Or Guentzel

Oof da. Hard pass on all of this.

yeah, penguins aren't trading Kap,

I'd rather just keep Fiala and I think that's too much for a rental. Love Hertl, but I wouldn't give up Boldy for him.

idk... after reading Russo's mailbag today we better do something big about centre, especially to keep KK happy. Might cost us boldy/rossi.

I'm in agreement there, but I wouldn't move one of those two for one year Hertl. Eichel, yes. If you read the article then you should have seen that Kaprizov wants to be sold on our long term plan and adding a good center for 1 year isn't a long term plan.

I think there could be a lot of pressure for us to go after Eichel and use Fiala plus one of Rossi/Boldy to get a deal done...

Lol..Maybe McCann for Fiala and a mid round pick. Kappy for Fiala wouldnt happen straight up. Pens traded a 1st round pick and their 4-5th best prospect for Kappy.

In what world does kapanen have more value than Fiala? Imagine him with Crosby?

fair enough... I honestly just feel like Hertl is the only potential top 6 available this year that doesn't have any red flags. Eichel, Monahan, Kuzy just don't get it done for me. Obviously it's risky with Hertl having only one year left, but you get a year to have extension talks.

In the Penguins world. He has more value to them than Fiala.

Fiala for McCann and Kappy is just crazy.

Rutherford is gone and any GM would have to be braindead to decline two players like Kapanen and McCann for Fiala. Conversely, a GM would have to be braindead to trade Fiala for those two.

I'm in a minority among Wild fans from what I've seen but I think you shoot for the moon for Eichel. The injury is a risk, sure, and there are some character concerns, but this guy could easily be a 90 point center and probably even 100+ point center next to Kaprizov. I would be hungry as hell for the playoffs after missing them year after year in Buffalo, so I don't think his compete level will be a concern. And if you're Kaprizov, getting a top 10 center has to get you excited about staying here long-term.

And to reiterate, I really like Hertl, but as a rental I don't think he does anything to ease Kaprizov's woes about our future based on Russo's comments, so you're still at square one on that topic even if you acquire Hertl.

The Minnesota Wild are good in net, and on defence! Their first priority should be to resign Kaprizov, Fiala, and Eriksson-Ek. After that, they should go after a TRUE 1c if they believe that they are a good team and could make a deep run. It was hard for Vegas to eliminate them, because of the backend, but with a good 1c like Jack Eichel for example, they could be a good team!

Yeah that mailbag definitely seemed to heighten the urgency. It's a long shot, but it's makes me wonder what would happen if BG were to sit down with Kap and his agent and say something like:

"Hey, we will get you a 1C. No question about it. But we really want to see what we have in Rossi before committing to something as major as Eichel, because if we knew what his approx timeline was, then it allows to potentially build a more competitive overall team. Let me get you a rental for now, sign a 6 year in good faith that I will get you a longterm true 1C either via Rossi or the market when we know more about prospects."

Sell Kap on the idea that our true cup window opens up when Parise and Suter are off the books, but do everything to keep him happy and competitive until then. Idk, if that seems unlikely, then maybe revisit Kuzy. Cheaper than Eichel, Russian connection and he does have elite raw skill. If BG really doesn't like Kuzy, then probably go after Eichel. That's my take anyway.

I have to say, at least you got a good contracts for JEE and Kaprizov, might not do 7 years on JEE and would love to have 8 on Kaprizov but the money is right IMO