u/manilovekaprizov

I just listened to the newest “bonus” episode of Worst Seats in the House, and while I generally enjoy the podcast, this episode didn’t have a ton of meat. So, to save anyone else the ~45 mins, I just wrote a quick summary of what I found pertinent! :)

— Wild games will be on television - an announcement should be sometime next week.

— Steve Y stepping down will delay the Dylan Larkin effort - Russo is 100% positive; the rest of the content regarding DL is conjecture that’s already been discussed ad nauseam.
⭐️ The only new piece: Russo & Lapanta both said that a few weeks ago, they would have put Larkin’s future at 95% chance he’s traded and 5% chance he stays. Now, they both have it at 60% traded, 40% stays.

— Wild Finnish D prospect Aron Kiviharju is in MN for a few weeks (his agent wanted him to see the area & he’s playing in Da Beauty League), but he’ll return to Finland for his mandatory military service.

— Charlie Stramel’s recovery is going great!

— Wild were interested in Claude Giroux but he only wanted Ottawa or Philly.

— Wild are totally uninterested in Shane Wright.

— Russo predicts Yurov and Haight will be the players with the biggest improvements / take the largest steps from last year.

Link to full episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1MLN02WAUl6Ou5nLr4K5sZ?si=ohLE7jmfQu6af3wMoeoJ-Q&utm_source=copy-link

https://xcancel.com/RussoHockey/status/2077806974285004892?s=20

All RFAs have now been signed!

Source: https://xcancel.com/mnwild/status/2075596061033259308?s=20

#3 - Olli Määtä (most recently worn by John Klingberg in 2023)

#20 - Blake Coleman (most recently worn by Pat Maroon in 2024)

#31 - Calvin Pickard (most recently worn by Zane McIntyre in 2024 in Iowa & Kaapo Kähkönen in 2020 with the Wild)

#49 - Maxim Shabanov (most recently worn by V1Ctor Rask in 2022)

Määtä, Coleman, & Shabanov all kept their previous numbers, but Pickard had to change from #30 as that is currently worn by the Wall!

OG Post: https://xcancel.com/mnwildPR/status/2074584236795863386?s=20

Every year, Elliotte Friedman puts out a 4ish hour episode of his podcast, 32 Thoughts, with a section on each team. I typed out a summary of what he said about the Wild for those who are interested in all of his reporting from the off-season but don’t want to trek back through his posts/the subreddit/the entire episode. Some of it is “old news” but I included it all anyways, as Elliotte is the best in the biz. Hope it’s interesting to at least someone!

— Bill Guerin likes to make a lot of noise, and it’s been quiet so far. Guerin’s not a panicker.

— Guerin won’t talk about the pursuit of Dylan Larkin publicly, because “even a fearless guy like Bill Guerin…is not going to cross Steve Yzerman.”
⭐️ Elliotte believes Guerin has given Yzerman his best offer, which is more future-oriented, and Yzerman isn’t interested in it.
⭐️ It’s not in Bill’s nature to give up “unless the player is his or somewhere else.”
⭐️ However, he’s frankly not sure they can make the deal.
⭐️ Friedman suggests Yzerman wants someone such as Eriksson Ek, whom Guerin is uninterested in moving, which stalls the negotiations

— Maxim Shabanov intrigues Elliotte because of the new chance he’s going to get with the Wild - he’s going to get “more of a run” and play higher up in the lineup than he has before.

— Regarding moving off of Zuccarello, an unnamed coach told Elliotte that when he watched the Wild, it felt like it was 2 against 5 on the ice. It wasn’t a criticism of Zuccy & Kirill, but he said they looked for each other at the expense of the rest of the players, which wasn’t always effective.

— The Wild like Yurov a lot as a player, despite the trade buzz.

— Elliotte re-iterates his prediction for a Quinn Hughes extension is 3 x $18 million.
⭐️ There’s no need to freak out that an extension hasn’t been completed yet. Guerin likes to take his time with these things.

— He also reassures Wild fans who may be worried about the state of the team as of now to remember Guerin will take advantage & be aggressive if there is an opportunity to add (within his ability).

— Elliotte roots for any team that employs Calvin Pickard.

Here’s the whole podcast for those interested: https://open.spotify.com/episode/09Zybe7psTa1JFXvwGiEH1?si=xKLC7MW0RMCxKccpxDXBcg

https://xcancel.com/RussoHockey/status/2073876227501216040?s=20

https://xcancel.com/DarrenDreger/status/2069584226861593051?s=20