Wild 2016-17 Regular Season

[Bear55]

Lets not hit the panic button already, 18 games in and we have seen about half good and half dump. Still in a playoff position despite cooling off, not to mention we have played 2 less games than everyone else. We just need to avoid an extended slumps and get back to scoring.

[CaptainMusky]

Yeah, the expansion draft is one thing I hadn't considered. The obvious choice is Zucker. Heck, it is the only guy in the NHL who was born, raised and developed in Las Vegas and it makes an obvious fit.

I wouldn't be too concerned about losing a D because each team can only lose 1 player and if you do you get compensatory picks I believe so hopefully you can rebuild that way.

I guess to me we have to make a move and our position of strength is D so we really don't have much else out there to offer.

You could totally be right about the expansion draft though, it will be interesting to see what plays out at the deadline. Teams may not want to make a move in the fear of that draft looming.

It certainly doesn't help the wild with all the no move clause players they have.

[Bear55]

I would be thrilled if they would take Zucker but it's probably not going to happen. Many of our D are far more valuable and will have to be exposed. Heck they could pick a D and trade them for something better than Zucker if they wanted to. Sad part is the Wild got hosed during the last expansion draft, Vegas is going to start off with a  pretty decent team.

[bbfenatic]

58 minutes ago, Bear55 said:

Lets not hit the panic button already, 18 games in and we have seen about half good and half dump. Still in a playoff position despite cooling off, not to mention we have played 2 less games than everyone else. We just need to avoid an extended slumps and get back to scoring.

 

No panic here, remember my expectations are fairly low and with that being said....the only reason we are even tied for the last playoff spot at this point is due entirely to Dubnyk's stellar play....period. BB has made it very public that he is not impressed in the least...Suter has been good but like BB said..."that's why he makes the big bucks"....really no one other than Dubs is playing above expectations considering time in the league and salary being paid other than maybe Graovac, possibly Reilly...but neither has made much of an impact and can't be expected to IMO. 

 

I agree with Captain...with the depth at D that is our option in order to get a forward in return...and I'm not too concerned about the expansion draft at this point....it will have negligible affect overall as all teams are taking the same hit when it comes to the exp draft.

 

Bear...you nailed it...get back to scoring...but really here...who on this team can consistently be relied on for that? Staal leads the team with 5 goals, 71st in the league and also is tied with Suter for the team lead in points with 13, 69th in the league...who on the team can go on a scoring binge...no one....thus the problem remains.

 

 

[Bear55]

I've liked what I have seen from Coyle this year but no we don't have any game breakers, scoring will be by committee like earlier in the year. Parise is becoming a concern, he hasn't looked the same, hope its just rust and not lingering injuries. Granlund and Nino have looked decent but still a step or two below where we need them to be. Staal has been a pleasant surprise, and for the $$$ we paid he is a steal.

[Bryce]

Reilly? I'm more comfortable with Dumba attempting to break out of the zone and giving up 2-3 free shots. Next week is the start of an interesting roadtrip. A lot of time for practice. Be interesting to see if they fall into BB's system or go Yeo on it again. My bet is a players only meeting be adjourned. See in point Koivu long shifting the last ot. He should be sitting in Iowa or at least never see an ot again. 

[Bryce]

3 goals in one period. The guys apparently had a little different holiday than last year when Vanek ate two turkeys and a ham all by himself.

[bbfenatic]

Really can't ask for much more than 3 points from those 2 opponents...that's about as good as they can play. Road Trip time... should be able to get at least a split on the trip IMO.

[CaptainMusky]

The loss last night stings. That was a game they should have had. Pominville scores 2 early goals but it wasn't enough.

Is it just me or does it appear as though Pominville just makes himself look like he's "playing hard"? I really watch his shifts because he is one guy that really frustrates me and from my perspective it just looks to me that he is just wandering around with quick feet crossing over all over the place and doing "Bobby Orr's" just to make it look like he is putting in a ton of effort.

It gets so irritating when I see the Wild coming up the ice and then he abandons his right wing spot and basically trails his other two linemates which leaves the far side wide open with no option for them to move the puck over OR an easy up the wall breakout by the opposition. I see this happen probably 2 or 3 times a game with him.

 

Some of the quotes from BB are just comical. I watch the pressers just for his little zingers. Never disappoint. From the "we have 4 checking lines" to "I had to get 12, 11 and 3 away from the Sedins because it was always a 3 on 2 the other way" comments are priceless.

[CaptainMusky]

We should never have Koivu on the ice in a 3 on 3 OT...Wait, he scored last night. He is phenomenal in OT, finishes with the same move Parise tried moments before him and failed. WTG Koivu!

Insert half sarcastic, half praise here...

Needed the win, got it. Mcdavid held in check.

 

Parise is the highest paid 4th line player. There is still something wrong with him. His stride hasn't looked right in over a year. Hope he just stays off the ice if he isn't going to get it together.

[Bear55]

Didn't catch the game last night but Parise hasn't looked like himself for sure. With some of the younger guys stepping up and Staal it hasn't hurt us nearly as bad as past years but it would sure be nice to see him get healthy. You kind of knew his contract was going to hurt at some point, hopefully it doesn't start this soon.

[CaptainMusky]

Agreed. I am getting nervous about the state of out financial situation now, well, I guess getting MORE nervous. Toward the back end of the contract Parise's deal isn't so bad since it was front loaded, but the term is so long. IMO we cannot afford any more buyouts.

Pominville is such a buzzkill. Koivu has really played great the last 1 plus this year. No, he isn't going to win many races for the puck, but as long as he isn't on the top line I am OK with that.

Staal is doing a little better than I had hoped I guess. I was hoping just for solid play, but there have been a few games where he and Coyle we so strong on the puck the opposition couldn't get control of it.

[Bear55]

I think the money is front loaded but the cap hit lives with us forever. The NHL also penalized these kinds of contracts in the last CBA so we are likely stuck with it no matter what happens, not sure on the details but I'm sure we will hear all about them if things get bad. We should get some cap relief when we lose a guy to Vegas this off season so sort term we aren't too bad. Koivu off the books after next season, Pommers the season after next unless we buy him out which is possible. The Suter and Parise contracts are going to hurt us in the long run no matter what we do, it's just something we 100% had to do at the time to become a competitive team.

It's just too bad that Pommers and an injured Parise had their production tail off because some of the younger guys are having nice seasons and for us to have any kind of a chance at a cup we needed everyone clicking at once. Not that it can't still happen but it just makes it harder for us.

[hoppe56307]

I kinda wish Parise would have opted for the surgery this offseason and miss the first month or so, rather than to rehab it.  Its starting to show.

[CaptainMusky]

22 hours ago, hoppe56307 said:

I kinda wish Parise would have opted for the surgery this offseason and miss the first month or so, rather than to rehab it.  Its starting to show.

I'm not sure its his back that is ailing him now. It certainly may be, but what I have seen is his stride isn't what it used to be. His right leg doesn't seem to have the push it used to. Lou Nanne commented the same thing on Barriero's show yesterday.

It certainly could be his back, but he had a knee injury last year that he tried to play through and had a "lower body" earlier this year that some said was the result of blocking a shot.

I really don't think playing in the World Cup was a good idea for him. He has missed so many games the last few years only to add a few more on top of it? Not a wise choice.

On ‎12‎/‎5‎/‎2016 at 1:44 PM, Bear55 said:

I think the money is front loaded but the cap hit lives with us forever.

Correct, that is how I understand it. The front end he could be getting something like $13M salary and the backend $5M, but it will all average out over the term (13 years) which results in the cap hit of $7.5M.

[hoppe56307]

I agree he should not have been playing in the world cup.

[Bear55]

Well despite our so so play that last couple of weeks we are still doing pretty well. Really wish we could have closed out that game against Vancouver this road trip but its a long season and we will win/lose games that should have gone the other way many times. Wild are currently sitting 6th in the conference, we have the best goal differential in the west (+16) and 4 games in hand on the two teams behind us. Read somewhere our advanced stats are good too. Dubs is playing amazing, our D is alwasy solid. Scoring is still somewhat of a issue but we are sitting middle of the pack in the NHL so as long as the D holds we should be ok.

[bbfenatic]

Agree Bear...it was a successful Road Trip IMO and Dubs is "all world"

[Bear55]

Even better we are doing it with half of a Parise. If he heals up and goes full blast we could be dangerous again.

[bbfenatic]

25 minutes ago, Bear55 said:

Even better we are doing it with half of a Parise. If he heals up and goes full blast we could be dangerous again.

 

Personally I am not expecting Zach to play at a high level anymore...he is too battle worn IMO, too much time down low and getting beat on.  In the crease area is his game and if he has to alter his style and avoid that crease area to stay healthy he will not be as effective IMO.

[Bryce]

Parise to the first line for the homecoming game. Wonder how long the meeting between him and the front office went after the road trip? Was Sutter a part of it? Any over/under set for a players only meeting? Surprised it hasn't happened already. I don't see BB lasting the season. Doesn't seem like the type to put up with the clowns running the circus.

[bbfenatic]

Good game, some of the others are actually picking up the pace...Haula looks good, Zucker is much better, I like having Gabriel in there to toughen us up...Stewart has been a surprise.....and great to see Dumba hammer one home. I am not totally sold yet but it does appear they have something figured out...of course it does not hurt having Dubs shutting things down in a big way...now they just need to sustain it.

[Bear55]

Stewart at a little over a million is a great asset on the 4th line. Somehow he scored 30 one year so he is not without skill, he is big and can throw and mits and doesn't look out of place on short stints on upper lines. Liked the signing when it happened, even more so if we can get 10+ goals out of him.

Agree on Parise, I have mentioned before his style of play might not work long term. If he can get a little healthy and try and not kill himself working so hard he can play long term. Lots of question marks right now but at least you know he will give max effort night in and night out, he just might need to shut things down for a while and give his body a rest. Or worse get surgery to fix whatever and maybe get back if we make the playoffs.

I think the younger guys have stepped up enough where they can carry the load with Stall and Koivu if he is gone for any length of time.

[bbfenatic]

Interesting to see the comparative points after same # of games played thus far to last year.

 

Wild are Even...same point total this year as last year after 27 games played.

 

Columbus is +18 pts this year

Anaheim is + 9pts

Philly is +7pts

 

Dallas is -18pts

NYI and LAKings are -7pts

 

Many teams within a few pts of where they were last year.

[CaptainMusky]

That is interesting. Columbus had such a terrible start last year, but I would say they are playing very well, probably above expectations by a longshot all things considered.

 

About now is when the Wild are in the midst of their annual swoon. Lets hope it doesn't happen again! They are playing some very good hockey and Dubnyk is MVP and Vezina worthy at this point!

 

Parise started to look much better. He was buzzing last night. Good to see. I think whatever it was that ailed him is hopefully getting behind him.