Post by Corey Scott on Jul 31, 2014 17:46:45 GMT -5
It has been an unpredictable summer for the Minnesota franchise. After going from 7th last in the league to the 2nd best team in the west you would have though that a relatively quiet summer was on the horizon. That thought was quickly put to rest starting as soon as the 2014 draft.
Draft Recap
A quick recap of the draft showed that Minnesota started with three first round picks and two second round picks. By the end of the draft this would change to two first round picks and three second round picks while also adding a couple of picks in later rounds.
Trade #1
To Washington:
10th Overall Pick - Pick turned into Kevin Fiala
To Minnesota:
17th Overall Pick - Pick turned into Travis Sanheim
Washington 2nd 2015
Johan Larsson
Minnesota elected to drop back 7 spots to be able to pick up Travis Sanheim of the Calgary Hitman. A raw defenceman who rose up the charts a lot in the second half of the season. The move back also added a 2nd round pick to the Wild's pool for next year's deep draft and brought in Johan Larsson who has the ability to help out the team down the road.
Trade #2
To Colorado:
25th overall pick - Pick turned into David Pastrnak
To Minnesota:
31st overall pick - Pick turned into Conner Bleackley
Car 2015 3rd
Once again, Minnesota would move back, this time 6 spots. Rather than taking another defenceman at this point they elected to go with Conner Bleackley. A strong two-way forward who should be a safe bet to turn into nothing short of a third liner in the NHL. Given the amount of high end talent already in Minnesota's system, this was seen as the only option by many of the Minnesota Brass.
The remainder of Minnesota's picks would be used as they were, taking Adrian Kempe 28th overall, Andreas Englund 40th overall and Ryan Collins 55th overall. Kempe was a very similar pick to that of Bleackley whereas Englund and Collins are seen as defensive minded defenceman with an outside shot at developing into something more. The draft altogether would see three dmen added to the mix and two forwards. Beyond the draft, Minnesota would claim two more prospects taking Kyle Wood and Viktor Arvidsson.
Post Draft
One would think the draft trades would have sated GM Scott's thirst, but this thought would quickly be put to rest when an announcement was made that Stewart, Eller, Niskanen, Leddy, Frolik and above all Quick were on the block. It was not something likely seen coming by many, and the trades would come fast after the announcement was made.
Trade # 1 Post Draft
To Minnesota:
Mark Giordano
To Washington:
Matt Niskanen
Michael Frolik
Minnesota would parlay Niskanen (who had one year left on a contract of just 900 000) and Frolik (an unsigned rfa) into the veteran Giordano. Giordano has a three year term on a deal of just 4.75 million. The contract was seen as too good for the Minnesota GM to pass up once he learned he had a chance at getting a deal done. Giordano is expected to be a staple in the Minnesota line-up for at least the next three seasons alongside a stud defence core of OEL, Karlsson and Shattenkirk.
Trade #2 Post Draft
To Minnesota:
G Andrei Vasilevski
C Ivan Barbashev
2016 1st round pick (BOS)
To Boston:
G Jonathan Quick
One of the best goaltenders in the league would be moved and it wasn't easy for either side doing it. Minnesota would attempt to make deals to no fewer then 4 other GMs before settling on a deal with the Boston Bruins who had recently traded their goalie of Crawford. In return for Quick, Minnesota would bring in one of the top two prospect goaltenders out there in Vasilevski as well as the prospect Barbashev and Boston's 1st round pick in 2016. Barbashev was rumored to be one of the prospects that Minnesota had coveted during the draft.
Trade #3 Post Draft
To Vancouver:
Brett Connolly
To Minnesota:
Jaroslav Halak
Needing a replacement for Quick until Vasilevski is ready Minnesota elected to go to Vancouver and grabbed Halak for the price of Connolly. Halak has had a decent career and has one year left on his current VHL deal. It is suspected that he will be resigned when it is possible to play the role as starter/mentor to Vasilevski until the time is right.
Trade #4 Post Draft
To Minnesota
Buffalo 1st 2015
Edmonton 1st 2016
Nikita Kucherov
To Edmonton:
Chris Stewart
Lars Eller
Out went Eller and Stewart and in came another talented prospect in Kucherov and two more future 1st round picks. Stated to be a "cap saving measure" Minnesota elected to get rid of two forwards who struggled to meet expectation in the season prior and in doing to saved upwards of 8 million in cap space for the 2015-16 season.
Trade #5 Post Draft
To Minnesota:
Winnipeg 1st 2016
Chicago 2nd 2015
To Winnipeg:
Nick Leddy
The most recent trade by Minnesota was Nick Leddy for another two picks. Rumored to be yet another cost saving measure, Leddy was moved out to add a 1st in 2016 and a 2nd in 2015. The move will save 3 to 4 million in cap space for the following years.
All together many trades have come out of Minnesota over the past few weeks and in all 6 players have left the team through trades. When you also add in current unsigned players of Whitney, Stempniak, Labarbera, Zanon and Ryder you get the feeling that there is a new look for the Wild come 2014-15.
GM Scott was quoted as saying "The trades may seem odd to some, but we have a plan and a need to stick to it. We had no room to resign Quick, Eller, Voracek, OEL, Karlsson, Kruger and Hodgson to extensions next season so some tough decisions were made on who had to go. These trades freed up over 17 million in cap for the 2015-16 season and gave us even more chips for future moves. We now have 6 1st round picks in the next two season as well as having over 16 million in cap room this season for one year deals to veterans. With only 4 spots to fill, we expect to be able to grab one or two nice free agents to keep out still elite team at the top of the west."
Draft Recap
A quick recap of the draft showed that Minnesota started with three first round picks and two second round picks. By the end of the draft this would change to two first round picks and three second round picks while also adding a couple of picks in later rounds.
Trade #1
To Washington:
10th Overall Pick - Pick turned into Kevin Fiala
To Minnesota:
17th Overall Pick - Pick turned into Travis Sanheim
Washington 2nd 2015
Johan Larsson
Minnesota elected to drop back 7 spots to be able to pick up Travis Sanheim of the Calgary Hitman. A raw defenceman who rose up the charts a lot in the second half of the season. The move back also added a 2nd round pick to the Wild's pool for next year's deep draft and brought in Johan Larsson who has the ability to help out the team down the road.
Trade #2
To Colorado:
25th overall pick - Pick turned into David Pastrnak
To Minnesota:
31st overall pick - Pick turned into Conner Bleackley
Car 2015 3rd
Once again, Minnesota would move back, this time 6 spots. Rather than taking another defenceman at this point they elected to go with Conner Bleackley. A strong two-way forward who should be a safe bet to turn into nothing short of a third liner in the NHL. Given the amount of high end talent already in Minnesota's system, this was seen as the only option by many of the Minnesota Brass.
The remainder of Minnesota's picks would be used as they were, taking Adrian Kempe 28th overall, Andreas Englund 40th overall and Ryan Collins 55th overall. Kempe was a very similar pick to that of Bleackley whereas Englund and Collins are seen as defensive minded defenceman with an outside shot at developing into something more. The draft altogether would see three dmen added to the mix and two forwards. Beyond the draft, Minnesota would claim two more prospects taking Kyle Wood and Viktor Arvidsson.
Post Draft
One would think the draft trades would have sated GM Scott's thirst, but this thought would quickly be put to rest when an announcement was made that Stewart, Eller, Niskanen, Leddy, Frolik and above all Quick were on the block. It was not something likely seen coming by many, and the trades would come fast after the announcement was made.
Trade # 1 Post Draft
To Minnesota:
Mark Giordano
To Washington:
Matt Niskanen
Michael Frolik
Minnesota would parlay Niskanen (who had one year left on a contract of just 900 000) and Frolik (an unsigned rfa) into the veteran Giordano. Giordano has a three year term on a deal of just 4.75 million. The contract was seen as too good for the Minnesota GM to pass up once he learned he had a chance at getting a deal done. Giordano is expected to be a staple in the Minnesota line-up for at least the next three seasons alongside a stud defence core of OEL, Karlsson and Shattenkirk.
Trade #2 Post Draft
To Minnesota:
G Andrei Vasilevski
C Ivan Barbashev
2016 1st round pick (BOS)
To Boston:
G Jonathan Quick
One of the best goaltenders in the league would be moved and it wasn't easy for either side doing it. Minnesota would attempt to make deals to no fewer then 4 other GMs before settling on a deal with the Boston Bruins who had recently traded their goalie of Crawford. In return for Quick, Minnesota would bring in one of the top two prospect goaltenders out there in Vasilevski as well as the prospect Barbashev and Boston's 1st round pick in 2016. Barbashev was rumored to be one of the prospects that Minnesota had coveted during the draft.
Trade #3 Post Draft
To Vancouver:
Brett Connolly
To Minnesota:
Jaroslav Halak
Needing a replacement for Quick until Vasilevski is ready Minnesota elected to go to Vancouver and grabbed Halak for the price of Connolly. Halak has had a decent career and has one year left on his current VHL deal. It is suspected that he will be resigned when it is possible to play the role as starter/mentor to Vasilevski until the time is right.
Trade #4 Post Draft
To Minnesota
Buffalo 1st 2015
Edmonton 1st 2016
Nikita Kucherov
To Edmonton:
Chris Stewart
Lars Eller
Out went Eller and Stewart and in came another talented prospect in Kucherov and two more future 1st round picks. Stated to be a "cap saving measure" Minnesota elected to get rid of two forwards who struggled to meet expectation in the season prior and in doing to saved upwards of 8 million in cap space for the 2015-16 season.
Trade #5 Post Draft
To Minnesota:
Winnipeg 1st 2016
Chicago 2nd 2015
To Winnipeg:
Nick Leddy
The most recent trade by Minnesota was Nick Leddy for another two picks. Rumored to be yet another cost saving measure, Leddy was moved out to add a 1st in 2016 and a 2nd in 2015. The move will save 3 to 4 million in cap space for the following years.
All together many trades have come out of Minnesota over the past few weeks and in all 6 players have left the team through trades. When you also add in current unsigned players of Whitney, Stempniak, Labarbera, Zanon and Ryder you get the feeling that there is a new look for the Wild come 2014-15.
GM Scott was quoted as saying "The trades may seem odd to some, but we have a plan and a need to stick to it. We had no room to resign Quick, Eller, Voracek, OEL, Karlsson, Kruger and Hodgson to extensions next season so some tough decisions were made on who had to go. These trades freed up over 17 million in cap for the 2015-16 season and gave us even more chips for future moves. We now have 6 1st round picks in the next two season as well as having over 16 million in cap room this season for one year deals to veterans. With only 4 spots to fill, we expect to be able to grab one or two nice free agents to keep out still elite team at the top of the west."
Below is a preview of the expected 2014-15 Minnesota Wild Line-Up
Zuccarello - Getzlaf - Voracek
Mackinnon - Kopitar - xxxxx
xxxxx - Hodgson - xxxxx
Gordon - Kruger - Roussell
OEL - Giordano
Karlsson - Shattenkirk
xxxxx - Weaver
Halak
Raanta
Halak
Raanta
