Minnesota Wild Prospects: June 2016

Blog Philosophy

The main point of this blog is to provide a one-stop location for fans of the Minnesota Wild to follow their prospects. Of particular note are the embedded statistics for each of the players provided by hockeydb.com or eliteprospects.com. Indeed, the website was first put together so the author could more easily follow prospects that had not yet made the MN Wild roster! Hockeydb.com and eliteprospects.com do not have all of the prospects and their statistics on one page. Other features will be provided on the blog in the future and will likely include statistics of players who are on the Iowa Wild of the AHL or the Orlando Sun Bears of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) or the Quad City Mallards of the Central Hockey League (CHL).

Occasional blog entries will also be present on a variety of topics that move beyond prospects, but are certainly limited to hockey. Blog entries aren't always comprehensive and may certainly omit some points/analysis for brevity.

The author doesn't pretend to be an expert nor have the time or ability to watch every Canadian Hockey League, American Hockey League, East Coast Hockey League, etc, game. The author does, however, certainly feel that he knows quite a bit about hockey. Much of his commentary is as a result of reading a lot of news articles from mainstream media such as tsn.ca, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, etc... The author does NOT merely repeat what other blogs or others in hockey forums write as he has noticed a lot of moronic opinions out there... The author's views and predictions will sometimes differ than major media reports such as Michael Russo, but he does not have access to professional scouts, players or management officials to make more informed predictions some matters.

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Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Going into the summer of 2016

Okay, these thoughts are just being written down so I can organize them and the rationale behind moves I'd think GM Chuck Fletcher could make.

First, MN trades Scandella for Bjugstad. Their cap hits are approximately the same, as well as the term. Florida needs a (younger) LD with a manageable cap hit. MN needs a big center who can score. Bjugstad IS big and he can snipe and certainly has the potential to score. Florida has a surplus of young centers and Bjugstad's growth has plateaued a bit and there may be injury concerns. Another season of either and his value will be diminished. Other pieces may be added to make this what I had described to someone on Twitter as an "epic" trade. It seems they are close to signing a very good prospect who is from...Hudson, Wisconsin. Is this the final piece of the puzzle that is to be included in the trade? If we are giving up TWO defensemen (risky, IMO), it would seem reasonable to require a D in return and it seems as if the prospect, Ian McCoshen, is good.

So, cap hit is a wash after that move. Florida would sure like to move Bolland and his 3 year $5.5AAV cap hit. He'll be placed on LTIR and cannot be bought out. Is this something MN will add if they are able? I've wondered if Vanek would be a part of the deal. We lose the $6.5AAV for next year, but take the risk and burden of Bolland for two years beyond that. Unfortunately, losing Vanek in that way doesn't make us a better team for this next season.

Next, I think they trade Granlund for a 1st round pick. Next year, in the expansion draft, they will only be able to protect 7 forwards. They will certainly include: Koivu, Parise, Pominville, Coyle, Niederreiter, Haula and Bjugstad. If Granlund IS NOT traded, he or one of the other young players won't be protected and will certainly be lost and nothing will be gained. Why move Granlund and not another young player? The others have clear roles on the team with greater "upside". Granlund had a strong playoffs and had a great World Championships. I predicted Carolina or New Jersey may take him. We lose a $3.0 cap hit, allowing us to more easily pay for Dumba and Zucker and possibly take on Bolland's cap hit.

With the 2nd 1st round pick, they could combine it and move up in the draft to spots 3-6 and acquire a young, higher skilled forward.

Of course, they'll move Kuemper for whatever they can get at the draft.

I think they hold on to Zucker to give themselves some protection/leverage with the expansion draft. This season will also provide an opportunity to raise his value after a pretty poor season.