnutdinov over Beckman; he is a center, which the Sabres will need even if they won't ship out Eichel. Khusnutdinov has a high ceiling, and it wouldn't be nice to let him go, but the Wild also gets rid of Rask in this deal. It is a cap dump as well, so that balances out the values.
Wild aren't going to trade for reinhart. Marat Khusnutdinov is going nowhere. He was just drafted with Luke kunin trade last year, & is a top c prospect in wild prospect group.
Wild rather keep marat Khusnutdinov and 1st round pick than trade for Reinhart. Whose not a C. He's just not. He's a career 39 percent @ c.
If anything wild will go for Eichel. Also, Reinhart isn't better than fiala
Cap still doesn't work for wild
Wild have no need for j.Armia when Matt boldy, Adam Beckman, & connor dewar exists along with Brandon duhaime and Kyle Rauner for 4th line. Good chance bonino is coming back
Wild aren't going to trade for reinhart. Marat Khusnutdinov is going nowhere. He was just drafted with Luke kunin trade last year, & is a top c prospect in wild prospect group.
Wild rather keep marat Khusnutdinov and 1st round pick than trade for Reinhart.
Cap still doesn't work for wild
In this scenario, the cap does work. The Wild are under the cap by 150,000.
I understand it's hard to think about trading Khusnutdinov, but the alternative is to have Ryan Hartman as your 2nd line center, lol. The Wild can't afford to get anyone from the FA, so they'll have to do it via trade. top6 centers just tend to cost a lot...
In this scenario, the cap does work. The Wild are under the cap by 150,000.
I understand it's hard to think about trading Khusnutdinov, but the alternative is to have Ryan Hartman as your 2nd line center, lol. The Wild can't afford to get anyone from the FA, so they'll have to do it via trade. top6 centers just tend to cost a lot...
Reinhart isn't a C.. He's played barely 1 year as one. Career 39 percent in face-offs. Any team who trades for him as a c or sign him long term will regret it
Wild traded Luke kunin to select Marat Khusnutdinov last draft. He's not going to be traded. His connection with kaprizov is also a big reason wild traded kunin to select him
Well, wild gm disagree with you. Yes, wild need C"s but the GM is very selective. It's why he continues to have zero interest in Sean Monahan, & Kuznetsov
One last thing fiala is getting 3-4 years deal. If he wants more, he's getting traded. Wild GM don't want to sign fiala long term. So fiala is gone for a c.
A wild fan asked beat writer Michael Russo if fiala will get 5 years deal, & he said no.
Wild aren't going to trade for reinhart. Marat Khusnutdinov is going nowhere. He was just drafted with Luke kunin trade last year, & is a top c prospect in wild prospect group.
Wild rather keep marat Khusnutdinov and 1st round pick than trade for Reinhart. Whose not a C. He's just not. He's a career 39 percent @ c.
I've had this discussion before about Khus...and came away realizing how commited Wild fans are to him....and I get it: Khus has world class speed, plays real hungry, and as a prospect probably has a high floor- with lots of potential to develop a high ceiling. Problem is: on draft day he was seen as a project 3-4 years out...not sure how he progressed in D+1, but I believe he's still around 6th or 7th on Wild prospect chart...and still probably at least 2 years away from an NHL roster. This trade may or may not be the trade to upgrade the Wild C position for now and into the future...but it (or a similar type trade) is worth considering...Wild lineup does not have the time to wait for Khus to emerge in the top 6.
Reinhart isn't a C.. He's played barely 1 year as one. Career 39 percent in face-offs. Any team who trades for him as a c or sign him long term will regret it
Wild traded Luke kunin to select Marat Khusnutdinov last draft. He's not going to be traded. His connection with kaprizov is also a big reason wild traded kunin to select him
Well, wild gm disagree with you. Yes, wild need C"s but the GM is very selective. It's why he continues to have zero interest in Sean Monahan, & Kuznetsov
One last thing fiala is getting 3-4 years deal. If he wants more, he's getting traded. Wild GM don't want to sign fiala long term. So fiala is gone for a c.
A wild fan asked beat writer Michael Russo if fiala will get 5 years deal, & he said no.
As I said, even though Reinhart hasn't played center for a while, it might be worth a shot. He got drafted second overall as a C, so he definitely has some capabilities in the position. At worst, he's a 25-goal winger. What is clear, is that the Wild won't win anything with that center depth. Rossi is still a couple of years away so something has to be done.
Now, I don't follow Wild too closely, so I don't know anything about Fiala getting only short-term deals. In my understanding, the negotiations have just begun, so anything is possible. If I was the GM, I'd lock him up long-term, and that's what these ACGM's are for; what I'd do as the GM.
McDavid, Connor
$250,000)
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