MNPackfan32 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Wild are a dumpster fire. I'd say sell of what you can, but if the best Fenton can get for Niederreiter is Rask... What a mess. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 10 hours ago, MNPackfan32 said: Wild are a dumpster fire. I'd say sell of what you can, but if the best Fenton can get for Niederreiter is Rask... What a mess. But hey, they'll probably still make the playoffs, unlike the other 3 teams in-state right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNPackfan32 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 31 minutes ago, swede700 said: But hey, they'll probably still make the playoffs, unlike the other 3 teams in-state right now. 😒 I'm worn down by the Wild making the playoffs just to get shelled in the 1st round. Start moving pieces to try to open cap space/add prospects for 2-3 years down the road and build around Kaprizov. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VikeManDan Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 58 minutes ago, MNPackfan32 said: 😒 I'm worn down by the Wild making the playoffs just to get shelled in the 1st round. Start moving pieces to try to open cap space/add prospects for 2-3 years down the road and build around Kaprizov. Kind of where I'm at, they're the Bengals of the NHL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 13 minutes ago, VikeManDan said: Kind of where I'm at, they're the Bengals of the NHL. Or how about the 90s-00's Timberwolves and the '00's Twins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heimdallr Posted February 8, 2019 Author Share Posted February 8, 2019 Now that the Loons' opener is less than a month away (3/2 at Vancouver), and all the major roster moves are done, I figured I'd write up some notes on all the new additions. The theme of the offseason was DEFENSE (added 2 defensive midfielders, 3 defenders and 2 keepers). We are also getting back Kevin Molino and Ethan Finlay from season-long ACL injuries which will help the attack. Jan Gregus 6'4", 28 years old, born in Czechoslovakia Box-to-box central midfielder and free kick specialist Comes in as the team's 3rd Designate Player Spent last 3 seasons at FC Copenhagen 21 appearances for the Slovakian national team Ozzy Alonso 5'11", 33 years old, born in Cuba Hard-hitting defensive midfielder Defected to the US while in Houston with the Cuban national team Spent 10 seasons with Seattle Sounders (277 appearances and 20,000+ minutes) 5-time MLS All-Star/Best XI 2016 MLS Cup champion, 4x US Open Cup champion, 2014 Supporters Shield champion Ike Opara 6'2", 29 years old, born in North Carolina Centerback, highly athletic, set piece specialist (15 goals) Former 3rd-overall pick, 8 seasons in MLS (last 5 with rival Sporting KC) 2017 MLS defender of the year + MLS Best XI 2013 MLS Cup Champion, 2x US Open Cup Champion Romain Metanire 5'10", 28 years old, born in France Rightback, effective 2-way player Spent last 2 seasons with Reims (French Ligue 1), also 193 appearances for Metz (Ligue 1/2) First Malagasy national player to play in MLS Vito Mannone 6'2", 30 years old, born in Italy Goalkeeper, 160 appearances in Premier League/Championship 7 years with Arsenal (23 appearances), moved to Reading in 2017 for $2M Comes to MN on loan from Reading (English Championship) Dayne St. Clair 6'3", 21 years old, from Ontario Goalkeeper, likes to come out and distribute with his feet 2019 7th overall pick out of Maryland 2018 NCAA Champion, did not allow a goal in last 500 minutes Chase Gasper 6'0", 23 years old, from Virginia Leftback, 2-way player, 2018 NCAA Champion 2019 15th overall pick, from Maryland (spent previous 3 years at UCLA) 21 appearances for USA U18/U21 teams 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heimdallr Posted February 8, 2019 Author Share Posted February 8, 2019 Here is the projected opening lineup, which is also what we saw in last night's preseason game (outside of Metanire and Mannone who aren't in the country yet): The most interesting note is that Schuller has been playing the left wing in the preseason, even though he is mainly known as a central midfielder. It is an interesting tactic because he has been drifting into the central of the field when attacking, which opens up room on the wing for Calvo to move up. When defending, it is a traditional 4-2-3-1, but when attacking it shifts almost to a 3-5-2 with Schuller acting like a 3rd central midfielder and Calvo moving up as the left wing. I'm guessing that if Gregus or Alonso are ever out of the lineup, Schuller will take their place inside and either Romario Ibarra or Ethan Finlay will come in as a more traditional winger. The other thing to watch is who the centerback pairing will be. With Opara coming in he will be an obvious starter, but the battle between Kallman and Boxall for the other spot will be fun to watch. Kallman got the start last night, but Boxall has generally started over Kallman in the past. It really just depends if Heath wants someone stronger (Boxall), or someone quicker (Kallman). Overall the lineup looks dramatically better than either of the last two seasons, and on paper Minnesota looks like it could be one of the better teams in the Western conference. It will be a huge disappointment if we aren't in the playoff hunt at the end of the season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RpMc Posted February 8, 2019 Share Posted February 8, 2019 Thank goodness for you, Heimdallr. I only need to go to one spot for Loons info. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heimdallr Posted February 10, 2019 Author Share Posted February 10, 2019 Â That is a lot of effort and marketing nonsense for a plain white t-shirt. Adidas sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heimdallr Posted February 10, 2019 Author Share Posted February 10, 2019 Compared to the GOAT kits from 2016... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 17 hours ago, Heimdallr said: Â That is a lot of effort and marketing nonsense for a plain white t-shirt. Adidas sucks. The marketing people need to stop themselves with such nonsense. That doesn't evoke anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gnat Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 Twins signed Lucas Duda and invited him to spring training. I like him as a potential power bad if need be. Don't know if he'll make the team, but I could see him going to 1B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Gnat Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 Wolves are getting healthy, I'll be curious to see how it goes when they get a full squad back, or less Jones, and more Covington when he comes back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNPackfan32 Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 Wild choking on Joe Mauer night? You can't freaking make this stuff up 😂😂😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TENINCH Posted February 13, 2019 Share Posted February 13, 2019 2 minutes ago, MNPackfan32 said: Wild choking on Joe Mauer night? You can't freaking make this stuff up 😂😂😂 We need to suck bad so we can get a top 2 pick. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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