Fletcher & Flahr Hopefully Busy Today and WildWednesdayShow Draft Party
#NHLDraft2015 @mnwild #WildWednesdayShow Bennett's Draft Party Today 6pm-9pm we will broadcast LIVE Drink & Food pic.twitter.com/DjNCYaapWg
— Tony Dean (@TonyDeanHB) June 26, 2015
Minnesota Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher Must Clean Up Self-Made Mess
The adversities to improving this Minnesota Wild roster ahead of the 2015-16 for Fletcher are of his own making. When Fletcher missed on his top options in addressing the goaltender position three offseasons ago, he was left on grasping for straws on Niklas Backstrom as the answer. The result of being out maneuvered by his peers in Toronto(Jonathan Bernier Trade) and Tampa Bay(Ben Bishop Trade) has been that Backstrom fully guaranteed contract is not only costing flexibility under the salary cap but it has created an albatross round the neck of the organization because of the veteran Finn netminders stature here in the locker room.
Fletcher also appears to be without options on shaking up a veteran core that has failed to produce much in the way impact during the post season three years running. Fletcher has tied his future to two very distinct groups here in Minnesota, the veteran core (Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Jason Pominville, Thomas Vanek, Ryan Suter, and Backstrom) and the young core (Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Jason Zucker, Nino Niedrreiter, Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella, and Matthew Dumba).
I think when we try to get inside of Fletcher's mind on how he will look to improve the roster there are two trains of thought at play. The first train of thought is who has value to other NHL teams and would return an asset(s) that improve the roster right now? In that category I think Jared Spurgeon is the leading candidate as a player that could be moved in a draft day trade to improve the roster. The other two that stand out to me are Mikael Granlund and Erik Haula. Both young Finn forwards seem to be at a crossroads of their potential and projections.
In Granlund I believe that he has top tier talent but thus far in his NHL career the translation of his puck handling skills and hockey intelligence have been muted by a lack of size and ability to withstand punishment and disruption by bigger stronger opponents. Granlund has gone from all-world prospect to maybe a playmaking above average complimentary type center. If Fletcher has any doubts about Granlund's ability to consistently contribute 50-70 points in the top 6 role he has been playing for the Wild, it maybe time to get ahead of the curve and move him in a deal.
With Haula here in Minnesota his past season is definitely one he and the team are hoping was a complication of several brutal head shots he took near the end of his rookie season. Haula was a shell of his self to be kind last year and beyond his performance on ice, there was questions of his conditioning and attitude. Haula has shown during the past two seasons that his speed and skill can be a huge advantage in a bottom six specialized role. Haula even flashed a potential during his rookie season for him to be able to slot between his fellow Finns at the pivot in an elevated role in the top 6 but this past season he struggled to even maintain a role in the lineup.
The thing that is very concerning to me about the state of this team is that Fletcher has very little opportunity or leverage to move ANY of the veteran players on the roster. Koivu and Backstrom have garnered the most attention with regard to not producing to their expectations of their current contracts but in reality I think besides Parise all the veterans failed to live up to their expectations and roles last year.
If Fletcher could even find a team interested in Backstrom or Koivu, he would then have to go the player and ask them to accept being sent to whatever franchise is on the other end. Neither veteran seems in a rush to do anything that involves leaving the state of hockey no matter if it is what is in the best interest of the franchise.
I would love to think that Fletcher has some evil genius master plan cooking for today but the reality is over half of the NHL teams have cap issues so there is probably no takers for Backstrom or Koivu. I really have come to appreciate Koivu's impact defensively and in terms of faceoffs and possession but I take issue with his role and stature within the organization creating a culture problem.
It is feeling like the narrative to be sold will be improvement by the young core because they are a year older especially if Fletcher and Flahr fail to produce a roster shaker this weekend. My expectations are low honestly that Fletcher swings a meaningful trade other than some sort of package involving Spurgeon and maybe Haula for a center.
With some attention tied into Devan Dubnyk and what I believe are unreasonable demands money and term wise on his next contract, it is very easy to wonder if Fletcher will be too focused on resolving that situation. It feels like everything is currently on hold because of Dubnyk and that may come back to bite the Wild.
I may be way off base with my evaluation but I would rather walk away from Dubnyk if it goes beyond $4mil-$4.5Mil per year and 3 years on a new deal. I think although no perfect netminder replacement is readily available in unrestricted free agency this summer, Karri Ramo and Antti Niemi could certainly be paired with Darcy Kuemper here with far less risk/reward to OVERCOMMITTING on Dubnyk.
At #20 in the 2015 NHL Draft, three players I would love to be there are Kyle Conner, Denis Guryanov, and Travis Konecny.
HUGE 2015 NHL Draft Party at Bennett's Chop and Rail House June 26th 6pm-9pm
#NHLDraft2015 Get here! 6pm-9pm #WildWednesdayShow Draft party TONIGHT! pic.twitter.com/hK6Pdoh9q9
— Tony Dean (@TonyDeanHB) June 26, 2015
Please consider joining us for the 2015 NHL Draft Party Broadcast of the #WildWednesdayShow LIVE at Bennett's Chop and Rail House on June 26th from 6pm-9pm. Great food and drink specials, live band, and most importantly an opportunity to come out and talk hockey with the crew! We will be fully supported as Joe Bennett and many of my friends and peers in the Wild Internet Community will be joining us to talk the draft and offseason.
Here is the FINAL WildWednesdayShow of the 2014-15 Season from Last Week
Bennett's Chop & Railhouse
Address: 1305 7th St W, St Paul, MN 55102 Phone:(651) 228-1408 Hours: Open today · 11:00 am – 1:00 am Reservations: opentable.com Menu: bennettschopandrailhouse.com
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Just My Take, Tony Dean
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