Can the Minnesota Wild afford Dylan Larkin?
JoeBanzai
Posts: 12,853 ✭✭✭✭✭
It doesn't look like it to me.
The Wild are currently $9.4M under the cap (I do not claim to be a cap expert by any means!).
Dylan Larkin makes $8.7M, so at first glance, the answer would be YES, we can afford him and finally get a top center to hopefully make the Wild a serious contender for a championship.
However, we still need to fill 4 (3 if we don't give up a player on the current roster) roster spots. Probably 2 forwards and 2 defensemen. 4 rookie, or NHL minimum salary contracts are at least $3.6M. So it looks to me like we have about $5.8M, NOT $9.4M.
The names that get thrown out in a possible trade for Larkin are; Wallstedt, Stramel and Yurov AND a1st round pick. I would NOT like to include Jesper Wallstedt in any trade! He is playing for $2.2M and looks like the goalie of the future right now. That proposal would seemingly make the money work, IF Detroit is interested, with saving $4.2M the 3 Wild players are making, BUT it puts you right up to the cap (over?) as you then need to replace your goalie (of the future?), plus the 2 defenseman and another forward.
_People never seem to consider you need a full 23 man roster when looking at cap space.
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Would Detroit be willing to take a guy like Jonas Brodin in the trade? Jonas's no move contract is done and at $6M and 32 years old, he's still a great defender. Detroit is way under the cap and they have money to spend on Defense.
Filip Gustavsson's contract looks terrible at the moment, with his injury and late season performance last year. A BIG question on Wild management's mind must be; "do we hope Gus can be good enough to help us go all the way?". If you give up Wallstedt and he develops into a superstar without the Wild winning the Cup at least once, the complaining is going to be unbelievable!
I really don't see anyone else the Wild can easily get rid of to shed salary that anyone would want.
The good news is we CAN afford Quinn Hughes next year with Jared Spurgeon's contract of $7.575M expiring.
I am REALLY hoping Quinn wants to play here, but if he wants to play with his brothers in NJ, I wouldn't blame him.
The Wild are at a HUGE crossroads right now. GM Bill Guerin seems to be trying to gamble the future on winning now. The down side is giving up the future young players and more first round exits.
It's a fascinating time right now for Wild fans!
GO WILD!
Comments
I think they have to dump Gustavsson & either Brodin or Eriksson Ek may need to go.
They way overpaid for Kaprizov at $17M a year. Unfortunately, he disappears in noticeable spurts; especially in the playoffs. I haven't seen the big names do the same that kept on playing beyond Kiril's exit.
My guesss is Guerin will pull it off and it will likely involve a 3rd team.
If you do this, you stop hanging on to some of these old guys that don't really contribute much. To me, they need to get faster/quicker and put some faith into younger guys. Like the Twins, they seem to slow-roll the young guys too often. They didn't do that with Faber - speaking of which, what a steal he was. Make a couple more of those pickups with savvy scouting...
FWIW, I'm much more optimistic on the ability for the Wild to win the Cup compared the the Wolves to win the NBA. The GM of the Wolves is so overrated and overpaid it's unbelievable. Gave all that up for Gobert & then watch KAT excel while Julius Randle sucks. I digress but the problem with the Wolves is that they need to fire Mr. Nice Guy, head coach Chris Finch. He's awful. Him and the Spurs coach are two peas in a pod.
Erik
They're going to have to go younger. With Gus's surgery I think you're stuck with Wallstedt and Gus for next season and you go young.
Maybe... Guerin pulls something off but I don't see it. It won't make sense on paper if it happens.
Don't know about Dylan Larkin, but you will always have Bob Dylan.🎸🎤😀
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Gustavsson is pretty much untradeable right now, he's hurt, had some weird vomiting problems during games last year and he has a complete no move contract. If you trade Brodin and Hughes goes to play with his brothers you will have ONE good D man left in two years. Jonas is BY FAR our best defensive defenseman. Ek is their best center and he too has a no move contract.
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That's so ridiculous it doesn't deserve a response. Do you even WATCH the games? Kaprizov had 15 points in 11 games in the playoffs this year. He was on the ice for 10 more goals than was scored against. OMFG! He's a bargain!
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I don't care how he does it, I think next year might be our best chance to win it all. Quinn Hughes is a big factor!
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The Twins are a joke, they don't even try to win. Need new ownership badly.
Faber was a great pick up. Boldy was a great draft pick and his contract is a bargain. Signing McCarron for $3M was a STEAL! He is huge and is very good at face offs. I predict he will play a lot next year and show improvement playing with better linemates.
Two of our "old guys" accounted for a LOT of offense last year. Zucc and Tarasenko. 100 points between the two. It will be interesting to see if they resign either or both. Nick Foligno is very old and made $4M last year. I think he'll be gone or take a huge pay cut. The problem with the "younger guys" is a lot of them got traded and the ones they have don't score much. Yurov does look like he has potential.
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I don't follow the Wolves.
I see a big year next year and a potential disaster after that, especially if Hughes leaves.
Hard to go young when you have given up so many prospects and if they go after Larkin, it may cost them MORE young guys AND maybe a 1st round pick.
GO WILD!
Wings won't take a goalie. They're set at that position with a loaded farm system as well. They also won't take a 32-year old defenseman.
They just got John Gibson and he is 33 years old and is worse than Gustavsson, who's 28 and Talbot is washed up. I don't know who they have in their farm system, but they aren't going to make a rookie their #1 goalie. Gibson is at .899 save % over the last 4 seasons. NOT GOOD. Gus is at .911 over the same period. Gus has a full no move contract, I don't see him waiving it. So that appears to be a moot point.
They just picked up Faulk last year and he's 34. I doubt he's anywhere near the player Brodin is.
Who knows if Larkin even gets moved. He's under contract for the next 5 years. Why does he want out?
My point was, the Wild can't pay Larkin and Hughes and a full roster without getting rid of at least one of their larger contracts.
SO, what do you think of the so called proposal I have been hearing about? Larkin for Wallstedt (yeah, I see he's a goalie) Yurov and Stramel plus a 1st round pick next year.
Wow, Moritz Seider looks like a great one!
I'd love to see Larkin in a Wild Jersey, but I really don't know how they make it happen. Give Brodin away?
What position does he play and can he win faceoffs?
Gibson isn't 33 yet (month away) and 33 isn't old for a goalie. He was terrific last year - Save % doesn't tell the full story. They have Sebastian Cossa and another guy in the AHL and then an elite prospect in another league. They aren't trading for a goalie when they have so many needs in other areas.
The Faulk trade was terrible.
I think the trade you proposed is not enough to get Larkin.
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Well, I wouldn't trade for Gustavsson right now either, even though his numbers (especially goals saved above average and quality start%) are FAR superior to Gibson's.
I'm not actually proposing a trade. Dylan Larkin is proposing a trade. My only question is if The Wild can acquire Larkin and stay under the cap and it doesn't look like it unless they get rid of someone who makes several million per year.
The "proposed" trade I have seen bantered about ( Stramel, Yurov and a #1) will not clear enough cap room to pay Larkin IF we need to save for Hughes's next contract. We should know in a couple of weeks what that looks like. If Quinn leaves to play with his brothers, we will have plenty of money.
I looked at the Red Wings and IMMEDIATELY saw how poor your goalies appeared to be and their ages and thought you might want a better, younger goalie. 33 is NOT old for some goalies, so that is true.
My other thought was Brodin. You (and the rest of the hockey fans) don't understand how good Brodin is because he's not a scorer. The guy is a superb skater and is assigned to cover the opponents best player. His contract is a bargain right now and he is one of the few players we have who is good and we can trade. 32 is not that old for a defenseman.
A better goalie and a great defenseman could really offset the loss of Larkin for you guys. 2 bottom 6 centers and a low first round pick WONT.
Nah. Again, goalie isn't the problem. Detroit already has 2 studs on defense in Seider and Edvinsson, with young guys on their way up as well. What is missing is 5-on-5 scoring. Other than Debrincat, they have nobody. If they're trading away a 30-goal scorer, they gotta get offense in return or prospects/picks that will give them offense. The trade you mentioned doesn't do that.
Again, I was attempting to show that Minnesota cannot take on Larkin's salary without moving at least one higher paid player.
Yurov has shown to be a solid defensive center with very little scoring skill and Stramel is projected to be a bottom 6 player (I hope that's wrong), a first round pick is most likely to be a later pick, so that's not much value to anyone either.
I realize you disagree, but you would be just as well off to improve your defense as to hope for a goal scorer.
I am beginning to wonder if Larkin even gets traded. Do you consider him a "superstar", or just a very good player? It looks like he would be a very nice fit here, but to get him we might need to get a third team involved. or make another trade to shed salary and that would potentially weaken the team in the effort to get a center.
If you can't get what you need in return, why even trade him? He's under contract. Has he said a lot about this trade request? Is it just frustration or is he insistent on wanting out? It appears he really has little leverage. If he let's his wanting out affect his play, that just lowers his value.
People here in Minnesota are DESPERATE for a top center. I recently read they tried to get Eichel and couldn't get him under the cap. Sound familiar?
If Quinn Hughes doesn't sign here, I'm assuming the Wild will do just about anything to get a top center. Guerin wants to win NOW.
P.S. you mentioned 5 on 5 scoring. Larking gets a lot of goals on the power play. He's averaged 17 even strength goals over the last 4 years.
Remember there is almost a 10% cap increase yoy until the next CBA negotiations begin in earnest. The increase in Kaps salary as a percentage of cap goes down next year even though the price goes up.
Guerin keeps saying he’s gonna land a top 6 center. I’m skeptical. What do you think of the mccarron extension?
I LOVE IT!
No, he's not a #1 center.
He could possibly be a 2nd line guy, but I envision him as a 3rd line center who is big, still young (31), is good at face offs (almost 54% since becoming a full time player), he's not afraid to fight, but unlike some of our other big guy experiments, he can actually play hockey. He uses his size, he averages about 170 "hits" per season, top 50 or so in that category. His give/take numbers are very good. He also is a Right handed shooter, the Wild are almost all Lefties. He might be a good option on the second power play unit, you don't like to have all left handed shooters out there at the same time. $3.3M seems like a bargain. He's averaged 76 games played during the last 4 years.
He's not a great scorer. If he was he'd be making a LOT more money. On a line with Marcus Foligno and Yakov Trenin, the opposing team might not want to send anyone out there for fear of bodily injury!
The Wild need to improve their "bottom 6" just as much, if not more than, getting a #1 center.
I'm not to excited about the salary cap going up. It helps every team and increases players salaries, so I don't see it as that big a deal.
We're a couple of weeks from getting some more information on Quinn Hughes. If he leaves, we have about another $15M in future money to spend, but end up with a HUGE need on Defense AND a forward who can score just to stay at the same level.
We've been looking for a #1 center for a while now that we have some cap space, Larkin wants a trade, he would be a nice fit. As Spock would say "FASCINATING"!
NOTHING on the free agent list that interests me at Center. Trading for a #1 center will be costly if not impossible.
I am doubtful he gets traded. Yzerman doesn't allow himself to be pushed around - ask Jonathan Drouin.
No, I do not consider Larkin a superstar. I think he's a star who will perform better with a better supporting cast.
I mentioned 5-on-5 scoring as a team problem, not just Larkin. Larkin's 5-on-5 has disappeared each of the last two seasons down the stretch as Detroit has faded. And there was no help from teammates. Detroit scored 25 goals under league average 5-on-5 this year, 20 under last year.
Larkin would be a tremendous fit for Minnesota.
@joebonzai --- Kaprizov is paid $3 million more than any other player in the NHL. I watch the games & he did disappear in spurts, just like I said. He's an All-Star caliber player but I don't think it's expecting too much for him to produce at an even higher level with that inflated salary. Not sure why Guerin thought it was a good idea to set a ceiling so high - it's not like they rewarded him for doing something special in the playoffs.
Carolina doesn't even have one player above $10M per year.
Well, if they cannot trade Gustavsson then they're in a bad spot. Gonna have to put some faith in their own young guys or get lucky with another Faber-like trade.
Beating a dead-horse but I don't undestand why the owners don't force a vote to change the playoff system. I've never heard one sound argument on why it's fair. I'd rather see them completely kill the conferences and just seed the best 16 teams.
OR
I'd rather see them adopt the NFL approach with 8 divisions and 2 or 3 wild cards.
Erik
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First off, Kaprizov hasn't been paid that yet, not until next season. Secondly, until Boldy emerged this year, Kaprizov was 50% of the team's offense. Finally, you either don't see or don't appreciate the fact that he also excels in all other aspects of the game. I suppose you think a guy like McDavid is a better hockey player because he scores a lot of points. He's NOT!
By the way, Boldy completely disappeared against Colorado, his only goal was an empty net goal and guess who passed him the puck. Kaprizov had 6 points in the 5 games. I suppose you need him to score on every other shift? He's the best forward on our team. but he can't dominate EVERY game.
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I don't understand your point here at ALL. Does that mean we should trade Kaprizov for two $8M players? Carolina doesn't have a player as good as Kaprizov. What they do have are 7 players making $6M per year or more. They have more "star" players, but no true "superstar". You don't seem to like Kirill, I guess that's your prerogative.
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Gus has a no move contract. They can't trade him, send him to the minors or waive him without his consent. He's been a VERY GOOD goalie for three out of the last 4 seasons. He's hurt right now too. Wallstedt looks fantastic but he's had 23 "quality starts" in his NHL career. He's FAR from a proven commodity.
The point of my thread was that it doesn't look to me, like the Wild can trade for Dylan Larkin without getting rid of at least one of their bigger contracts and stay under the cap. Brodin seems to be the only one we have that doesn't have a no trade contract.
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The NHL is clueless in so many ways. The playoff system is just one. It's been about 15 years since the Presidents Cup team has won the Stanley Cup, so I guess the regular season doesn't mean much.
I never said he's not a good or great player nor brought up any one player specifically.
I simply stated why did Guerin decide to pay him $3 million more than any other player in the NHL? Why set the ceiling that high? Based upon some of the rankings I've seen online, he's rated in the top 6 to 10 offensive players but he's goin to be paid #1 overall.
I'm not trying to argue with you. I'm just making the point that at $17M per years for the next 8 years, I think he will need to produce at an even higher level.
Yep, he needs a better center 1 to reach that potential.
The purpose of bringing up Carolina not having a $10M player is that they won the cup without a top-heavy contract on their roster. It's going to be a different approach with the Wild...
Erik
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He's worth it. He's not only a top 5 offensive player, he does so much more for the team than most other big scorers. Lou Nanne says Kirill wins puck battles on the boards better than any of the "superstar" players. I have on many occasions seen him go into the corner against two opponents and gain possession of the puck. Nanne goes on to say "the other team is so focused on him, they end up almost not even trying to score, they're happy just to keep him from scoring". I watch every Wild game and there are very, very few where he's not clearly the best offensive player on the ice for either team.
You should know that the highest paid player in any sport usually isn't for long. He became available to sign at the prime of his career and Guerin wasn't about to lose his best player. The best player to ever wear a Wild jersey.
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Well, you're coming up with some preposterous statements, so it's hard not to argue with you.
So is that expectation going to drop when he's the 5th or 10th highest paid? He's ALREADY worth $17M and it's a BARGAIN! The cap is supposed to be going up, so salaries are too.
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We agree on that. He made Ryan Hartman a 34 goal scorer when they played together and Hartman missed about another 10 great scoring chances. Now, look at Zuccarello's numbers, his scoring is better from the age of 34-38 than at any other time in his career. Kirill makes his linemates BETTER. You give Kirill a center who can score goals and maybe then you will see his value. All you seem to be interested in is points. A lot of fans are like that.
Seriously, I would advise you to start watching Kaprizov when he's doing other things than scoring. then start watching other top 5-10 guys who do nothing more than skate around looking to score and never playing defense or fighting for loose pucks.
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I get it. Carolina doesn't have anyone good enough to negotiate a $17M contract. They do however, have more $6-10M guys than the Wild do. Yes, the Wild are a top heavy $ team. Do you think those 4 years having less money to spend because of the Parise/Suter buyouts didn't dramatically effect our ability to sign good/great players?
Still, this doesn't have much to do with how the Wild are going to acquire and pay for a top center. They might be better off going after a couple of RFA centers who don't make as much money. Quinn Hughes is going to be the next $15-17M a year player if we can sign him. He's worth it too!
This may help you rationalize the info I'm consuming:
https://x.com/realmnsportsfan/status/2067617710670827599/video/1
Erik
I saw that, and it's probably the stupidest take I have ever seen.
The one and only reason they might not sign Zuccarello is because Mats will be 39 years old next year. Has nothing to do with how much Kirill, or anyone else on the team, is making.
Kaprizov is a BARGAIN!
I just don't understand this kind of thinking. If you want to complain about contracts, complain about the $12M they have tied up between Spurgeon and Middleton.
Well, Florida just traded 3 1sts and a 2nd for Brady Tkachuk, a winger (not center like Larkin) who scores less than Larkin with less left on his contract and coming off a bad season. That would seem to set the market for Larkin to be something very similar if not better.
Also hurts Larkin in that Florida was one of the three teams on his acceptable destination list.
First of all, that's A LOT to pay for Tkachuk.
Did Brady demand/request a trade? If not that's a factor.
Larkin does NOT score more than Brady, it's almost exactly the same. When you look at how much more time Brady spends in the penalty box, he's a better scorer. Brady is also 3 years younger, 3 inches taller and 20 lbs heavier.
Your post DOES however relate directly to my question;
It does NOT appear the Wild can afford Dylan Larkin.
Lou Nanne made his weekly appearance on KFAN, the local sports radio station today.
He said the Wild made a comparable offer for Brady Tkachuk.
He went on to say Tkachuk was better/more valuable than Larkin, even though the Wild really need a Center.
When asked if the Wild were getting "desperate" for a guy like Larkin, he said they certainly might be. He thinks Larkin would be a great fit.
Nanne seems totally confidant the salary cap is going to go up significantly, and so much, he feels Quinn Hughes would be smarter to sign a 3 year deal at around $15M per year and really cash in when it's time to sign again.
So much for the Wild having the advantage of being able to offer Hughes an extra year than any other team trying to sign him.
Very frustrating for Wild fans now that the team is out from under the Parise/Suter buy out dead cap hit. With money to spend and not being able to acquire any top players (so far) to a long term deal.
Rumors (Facebook) have been saying Larkin wants to go to Dallas. Yzerman is going to want a LOT! Tabe, you might be right about how much Larkin is going to bring in a trade.
This off season is pivotal for the Wild. If they cant get Larkin and Hughes signs elsewhere, we are going to be rapidly getting bad on defense and other than Kaprizov and Boldy, guys that can put the puck in the net.
GO WILD!
Pretty sure it's better for scorers to be on the ice so they can, ya know, score goals. And, yep, 3 years, younger, 3 inches taller, 20lbs heavier, all are positives. A whole lot less time left on his team-friendly contract is a negative.
Larkin is working on 5 straight 30-goal seasons and has 6 total. Tkachuk has 3 total (and a 29).
Regardless, as I said earlier, Detroit has too many goalies, so they traded one (Cossa) for a 1st round pick from Utah and drafted a scorer who will be attending Michigan in the fall. Excellent trade for Detroit.
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Glad to see Detroit is making good moves. Looks like I was right about them needing a goalie, now the Wild have one less thing to offer.
Rumors here say Guerin is really going after Larkin and it's down to here or Vegas. You never know what will happen until it does.
I hope we can figure out how to get him, he looks like a GREAT player who wants to win NOW and the Wild want to win now too. I still don't see how they can get under the cap if they get Larkin and have to sign another 4 (?) guys to fill out the roster. I'm sure Guerin has a plan.
If we can win it all next year and everything blows up after that, it's worth it to win a Cup.
GO WILD!
Did you see Leipold guaranteeing they will sign Hughes? Bold move.
"We had to give up a lot to get him in this past year. We are going to re-sign him. The question will be for how long."
Wow. Let's hope Hughes agrees!
Also hearing the Wild are really trying hard to get Larkin from Detroit. It will be interesting if we can come up with a package that Yzerman will agree to.
IF we can add both these players, the key to challenging for a deep Cup run will be the 4 or so players we are going to need to sign to fill out the roster. According to "Puckpedia" for next year, the Wild have $9.4M in projected cap space. Larkin makes $8.7M. More moves are going to have to happen, I think. The farm system seems pretty thin. Stramel is a big center, maybe he can make the roster.
Patrik Laine is a name that came up recently. Big, right handed forward who can score goals and he's an UFA. Missed almost the entire season last year, so might be affordable. Anthony Mantha is another HUGE forward who had a career year last year, looks like he scored on a very high percentage of his shots. 32 years old.
3 of the top 8 UFA forwards played for the Wild last year. They need to replace 150 points. Larkin (IF we get him) will chip in about 65.
We should know more on Hughes soon!
GO WILD!
Anders Lee could be the consolation prize for the Wild...
Erik
Doesn't matter what the Vilde does, they will never win a Cup and they will never make it to one. There is too much competition in the West - Oil and the Avs will dominate for the next few years, with Anaheim and San Jose on the horizon. The city of Minneapolis has how many championships between their 4 major league teams - Vikes, Vilde, Twinkies, Timbercayotes? 1 in a Century (one Twinkie World Series win)? Something is wrong here, someone needs to explain to the city how good pro sports management works. Not like what is going on there, concern..................
Save some Tylenol for the rest of us bro.
Looks like he signed with Utah.
Hope you know more about coins than sports..........you couldn't know less.
Sure, go with that. Minnesota sports have never won but one championship in a Century, it is simple fact. That is a pretty awful success rate. So.............
Keep posting. Showcases your ability to be wrong. You are UNMATCHED!
r/confidentlyincorrect
So which year didn't happen in your world - 1987? Or 1991?
Minneapolis Lakers won 5 time.
Woman's Basketball team has won 4.
"Simple fact" wasn't the only thing "simple" about that post, Some people turn being wrong into an art form.
Don't sleep on the PWHL Minnesota Frost, winners of the first two Walter Cups - a tremendous trophy!
Thank goodness the Wild dumped Jake Middleton on the Calgary Flames - that guy was absolute ass last year.
Erik
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Coleman is and older (35) defensive forward, Calgary is retaining half his salary. Maatta looks interesting, good size, 32 years old, former 1st round pick. Both players are left handed shots.
We got older in this deal. Looks like we are taking on some salary. Middleton was not good in the playoffs, but I still liked his grit. Maata doesn't hit as much. Hope he's better defensively.
We also gave up some draft picks, no number 1's though.
Still waiting on news regarding Hughes!
GO WILD!
Vilde, will never win an NHL championship, or, at least the odds are highly, highly, against them. They are just playoff fodder for the elite teams (when they make the playoffs). Vikes, have never won and don't seem to have the management competence to raise to the championship level. Timbercayotes, none. Twinkies, ok 2, not 1 and I stand corrected, for the last century. Not a great batting average (LOL). Still. 4 major league teams in Minnesota. Yet, NO wins in the past Quarter Century. How many seasons of futility? Let's just say the last 25 years, the last Quarter Century - er, 0 championship wins. So I stand corrected for the past century which was 2 (excepting the success of the Lakes b4 they bailed on Minnesota). That means? 100 failures in the past Quarter Century. 100. 100%. Failed. And the Minneapolis Lakers? Hey they left for a better market. Why couldn't this minor city keep them? Since l960 when the Lakers correctly left for LA, 12 in 66 years, so 18% success rate. From 1947-1960 - 14 seasons in Minnesota? 5, so a whoppin' 36% success rate. So why did they not stick around? Well, market share, market share, market share.
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Fact, 2nd, and 3rd cities are rarely sustainably successful in professional major league sports - NHL, NBA, MLB, NFL. Why? Free agents want to go to LA, NY, Miami, etc................. There is no pizzaz, less money (endorsements), for elite players in the lesser venues. Hey I get it. Why do you think Lebron is in LA and probably moving to Golden State? My beloved Trail Blazers have one championship, 1977, and that was simply the fortune of having the chance to draft Bill Walton, Mo Lucas, and build some good players around them. The only teams in lesser markets with strong success rates? The Spurs, the Oil to name 2 and these are infrequent. Why? Spurs have been amazingly lucky in the draft, Tim Duncan et al., Wemby, and they appear to have strong management that picks the right coaches. The Oil got the Great One and a posse of amazing players around him to get 5. Then they got lucky again with McD and Drais, bust still no more championships. Yet. Probably McD will move in 2 years to a 1rst city market if the Oil don't win the Cup. Free agents? Very few of the top level, if any go to the lesser markets. This is the problem with the lesser markets. So very hard, almost impossible for cities like Minnesota, in the 4 major leagues, to win it all. Got to get lucky in the draft, then have management that is at the highest competency level. If those 2 combine, then maybe 1 or more championships. But probably not.
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But for Minnesota, it has been a complete exercise in futility for mostly the last century. Twinkies 2x, Lakers 5 then leave for greener pastures. That is for 400 seasons between the 4 major league teams in the past Century for 7 wins (1.75% success rate). Ouch, and then the best team leaves! Even less so in the past Quarter Century at 0%. That bespeaks of subpar management an no luck in the draft. For 4 teams. YIKES. Since no elite free agents plan to go to these 4 teams in the numbers that matter? Things are grim in Minnesota.
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OTH, look at my Trail Blazers. They understand the free agent problem in PDX. So they score with bringing in Ja and Dame whom most have already written off, they trade for Jrue, Avdija, and Toum, and they draft carefully to get Scoot, Shae, and Klingon (and his cloaking devices - big arms and hands). They took big risks on Ja and Dame, when no one else would. But today, everyone is talkin' about them Blazers and credit them for taking risks when the odds are against them like any lesser market team. Recognition of the talent and can they gel it? We will see. At least management understands the issues and is thinking outside the box, and takes risks, to try to excel. That is the first step to trying to overcome being in a lesser market. Minnesota x4? Same ole, same ole............
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Hey Minnesota major league sports management -
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Youze got to start thinking outside of the box if you want to be #1. Don't be afraid to excel.............
I have a feeling you were born before common sense was invented.
You have a LONG way to go to even approach mediocrity.
GET A LIFE!