Bill Guerin, the Minnesota Wild, and the rebuild/reload debate…
Matt Larkin of The Hockey News: Bill Guerin made moves that suggested the Minnesota Wild were both a buyer and seller. However, Guerin struck back with this quote.
“I would say more of a retool,” he said. “You look into the ages of a lot of our players. We have the Matt Dumbas, the Jonas Brodins that are right in the middle, 25-, 26-year-old guys. We have the younger group of guys: Joel Eriksson Ek, Luke Kunin, Ryan Donato, Jordan Greenway. And then we have the older group: Zach Parise, Ryan Suter, Eric Staal, Mats Zuccarello. I actually think we’ve got some good players. Because we’ve got some younger players, I don’t feel the need to get rid of everybody. It’s not really the way I see it.”
This is not a different way of looking at it. It represents using some common sense to assess needs while keeping balance. Guerin is a big preacher in the development of players. It served him well in Pittsburgh and will especially in Minnesota.
Expect Guerin to hedge more than anything else. The general manager called this a soft rebuild once and that is accurate.
Zach Hyman expects a bigger payday ahead…
Steve Simmons of The Toronto Sun: Consistency means dollars in today’s NHL and Zach Hyman shows it every game. Hyman scored 20+ goals in each of the last two seasons. That is by providing the ability of a two-way forward on a team full of one-dimensional players.
His contract runs until the end of next season. At $2.5 million AAV, that is some bargain. Zach Hyman plays a physical game, is never afraid to go to the net, and always is backchecking and forechecking. Also, he excels at doing the little things well.
Should he get $5 million AAV? That answer may be more yes than no. However, that is up to Brendan Shannahan and others. One thing is certain. He plays like a forward due for a much bigger payday.
