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RazWild

Member Since
Jun 15, 2020
Favourite Team
Minnesota Wild
2nd Favourite Team
Pittsburgh Penguins
Forum Posts
1749
Posts per Day
3.5
Forum Threads
20
Forum: Armchair-GM4 hours ago
Thread: Line shakeup
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>EccE</b></div><div>Teams have targeted all their defense towards Kaprizov, so pairing him with another dangerous attacker like Fiala could make them split their attention. It could be a welcome change for Kirill, who badly needs a goal to keep him from getting frustrated.</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>drmantalban</b></div><div>Exactly my thought. Neither Kaprizov nor Fiala seem to have a ton of space right now, so putting them together should theoretically open up a little more ice. I’d welcome some sort of shakeup to try and provide a spark.</div></div>

Thing is, I don't necessarily think that Kaprizov is flat or that it's necessarily his lack of goal scoring that's the problem here.

He hasn't looked right or been the same since he went into the boards courtesy of Morrissey in our game against the Jets. He's been moving slow and gingerly ever since then. He just hasn't looked okay since then. I think he's nursing a injury, and currently playing through it.

I'm not convinced moving him off the top line will make a difference right now.

As for Fiala, he looked his best last night when he was out there on a extended shift with Foligno and Hartman. The three of them together probably had the best offensive pressure and puck possession 5v5 for nearly a 2 minute timepan, last night. Maybe during this entire young season yet. Outside of the powerplay that is.

I would consider putting those three on a line together.
Forum: Armchair-GMTue at 1:08 pm
Thread: Turn it around
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>MNWildFan57</b></div><div>What do you think our plans with Fiala would be after the trade for Strome?</div></div>

Sign him long-term and not keep Strome, after the seasons done. Move Strome at the draft, instead. Strome is a middle-six center, his value will stay on par with Greenway's irregardless if you move him later on. Worst case, we get what we would've gotten for Greenway a 2nd time. But there's at least a chance he could go off centering either Fiala or Kaprizov, and if he does that, then we could get an absolute haul for him on draft day.

Given our cap issues after this year, you can't afford either Greenway or Strome past this year anyway. Not unless we decide to move on from Fiala. Conversely, if we want to keep him, Greenway needs to go anyway. But by doing this, this allows us to have better center depth this year, and we already have internal options to replace Greenway in the lineup as it is. (Boldy, Beckman, Duhaime)

Strome's a rental, nothing more. But he's one we can build multiple assets on for later, if we were to trade for him now.
Forum: Armchair-GMTue at 11:06 am
Thread: Caps future
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Sad_Siegs</b></div><div>Marat is still unproven along with the first round pick, i think you are over valueing prospects and picks rather than a finished product. But i do understand what you are saying, but the wild are a playoff team and will need to make a push to get to a championship level team. Marat probably wont bring that, the same is true with who gets picked.</div></div>

I'm not talking about a single playoff push for this year. I'm referring to the $12M in dead cap space next year and the $14M in dead cap space in the two years after that. Holding onto and keeping, then using, our prospects ELC's is paramount if we want to stay competitive during those years. This goes beyond just one year, this is more about keeping a realistic long-term outlook on the franchise than anything else.

In this regard, utilizing our prospect pool of Rossi, Boldy, Addison, Beckman, Khusnutdinov, Lambos, O'Rourke, Wallstedt on ELCs as cheap roster inclusions during the next 4 years as they make the NHL is more important than either a center or than two players who don't move the needle enough for us to properly contend. We're more than just a Kuznetsov and Hagelin away from doing that.

We won't have the means to properly go for the cup until the dead cap comes down in 2025 to a more manageable $1.6M. In this case the youth fits our timeline better than a 29 year old Kuzy. We're also taking on $11M in cap in this trade, and not sending an equivalent amount back. We have less than $3M in cap space right now, how are we supposed to afford this? The answer is we don't, and decline this trade for the multiple reasons I just stated above.
Forum: Armchair-GMTue at 10:38 am
Forum: Armchair-GMSun at 7:06 pm
Thread: Im still mad about this
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>wabit</b></div><div>He was only in the Swiss league because of COVID. In a normal year he would have been in either the NHL or CHL, there aren't other options. I have no positive or negative takeaways from his WJC last year, the rest of his team was awful.

He has played 2 AHL games and missed the last 2 due to illness. He was okay against the mostly AHL/Euro quality competition in the OG qual games, but nothing standout or special.</div></div>

No, Guerin mentioned the plan was for him to play in Switzerland, until training camp started. It wasn't Covid related at all. That was always the plan, he had zero intention of letting Rossi go back to the CHL.

If Rossi didn't make the team, he would go back to Zurich and play out the rest of the year out there.

Instead, Rossi caught Covid while <em><strong>in</strong></em> Switzerland. This was still 2-3 months before things started shutting down worldwide. At that point Covid was still <strong><em>upsetting plans</em></strong>. Not the main reasoning of them.
Forum: Armchair-GMSun at 12:39 am
Thread: Im still mad about this
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>wabit</b></div><div>There are also scouts that said they thought Rossi would be a wing not a center in the NHL. Even the talking heads at the draft said that. Rossi's size and skating/speed raised red flags for them.</div></div>

His skating reports are misleading. His edgework is nearly as good as Kaprizov's is. So speed is less of an issue there then one might think it is. Furthermore, he's also much faster than people think he is, he just rarely elects to use it. He's very selective in that regard.

His <em>height</em> is small. His <em>weight</em> and lower body strength makes it <strong><em>very hard</em></strong> to knock him off the puck. Multiple 6'2"+ 200lbs+ opponents have routinely stated how hard of a time they have in doing just that. He's not undersized in the slightest, he's just short. Despite that he's a literal tank on skates.

I'll conceed the part about the winger reports, but they also said it was far more likely given his weight and lower body strength he's most likely a top-six center in the NHL.
Forum: Armchair-GMSat at 11:09 pm
Thread: Im still mad about this
Going into the draft Lundell is who I wanted too. But that was strictly because I never thought we'd have a shot in hell at getting Rossi where we were slotted.

I've always liked Lundell, he had the best faceoff skills out of any center prospect coming out of the draft that year. Which is something that I knew we needed badly with Koivu on his way off the roster.

But do you know who had the 2nd best faceoff skills in that draft?

Rossi.

Lundell has shot up many people list after the draft, but Rossi is easily <strong><em>the better and more skilled center long term</em></strong>. And look, I get that you have made it abundantly clear you hate smaller players in the past. But **** happens and you just have to get over it, because it is far too damn early to be moaning about certain prospects this early into their careers. They're not even into their primes yet.

If I could redraft, I still take Rossi 1,000,000/1,000,000 times there over Lundell everytime.
Forum: Armchair-GMFri at 10:00 am
Thread: Deadline
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Radu47</b></div><div>Eeerk *record scratch*

Suggesting Beckman was the best looking of your big 3 prospects seems like a classic overrating thing also <strong>Marco can look quiet but is the master of nuances</strong>

You made a good well articulated case there but :s

Idk

The Beckman hype from wild fans feels cult ish</div></div>

You're Johnny on the spot with that one.

The bolded part anyway.

Of the three, Rossi improved the most throughout camp. He steadily got better as it went on. Boldy started off the best looking but tapered off down the stretch, but was having a hell of a 3rd period in his final game until he went awkwardly into the boards and fractured his ankle in the process. Beckman was always noticeable and played the best out of the three, consistently. All three were excellent during training camp and probably could of made the roster, just not in the top six roles they should be in. Top 9, minimum. Of the three, Beckman was the most likely to make the roster. That's why he was considered the best looking of three.
Forum: Armchair-GMFri at 9:47 am
Thread: Deadline
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Ledge_And_Dairy</b></div><div>I mean you are overrating him, he scored 2 goals on an AHL backup, 1 rebound on Kuemper after someone fell on him and 1 against a mediocre backup. Its fine to be excited about him but to say he's worth more than a top 6 center is so incredibly homer</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Marcsnack</b></div><div>Schmaltz is that top 6 C the Wild can acquire without having to give up Rossi/Boldy. The value can be changed a bit, but I wanted it to be close to what Dvorak got in return. There are other teams who need a top 6 C as well, so I could change that. Just felt like MIN was a good spot for him.</div></div>

And I highly disagree that Schmaltz is anything close to being a top 6 center. Or that he carries anywhere close to that justifiable level of value. That's where we differ, he may play in Arizona's top six but that doesn't make him a legitimate top six center either. Just because Rask played with Kaprizov last year, does that make him a legitimate top six center too? Of course it doesn't.

Schmaltz's numbers have been bouyed by playing with Garland and Keller/Kessel the last two seasons once Dvorak got taken off that line and replaced by Schmaltz. Funny how Dvorak's best season came when he was on that line instead, three seasons ago. After that, Dvorak's numbers dropped and Schmaltz's rose. That's not a coincidence.

Everyone considers Dvorak to be nothing more than a 3rd line center type, when in actuality he's more skilled and talented of a player than Schmaltz is. Dvorak is a middle six center, by his skill and talent alone. I struggle to see Schmaltz as the same or in equal light. Dvorak is what people think Schmaltz is.

And as I said before, this is based on my having watched more than enough of them over the years.

In my opinion, I do not see or view Schmaltz as someone worth giving up one of our top prospects like Beckman for. The fact I have a much lower opinion on the guy then you two seem to do, is in large part of why I dislike it so much. And yes, I may be *homering* slightly about one of my team's top 5 prospects in our prospect pool, but that is nothing unusual. That is something every teams fans do constantly.
Forum: Armchair-GMFri at 6:27 am
Thread: Deadline
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Ledge_And_Dairy</b></div><div>Im gonna say Keller is right up there with Chychrun in untouchable

Larsson is worth more.



Damn talk about overrating your prospects, Beckman likely wont be as good as Schmaltz</div></div>

Schmaltz is highly overrated, IMO, and I've watched a lot of him over the years. I don't like him, never have. Yes, it's my own biased opinion, but I'm entitled to it.

Beckman was the leading scorer in the WHL in his Draft+1 year, produced well in both the AHL and WHL in last years broken up pandemic infused season, and was legitimately our best looking prospect out of Rossi, Boldy, and Addison during training camp this year. If Guerin hadn't claimed Rem Pitlick off waivers, closing one of the original two open forward spots we had this year, he's on the roster <em>right now</em>. As it stands, Duhaime has paid his dues in the AHL and is NHL ready now. He earned that final spot.

That said, all Beckman does is score goals and shoot the puck. By an absolute f**k-ton. I don't know about you, but 4 goals in 3 games during a NHL pre-season, with 12 minutes TOI average in a 3rd line role is pretty damn impressive to me for what is apparently overrating a prospect who has grown from being viewed as a bottom six scoring forward when he was originally drafted, to a middle six scoring threat, to his current projection of being a top six winger as his new floor.

But yeah, sure, I guess I'm overrating him apparently.
Forum: Armchair-GMThu at 9:56 pm
Thread: Oilers acquire the identity line they need
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Radu47</b></div><div>Yup how there could be any debate on that is... *wild*</div></div>

<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>Radu47</b></div><div>This has to be satire right 😳

Like you seriously can't be making a case for

Foligno + Hartman &gt; draisaitl

The point about Foligno there is identical to steve simm*ns trying to say bolland was worth his contract because of a single goal he scored I mean yikes

Very faulty logic</div></div>

It ain't about value or talent there chief. You can have all the talent in the world and still have no team identity. Edmonton has both McDavid and Draisaitl and what has that done for them so far? Leafs have Matthews, Marner, Tavares and Nylander... and how has that worked out for them?

I don't particularly care if we win or lose, so long as we always compete and never give up. Instead of caving and phoning it in and just rolling over and dying, outright. Foligno is a major reason as to why we don't and haven't done that the last couple of years.

Draisaitl is amazing, but if it came down to having him or Foligno. I'd choose Foligno, just because I've watched the Wild have no heart for the majority of their 20 year existence. I vastly prefer the team we have now, and would take them over having another elite high-end player like Draisaitl. Over becoming yet another hollow empty souled team in this league, just like the current incarnations of both the Oilers and Leafs are.

But to each their own I guess.
Forum: Armchair-GMThu at 9:38 pm
Thread: Oilers acquire the identity line they need
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>drmantalban</b></div><div>I take this in a heartbeat as a Wild fan. Not even a moment of hesitation.</div></div>

Yeah, I get it. I love Draisaitl, he's a absolute beast. But my point is we don't win Tuesday if he's on the roster. Take out Foligno, when he's the heart-and-soul of the team, and we 100% roll over and just die and give up on that game. Fans are then 100% justified walking out on it once Scheifele scores the ENG. Stick a fork in them, they're done.

Sometimes, it's not about the talent. It's about a team's identity, as this poster is correctly seeking, and why he wants Foligno.

People look at the Wild and think Kaprizov is the face of our franchise. And our team identity too. They're only half-right. Foligno is that other half. Without him, we're stuck in the same rut we've always been in. Low-effort, low-energy, mentality that would cave at the first sign of trouble.

Foligno doesn't let us ever get there, or to that point. As amazing as Draisaitl is, he doesn't put us over the top or move the needle to contender status for us. Especially when our heart and soul got traded to make it happen. We're just a hollow shell of our former selves if we do. Don't underestimate what Foligno brings to our roster or our lockerroom, because while Edmonton definitely isn't getting full or near enough value here for Draisaitl, they'll be much happier once they've won the cup. Foligno is exactly the type of playoff presence they need and figure to get them over the hump.
Forum: Armchair-GMThu at 3:00 pm
Thread: Per Source
<div class="quote"><div class="quote_t">Quoting: <b>wabit</b></div><div>I haven't been paying attention, but why is Jones on IR? Another question; do you see Lodnia as a positive asset? He's currently refusing assignment to the ECHL for the Wild.

At face value this looks like a steal for MN.</div></div>

I think it basically boils down to just Jones for the 3rd. Lodnia would more than likely be just a throw in and a case of Anaheim taking a flyer on the kid.

Also keep in mind that because Iowa is pretty well stacked with talent at the moment its not surprising Lodnia didn't make the cut for the team. He's been leapfrogged by a lot of new faces in the system. And while the Ducks have a pretty decent AHL lineup themselves, I wouldn't say it would be too hard for Lodnia to make their AHL roster.

I could see Guerin making that trade too. Otherwise, I'm not sure why he's in IR. I see what I can dig up on it.
Forum: Armchair-GMWed at 11:14 pm
Thread: Accepting Nominatations for the All-Flow Team
Kaprizov, Rask, and Zuccarello.... also known as the Lettuce line. Granted it was from last year and Rask isn't on that line anymore but none of them have cut their flow as of yet.

Edit: But really, this is just an excuse to throw that tweet out there again... lol 😈

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ok, I said I was cooking something up for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mnwild?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">#mnwild</a> fans. Well I'm done. I'm genuinely proud of this. I hope you all love it too. Please take it and use it as you see fit. <a href="https://t.co/JeXayZ3bnR" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/JeXayZ3bnR</a></p>— Randomly Wild (@RandomlyWild) <a href="https://twitter.com/RandomlyWild/status/1375593445985779717?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">March 26, 2021</a></blockquote>