Wild 2013-14 season

[solbes]

Good call. Do it again, but with more positive outcomes on our road trip please!

That first goal was pretty. But then we had almost 2 minutes on a 5 on 3 and couldn't score. I thought Chicago would make us pay dearly for not getting up 2 goals early. Thankfully that was negated when Cooke had a nifty shot under goalie's arm, so it didn't really matter. Darcy with another strong night to seal the deal.

[CaptainMusky]

Heatley set up that goal again and it was a beauty. Granted it wouldnt have been made without Granlund's pass, but Heatley got it to him. He is coming around. I was a major critic early on, but he has been holding his own the last few weeks. Still makes me chew ice cubes in the defensive end, but those guys seem to have some chemistry in the offensive zone.

Parise missed a sure goal on that power play.

They only mustered what 3 shots? They seem to move the puck around low to high too much, i would like to see them move it more laterally.

Plus, Heatley was in front of the net as a left handed shot, with Pommer on the left side as a right handed shot and parise on the right as a left handed shot. Heatley could only effectively work with shots/passes coming from the right side.

Kuemper really kept them in the game, sure would have been nice to hold on for a shutout, but that kid can definitely play. He is in the zone right now. Good for him.

[OnAFly]

No kidding. Kuemper has really turned it around. Maybe those first few games were just jitters. His play recently has given me a little more hope for our future.

I don't know what happened to Heater, but he looks like an actual NHL player out there now. 4mo ago I thought he was headed for retirement for sure after this year. Now, it looks like he might have a little left in the tank for UFA this summer.

[10,000 Casts]

Quote:

Heater, but he looks like an actual NHL player out there now

I still can't go as far as to say he belongs in the NHL but he isn't a big a liability as he was a couple months ago..

Nice to see Cooke get a goal, I was really getting down on him after he's taken alot of stupid untimely penalties and hasn't really contributed offensively.

Where's Mike Rupp??? Anyone know?

[Musky Buck]

If Andrew Brunette can play as long as he did there's no reason Heatley can't, he needs to learn puck control and board work like Bruno, since Bruno is in our office maybe he's helping there some, I say we milk Heatley for what we can, then unload him when he has a bit of value and yes where is Mike Rupp ? Can't have Stoner doing the deed when we need it to be done. And Konopka ? Was he put on waivers and if so was he claimed ? Haven't seen much of him not that I really want to, he is dead weight really, do we have any scrappy minor leaguers or are they all Zucker like ?

[OnAFly]

ZK got claimed by Ottawa.

Rupp is our healthy scratch du jour.

We don't need a fighter. They're a dieing breed in the NHL. We need team toughness. I've been seeing a bit of it lately. We eff with guys in the crease after the whistle or if they do anything questionable along the boards. Nothing big, just a bit of a face wash or a shove. Before we were playing nice to everyone. That has to stop.

[schmitty3]

Great win last night, they needed it after the Dallas loss. The power play scares me. They look absolutely awful out there and usually take the whole 2 minutes just trying to get set up in the offensive zone. I know Parise and Koivu being out hurts, but come end of the year and playoff time special teams are huge, and they gotta get that going.

[10,000 Casts]

Team toughness???!?!??!!? Ya right, we have none and it will hurt us down the stretch. And if enforcers are a dying breed then why do 3/4 of the teams ahead of us have one?

[CaptainMusky]

There is a difference between team toughness and an enforcer.

[10,000 Casts]

I know and we don't have either.

[CaptainMusky]

And they have been winning without it.

[10,000 Casts]

Minny has made an offer to Buffalo for Miller! 1st rd, Heatley (cap dump) and a prospect which could be Coyle or Granlund. Heatley might have a no movement clause so that could kill the deal because we don't have the cap space for both of them. Also, Buffalo is supposably looking for a better deal.

wow, that's big move! They must be really worried about Harding's future and not have any faith in Backstrom. Miller is an UFA next year and will want huge money and he's 33.

[fishing tech]

I'd say give them Backs and Heatley. Buffalo gets nothing at the end of the season for him. I would love to see him here but don't over pay for him.

[OnAFly]

Russo and McKenzie are both reporting that rumors involving Min and Buf are false.

If that trade happened, I would drop the Wild and become an Isle's fan in favor of more sane trading.

[CaptainMusky]

I wouldn't mind a trade but for coyle or granlund? Hmm I don't like that move.

Buffalo wanted granlund in the pomminville trade. I could certainly see him being sought by them now.

The money for miller doesn't really concern me because they will have significant money to work with but that may hurt our chances for vanek.

[OnAFly]

We don't need aging players looking for one big payday. With Keumper going well, our goalie situation is very different from 2 months ago. Miller is not worth it, IMO.

Not a huge fan of the Vanek idea either. Too old, will want long term and lots of cash.

[CaptainMusky]

Let's say kuemper keeps up his recent streak, who is #3? Backstrom? Harding? I wouldn't hold out hope on either of those two. We need a solid #1 and currently we don't have one, period.

Regarding vanek, he is worth it. Far more skilled than anyone on this roster. Probably be less than parise and has more scoring ability imo

[OnAFly]

Kuemper would go back down to Iowa and come up in the case of injuries. With Harding and Backstrom, we all know there will be injuries and DK is a good backup to the backup for now.

[CaptainMusky]

I dont disagree with that, but what about having a guy that you can ride for games on end that is solid and isnt prone to injury? Kuemper could be this guy, but is still very young. Miller has proven he is that guy. I would love the chance to roll with him, trade Backstrom, but do NOT give up a major prospect like Coyle or Granlund in the process.

Once we cut Konopka we were about $3M under the cap this year. Bundle Backstrom, cash you should be able to get Miller, if Buffalo is willing. Might have to throw in a tier two prospect for good measure, but I would do it in a heartbeat. Just my opinion, but I think he is worth the shot. Backstrom cannot brush his teeth without getting injured and Harding, though I love the guy, his writing is on the wall unfortunately.

[10,000 Casts]

I agree with bundling Backstrom and a 2nd tier prospect for a goalie, it will take alot more than that to get Miller. And I don't see Miller as a rental, I would think he'd sign an extension with us. What they don't want is St. Louis getting him.. That would be very bad news for us having to play that team with one of the best goalies in the league for the next few years..

[OnAFly]

He is gonna want a huge payout when he signs next. I would rather not tie up 5M in another goalie. I say go with DK and ride Backs as the backup.

[CaptainMusky]

Thats why you get rid of Backstrom. He has been injury prone and inconsistent. His salary is $3M or so this year, take the $3M cash from under the cap and a player to be named later and dangle that in front of Buffalo.

We kinda have to keep Harding because no one would deal with that, plus with the current situation you cannot buy him out or move him anyway I dont think.

[OnAFly]

I think Backstrom's picked it up enough to be a backup at least. Keumper has shown the ability to be an NHL starter. Harding is still on the books for 2 more years, but is a ?

So if we go for Miller with:

Backs

Coyle

2nd rounder

We are getting the first chance to sign a goalie for probably $4-5M who is 33yo. Two things happen here:

(1)He signs here, we overpay for a 33yo goalie.

(2)He doesn't sign here and we get nothing and give up a sizable chunk of our future.

[CaptainMusky]

You have a point, but in no circumstance would I include coyle in that trade.

Backstrom is 35 and we just signed him to a 3 year deal. Brodeur is 41!

The difference to me is that Brodeur has historically been healthy. Backstrom, not so much. He always wears down, plus this year he was dreadful until a 3 game stretch then he gets hurt again.

Miller has plenty of good years yet and if he had a good dependable backup like Kuemper he could cut his ice time more and lengthen his career even more.

I would love to say we are set at goalie, but looking at how the last two years have transpired it has me more worried about that position than anything else. The goalie can steal you games. That is why Harding was so huge for us up to Christmas. Still leads the league in GAA. Amazing. I certainly wish he wasnt dealt that MS card because he is such a great guy and works his tail off, but I just do see a lengthy career ahead of him and I dont want to rely on Backstrom.

Here is what we know, Heatley is gone next year (I would think) that is $6M currently. The cap goes up next year (unsure on amt), but we definitely are going to have a ton of space.

[10,000 Casts]

Heatley better be gone.. Not even worth the league min IMO.

And Lundquist is 31 and just signed a 7 yr $59m contract. That's over $8m yr. I bet Miller gets something close to that.. And he's got a lot of interest and there aren't many goalies available. If I were a betting man, I'd say 4-5 years and over $30m is what it will take to sign miller.

Can Kuemper win us a cup in 2 years?