Ogee Ogilthorpe
Tattooed Millionaire
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2008
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- 21,244
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It's now officially the offseason!
Lots of crazy shit flying around these days as we get to the NHL Draft Friday-Saturday (I'll be there Friday night!) and Free Agency officially starting next Monday. Hard to believe any of it.
A couple of things I have seen recently about the Wild, take it or leave it; almost all from The Athletic but not all of it. Premature, no doubt, but they recently ranked a bunch of position groups across the league.
Defensemen: MN Wild. Ranked 16th. - The Wild are a testament to the importance of figuring out things at the top of the lineup. Jared Spurgeon still grades out incredibly well, Jonas Brodin is holding steady as a first-pair guy and Brock Faber showed major potential in his first full NHL season. They’re not the biggest names, and their games certainly aren’t flashy, but they’re still more than enough.
Minnesota’s issue, though, is the enormous gap in quality between those three and their other options. Bringing in another top-four left shot to play ahead of (or behind) Brodin would drop Jacob Middleton down to a more suitable spot in the lineup.
Wingers: MN Wild. Ranked #1 (whoa!) -
The Wild can thank Sam Reinhart for their place atop this list. If he’s signed, there’s no question which team takes their place. Minnesota might be a bit of a surprise here, but the Wild are only one of a handful of teams with two franchise wingers. The model loves Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy like they are its children, which gives Minnesota a very strong starting point.
Beyond those two, the team is set across the board with Mats Zuccarello as a first-liner, Ryan Hartman as a second-liner and a pair of capable third-line wingers in Marcus Johansson and Marcus Foligno. That stability combined with the sheer volume of talent makes this a big strength for Minnesota.
Centermen: MN Wild. Ranked 17th. - For the longest time, Minnesota’s biggest issue has been down the middle. The Wild still aren’t where they need to be at center, but there’s finally some hope. Joel Eriksson Ek is a bonafide top-liner, and the emergence of Marco Rossi last season gives the team a viable No. 2.
Further growth from Rossi can dictate how high the Wild can climb, but he obviously has the talent to be special. Minnesota’s biggest need is for a third-line center behind those two. Frederick Gaudreau is a suboptimal choice for that role.
Lots of crazy shit flying around these days as we get to the NHL Draft Friday-Saturday (I'll be there Friday night!) and Free Agency officially starting next Monday. Hard to believe any of it.
A couple of things I have seen recently about the Wild, take it or leave it; almost all from The Athletic but not all of it. Premature, no doubt, but they recently ranked a bunch of position groups across the league.
Defensemen: MN Wild. Ranked 16th. - The Wild are a testament to the importance of figuring out things at the top of the lineup. Jared Spurgeon still grades out incredibly well, Jonas Brodin is holding steady as a first-pair guy and Brock Faber showed major potential in his first full NHL season. They’re not the biggest names, and their games certainly aren’t flashy, but they’re still more than enough.
Minnesota’s issue, though, is the enormous gap in quality between those three and their other options. Bringing in another top-four left shot to play ahead of (or behind) Brodin would drop Jacob Middleton down to a more suitable spot in the lineup.
Wingers: MN Wild. Ranked #1 (whoa!) -
The Wild can thank Sam Reinhart for their place atop this list. If he’s signed, there’s no question which team takes their place. Minnesota might be a bit of a surprise here, but the Wild are only one of a handful of teams with two franchise wingers. The model loves Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy like they are its children, which gives Minnesota a very strong starting point.
Beyond those two, the team is set across the board with Mats Zuccarello as a first-liner, Ryan Hartman as a second-liner and a pair of capable third-line wingers in Marcus Johansson and Marcus Foligno. That stability combined with the sheer volume of talent makes this a big strength for Minnesota.
Centermen: MN Wild. Ranked 17th. - For the longest time, Minnesota’s biggest issue has been down the middle. The Wild still aren’t where they need to be at center, but there’s finally some hope. Joel Eriksson Ek is a bonafide top-liner, and the emergence of Marco Rossi last season gives the team a viable No. 2.
Further growth from Rossi can dictate how high the Wild can climb, but he obviously has the talent to be special. Minnesota’s biggest need is for a third-line center behind those two. Frederick Gaudreau is a suboptimal choice for that role.
