Should Minnesota begin a full rebuild?

[AKL]

Yes, he broke his ankle, and there was some question about whether he'd be ready for the season. But, at the end of the season, he still played all 82 games, still averaged 26+ minutes per game, and was 4 points off from his career high in scoring.

There were questions whether he'd be able to come back at all. It's wasn't just "an ankle injury". People were shocked when he was ready for the start of the season. And it clearly affected him this year. And we still don't know if it'll get better next season or if this is just the new Suter from now on.

 

[Bazeek]

But does that really make much sense?

Im not saying tank tank tank, but youll be picking 12-17 over and over if you keep trying to be competitive. Look at Detroit, they did this and now theyre falling off hard for a few years and are getting high picks for it.

Why extend how long it takes to rebuild when you can just bite the bullet and move some of your better guys for better assets and speed it up - even if the falloff is quick and harsh?

Yes, it makes sense to trade guys that aren't working and don't fit with the direction he wants to take the team. It also makes sense to target guys that do fit that direction (Fiala and Donato) or help shore up what he sees as an organizational weakness (Rask). I think Rask was probably a mistake because he's not very good and Nino is, but it's not hard to follow the reasoning in the abstract.

I also don't think that this approach extends the process; if anything it does the opposite. The trick is making sure you bet on the right guys, and I'm sure that's a big part of why he was so intent on getting Fiala: he knew him and had faith in him being part of the solution. Whether or not he's right is anyone's guess at this point, but if it pays dividends it's going to do so sooner rather than later.

The approach you seem to be advocating, which involves trading a 25 year old top-4 LD on a good contract (Brodin) for a 2020 1st or a 2019 2nd+, seems much more likely to draw the process out indefinitely. How long would it take either of those picks to turn into anything worthwhile, if they ever do? I guess it would make the current team substantially worse and increase our shot at a top-10 pick next year, but a.) it's actually pretty hard to be one of the 5 worst teams in the league without doing lasting damage, b.) the lottery odds make a bottom-5 finish a very pyrrhic victory, and c.) we're only 2 points out of the top-10 this year anyway. It seems just as risky and substantially more drawn out than what Fenton's aiming for.

 

[Nharris31]

I think after the trade deadline this is just based on eye test. There highest scoring forwards were Kunin, Donato,Eriksson-Ek and Zucker.

 

[57special]

So why keep Zucker, Spurgeon, Brodin, Staal, etc.?

And again I was told Minnesota plans on being competitive next year. That doesnt scream rebuild to me when they havent had any playoff success for over five years.

Brodin is only 25. Why trade him?

 

[Dominance]

No, they should spend all their young assets on acquiring Kessel.

Please.

 

[Harvey Birdman]

Suter could conceivably be traded but it would be for minimal return given age and contract length. The return would be no where near what he can do as a player currently in a vacuum of a player of the same ability on a shorter contract.

Minnesota is in a weird place. They have some decent younger or young-ish talent but they also have handcuffing contract in ZP and RS. Their best bet maybe to just buckle down and try and draft their way out of this situation. But if they blow it up they need to burn it all the way to the ground. Wipe the board clean as best as they can and start from scratch. That is a hard sell though in one of the most hockey influenced American regions.

I hope they figure it out though, I don’t follow the team closely but any time they make the post season I find myself wanting them to make a run out of the West.

 

[Pyrophorus]

Yes...

 

[General Disarray]

Yes please rebuild and trade Dumba to the Leafs

 

[General Disarray]

Calgary and Minnesota were the most mediocre teams in the NHL the last decade or so. Calgary ended up taking a huge step forward this year without blowing it up. Perhaps it's possible for MIN to as well.

 

[Machinehead]

I've always said they're the Rangers of the West.

They've had good depth over the years and have gotten a lot of our rosters without true gamebreaking talent, but they're never going to get over the hump.

They've thrown money at guys who are good but not elite in an attempt to acquire some legit top talent and it hasn't worked.

The Rangers are in a full rebuild to get some high-end talent and avoid being that team, and I think Minnesota should as well.

 

[Mickey Marner]

They have over 30 million invested into over-30 players next season, all of whom have NMC/NTC. This has the makings of a long, arduous rebuild.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

Yes please rebuild and trade Dumba to the Leafs

I don't think a rebuilding team would trade a top 4 defenseman in his mid 20's

Calgary and Minnesota were the most mediocre teams in the NHL the last decade or so. Calgary ended up taking a huge step forward this year without blowing it up. Perhaps it's possible for MIN to as well.

Minny had their great season in 16-17 when they had basically the same amount of pts as the Flames had this year. Also got bounced in the 1st round in 5 games.

I don't think they're able to do it anymore though.

 

[Machinehead]

I find it hard to believe that Suter and Parise are absolutely unmovable if Minnesota retains.

It's not like they're bad.

 

[Bazeek]

I find it hard to believe that Suter and Parise are absolutely unmovable if Minnesota retains.

It's not like they're bad.

It's mostly the cap recapture that makes it unlikely. Parise seems like he'd waive his clause if the team was going to take a step back for a year or two. Not sure about Suter.

 

[Bazeek]

They have over 30 million invested into over-30 players next season, all of whom have NMC/NTC. This has the makings of a long, arduous rebuild.

Suter and Parise are the only ones with much term. Koivu's is done after next season and Dubnyk's the year after that. Staal's isn't big enough to matter.

 

[greasysnapper]

They're fine. They have a top 3-5 prospect Kaprizov. They just need to find an identity and stick to it. That's what Fenton is trying to do.

 

[SupremeNachos]

I was told by a 3-4 Minnesota fans over in the Trade section that Fenton plans on only moving players for better assets and doesnt want to stockpile picks and prospects. Apparently Fenton will try to be competitive for a playoff spot again next year instead of just sell sell sell

That should tell you all you need to know. Taking the word from a small % of a fan base is pretty dumb.

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Parise and Suter are untradeable with their contracts. They're stuck like Detroit was with Zetterberg/Datsyuk until they're off the books.

They'll go on LTIR in 2022 when their salary kicks down to 2M. We've all seen this game before.

If they really wanted to rebuild, there would probably be a market for both. I think they would have to retain significant salary on Parise. They'd also get soft returns because both have NMCs. That's assuming either player is willing to waive to go anywhere else, and doesn't prefer to stay in their current city at the expense of having to play through a rebuild in their mid 30s.

 

[Seanaconda]

They already are. They moved on from Granlund, Niederreiter, Coyle; almost did the same with Zucker; and might be doing so with Spurgeon.

They are doing weird 1 for 1 losing trades so I wouldn't call that going into a full rebuild were they would be trading them all for picks and young prospects

 

[Sniper99]

They have already started it. Fenton is throwing all value-guys out for futures.

I was surprised they traded away Granlund

 

[Bazeek]

I was surprised they traded away Granlund

I wish him the best, but if you'd have watched him much this year it'd be less of a surprise. He might end up being kind of a conundrum for Nashville.

 

[PAZ]

I've always said they're the Rangers of the West.

They've had good depth over the years and have gotten a lot of our rosters without true gamebreaking talent, but they're never going to get over the hump.

They've thrown money at guys who are good but not elite in an attempt to acquire some legit top talent and it hasn't worked.

The Rangers are in a full rebuild to get some high-end talent and avoid being that team, and I think Minnesota should as well.

To be fair, the Rags lucked out by winning the lottery in a strong draft. You guys were very much on your way to have the same formula of having good depth without a franchise-level forward. One more win or OT point this season you'd be picking #7/8 instead of #2.

 

[yeaher]

They talked about this all season on Sirius XM, they are in between a rock and a hard place.

 

[AKL]

That should tell you all you need to know. Taking the word from a small % of a fan base is pretty dumb.

Do you disagree that Fenton is trying to trade away certain guys for younger and potentially better pieces trying to reform the team to remain competitive in the short term and be even more competitive in the long term? Because he literally stated that. Do you think Fenton's trying to stockpile picks?

 

[AKL]

They are doing weird 1 for 1 losing trades so I wouldn't call that going into a full rebuild were they would be trading them all for picks and young prospects

Nino for Rask was a gamble that Fenton has (so far) lost on.
Coyle for Donato paid immediate dividends, despite not looking great at the time of the deal. Donato was our best scorer after the trade deadline.
Granlund for Fiala is another one that seemed like an immediate loss, until you realize that Fiala scored at a similar rate as Granlund after Thanksgiving, with less playing time.

They are banking on the guys they acquire getting better, whereas the guys they traded pretty much maxed out what will be in this league. They also traded a guy you've never heard of for Pontus Aberg, which regardless of how underwhelming Aberg was, was a win, because at least Aberg was an NHL player.

His strategy is risky, and not every move will be a win, but it's not a 1-2 year strategy. Fiala and Donato will be cost controlled and on the roster for many more years than Granlund and Coyle, and they have every bit of potential to be better than them as well.

It's the same thing as a rebuild, only instead of getting meh prospects and some draft picks, he's getting guys ready to break out in the NHL NOW. He's getting more quality pieces, and less quantity. Which is good, because we don't need quantity, we need quality.