Quoting: Caerii
Wild need quality NHL centers, especially if they're young and cheap, which Hayton is. He's been steadily improving every year, and he's still only 22. He's very much following the Eriksson Ek development path. The Wild would be very interested in him if he was made available.
The Wild need a star center that can drive the offense, play with speed, create plays, and
score goals. We need a Brayden Point, MacKinnon, Stützle, Hintz, Aho, Eichel, etc. Which is obviously easier said than done. But this is needed so that they can turn our 2nd line into a legitimate scoring line. Another Eriksson Ek won't accomplish that. JEEK can only score on the PP or occasionally on the 3rd line. We tried to pair him with Kap & Zucc on the 1st line and it failed. Then we tried pairing him with Fiala & Boldy on the 2nd line and that too failed.
Another JEEK is the
last the Wild need. We are one of the worst 5v5 offensive teams, Hayton isn't going to help us (as much I'd
love adding a 5th ovr 6'1" center). Trust me, I've looked into it and have
really tried to picture Hayton as a viable solution to an issue that has plagued this franchise since it's inception; however, I've had to come to grips that Hayton just doesn't have the offensive ceiling that the Wild need. We also don't need more JEEKs as that is what has doomed us the past 2 decades. We really need to stand firm in our mission to acquire an elite center -- regardless of how difficult it may be.
Quoting: TheeDjeeEem
Vali is an offensive dmen, why wouldn't the wild want him? What do you think he's worth by his metrics this year? He's nota rental and cheap next year
Fair point. tbh I didn't really look too much into his stats. Now that I have, Vali would be an excellent addition from an offensive dmen perspective. We have Addison, Goli, Dumba and Spurgeon that all can contribute to our lackluster offense. That being said, we all know Dumba won't be with the team come next season and Spurgeon is of course going nowhere. That leaves us with Addison and Goli. Given the latter signed an extension for less money so that he may retire in his home state, I doubt he gets traded. He's still effective and the playing time issue will be resolved once Dumba is out of the picture (as much as that hurts me to say those words). I think Addison would be a more appropriate trade asset to acquire Vali.
IMO, the Wild need to focus on 2 things:
1. Acquire an elite, goal scoring, playmaking, fast, strong center.
2. Open up roster spots to allow our young prospects valuable playing time in the big leagues. Such that by next season,
- Rossi is playing on the top line,
- Walker on the 2nd line or any line that gives him adequate minutes,
- Beckman on the 2nd line,
- Faber is a consistent starter