Michael Russo: Dean Evason 5th full time head coach

[Uberdachen]

I like Boudreau but was honestly surprised to read in his account of the firing that he seemed annoyed at all, and expected it to end with him stepping out to the curb where his car was already running and fully packed.

Anyways, he’s gone, and Coach Creed at least doesn’t fill me with the dread some other established hires would.

 

[thestonedkoala]

Although the interesting part might be the 3 assistant coaches who have expiring contracts... including our long time goalie coach.

Honestly I hope that they decide to go in another direction. Mason hasn't been that good in like a decade.

 

[nt3005]

Honestly I hope that they decide to go in another direction. Mason hasn't been that good in like a decade.

I feel like if anyone will get some shakeup its going to be Billy. He doesn't seem scared at all to make bold decisions and I love it.

 

[2Pair]

I feel like if anyone will get some shakeup its going to be Billy. He doesn't seem scared at all to make bold decisions and I love it.

What bold decisions are you talking about?

 

[AKL]

What bold decisions are you talking about?

It was pretty bold to give Spurgeon more money than he should have gotten, more term than he should have gotten, AND full trade protection.

 

[2Pair]

It was pretty bold to give Spurgeon more money than he should have gotten, more term than he should have gotten, AND full trade protection.

re-signing Spurgeon was the easy cop-out decision. Adding all of the lings you listed are just what made it the wrong decision

 

[nt3005]

What bold decisions are you talking about?

Although many people here didn't like Bruce. It was definitely bold to fire him when he did.

I have a feeling he will make some solid moves for the team.

 

[AKL]

re-signing Spurgeon was the easy cop-out decision. Adding all of the lings you listed are just what made it the wrong decision

If we're defining bold as confidently taking risks, it fits.

 

[2Pair]

Although many people here didn't like Bruce. It was definitely bold to fire him when he did.

I have a feeling he will make some solid moves for the team.

I don't really see anything bold about firing a bad coach.

I hope you're right about Guerin, but he's getting quite a bit of love for not really doing anything in more than a year now.

 

[nt3005]

I don't really see anything bold about firing a bad coach.

I hope you're right about Guerin, but he's getting quite a bit of love for not really doing anything in more than a year now.

I think being patient to make a move or two is respectable. He was hired very late into last offseason so didn't have time to get much of anything done. This offseason will be a very interesting one.

We also saw what happens when a gm decides to go all in on making moves with Fenton.

 

[AKL]

I think being patient to make a move or two is respectable. He was hired very late into last offseason so didn't have time to get much of anything done. This offseason will be a very interesting one.

We also saw what happens when a gm decides to go all in on making moves with Fenton.

Granlund, Coyle and Nino for Fiala, Donato, Rask and a 5th quite frankly is a win for the Wild at this point, regardless of how you think each individual deal turned out. No GM is ever going to win every trade, but his whole body of work has left this team in a better position than before he took over. And if Rask had returned to his 40-45 point self from a few years ago? We'd be singing praise for Fenton. We would be celebrating him.

 

[2Pair]

I think being patient to make a move or two is respectable. He was hired very late into last offseason so didn't have time to get much of anything done. This offseason will be a very interesting one.

We also saw what happens when a gm decides to go all in on making moves with Fenton.

I agree that this offseason will be the make or break for Guerin. And I'm not trying to make the argument that he's a bad GM, I'm just saying all the praise is unwarranted to this point. You're last sentence helps prove the point. Fenton was the one who brought in Evason. Fenton was the one that knew Boudreau had to go last year. Fenton is the one that brought in Fiala. It's Fenton's people that drafted Boldy, Beckman, Khovanov and the rest.

 

[nt3005]

@AKL @2Pair

I actually wasn't upset with a single one of the trades that Fenton made when they were made. Although the majority of people on here were not happy. I understand Guerin hasn't done much yet, but for seem reason he gives me the feeling of confidence.

I don't mind the Spurgeon signing(the trade protection would be my only complaint) I actually really like the Zucker trade. I am a big fan of the Brackett hiring.

Unfortunately for us fans the offseason hasn't happened yet.

 

[AKL]

I just don't understand where the confidence in Guerin comes from.

Spurgeon should have either gotten the money or the term, not both, but he did. Full NMC on top of it. Spurgeon is a great player and we can definitely use him, but the contract isn't a good contract given our situation.

The Zucker trade was a no-brainer. Fenton tried moving him last season too. Hell, people even pretty much correctly predicted what the return would be. It wasn't really a credit to Guerin for trading someone everyone knew was going to be traded and getting exactly what everyone expected.

Firing/not re-signing Boudreau was a gimme too.

Fenton did more in a shorter time here for this franchise than Guerin has done so far. Guerin sat on his hands when there were two glaring holes for an entire season.

What I will credit Guerin for is almost moving Parise, though I don't even know how much of that is on Guerin versus Parise/Lamoriello, and frankly the fact that it fell through because he wouldn't accept anything less than a 1st round pick isn't great for him.

He also seems like a genuinely good guy and everyone seems to respect him, which has value, but not enough if he doesn't actually improve the team.

I'm still optimistic that he'll make moves this offseason and before the trade deadline, but his moves, and lack thereof so far, haven't instilled me with confidence that he'll actually improve the team. I'm not saying he's a dud, I'm just saying I don't understand the praise as of now.

 

[Minnesnota]

I just don't understand where the confidence in Guerin comes from.

Spurgeon should have either gotten the money or the term, not both, but he did. Full NMC on top of it. Spurgeon is a great player and we can definitely use him, but the contract isn't a good contract given our situation.

The Zucker trade was a no-brainer. Fenton tried moving him last season too. Hell, people even pretty much correctly predicted what the return would be. It wasn't really a credit to Guerin for trading someone everyone knew was going to be traded and getting exactly what everyone expected.

Firing/not re-signing Boudreau was a gimme too.

Fenton did more in a shorter time here for this franchise than Guerin has done so far. Guerin sat on his hands when there were two glaring holes for an entire season.

What I will credit Guerin for is almost moving Parise, though I don't even know how much of that is on Guerin versus Parise/Lamoriello, and frankly the fact that it fell through because he wouldn't accept anything less than a 1st round pick isn't great for him.

He also seems like a genuinely good guy and everyone seems to respect him, which has value, but not enough if he doesn't actually improve the team.

I'm still optimistic that he'll make moves this offseason and before the trade deadline, but his moves, and lack thereof so far, haven't instilled me with confidence that he'll actually improve the team. I'm not saying he's a dud, I'm just saying I don't understand the praise as of now.

Because he hasn't f***ed the pooch on anything yet.

Seems like a few around here want Guerin to make move for the sake of making moves. Who exactly was Guerin supposed to get to fill the 1C/2C spot and a goalie? Too many short term fixes for long-term problems.

When Kahkonen plays lights out you'll all be praising Guerin for not going and getting a goalie this year.

When Guerin manages to get a center for Kaprizov this off-season you'll all be praising him then.

Guerin has brought consistency and stability to a front office that was anything but for 14 months.

Fenton did more in a shorter time here for this franchise than Guerin has done so far.

This is just factually incorrect.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I’m probably going to die on Spurgeon Hill, but at least it probably won’t be for another 5 years or so.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Because he hasn't f***ed the pooch on anything yet.

Seems like a few around here want Guerin to make move for the sake of making moves. Who exactly was Guerin supposed to get to fill the 1C/2C spot and a goalie? Too many short term fixes for long-term problems.

When Kahkonen plays lights out you'll all be praising Guerin for not going and getting a goalie this year.

When Guerin manages to get a center for Kaprizov this off-season you'll all be praising him then.

Guerin has brought consistency and stability to a front office that was anything but for 14 months.


This is just factually incorrect.

Well, yeah, but neither of those things have actually happened yet.

 

[AKL]

Because he hasn't f***ed the pooch on anything yet.

That's an extremely low bar to set.

Seems like a few around here want Guerin to make move for the sake of making moves. Who exactly was Guerin supposed to get to fill the 1C/2C spot and a goalie? Too many short term fixes for long-term problems.

I don't get the luxury of having conversations with other GMs, so I don't know who's available, and I'm not ready to hold him accountable for not making a move if there really was nothing there. But players are always being discussed and moving around, there's certainly something out there us fans don't know about, and he should be able to make something happen.

When Kahkonen plays lights out you'll all be praising Guerin for not going and getting a goalie this year.

I actually thought about adding an addendum about this specifically. I'm not going to bash Guerin for not trading for a goalie yet, and since he hasn't gotten to a UFA period yet to sign one, I'm not going to hold it against him. He should have been more proactive about getting Kahkonen more games this season, he didn't. But you're right, if Kahkonen can be that guy for us, I'd rather do that than pay for another goalie.

When Guerin manages to get a center for Kaprizov this off-season you'll all be praising him then.

Again, yes, you're correct. But he hasn't yet, so I'm not going to assume he will or assume he'll get a good one without overpaying.

Guerin has brought consistency and stability to a front office that was anything but for 14 months.

Yeah, I gave him credit for for this, but again, it doesn't mean anything in the end if he doesn't improve the roster. That's his primary job, not to be universally liked.

This is just factually incorrect.

Fenton was here for one season, acquired Fiala. His drafts were overall very good. Donato is a good future piece if our coach can figure out how to use him properly. Fenton and his team left us with Fiala, Donato, and one of the top 10 prospect pools in the league, in just over a years time. Guerin hasn't done anything close to that yet.

Again, I'm not saying Guerin is a bad GM, I'm saying he hasn't done enough for all the praise he's getting. Can he get there? Absolutely. Is he there yet? No.

 

[AKL]

I'll join you guys in the praise if:

He can acquire a relatively young (read: 27 or under) top 6 center
He has a good draft
He makes other good trades or signings that help the team get younger and better
He makes quick but good moves to fix holes when they arise

He shouldn't rush out to make bad moves, but he should quickly be making good moves. Sitting still for 2-3 years waiting for the perfect move is not an option. And he's already 1 year into those 2-3 years without having done anything significant.

 

[2Pair]

Because he hasn't f***ed the pooch on anything yet.

Seems like a few around here want Guerin to make move for the sake of making moves. Who exactly was Guerin supposed to get to fill the 1C/2C spot and a goalie? Too many short term fixes for long-term problems.

When Kahkonen plays lights out you'll all be praising Guerin for not going and getting a goalie this year.

When Guerin manages to get a center for Kaprizov this off-season you'll all be praising him then.

Guerin has brought consistency and stability to a front office that was anything but for 14 months.


This is just factually incorrect.

He f***ed the pooch pretty hard on Spurgeon

He f***ed the pooch on this season by allowing Dubnyk and Stalock to be the goaltenders

 

[2Pair]

I’m probably going to die on Spurgeon Hill, but at least it probably won’t be for another 5 years or so.

Contract hasn't even started yet and is already affecting the future of Brodin/Dumba.

 

[AKL]

I’m probably going to die on Spurgeon Hill, but at least it probably won’t be for another 5 years or so.

I think 7.5x5 would have been a fine contract. Or 6-6.5x7 would have been fine. Giving a (effectively) 31 year old a 7 year contract at 7.5 with full trade protection until he's 35, and then partial trade protection after that?

I'm not concerned about the first few years of the contract, I'm concerned about the last 3-4 when we'll need that money and roster flexibility with our young players. Fiala, Kaprizov, Boldy and likely our top pick this year will all need new contracts in that timeframe, and although you can say Spurgeon is worth it now and we can worry about it down the line if he isn't, the trade protection and money he gave to Spurgeon combined will almost certainly cost us someone in the future.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Contract hasn't even started yet and is already affecting the future of Brodin/Dumba.

With the way Dumba played last year, I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.

 

[AKL]

With the way Dumba played last year, I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.

What about the way he played the 1.5 years prior, before the injury that clearly had an effect last season?

 

[2Pair]

With the way Dumba played last year, I’m not sure that’s a bad thing.

Dumba came closer to playing to his contract than Spurgeon did, and that was after they had to change the pairings back to cover Spurgeon.