It's a free pickup of a player on a cheap contract who plays a role better than anyone who would have otherwise had the roster spot.
There is no downside to the move. [mod]
There is no downside to the move. [mod]
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Player Discussion Chris Porter
- Thread starter Minnesota
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Personally? I'd hope that the Wild would have at least kept Bulmer up for a few more games and at least try to fix whatever the hell his issues are. Or hell, Gabriel to justify his pick.
The problem I see with the Porter pickup isn't that we picked him up. It's that we have very little depth outside the NHL (including guys that are injured) that made the Porter pickup necessary. Fletcher has been trying to find someone that can fit on the 3rd/4th line since he came into the organization and still hasn't.
Brodziak was a great fit for the 3rd/4th line (though a bit overpaid) and yet people bashed the hell out of him and still do. Veilleux was a good 3rd line/4th liner, IMO. I mean why are we wasting picks on guys like Gabriel, Bussieres, Bulmer when we go out and pick up a fringe player like Carter or Porter right before the season? Or swing a trade for a guy like Rupp? Good thought is, screw guys like Bussieres, Bulmer and Gabriel, grab guys like Kaprizov in the 2nd/3rd rounds (or actually better guys) and stop with the size and grit drafting and just pick them up on waivers.
Bulmer was sent down because he needs to be playing lots of games right now as he hasn't been able to play as much due to injuries.
The role he'd play, and that Porter will play, is one of which will only be a part-time player. That would not fix Bulmer's issues right now. Playing in Iowa will.
The role he'd play, and that Porter will play, is one of which will only be a part-time player. That would not fix Bulmer's issues right now. Playing in Iowa will.
- Aug 5, 2011
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Giving a player a chance to justify his draft position is never a good move. See James Shepherd, Cam Barker, etc.
I liked what I saw from Bulmer during preseason. Wish he'd have won a spot.
HollaHaula
Cynical Wild fan
- Jul 28, 2015
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Brodziak was by far our most improved player last year. But before then, he was not anywhere close to being a good player. Constantly made poor decisions with the puck and would make boneheaded plays on defense that would cost the Wild a goal.
This couldn't be further from the truth. Brodziak was probably the most consistent player the Wild have had in years. He has always been a decent 3rd liner excellent 4th liner. Last year was the 1st time the Wild were actually able to use him in a role where he could excel.
It wasn't Brodziak's fault that he was payed more than he was worth and it wasn't Brodziak's fault that he was played with players and in situations where he wasn't good enough to be in.
The Wild will miss Brodziak this season.
His best year was the one before the lockout. That year raised expectations for him which he was never able to meet. He redeemed himself last year.
At 2.8M/yr. he was so-so. I'd take him back on the team at the price he's getting now (900K) anyday.
HollaHaula
Cynical Wild fan
- Jul 28, 2015
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I would certainly take Brodzy back at 900k. I just remember constantly yelling at the TV watching him play. It was likely not all of his fault. I consider Fletcher to be some at fault also as it seemed like he was ready to make some moves when he first was hired and overvalued Brodzy.
They have been gushing about Gabriel. Let's see what he can do; I guess that was a poor word choice. Not necessarily justifying his pick but justifying the praise he's getting. He fits what Porter should.
Dr Jan Itor
Registered User
What's the difference when acquiring Porter didn't cost you any additional $ or assets?
123TripleDoge
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- Nov 24, 2014
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And then you'd be complaining about gifting Gabriel a spot just for them to justify his pick / praise.....
Dampland
Registered User
So, they give him praise, but didn't look ready on the ice in games, but you'd rather have him in the NHL. Dumba gets praise and shows he can dominate games at times in the NHL, yet you'd rather have him in the AHL. Got it.
Because (a) contracts (b) give the kids a few extra NHL games before shuffling them down to the AHL and (c) let's see what type of depth we actually have. From this point, it looks like we have jack and squat for forward depth if there is an injury. People keep praising Fletcher's draft but after 6 years, we still don't have much depth outside the NHL when it comes to forwards. I didn't expect 2-3 years, but 6 years? There is a huge question about Fletcher's drafting of forwards. Defensively we're fine. Offensively, there is some questions.
No, I wouldn't, because I understand that injuries happen and things happen. If they kept Gabriel up in the season, I'd be curious to know why. But if it is an extended try out, that's fine. We've done that with a few of the kids before, before shuffling them down like Bulmer, Larsson and Graovac.
I'd rather have him have an extended call up and then move him down. Gabriel would have been protected from waivers for a little longer, so there is no risk of shuffling him around. Dumba is close to not being waiver exempt, which is a huge concern. Furthermore, Dumba could still work on his defense and fine tune that. Not to mention, the question is (a) are the Wild going to cut Suter's minutes to a more manageable 20-25 minutes per game or will he still play 25+ minutes a game (b) what is Minnesota going to do with Spurgeon/Scandella. They have depth, they have solid players and guys working hard to make it to the NHL, so how do we give them all time? (c) Let's see what guys like Olofsson and Reilly can do with some time in the top 5. Doesn't hurt to have them practice and skate with the team and manage their minutes. (d) we all saw what happened with Kuemper and waivers, right?
At this point, I'd be fine dumping a defenseman or two for some more forward depth. If we're that bad off that we are still digging around for forward depth, there is a major concern about how this organization and what this organization is drafting and how they are developing players they are drafting.
Having the kids waiver exempt but getting them experience in the NHL is huge. Gives NHL teams a TON of flexibility and helps with those bumps you hit along the road during the season. Minnesota has really never done a good job of managing their roster or their assets and their forward development and depth is questionable at best and downright terrible at worse.
Being waiver exempt is only huge if the player isn't ready for the big leagues. See Shepard. This is not the Dumba situation who already shows dominating ability in the big leagues thus waiver eligibility isn't even close to a concern.
Waiver status ONLY matters if you need to send a player down. Dumba is well past that point already. Period.
Waiver status ONLY matters if you need to send a player down. Dumba is well past that point already. Period.
Not really, it's really good for players that are NHL ready, but could use some fine tuning on other aspects of the game including leadership. Dumba, right now, is two-dimensional, he needs to fine tune his defensive abilities.
However, this is about Porter; the issue is that Wild is still having trouble finding good depth at the forward spot. This isn't whether or not Porter is worth it, it's a question about the Wild and their forward depth.
Dr Jan Itor
Registered User
Actually, they're finding their depth in one of the better ways that you can. Same with Carter last year. Picking up NHL experienced players for low money and no assets. This isn't trading a 5th for Staubitz, or giving Nystrom 3 x $2.5M. This is letting a 22 year old Gabriel get another year of AHL hockey under his belt before he sees the NHL (which is a good thing); this is letting Bulmer (hopefully) finally play a full, injury-free season in the AHL (which is a good thing). There is zero downside, negative aspect to this.
nickschultzfan
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- Jan 7, 2009
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Wait, we have been rightly criticizing Fletcher to signing journeyman scrubs to multi year deals or giving spots to kids who need seasoning, and the moment he correctly avoids that, gives the kids a shot buts sends them down for more seasoning, and gets a quality guy off waivers for pennies, we now want it the other way?
123TripleDoge
Registered User
- Nov 24, 2014
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apparently
I also remember how much flak CF got for not sending Dumba down to the AHL right away. He stayed with the team for a bit and certain people were freaking out
Fair point, but we're not talking about an elite talent that needs to put the tools together or even a top 6 forward that needs a bit of seasoning in the AHL. We're talking about bottom 6 forwards and depth players that could use a few nights in the NHL. It's also one thing to keep a player for a 9 or so game try out and another to keep a player in the NHL for the entire season when they aren't ready. The way we handled Bulmer initially? That was great. He had a good camp, but we sent him down after having him up for 9 games. The other point is that Fletcher doesn't trade these guys after picking them up. We are razor thin on depth, especially at center. Good teams are able to have some flexibility with their roster at the deadline and in the off-season. We've watched a lot of players just walk for nothing because we didn't have the depth to bring someone up to fill in for that position.
Overall though, if Minnesota is still trying to find a guy like Porter after drafting these guys like Bulmer, Gabriel and Bus in the 2nd and 3rd round, you have to look at your scouting team and the development teams in the AHL and ask yourselves are they doing enough to prepare these guys for the NHL, even if it is for 9 games or so? We're not talking guys like Granlund or Coyle here, we're talking about depth forwards like Haula, Bulmer and the likes. Guys that shouldn't be too hard to develop for a depth role and should be taken in the 4th, 5th+ rounds.
All I'm saying is what has Coyle and Granlund really done in the NHL? You look at the development of Nino and Zucker compared to Coyle and Granlund?
Bulmer should be ready by now. Gabriel should also be close to ready by now. The fact they aren't is a concern, especially if you consider that they wouldn't be in the NHL that long (we had a bit of an injury bug). Fontaine and Graovac should be ready soon along with Schroeder (who was just sent down).
The issue is two fold; (a) bringing up players that aren't ready for the big leagues like Granlund, who could have used a full year in the AHL along with Coyle or (b) not developing enough depth over the years. Depth players shouldn't be hard to develop. Top 6 talent can be (we're talking 20+ goal scorers). At worst, guys like Bulmer and Gabriel should be good to fill in spots here and there for injuries (like what happened earlier in the pre-season), which is why you draft them in the first place. You don't expect them to be ready immediately but after a year or so in the AHL, give them a few games in the NHL. I'm not worried about the Bulmer's or the Gabriel's of the draft really (other than why are we drafting these guys in the first place, if all we're doing is picking them up off waivers? Why not draft more offensive players like Bjorkstrand over guys like Gabriel if you can pick up Gabriel off waivers?). I'm more worried about the top end talent we've been drafting but haven't really developed.
You can always pick up depth players off waivers, which is fine. You can't really pick up a top line center like Granlund off waivers.
What has Granlund done? Have you not watched him play? He is one of the top centers in the organization and is still improving. Sorry if you think he's already peaked when he hasn't.
Parise has already said on several occasions that he loves playing with him, and that there's a reason he has slowly eaten into Koivu's icetime.
This year he's going to be on the top pp unit, which is sure to boost his numbers higher.
As for Coyle, he's moving back to the RW position where he has proven to play much better, thanks to the development of Graovac, our new 3rd line center.
Edit: Oh wait, I forgot it's all about goal scoring. Everyone has to be a great goal scorer to have any value...how crazy of me to not understand that.
Parise has already said on several occasions that he loves playing with him, and that there's a reason he has slowly eaten into Koivu's icetime.
This year he's going to be on the top pp unit, which is sure to boost his numbers higher.
As for Coyle, he's moving back to the RW position where he has proven to play much better, thanks to the development of Graovac, our new 3rd line center.
Edit: Oh wait, I forgot it's all about goal scoring. Everyone has to be a great goal scorer to have any value...how crazy of me to not understand that.
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Borderbluesfan
Registered User
Porter was a decent player for us on the 4th line over the years. But I have to think that Blues fans will come to value Brodziak as a much more valuable 4th line player than Porter. And we got Brodziak at a pretty decent price.
Yeah, I was pretty surprised he signed for so cheap. Would have taken him back in a second at that price. Our PK severely misses him already.
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