Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

 The Minnesota Wild are currently sitting in first place in the Central Division now and are tied for 1st in the Western Conference. This is quite a surprise considering their team on paper is not that impressive, so there has to be something special about their play on the ice that makes them a powerhouse in the Western Conference under Head coach Dean Evason. In order for the Minnesota Wild to win the Stanley Cup this year, they will have to make a few moves to improve the team. These are some of the issues w/ Minnesota Wild: 1. Lack of a 3rd line center 2. Defensive Depth 3. Lack of offensive depth If there is one issue that the Minnesota Wild do have is that they lack a solid 3rd line center. The lack of center depth will be even more obvious with Joel Eriksson Ek out for an extended period of time. Eriksson EK is their best overall center, and without him in the lineup, they will struggle because he does so much for the team on both sides of the puck. To make up for the loss o...

 The Minnesota Wild had a great season last year, but a major reason for that is the cause of the division they played in. Minnesota will be back in the Central Division this season, and will be fighting for a playoff spot with the likes of Chicago, St.Louis, Nashville, Dallas, and Winnipeg. Because of this, the Wild may struggle to make the playoffs this season. Key moves made in the Offseason: Bought out Zach Parise + Ryan Suter. lost Carson Soucy to Seattle Kraken in Expansion Draft. lost Marcus Johansson, Ian Cole to Free Agency. signed Alex Goligoski, Dmitry Kulikov, Jordie Benn, Jon Merrill in Free Agency. Re-signed Joel Eriksson to a long term deal. Locked up Kirill Kaprizov to a 5 yr deal. Re-signed Kevin Fiala for 1yr Offseason Review: Coming into this offseason, it was no secret that the Minnesota Wild need to create cap room in order to sign some of their key RFAs like Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Kevin Fiala. To nobody's surprise, the Wild bought out Zach Paris...

     The Minnesota Wild have never won a Stanley Cup in their franchise history, so my mission is to transform them into a cup-winning team. To do that, they will have to make some improvements to the roster. This is how I would turn the Minnesota Wild into a Cup-winning team. At the Expansion draft, the Minnesota Wild trade Zach Parise, 2021 1st rd pick to the Seattle Kraken for Logan Brown, 2021 3rd rd pick. The Wild dump Zach Parise's on Seattle by including a 1st round pick in the trade. Minnesota Wild lose Victor Rask to the Seattle Kraken in the Expansion Draft. Before the 2021 draft, two trades are made: The Wild trade Ryan Suter, Nick Bjugstad to the Boston Bruins for Jeremy Lauzon, Connor Clifton, Jake DeBrusk, Jack Studnicka, 2022 1st round pick. The Wild retain 25% of Ryan Suter's annual cap hit until the 2024 season. The Boston Bruins fill a much-needed hole on the left side of their defense with the addition of Ryan Suter, while the Wild get two solid young...

 The Minnesota Wild are a mediocre team that is stuck in no man's land; they aren't good enough to be a contender, but at the same time, they aren't bad enough to be a lottery team. So the most logical thing to do is to trade their veteran players and rebuild for the future. At the trade deadline, the Minnesota Wild make two blockbuster trades. Minnesota Wild trade Jonas Brodin, Nick Bonino to the New Jersey Devils for Will Butcher, Andreas Johnsson, and a 2021 2nd rd pick.  The Devils get a top 4 defenseman in Jonas Brodin and a top 9 forward in Nick Bonino, while the Wild get Will Butcher, Andreas Johnsson, and a 2nd round pick. The Wild also trade Marcus Johansson, Victor Rask, 1st round pick '21 to the Detroit Red Wings for Vladislav Namestnikov, and a 2021 2nd round pick. This is a good trade for both sides because the Wild gain cap space, while the Red Wings get Marcus Johansson and a 1st round pick. The Minnesota Wild finish the 2020-21 season with the 10th worst...

 The Florida Panthers have showed over the last decade why they are a losing organization but their draft success in last 5 years is especially bad. If the Florida Panthers drafted correctly in the last 5 years, they would have been a contender by now. 2015  11-Matt Barzal over Lawson Crouse 102-Ethan Bear over Denis Malgin 132-Kirill Kaprizov over Karch Bachman Matt Barzal and Kirill Kaprizov will some much needed secondary scoring to the team and Ethan Bear can be a solid top 4 defenseman. 2016 23-Tage Thompson over Henrik Borgstrom 38-Sam Girard over Adam Mascherin Sam Girard is a solid young top 4 defenseman, while Tage Thompson can grew to be a good power forward 2017 10-Robert Thomas over Owen Tippett Robert Thomas is much better then Owen Tippett at this point in their careers. 2018 No Change in draft picks 2019 52-Nic Robertson over Vladislav Kolyachonok The Panthers still draft Spencer Knight but draft Nic Robertson over Vladislav Kolyachonok, which is a major u...