Wild Offseason

[RuKiddingMe]

Personally I think giving up Huala would be a mistake, he's seems to have a head for the game and I see him becoming the definition of a clutch player.

I totally agree on Brod he seems to be kind of lazy or maybe just floating through and there were some turnovers by him late last year that were real head scratchers for me.

[CaptainMusky]

No way would I trade Haula at this point. Maybe in a year or two down the road if someone from the farm system develops, but at this point I havent seen anyone else with the upside he showed last year and into the playoffs. He deserves the ice. Great on SH situations too. He and Cooke were beasts out there. I wouldnt be surprised if they get a half dozen shorties this year between them.

[CaptainMusky]

Im taking the boys to the developmental camp scrimmage at the X on Monday night. My middle boy said "Dad, I want to play though". LOL

Should be fun to see some of these young kids up close. Really intrigued about this Folin and Olofsson.

[10,000 Casts]

The wild have a big choice to make and that's whether to go all in and go after the Cup this season and next and risk their long term future or to manage this team as a year in and year out playoff contender over the next 6-10 years. Pretty unlikely that they could have both. So they either have to trade prospects or sit tight and develop.

I would think a package of Zucker, Brodziak and a pick would be pretty attractive package. The only way I would trade Brodin or Dumba is for an All Star caliber Dman.

We all agree that we need a big physical Dman but I don't think we should have to mortgage our future to get one.

So what do you guys want? Trade prospects for veterans and go after the cup now? or Develop our prospects and hope Parise Suter Vanek and Pomminville can still play at a high level in 4-5 years?

[10,000 Casts]

In other news, the Ducks signed Dany Hot Wheels Heatley to a 1 year $1m deal. Can't wait until Oct 17!

[bbfenatic]

In other news, the Ducks signed Dany Hot Wheels Heatley to a 1 year $1m deal. Can't wait until Oct 17!

Saw that and had to laugh! You think he looked out of place with the Wild wait till he tries to keep up with those big boys....my guess he won't play much if at all.

[archerystud]

Really intrigued about this Folin and Olofsson.

[solbes]

Buh-Bye...Tear

[Bear55]

Never trade Brodin, he's only 20 and thinking about Haula and Folin coming in around 23 years old should tell you the story. Brodin will put on some weight in time. Big D are nice But only if they cam move the puck, otherwise they can be a huge liability.

Koivu still has tons of value and is a work horse, trading him totally guts our center depth.

I also feel the Wild are pretty close to all in the next few years, Fletcher is still keeping an eye on the future so we don't lose any of the kids but we are now at or very close to contender status. Need a little help on the back end and maybe in net but we can address those things at the trade deadline or the next free agency period if needed. I like that we didn't shell out a ton of money for Stoner or Mitchell, lots of room for our young D core to grow.

[PierBridge]

Good stuff guys.

I think Bears take is the most logical. I cant see trading any of our young talent and like stated above Koivus contract makes him un tradeable.

This is our team and it looks good on paper.

[OnAFly]

Koivu is a great 2/3rd line center. Yeah, he's overpaid, but really not by much and the standard for pay is increasing in the NHL. At 6.75mil, he's not too bad considering he goes out there every night and pretty much shuts down the opposing team's best lines and pots a few goals along the way. Also, Koivu has a NTC, so he pretty much wold have his own pick at any team we would try to trade him so, making his movement even more difficult.

As for the now or later question. I say keep on the path we've started and develop our young cor so that we have a legit chance at a cup for 4-5 years.

[10,000 Casts]

Quote:

but really not by much and the standard for pay is increasing in the NHL.

That's true, I'd take Koivu over most of the free agents that were signed this year. Ya he makes $2m yr too much but we have the cap space and he is a solid all around big body center that can play on anyline with anyone and has a sick backhand in shootouts. I'd like to see him get a lillt lighter on his feet and I think he'd be able to be in better position more often and score more goals.

[crothmeier]

Keep in mind Koivu was dealing with that ankle injury/surgery for most of the season. With him you know what you're going to get game in and game out, and that's worth a little more $$.

i'd like to see more angry Koivu on a daily basis though. The Av's really got him riled up in that playoff series.

+1 on not betting the farm this year. Let the kids develop with the All Stars and have a legitimate chance at the cup for the next 4-5 years. sometime in that time period snag the right player if they come available and bet on it at that time.

[bbfenatic]

Koivu "Love Fest" going on....join in!

[CaptainMusky]

I have been a long critic of Koivu, but after taking a deep breath, the Wild certainly could do a lot worse than him. He usually is a steady consistent player, but I do expect more out of him for what he is paid. True, the salary is actually dropping relative to some of the new deals being made, but that just proves the point he was FAR overpaid for years prior.

Watch out for that backhand on shootouts!

[Bear55]

Koivu "Love Fest" going on....join in!

My cue if we were to put Koivu up for trade right now teams would be tripping themselves to get in line. No he isn't elite but he is a great depth center that is very good at a lot of things. We don't have any Kanes Toes Crosbys Malkins on this team, if we get to a cup its with some amazing depth and trading koivu guts us of that depth.

[PierBridge]

I wasnt inferring Koivu was is overpaid. Just that trading him is more difficult with a higher salary.

If you follow hockey at all id hope you realize how good Koviu is all around when healthy.

[PierBridge]

Does signing Jordan Schroeder do anything for anybody?

[CaptainMusky]

Its a depth move if anything. Should bolster Iowa and bring a guy with NHL experience there. He could see some time with the big club but I don't see him spending significant time there without injuries.

[PierBridge]

Wild.com will live stream Monday's Green vs. White Development Camp scrimmage.

[CaptainMusky]

I'll do play by play since I will be there.

[OnAFly]

Does signing Jordan Schroeder do anything for anybody?

It's depth. If anything, it will force our AHL guys to be better. HAving a good farm team is crucial to developing your future NHL'ers.

He might get a crack at the NHL in an injury situation over the contract, but I really see this as an AHL signing only.

[RK]

Re: Schroeder signing... a good depth deal, not much more. The Iowa Wild were awful last year, so they're really cleaning house, and bringing guys like him in, with some NHL experience and a little bit of skill, is probably more about trying to rebuild the farm than anything else.

Koivu: I'm certainly one of his defenders, and the volume of bile directed his way baffles me sometimes. He's a solid two-way center, plays a fairly heavy game, plays in all situations and is very good in the faceoff circle. For those reasons alone, he's an asset to the team. The West in general and the Central Division in particular is loaded with teams that are strong up the middle. You need guys like Koivu to go up against the Kopitars, Toews, etc.

Is he overpaid for what he produces? Probably. But, you have to go back to the context that contract was signed in. Fletcher had just taken over the team, and it was a mess. No prospects in the pipeline to speak of (Cuma was their top prospect, and he's never even had a sniff of the NHL). The previous GM had traded away draft picks like they were souvenir pucks. The NHL roster was mediocre in the most generous of assessments and the team was barely above .500. The fan base was getting restless for a winner. The team's one blue ribbon star - Gaborik - had just walked for nothing as a free agent. Koivu was one of the few remaining significant assets (Brent Burns was the other, and his contract was up the next year), was the team captain, young enough to be the part of the future core of the team...and he was a pending UFA.

Fletcher didn't have a choice but to sign him to a long term deal, and probably overpay on the back end of the contract as a result. It showed a commitment to keeping quality players here, showed ownership was willing to spend to get good players, and show the fan base that they were committed to winning here. There's no way the fan base would have tolerated a few years of finishing in the basement while they gathered top 5 draft picks to build like the Blackhawks, Pens or Blues did (and no guarantee that works in the first place. See: Oilers, Edmonton). A blank slate rebuild wasn't in the cards.

So they more or less had to sign Koivu. They don't, and they're the Florida Panthers, going through a coach every two years and playing for a half-empty building. Forget Suter/Parise - they're the Oilers, signing Benoit freaking Pouliot for $4M/year just to get him to come there.

At the time, Koivu's contract was a lot less about signing a player based on his production than it was committing to the organization and the fan base. In that context, his contract was a no-brainer.

[CaptainMusky]

Certainly with the talent now on the roster koivu can play a role more suited for him like you say RK.

He is a solid player at both ends but when he was the guy we counted on to score he just wasn't that guy. Playing a role to shut down other top lines is far better for him than counting on him to lead a line to the scoring IMO.

He's effective when put in the right position and not set up to fail.

I'm more cooled off the trade him talk now due to what other players we have now. I say keep him to maintain depth.

[OnAFly]

RK - the best part of that post was the the Oilers jabs Honestly, how could you possibly have a terrible team after what, 4 straight #1 picks? That organization is incompetent from top to bottom. Just google what Bryz had to say about it after getting traded and going to on Wild practice. There's another player out there who said much of the same after leaving, but I can't remember who it was.