Dan Wallace: Final Roster Decisions Becoming Clearer

6th or 7th place this season In the Central for the Wild barring a significant trade.

D men are older and not as good as last year. That will probably lead to the goalies having a tougher year. Duhaime deserves a spot and his speed should help out. Keep Rask in the press box.

Because of the lack of depth at forward I'm surprised that the Wild haven't picked up Brett Connelly or Sonny Milano off waivers.

I'd rather have Bjugstad and or Sturm In the pressbox but we are NO DOUBT thin offensively, What happens when we have a significant forward Injury? We may have trouble scoring this season. P.S. West Walz has ABSOLUTELY got to STOP referring to Fiala as a superstar!!! It's not true and It's driving me f%^&ing bananas!!!!!

Because of the lack of depth at forward I'm surprised that the Wild haven't picked up Brett Connelly or Sonny Milano off waivers.
- Shady1962

Connelly was in steep decline last year and Milano has concussion issues. I don’t see either of them reviving their careers.

Bjugstad is marginally better than Rask. He has size and some skill but plays soft. Sturm looked like a decent 4th liner last year. 11 goals in 50 games is good from a 4th liner and he finishes his checks so hopefully he can hold up his end again. Fiala is no superstar but you could call him a star when he’s not turning the puck over. I think defense will be the biggest challenge. They can score if they stay healthy.

Milano and Connolly aren't difference makers but they are both serviceable pros who won't hurt the team and currently the Wild forward depth Is nonexistent.

Milano and Connolly aren't difference makers but they are both serviceable pros who won't hurt the team and currently the Wild forward depth Is nonexistent.
- Shady1962

Those guys are retreads that aren’t even the 13th forward. I would rather see them bring up Dewar, Rossi or Beckman when they have injuries.

When a guy like Kyle Rau Is climbing the depth chart you know It's going to be a long season, We will also have goaltending Issues this year, I don't think Talbot Is a legit starter and this season Is real.

Wild finish on the bubble, and if they do make the playoffs, it will be an early departure. This year the team is weaker then than last season. Going to be a while before a creditable team steps on the ice

Tweaterben Is right, I will stick with my prediction of the Wild finishing 6th or 7th In the Central and missing the playoffs barring a significant trade. We will have trouble scoring goals and the Wild goaltending will go off the tracks In a real 82 game season.

Beckman, Addison, Rossi all sent down, Boldy on IR. Ouch!!!!

3 or so more guys on the waiver list today that could help us. I'd go after Panik, And Logan Brown would be a project but worth grabbing. Panik Is better than about 4 of our forwards.

Wild have zero cap space. Panik would be a 3.2M cap hit. Even if the Wild had the space, signing Panik would be a panic move.

Michal Kempny would be a huge blueline upgrade over Merrill and Benn.

Michal Kempny would be a huge blueline upgrade over Merrill and Benn.
- Shady1962

I agree, Kempny would be an upgrade. But how do the Wild manage the 2.5M cap hit?

Ah, the hell with the cap, just sign everybody! Might as well check to see if McDavid and Matthews are on waivers too.

Good lawd you guys crack me up. So, we all knew that Rossi was going to start in Iowa, no surprise there. Boldy did not look very good consistently, so I think he was on his way to Iowa as well, just to bad about the ankle. Now I am a little surprised that Beckman is going to Iowa. He pretty much did everything he needed to do to win a roster spot. I am betting that that was a real difficult talk for Guerin. Also knew that Addison was not going to make the big club as well. The Wild don't need another little defenseman, like Spurgeon. Should be quite the team in Iowa.

Now, injuries happen, and depending on who is hurt....I can see both Beckman and Rossi back up sooner rather than later. The Fiala/Gaudreau experiment will not work, shifting Gaudreau back to the 4th line. And I am assuming the Pitlick is going to be given the opportunity to shine on the Fiala line, which probably won't happen either. So both Beckman and Rossi will only come up if there are injuries to Top 6 players and not bottom 6. If there is an injury to the bottom 6, you will see players like Rau and Cramarossa up. It's the nature of the game, there is only so many minutes to do around. So there HAS to be guys who just play roles. And you don't want your studs getting into the mindset of "just the role I have to play". They are better off served playing top line minutes and situations in Iowa right now.

Anyone else thinking that Guerin is trying his damnedest to find a trade partner for Rask, like he is asking for anything like a 34 year old "prospect" that can just be sent to Iowa as well.