IllaZilla Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 3 hours ago, Tomdog said: And even then their cap issues keep the young kids buried in the ahl because without LTIR they can’t afford to bring anyone with a higher ahl salary up. I often wonder if BG didn’t want to bottom out the season after getting rid of Suter/Parise, but the team kept winning. Was it BG that changed the plan or the owner? Either way they missed a prime opportunity to bottom out and start over. IMO it's both of them. Leipold wants that Playoff money. And BG has stated in several interviews that the Playoffs are always the goal, and that he doesn't put a lot of stock in the draft. Well, not that he doesn't think the draft has value, it's more along the lines of the draft is a crap shoot, and he'd rather deal with certainties (players on the team) rather than uncertainties (prospects in the system). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdog Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 In that way BG drives me crazy. Certainty in the system with players he knows. Fine. But many of the players he knows in the farm system, have shown that they are not anything more than 4th line wannabe’s. Yet we keep them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 On 7/10/2024 at 9:53 AM, IllaZilla said: IMO it's both of them. Leipold wants that Playoff money. And BG has stated in several interviews that the Playoffs are always the goal, and that he doesn't put a lot of stock in the draft. Well, not that he doesn't think the draft has value, it's more along the lines of the draft is a crap shoot, and he'd rather deal with certainties (players on the team) rather than uncertainties (prospects in the system). This is #1 for this Wild organization, to its benefit or to its detriment. I think it entrenches a cycle of mediocrity as it makes much harder to draft the players that can help move the needle from just simply making the playoffs (at best) to being an actual Stanley Cup contender. I agree, I think Guerin views the draft as more of a rolling of the dice but even if you think its more of a gamble he also has to understand building up a ton of assets that have no room / roster spots to play in is poor asset management. IMO it's foolish to play the underperforming vet and locking them in with trade or movement protection just because you feel you know their game. And if he really felt it was important to blow up the Parise/Suter country club as he did by letting players leave or buying them out; it is sad to see how he's created the same thing even if those in the country club may be nicer people to be around. Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman, Mats Zuccarello, Freddy Gaudreau haven't won anything, but the team fell over itself locking them down; and now probably added another with a 4-year contract extension to Jake Middleton. Nice guy, funny...tarps off, yada yada yada..but why pay him $4M+ a season for four seasons (after this season mind you) when you have a ton of kids waiting in the queue? If you want to save some cap space...you bring up the kids and you have the money for an impact player or be able to extend the kid that shows they are perhaps another star in the making. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdog Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 I guess the question that needs answering is, are there future top 4 defenseman in Iowa? Yea we have Faber and now Buium, and I think Chisolm, but after that who is top 4 material? IMO Middelton is 2nd pairing when he is playing well and 3rd pairing on a true cup contender. So who are we holding back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 32 minutes ago, Tomdog said: I guess the question that needs answering is, are there future top 4 defenseman in Iowa? Yea we have Faber and now Buium, and I think Chisolm, but after that who is top 4 material? IMO Middelton is 2nd pairing when he is playing well and 3rd pairing on a true cup contender. So who are we holding back? Daemon Hunt and Carson Lambos, but we'll see who else develops. David Spacek has shown lots of promise too. Chisholm is only on a 1-year deal as he should be. But Buium is certainly Top 4 at worst; fair chance he's a top pairing defenseman. But, they've given a lot of NMC's to their blueline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomdog Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 Hunt and Lambos need to show more soon before I start looking at them as top 4 potential. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 5 hours ago, Tomdog said: Hunt and Lambos need to show more soon before I start looking at them as top 4 potential. Lambos and Hunt may take a bit longer to develop, considering they had two years of playing curtailed by COVID… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 Beyond Buium who I think will probably be here sooner rather than later, the others will have time to develop just because of the contracts currently in place. Lambos' development / progress will be interesting to see this upcoming season. 1st season as a pro was a lot of learning; now we'll see if he can put that knowledge into action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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