Player Discussion Kaapo Kähkönen

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Tyler Durden

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What has everyone thought of Kahkonen so far? I think he has been brilliant! I would also say this year a bit more better then Talbot. What does everyone else think? He for sure will get the start tomorrow (March 8th 2021) vs Vegas, after Talbot got roughed up in the desert vs Arizona, agreed?
 
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DemidovSaveUs

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What has everyone thought of Kahkonen so far? I think he has been brilliant! I would also say this year a bit more better then Talbot. What does everyone else think? He for sure will get the start tomorrow (March 8th 2021) vs Vegas, after Talbot got roughed up in the desert vs Arizona, agreed?
One would hope, but Evason is an idiot so who knows
 

2Pair

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I don't think I would use the word "brilliant" but I have zero complaints about his play. Kid has done everything asked from him since the day he was drafted.
 

grN1g

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I still stand by he needs to work on rebound control but I wouldn't have agreed before or definitely now that KKs ceiling was backup at best. I'm glad that was the narrative cause I have a feeling he took it to heart and he's out to prove that wrong.
 

Nino Noderreiter

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I think I would certainly protect him over Talbot, but he is not a reason to prioritize him over other important assets.

I don’t think that he’s really performing over expectation based on the number of shots and shot quality he faces. There’s a reason that borderline starting caliber players on other teams or worse (Dubnyk, Stalock, Talbot, etc) since the Wild’s current D-core have been together have generally looked like solid starting caliber goalies or even better than that.

I think that just about any NHL caliber goalie that’s borderline starter level or better will look like an average or above average goalie at worst with this group.

That said, he’s performing well enough and it would be nice to have a goalie that can perform at that level on a rookie contract. I wouldn’t want to get fooled, yet, and give him a Dubnyk type contract just because he’s playing solidly.
 

57special

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The plan was always to protect Kahk in the E.D.
Not sure about that, but if it wasn't before, it sure better be now. A lot of the reports we heard from scouts said that KK would never be a starting quality G in the NHL.
 

EXTRAS

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I agree. I think they would have protected kahkonen before (and especially now). Kahkonen won AHL goalie of the year last season, is young, and under team control aka rfa so will probably come in even cheaper than talbot. Talbot will be 34 yo at expansion.

Unless kahkonen had played poorly this season I think the plan would have been to protect him.
 

AKL

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I’m not sure that has any effect on the protection plan.

Well if Kahkonen hadn't shown what he's shown this season, presumably Talbot would have been protected over Kahkonen. Stalock getting injured (and then Talbot also getting injured) is what propelled Kahkonen's stock so far forward this season.
 

HotDish

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Well if Kahkonen hadn't shown what he's shown this season, presumably Talbot would have been protected over Kahkonen. Stalock getting injured (and then Talbot also getting injured) is what propelled Kahkonen's stock so far forward this season.
Maybe I'm going insane but I always felt like Russo has repeatedly said that Kaapo was the one they were going to protect even before this year started. Like going back to last season when he was in the AHL. While i agree with the reports about his glove hand, I think the Wild have always planned him being here for a while. He is the only for sure goalie prospect they have.

I think they wanted Talbot to be exposed on the off change Seattle would take him which would be a win for the Wild.
 

Dr Jan Itor

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Well if Kahkonen hadn't shown what he's shown this season, presumably Talbot would have been protected over Kahkonen. Stalock getting injured (and then Talbot also getting injured) is what propelled Kahkonen's stock so far forward this season.

Talbot was going to be 34 this year regardless of where Kahkonen played. It still wouldn’t have changed much (for me at least).
 
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AKL

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Talbot was going to be 34 this year regardless of where Kahkonen played. It still wouldn’t have changed much (for me at least).

I just don't know what Guerin is planning. He seems to be backing himself into a corner with the ED, and I'm predicting a Fletcher move from him in order to keep Greenway and Foligno. I'm not disagreeing that protecting Kahkonen was always the right move, I just don't see what his plan is, and I don't trust him to make the right move.
 

BagHead

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Maybe I'm going insane but I always felt like Russo has repeatedly said that Kaapo was the one they were going to protect even before this year started. Like going back to last season when he was in the AHL. While i agree with the reports about his glove hand, I think the Wild have always planned him being here for a while. He is the only for sure goalie prospect they have.

I think they wanted Talbot to be exposed on the off change Seattle would take him which would be a win for the Wild.

As I recall, they re-signed Stalock because they needed a goalie that fit a certain criteria, that criteria being a guy that could be exposed. Kahkonen was going to be exempt from the expansion draft, and Talbot would be protected. Kahkonen being this good this early sort of stole Stalock's spot, so Stalock went on waivers. I'm betting that Kahkonen's emergence has made Talbot somewhat expendable, so I'd be surprised if Talbot isn't the guy that gets exposed, but I have no doubt that if Kahkonen played in the AHL this year instead of the NHL, Stalock would have been the guy getting exposed. This is mostly conjecture based off of what I've seen and what Russo has written.
 
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AKL

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I think there is a games played minimum a team needs for at least one exposed goaltender.

Hamburglar most definitely doesn't meet that.

I don't think there's a GP requirement for goalies, just forwards and defensemen. I could be wrong though. In any case, Kahkonen or Talbot would both fit the exposure criteria. Hammond is irrelevant.
 
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TaLoN

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I don't think there's a GP requirement for goalies, just forwards and defensemen. I could be wrong though.
Correct
One goalie who is under contract in 2021-22 or will be a restricted free agent at the end of his current contract immediately prior to 2021-22. If a team elects to make a restricted free agent goalie available to meet this requirement, that goalie must have received his qualifying offer prior to the submission of the team's protected list.
Seattle 2021 NHL Expansion Draft rules same as Golden Knights followed

Was Hamburglar signed for 1 or 2 years?
 

TaLoN

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It was just 1, as it was a plan Z signing while Stalock was supposed to be healing from injury.
So there's why Ham has no effect on the ED, unless we hurry up and sign him again. Doubt the legality of that for ED purposes since it technically would be a new contract though.
 

AKL

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So there's why Ham has no effect on the ED, unless we hurry up and sign him again.

Even still, you can only protect 1 goaltender, so it doesn't matter if Hammond fills the criteria, both Talbot and Kahkonen do. We can only protect one, leaving the other exposed, and filling the criteria.

The more interesting issue is what Guerin's going to do about the forwards. The only forwards he has that will fulfill the criteria are Rask, Foligno and Greenway, and it doesn't sound like he wants to let two of them go. E: Actually, Sturm should fit by the end of the season as well.
 
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