Player Discussion Who gets moved before July 1st?

[57special]

Don't see how Brodin became the fall guy for the team's problems. Do you guys really think that trading him is the cure to what ails this team? Really?

What, he plays defense too much? He should rush the puck more, leaving Dumba alone to defend odd man rushes?

Does anyone think he is a locker room cancer, or makes too much money for what he contributes? REALLY?

This team has problems, alright, and some are blindingly obvious. Brodin is not one of them.

We already screwed up by getting rid of Scandella for basically nothing. Let's not compound the problem.

Our forwards don't score enough. Trading a Dman isn't going to help that.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Trading anyone for the right return might be the cure to what ails this team.

We're all just spitballing as to what "anyone" and "right return" might mean.

Nothing personal against anybody here or their favorite players.

 

[Wild11MN]

No one's saying Brodin is the problem. It's what the Doc said.

 

[Digitalbooya]

I think if any defenseman should be discussed for a trade it should be Spurgeon. Big cap hit, soon to be 29, 2 years left on deal, and valuable enough to get a decent haul.

 

[Grover]

We've been in the win now mindset for the past 4 years and it's gotten us a shortage of draft picks and 1st round exits. I hope we start building around our young core rather than adding on to our aging veterans.

 

[Bazeek]

I think if any defenseman should be discussed for a trade it should be Spurgeon. Big cap hit, soon to be 29, 2 years left on deal, and valuable enough to get a decent haul.

I sort of agree because of the age and cap-hit angle. But if you figure they can move Dumba up to the top pairing (and I think they can) you still need a replacement second pairing RD, and that's probably harder to replace than a second pairing LD. There are names on the list that aren't awful, but there are fewer of them and the demand for them is going to be higher. Maybe you end up saving money, but maybe you just end up paying $5m for a worse player that's about the same age.

Or maybe you could trade Spurgeon for a worthwhile forward, then a LW for Justin Faulk? If Carolina's looking at Faulk for Saad it's probably at least an option. You'd have to be getting a top-line caliber forward that's absolutely no older than Spurgeon to consider that, though.

 

[DANOZ28]

We've been in the win now mindset for the past 4 years and it's gotten us a shortage of draft picks and 1st round exits. I hope we start building around our young core rather than adding on to our aging veterans.

thats exactly the reason i dont want to "go 4 it" with kessel. enjoy now , pay later.

 

[nickschultzfan]

None of them are really good, but there doesn't seem to be any shortage of UFA options for LD if you're just looking for someone to eat minutes on the second pairing next to Dumba or Spurgeon.

Not liking too many of those LD options.

Brodin also still has upside, where most of those UFA do not. I never was expecting him to put up 40 points, but he could develop into an elite shutdown Dman. Especially if he got a defensively stable partner for once.

 

[Bazeek]

Not liking too many of those LD options.

Brodin also still has upside, where most of those UFA do not. I never was expecting him to put up 40 points, but he could develop into an elite shutdown Dman. Especially if he got a defensively stable partner for once.

I don't like any of those options as much as Brodin, but if you really just need someone to play second pairing minutes next to Spurgeon/Dumba I think guys like DeHaan, Cole, Emelin, Enstrom, etc could fill in okay for a year or two. Whether or not the downgrade is worth it depends entirely on what you get for Brodin.

It's fair to worry about filling one hole by digging another, but some holes are easier to fill than others.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I sort of agree because of the age and cap-hit angle. But if you figure they can move Dumba up to the top pairing (and I think they can) you still need a replacement second pairing RD, and that's probably harder to replace than a second pairing LD. There are names on the list that aren't awful, but there are fewer of them and the demand for them is going to be higher. Maybe you end up saving money, but maybe you just end up paying $5m for a worse player that's about the same age.

Or maybe you could trade Spurgeon for a worthwhile forward, then a LW for Justin Faulk? If Carolina's looking at Faulk for Saad it's probably at least an option. You'd have to be getting a top-line caliber forward that's absolutely no older than Spurgeon to consider that, though.

That's where you'd really have to trust your scouts on a Puljujarvi deal with Edmonton. Maybe even get an extra asset out of Edmonton too.

Just rolling off of the Spurgeon/Puljujarvi + Nino/Faulk deals, are we better now? Probably not, but also might not be a huge dip either. Are we younger? Yep. Could we be better in the future? Very possible, depending on Puljujarvi.

Zucker ($4.75m) - Staal - Granlund
Parise - Koivu - Puljujarvi
Greenway - Eriksson Ek - Coyle
Foligno - $1m #4C - $1m #4RW
$750k 13th F
Ennis buyout ($2.167m)

Suter - Dumba ($6.25m)
Brodin - Faulk
Seeler ($1m) - Prosser
Olofsson

Dubnyk
Stalock

$70.9M cap hit
$9.1M cap space to upgrade any spot on the roster deemed necessary/available.

 

[nickschultzfan]

That's where you'd really have to trust your scouts on a Puljujarvi deal with Edmonton. Maybe even get an extra asset out of Edmonton too.

Just rolling off of the Spurgeon/Puljujarvi + Nino/Faulk deals, are we better now? Probably not, but also might not be a huge dip either. Are we younger? Yep. Could we be better in the future? Very possible, depending on Puljujarvi.

Zucker ($4.75m) - Staal - Granlund
Parise - Koivu - Puljujarvi
Greenway - Eriksson Ek - Coyle
Foligno - $1m #4C - $1m #4RW
$750k 13th F
Ennis buyout ($2.167m)

Suter - Dumba ($6.25m)
Brodin - Faulk
Seeler ($1m) - Prosser
Olofsson

Dubnyk
Stalock

$70.9M cap hit
$9.1M cap space to upgrade any spot on the roster deemed necessary/available.

Pulj has some huge hockey IQ issues. We are talking Setoguchi level. In any deal with the Oilers, he has to be the add on, not the main piece.

That's why I lean towards deals with the Oilers where the Wild walk away with LD (even with his contract) or RNH (even with his middling ceiling).

 

[HollaHaula]

That's where you'd really have to trust your scouts on a Puljujarvi deal with Edmonton. Maybe even get an extra asset out of Edmonton too.

Just rolling off of the Spurgeon/Puljujarvi + Nino/Faulk deals, are we better now? Probably not, but also might not be a huge dip either. Are we younger? Yep. Could we be better in the future? Very possible, depending on Puljujarvi.

Zucker ($4.75m) - Staal - Granlund
Parise - Koivu - Puljujarvi
Greenway - Eriksson Ek - Coyle
Foligno - $1m #4C - $1m #4RW
$750k 13th F
Ennis buyout ($2.167m)

Suter - Dumba ($6.25m)
Brodin - Faulk
Seeler ($1m) - Prosser
Olofsson

Dubnyk
Stalock

$70.9M cap hit
$9.1M cap space to upgrade any spot on the roster deemed necessary/available.

I'm not sold on Puljujarvi. He had good to great international junior stats but outside of those his performance is pretty underwhelming. He seems like a player that needs other great players around him to elevate his game. I also remember watching him during the 2015* (misquoted year) WJC and thought he should have had a few more goals than he got. It seemed like he had trouble finishing on his chances.

 

[Bazeek]

I'm not sold on Puljujarvi. He had good to great international junior stats but outside of those his performance is pretty underwhelming. He seems like a player that needs other great players around him to elevate his game. I also remember watching him during the 2016 WJC and thought he should have had a few more goals than he got. It seemed like he had trouble finishing on his chances.

With Puljujarvi you'd really have to be betting on some of his issues being language/coaching related. Maybe putting him on a line with Koivu to bark orders in Finnish would help. It's hard to say, though.

 

[HollaHaula]

With Puljujarvi you'd really have to be betting on some of his issues being language/coaching related. Maybe putting him on a line with Koivu to bark orders in Finnish would help. It's hard to say, though.

Idk, either. His linemates in the 2016 WJC where he finished with the most points out of everyone were Sebastian Aho and Patrik Laine. Both are now stars in the NHL. Was Puljujarvi benefiting from being on their line?

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

I'm not sold on Puljujarvi. He had good to great international junior stats but outside of those his performance is pretty underwhelming. He seems like a player that needs other great players around him to elevate his game. I also remember watching him during the 2016 WJC and thought he should have had a few more goals than he got. It seemed like he had trouble finishing on his chances.

Yeah, I don't know. I'm definitely looking mainly at draft position/potential on this one. I'm not going to pretend and say I've seen him play a whole heck of a lot.

But you compare him to guy like Tuch:

Tuch played his AHL season at 20/21 years old, had 18+19 in 57 games
Puljujarvi played his AHL season at 18/19 years old, had 12+16 in 39 games (18+23 over the same 57 games Tuch played)

Puljujarvi's 12+8 in 65 games in the NHL doesn't seem like much, but you look and he was 19.

Eriksson Ek just had 6+10 in 75 games at age 21, and I don't think too many of us here have cooled off on him still being a future top 6 center.

Is he going to be Laine? I'd bet not. But could he be a better Nino? I think he absolutely could.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Pulj has some huge hockey IQ issues. We are talking Setoguchi level. In any deal with the Oilers, he has to be the add on, not the main piece.

That's why I lean towards deals with the Oilers where the Wild walk away with LD (even with his contract) or RNH (even with his middling ceiling).

With all due respect to the hockey IQ crowd, maybe he's just a young player playing in the best league in the world?

I mean, a lot of the people that were saying that Tuch "looked lost" in his 6 game stint a year ago are the same people that would take him back on the team in a heartbeat.

 

[Minnesnota]

Idk, either. His linemates in the 2016 WJC where he finished with the most points out of everyone were Sebastian Aho and Patrik Laine. Both are now stars in the NHL. Was Puljujarvi benefiting from being on their line?

Yea this is what worries me.

Last season was a pretty uninspiring 20pts considering he was on McDavid's wing for most of it.

 

[HollaHaula]

Yea this is what worries me.

Last season was a pretty uninspiring 20pts considering he was on McDavid's wing for most of it.

He was on McDavid's line when I believe he did produce a majority of his points but he wasn't there for the whole season. Jesse's biggest fault is inconsistency. I'm guessing that Jesse went cold for a few games and the Oilers' coach moved him down the lineup to play with lesser skilled players, which didn't resolve anything. So his play never improved for him to reunited with McDavid and he was left on like the 3rd line for the rest of the season.

The more experienced prospect posters on this forum see him as a complimentary player with a 60-point ceiling. That's not a bad player to have on your team but we already have too many complimentary players in our top-6. We need some drivers to lead the way.

 

[nickschultzfan]

Thing is the Oilers were horrible at RW last season and Pulj still couldn't beat out bottom-6 grinders for minutes.

 

[Bazeek]

Whether or not Puljujarvi is the ideal target, I think the chances of you getting an enticing forward for Spurgeon are pretty high.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Whether or not Puljujarvi is the ideal target, I think the chances of you getting an enticing forward for Spurgeon are pretty high.

I don't think you get Nylander for him, and I couldn't really think of any other "top line caliber but younger" forwards available.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Yea this is what worries me.

Last season was a pretty uninspiring 20pts considering he was on McDavid's wing for most of it.

It was probably only around a third, and it involved very little PP time.

 

[HollaHaula]

If you're confident in one of our young guys moving up into Spurgeon's spot...

Spurgeon to Pittsburgh for Daniel Sprong and Matt Hunwick

Pittsburgh gets a great puck-moving defender and out of the Hunwick contract. Hunwick is still a serviceable bottom pairing defenseman and could help here or provide support for Iowa. We get Sprong who is a blue chip forward prospect and is exactly what we need.

Edit: Carl Haglin could also be included going to us to help even out salaries if Pittsburgh wanted. He's still one of the fastest players in the NHL and could go in our bottom-6. Though, he is pretty small and his style is more suited for the Eastern Conference.

If you don't like this, please don't light me on fire

 

[Bazeek]

I don't think you get Nylander for him, and I couldn't really think of any other "top line caliber but younger" forwards available.

I'm being pretty hand-wavey about it, but Spurgeon's a very good top-pairing RD on a reasonable contract. He's not necessarily young, but he's still got plenty of prime years ahead of him. Guys as young as Puljujarvi and Nylander are probably hard to target because of the age difference, but I do think Spurgeon should get you an O'Reilly-caliber forward. If no one's available, you keep Spurgeon.

I'll admit names escape me at the moment though, so that's not really a mark in my favor Not sure what to make of some of Arizona's guys, Domi in particular, but maybe the Coyotes would like to add a RD. Washington, if they're letting Carlson walk? Tampa Bay? The Leafs/Oilers/Sabres stuff has been beaten to death.

 

[Minnesnota]

Thoughts on Spurgeon for Pulock + Ho-Sang/Bellows?

Spurgeon's modified ntc may complicate things but I don't see how we're a worse team with a defense of:

Suter - Dumba
Brodin - Pulock

and one of Ho-Sang/Bellows in our system.

Especially taking into account Spurgeon is guaranteed to miss 12+ games per season.