Dan Wallace: Sweeps Questions, Wild Fans Are Equipped to Answer

Don't think it is a simple yes or not answer there. I think first it depeds on the expectations of the team. A top team like Tampa, deep and skilled, you would expect them to go deeper in the playoffs. That bar gets set right or wrong for the team and what is felt they should accomplish. It is very different for a team just squeaking into the playoffs too. Then there is the match up for the round. Is it a team seen as weaker, a david vs goliath, or a slugfest up for grabs for who wants it most?

In the case of Tampa vs CBJ, Tampa had HUGE expectations for a very strong and deep team. That bar was set and the match up appeared to be lopsided, but nobody really looked at CBJ.

CBJ came in with an all or nothing we are going for it attitude. Sometimes the most dangerous teams are the one's everyone didn't expect to be there, and one's that get written off as done. They have nothing to lose! CBJ had a good team but not a lot of depth, but then went and added bigtime to their top end talent. Nobody really acknowledged that.

Tampa went in overconfident, thinking hey we just keep rolling along. They found themselves in an absolute fight and were unprepared and could never get themselves righted when they discovered this was not going to be the easy series everyone said it was, it wasn't the lopsided series.

Sometimes it is that, other times injuries take a heavy toll, sometimes it is a bad bounce aka Smith with the old Oilers .... any number of things can cause upsets.

It is always disheartening. Fans and media like to overreact, more so now that there is a platform where they can get vocal, put up videos of burning jerseys etc etc. Everyone forgets the players don't play to lose, they play to win, and no one is going to be more dissapointed than they are. The real question is how the teams who got punted in Tampa and Pittsburgh now respond and come back from it. It can crush them, or they can learn and rise above and it fuels them. Time will tell there.

Kind of agree with Roadrunner. It's not a simple yes or no. But i'd lean towards yes, it's better to make the playoffs for the most part...

Look at Columbus, they made the "all in" moves and struggled to get in, but they got in and did what no one was expecting or even dreaming about. Swept the "best" team in hockey.

They got hot at the right time, and I firmly believe ANY squad can do the same. It's simply a matter of will they?...

Now i'm not pretending I think the Wild would have gotten "hot" had they been able to stumble in to the post season, but there's always a chance. But then again, unlike Columbus, Fenton didn't gear up for the "now". His moves were to start rebuilding for the future, so with that said, i don't think they had much of a chance had they made it in.

I just think that the Lightning vs Blue Jackets series is exactly why you hope for the playoffs regardless of how good you think your favorite squad is.

Will the Jackets go on to win the cup? Doubtfully, but they gave their fans one hell of a first round treat!

On the flip side of the coin for Columbus, with the "all in" moves they made, it could be Cup or bust for them because they will most likely have several years to get back to it when they lose half their current UFA's.

Interested to know what some Wild fans' thoughts are on this hypothetical trade.

To MIN: Voracheck, Hagg, 2019 1st Rd (#11)

To PHI: Spurgeon, Donato, Fiala

Jake has 5 seasons left at $8.25m per

The Wild want to get faster and younger NOT get stuck with another aging long term contract

The Wild want to get faster and younger NOT get stuck with another aging long term contract
- Avalanchephenom

Understood. And I'm sure both Donato & Fiala are viewed as key players in achieving that goal, so I'm sure there's not much interest in moving either.

Voracek's contract isn't the prettiest, but he is just 29 years old, and very productive. Despite being prone to mental lapses and having a penchant for the occasional bone-headed play, he remains very productive. I'm not a big fancy stats guy, but from what I understand, he has a reputation for driving play in the offensive zone. I thought that may be appealing to MIN. Also getting the 11th pick to pair with the 12th that they already have could help with getting younger too

Interested to know what some Wild fans' thoughts are on this hypothetical trade.

To MIN: Voracheck, Hagg, 2019 1st Rd (#11)

To PHI: Spurgeon, Donato, Fiala

Jake has 5 seasons left at $8.25m per
- Big_E_88

Yeah, Avalanche guy is right, Fenton trying to get younger and faster and I doubt he is dealing either Donato or Fiala. And although a 1st round pick is always attractive, taking on a 5 year cap hit on another aging player is the last thing the Wild need.

Yeah, Avalanche guy is right, Fenton trying to get younger and faster and I doubt he is dealing either Donato or Fiala. And although a 1st round pick is always attractive, taking on a 5 year cap hit on another aging player is the last thing the Wild need.
- MnGump

Gotcha, thanks. I actually think the Flyers & Wild are in pretty similar positions in terms of what they'd like to do to improve in the near future. I'll be very interested to see what kind of deals Donato & Fiala get. Ironically, I was very interested in both of those guys (Granlund too) when the Flyers were shopping Simmonds at the deadline.

I guess I'm just trying to gauge what other teams' fans think of Voracek. I don't think his contract is THAT bad. It's certainly not a steal, and there's obviously the potential for the last year or two to be ugly, but he'll be 30 at the start of next season and I don't see his production falling off a cliff.

Yeah, Voracek might drive play in the offensive zone, but the Wild already can do that. Its snipers that they are lacking, players that can finish often. Also, neither Voracek or Hagg fill a huge need for the Wild...right handed shooters. And AP is correct, the Wild don't want to take on another large contract with a player who is about to enter the downturn time of their career. The Wild just opened up cap space for the first time in years.

As for the making the playoffs as opposed to missing...I think it really depends on where the team is and has been in recent years. The example of TB, that one would really hurt. With Pittsburgh, I think it might be a little less, as they appeared to be having a slight downturn this season. And then with the Wild, at least IMO, I was happy that they did not make the playoffs, since they have never really caught fire when in the playoffs. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, never changing, but expecting the results to change. And they never did...so it was time to make changes.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, never changing, but expecting the results to change. And they never did...so it was time to make changes.
- Gusrichards

This right here, continuously getting disappointingly snuffed out in the playoffs only led to continuous tinkering. With the Parise/Suter core contracts they were always going to tinker unless the writing was really on the wall like it finally is now.