2020-21 Minnesota Wild Fans Speak Pre-Season Edition: Part 2 of 3

While we probably settle to celebrate the holidays remotely and refrain from some of our usual activities, the return of NHL hockey will bring some sense of normalcy to our lives.  With NHL training camps set to open Dec. 31st for the teams that didn’t ‘qualify’ for the playoffs and January 3rd for those who did make last year’s post season clubs will be preparing for what will likely be another blitz of a season.  How do fans see this season unfolding?

Ricky – Hi I’m Ricky Sangha, a born and bred Vancouverite who is a passionate Canucks fan and lover of the game of hockey.  I have owned Canucks season tickets for the last 5 years and I look forward to every trip I can make to the rink.

Jodi (@Jodi_halvy) – My name is Jodi, I have been a Minnesota Wild season ticket holder for the last 15 years with my dad.  We share a passion for hockey, and even through the ups and downs of cheering for a franchise that tends to disappoint, we are still huge Wild fans!  We both fall in to the trap of consistently being overly optimistic about this team and then watching them unravel at different points throughout the season, we will continue to show up for the State of Hockey though!

Aaron (@AngryFinn) – I am the former host of @3InTheBox and the man behind ZMODEM (link to bandcamp) and Gabber Nullification Project.

Justin (@deast2004) – My name is Justin Bakke and I am an avid hockey fan at all levels of the game. I grew up in Duluth watching Duluth East and the UMD Bulldogs play. I spent quite a few nights at the DECC watching UMD in the pre-championship years and love what the program has become. Also, don’t mention the 1996 State Tournament to me, it still stings. I grew up playing hockey which included playing in the Lester Park
and Duluth East system through Bantams. I was a North Stars fan before their departure when I was seven years old.  I still have pictures of me wearing my Dad’s North Stars jersey as a kid.  I became an
Avalanche fan because of Joe Sakic, but quickly switched my allegiance back to Minnesota when the Wild arrived in 2000. With this, I help run a few social media accounts. This includes the Kaprizov Kountdown, UMD Bulldogs Pipeline, co-admin of Wild Prospects & Young Players, and co-host the Sound the Foghorn Podcast. The Kountdown page ended up being followed by Kirill Kaprizov himself, and was featured in a Michael Russo article.  Now I have a family that includes a wife and three kids. The
beginning stages of teaching my kids to skate have begun, as I look to pass on the passion and Minnesota tradition on to them, and hopefully instill the love of hockey.

Joey (@BravetheWild) – I’m 41 years old, and have been a fulltime hockey fan since the 1990-1991 season, particularly the North Stars magical run to the Stanley Cup Finals.  Like most of us, I was devastated to see my favorite team in the world move away, and was equally frustrated by being teased with the possibilities that didn’t work out with the Oilers, Jets, and Whalers. June 1997 will always have a special place in my heart, as the original birth of the Minnesota Wild.  I’ve always seen myself as a radio host and a writer, and I eventually got the Brave The Wild Podcast started in August 2008, and have been doing it ever since.  I became a late bloomer when it comes to hockey writing when I joined Gone Puck Wild just this past fall, not sure what I was waiting for, but better late than never.  I also proudly write for mnwprospects, covering the QMJHL and BCHL, keeping up with Wild prospects in those respective leagues.

Brian – I’m Brian Felska and have been a long time hockey fan at all levels.  Growing up in outstate Minnesota in the 50’s and 60’s where it was tough to participate in hockey as a school sport.  The only school teams were in the metropolitan area or in northern Minnesota.  We did spend a lot of time at the rink skating, shooting, and playing pickup games.  We had very little formal coaching but did have rec. teams from junior high on.  Seasonal high school sports took the spotlight but I did manage to play some hockey in my senior high years.  When I was in college the St. Cloud State program was in its infancy just switching from club to a varsity sport.  Even then the players shoveled their own rinks.  I was lucky enough to coach some peewee teams before starting a family.  I have always enjoyed the speed and physically of sports so hockey was I game I loved.

Ricky:  One of the more exciting and stressful times for NHL GM’s is when they have players who have expiring contracts at seasons end, and what that means is decisions to either re-sign players at affordable costs or simply walk away.  The Minnesota Wild have 8 contracts set to expire in 2021, three of those contracts are those of newly acquired forwards Nick Bonino, Marcus Johansson and Nick Bjugstad.  The Wild will have roughly 20 million coming off the books, and some of that I believe should be used to bring back Johansson and Bonino, who are decent top 6 options.  Nico Sturm and Matthew Boldy are two prospects knocking on the door for roster spots up front, so I think you see a guy like Nick Bjugstad or Ryan Hartman looking for a new job.  Eriksson-Ek and Kaprizov are still young guys who offer a lot of productivity in the lineup, and should be brought back, of course Kaprizov will be at the end of his ELC.  I love Kevin Fiala’s game, the guy has a motor on him and he’s shown he can score clutch goals, and unfortunately for Marcus Foligno I see him as trade bait for more draft picks.

Jodi – I would like to see them keep Eriksson Ek, Fiala, Foglino, Hartman, and Kaprizov.  I have been watching Minnesota Wild hockey for a while now, and I do not remember watching someone like Fiala, who every time he touches the puck you can feel the energy in the arena pick up.  You simply can not wait to see what he might do with the puck, and it is so exciting!  I love the edge that Eriksson Ek, Foglino and Hartman bring to this team.  There is a grittiness to their game that I feel balances out the skill players like Fiala and hopefully Kaprizov.

Aaron – Keep: Kaprizov (duh), Fiala, Foligno (if the deal can be at market rate), JEE (should be cheap). Pass: Johansson and Bonino.  Flip-A-Coin: Bjugstad, Hartman.

Justin – I will start with the players that I think are the obvious re-signings. We should for sure be retaining Kevin Fiala and Kirill Kaprizov.  I look at those two as pieces that Bill Guerin is building around. I also think that, unless a sweet deal comes by, Joel Eriksson Ek will be retained.  He is one of the better young defensive centers in the NHL and I just do not see us letting a Center like him go, especially with that being a position of need. The next player I would want to see us re-sign is Marcus Foligno.  I think this largely depends on if he wants to be here, and what we want to do regarding the Seattle expansion draft.  Foligno has become a leader on this team, and I can see him getting an “A” or “C” on his jersey if re-signed. The rest of the forwards, in my eyes, depend on performance and where we are in the standings around the deadline.  I can see playoff bound teams come knocking for any one of Hartman, Bonino, or Marcus Johansson at the deadline.  They are the type of players that can really help a playoff team out.  Johansson gained lots of playoff experience in Washington. He recently had a very strong playoffs in Boston, too. Bonino has been part of some good playoff runs and has experience doing so with Anaheim, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, and Nashville.  He had some really good playoff seasons in Pittsburgh.  Ryan Hartman is that hard nosed player that takes the body. Something that is really prevalent in the playoffs. He could be a strong role player for a club. Nick Bjugstad is a player I am in the middle about.  I think he would be largely dependent on performance and how he looks after recovering from his injuries.  This is a prove it contract, and if he plays well I can see us retaining him.  I can also see us trading him for the same reasons.

Joey – Magically the ones I’d like to see gone, are here for the longest remaining tenure, so I guess they’re out of the question for now. *laughs* Kirill Kaprizov of course would be the no brainer of the group, despite the fact he hasn’t played a single NHL game yet.  Kevin Fiala is second in that category, as a restricted free agent I would hope Guerin and Co. have the parameters of a deal moving forward as soon as possible.  Marcus Foligno has a presence in the room that few a Wild player has had, but his limited production have him as more of a 50/50 chance of returning.  My personal belief is that he will be a Guerin guy, and will be retained for three years at a very small raise around 3 million annually.  Anything could happen with Joel Eriksson Ek, his defensive responsibility is invaluable to any team, and there is something there offensively, but is it enough?  He could be traded in the right deal, if someone else feels they can get more offensive production out of EK.  Marcus Johansson and Nick Bonino are wild cards, no pun intended of course.  Bonino is a great locker room guy, but his age and production may have him leaving as a free agent, or just a one year deal. Johansson, it really depends on his season, and how he meshes with his line mates.  His fairly poor history at center could also mean a one year stay in Minnesota, but we shall see.  Another scenario could lead to a trade involving Bonino or Johansson should the Wild have a mediocre or losing season, and look to unload veterans that they won’t be retaining.  Ryan Hartman is someone that is fairly productive as an inexpensive fourth line skater, with many years remaining in his career.  I wouldn’t be surprised either way if he returns or not.  My bet is Hartman is retained for 2 years around the same $1.9 million annual salary.  With his injury history, I doubt Nick Bjugstad will be retained, as much as I want to see him succeed, he leaves as a free agent.

Brian – Well, I am not sure about the contract status but I do have some thoughts on who needs to go.  Unless Rask, Zucarello and Bonino have great seasons they should be sent packing.  Even though he doesn’t carry a big paycheck I think Jordan Greenway needs to start showing more consistency in his game or he should become trade bait.  Bjugstad and Johansson look like they should be good additions.  Because of their lack of centers Rossi may make the team and may surprise us.

Ricky:  When you invest a good chunk of your cap space on defense, who are on long term contracts, sometimes it can come back to bite you.  Minnesota has 4 guys on defense who will be earning a combined 26 million in 2021, and 2 of those guys are 30+ years old.  There have been many rumblings of a Matt Dumba trade, but that chatter has gone quiet in the last month.  At some point, a decision or move will have to be made, and I think it starts with Matt Dumba, only because he would attract a lot of buyers, unlike Ryan Suter who is 35 years old and has 5 years left at $7.5 million dollar per.  Dumba has a cap hit of 6 million dollars each of the next 3 seasons, at 26 years old he could be a guy used to haul in some key pieces for the Wild going forward.  With a cap freeze at $81 million right now, some teams may be in tough trying to fit in Dumba’s $6 million dollars, and for that reason I don’t think he will be traded this offseason, but I believe we see him moved at the trade deadline or anytime before the expansion draft.

Jodi – I think if you are the Wild, you hope he comes out of the gates hot, now that he has fully healed from the injury that stopped the great season he was having two years ago.  If he comes out hot, I think you definitely try to trade him.  At some point you have to see what you’ve got in Calen Addison, Louie Belpedio, or Brennan Menell.  Are any of them Dumba, not really, they are different types of players, but hopefully our scoring will come from skilled forwards and we will just need puck movers on defense and not as much scoring.

Aaron – What’s the appropriate salary split between Forwards and Defense? If you look at it in terms of ice time, %40 is a little high, but not by much.
Let’s assume that we should count positions, not roster spots.  You’ll need several players to play center throughout a game.  We’ll give them a Kwik Trip gift card (to share) for the work, and give them a second card for playing both offense and defense.  Do the same for LW, RW, RD, LD.  You’ve given away 10 cards to cover the skater portion of your roster.  You need goalies, but since they only contribute defensively, they need to split a single Kwik Trip gift card.  You’re now at 11 cards, with 4 of those going to defense.  That’s 36%, and a long explanation to say that I don’t think 40% of the salary going to defense is that crazy Oh, and please don’t trade Dumba!

Justin – I think it is sustainable in the short term. I think that where we are at in the current moment, we have some flexibility, especially with the amount of contracts with one year left.  In the long term I am not so sure it is sustainable with having to re-sign players like Kevin Fiala and Kirill Kaprizov. Marco Rossi will be in the same boat at some point, but he will be on an ELC for some time.  We also have to consider money for free agents Guerin may want.  It may help that Victor Rask has two years left, which will free up $4 million of cap space as long as they don’t deem him as part of the future.  I also think it largely depends on what happens with Parise, too.  If those guys are traded/not re-signed we will have a good
chunk of money saved between them.  There are quite a few intangibles on both sides to consider.  I am not so confident that we trade Dumba by the expansion draft.  I felt like the teams that would be obvious trade partners filled the void where he would have fit in.  Teams like Vegas and St. Louis. With the flat cap situation it makes it even tougher moving him.  Unless a team comes with what Guerin really wants, we don’t have to trade Dumba. We can slow play it if we want to.  However, I do feel like he will be moved
at some point.  I also believe that with trading Donato and Kunin, we have made it easier on ourselves on who to protect in the Seattle expansion process.  Instead of possibly losing one of those guys for nothing,
we got picks for them.  We can choose the 8 skaters and 1 goalie route and protect most of our current best assets, including our top four defensemen. We will still lose a decent player, but the trades made it easier on ourselves in my opinion.

Joey – I would say it’s not recommended to have that much tied into five defensemen.  I also believe that Guerin would not have traded for fellow right shot defenseman Cam Addison only to see him buried in the minors or on the third pairing for the next 5 years.  Dumba certainly has a unique skill, but last year it seemed he was becoming more and more predictable, as his “dumb-bomb” was blocked time and time again.  Someone out there must believe they can get more out of him, and may be willing to offer a good price for him when the deadline approaches.

Brian – Without Dumba, I don’t know where we get the blueline scoring. However, Dumba didn’t score as was expected last year.  If that continues, we should look to look to trade him.  His defensive lapses and salary are not acceptable unless he is scoring.