Do you believe the core of this roster can win a Cup?

[DANOZ28]

also if ennis cant get the job done kunin is a good plan B.

 

[TaLoN]

also if ennis cant get the job done kunin is a good plan B.

I don't want Kunin forced into a role he's not ready for. He shouldn't be a "plan" anything unless he makes himself plan A by his play alone.

 

[57special]

Also gained Cullen. You're also leaving out that we are essentially "gaining" Eriksson Ek, because it looks as if he's going to be given every opportunity to prove himself. If Ek can be a legit 3rd line center, and Cullen slots in on the 4th line, I think we're doing pretty well.

Also forgot losing Hanzal. Love Cullen, but Hanzal is a better player at this point in their careers. I don't get how Olofsson is all of a sudden a proven NHL Dman. He's anything but. Same with Ek. A lot of wishful thinking going on. Look at how long it took Zucker and Nino to develop.

 

[Arturia Pendragon]

Also forgot losing Hanzal. Love Cullen, but Hanzal is a better player at this point in their careers. I don't get how Olofsson is all of a sudden a proven NHL Dman. He's anything but. Same with Ek. A lot of wishful thinking going on. Look at how long it took Zucker and Nino to develop.

Exactly.
Quincey will be a bottom pairing defenseman, but Olofsson has a good bit to prove. Does the potential improvement of Dumba and Brodin + Quincey and Olofsson offset the loss of Scandella, Folin, and Prosser? I can see it, but I'm so-so on it. Maybe Rielly shows us something and can take that 6th spot if Olofsson fails to do so.

And Staal, gosh I feel like little has been said about him this offseason. I truly don't know what to expect. We better hope we get the last season version of him again.

 

[TaLoN]

Also forgot losing Hanzal. Love Cullen, but Hanzal is a better player at this point in their careers. I don't get how Olofsson is all of a sudden a proven NHL Dman. He's anything but. Same with Ek. A lot of wishful thinking going on. Look at how long it took Zucker and Nino to develop.

Yeah, but we only had a month worth of play with Hanzal... and he was good and all, but we never saw what that team was capable of because the play across the board with everyone else fell off.

Thus the loss of Hanzal can't really be quantified like the others since we saw how good the team was with the others, but never got that same view with Hanzal.

I don't call Hanzal a loss overall as a result, because the team was playing at a higher level before he arrived - then crashed (no fault of Hanazl's) after.

 

[nickschultzfan]

Unless Quincy positivity surprises us, I'm really concerned about the blueline.

Although, BB is giving me hope that he'll finally put Suter-Dumba and Brodin-Spurgeon together. Our imbalance of our pairings has been a major contributor to untimely goals against.

 

[57special]

Unless Quincy positivity surprises us, I'm really concerned about the blueline.

Although, BB is giving me hope that he'll finally put Suter-Dumba and Brodin-Spurgeon together. Our imbalance of our pairings has been a major contributor to untimely goals against.

I'm with you on those pairings, though I thought that Brodin/Olofsson looked pretty good in their short time together. I can't recall Spurgeon and Brodin ever playing together. I'm sure it must've happened. Is it possible that it won't work out?

One thing for sure is that Brodin must be encouraged to be more aggressive offensively. I thought Stevens was good at that, and wouldn't let Brodin settle into a defense only role that he gravitates to. Spurgeon is a great role model for both Brodin and Dumba when it comes to supplying offense from the back end w/o hurting the D.

I do think that Reilly has a chance to be an effective NHL'er. He has all the tools.

 

[nickschultzfan]

I'm with you on those pairings, though I thought that Brodin/Olofsson looked pretty good in their short time together. I can't recall Spurgeon and Brodin ever playing together. I'm sure it must've happened. Is it possible that it won't work out?

One thing for sure is that Brodin must be encouraged to be more aggressive offensively. I thought Stevens was good at that, and wouldn't let Brodin settle into a defense only role that he gravitates to. Spurgeon is a great role model for both Brodin and Dumba when it comes to supplying offense from the back end w/o hurting the D.

I do think that Reilly has a chance to be an effective NHL'er. He has all the tools.

I think Reilly's main problem is that he's got to beat out Olofsson AND hope that Quincy is reliable defensively to a point where BB can trust a Reilly-Quincy bottom pairing.

That, or Olofsson demonstrates that he can also play RD.

 

[Wildfish]

Also forgot losing Hanzal. Love Cullen, but Hanzal is a better player at this point in their careers. .

Seriously? You're comparing Cullen and Hanzal?

Cullen - $1 mil base, possible $700K in bonuses for a year.

Hanzal - $4.75 mil per for THREE years.

Let's keep making nonsense comparisons, apples to lawn chairs...

And forget real world things like Hanzal just might be the slowest player in the NHL, there's no way the Wild could fit that albatross contract into their payroll, a three year contract for a grossly over-rated player would block prospects like EEk or Kunin...

I was OK with the Hanzal/White trade at the time, but in retrospect it blows my mind that anyone wouldn't label it a total train wreck. Hanzal was a horrible fit. A big, at best moderately talented, super slow motion player on a team, that had success as a speed transition/possession team... Classic BAD fit.

 

[nt3005]

Seriously? You're comparing Cullen and Hanzal?

Cullen - $1 mil base, possible $700K in bonuses for a year.

Hanzal - $4.75 mil per for THREE years.

Let's keep making nonsense comparisons, apples to lawn chairs...

And forget real world things like Hanzal just might be the slowest player in the NHL, there's no way the Wild could fit that albatross contract into their payroll, a three year contract for a grossly over-rated player would block prospects like EEk or Kunin...

I was OK with the Hanzal/White trade at the time, but in retrospect it blows my mind that anyone wouldn't label it a total train wreck. Hanzal was a horrible fit. A big, at best moderately talented, super slow motion player on a team, that had success as a speed transition/possession team... Classic BAD fit.

Hanzal was far from a train wreck, he played really well during his time with the Wild. White is terrible, not Hanzal.

 

[123TripleDoge]

Seriously? You're comparing Cullen and Hanzal?

Cullen - $1 mil base, possible $700K in bonuses for a year.

Hanzal - $4.75 mil per for THREE years.

Let's keep making nonsense comparisons, apples to lawn chairs...

And forget real world things like Hanzal just might be the slowest player in the NHL, there's no way the Wild could fit that albatross contract into their payroll, a three year contract for a grossly over-rated player would block prospects like EEk or Kunin...

I was OK with the Hanzal/White trade at the time, but in retrospect it blows my mind that anyone wouldn't label it a total train wreck. Hanzal was a horrible fit. A big, at best moderately talented, super slow motion player on a team, that had success as a speed transition/possession team... Classic BAD fit.

You're way off on Hazal, he was one of the more solid players at the end of the year and in the playoffs.

Also, contracts are irrelevant when discussing a possible drop off in a teams play