The Minnesota Wild waived Alexander Khovanov on Sunday morning, severing ties with the Russian prospect. On the one hand, it’s a pretty shocking development. They drafted the 22-year-old in 2018. Just a year ago, Mitch Brown from Trackside EP ranked him fourth among a deep Savage organization.
It’s not much of a surprise if you’ve followed Khovanov’s Saga closely, which 10K tracks has in depth. The winger did not make it to the United States due to visa issues and missed NHL and AHL training camp. Once he got there, he was out of shape, which Iowa Wild trainer Tim Army called late in the year.
We don’t know what led Minnesota to give him up on Sunday. Perhaps they received reports that he was not taking his physical condition seriously. Maybe he informed the club that he wasn’t coming back to Iowa. They may have simply decided they weren’t giving a second chance.
It’s definitely not the first time it’s happened. Khovanov is the third midlevel prospect Minnesota has parted ways with in the past calendar year. Reports of Wild’s discontent with Brennan Menell jumping to the KHL during the pandemic became a reality on July 28. The Wild traded Menell to the Toronto Maple Leafs for just a seventh-round draft pick.
Menell was coming off a good year in the KHL, and he seemed ready to attempt a role on the right side of the Wild’s defense. Instead, they cut the bait on the 24-year-old and went with the veterans. jon merrill Y jordie benn.
So Minnesota sent jack mcbain, another 2018 third-rounder, to the Arizona Coyotes at the trade deadline. In this case, McBain appeared to make the decision for Minnesota by not be willing to sign with the club that selected him. after trading, bill guerin summed up the mindset that defines his moves in both the minor and major leagues. “If someone doesn’t want to be here,” she said, “we don’t have a problem moving on.”
That’s just it. Menell was not happy with his future prospects. Instead of giving him a chance, they cut the bait. We don’t know what Minnesota did or didn’t say to convince McBain of the organization. Judging by the team’s focus on other prospects, it’s hard to believe Guerin promised the Boston College star a certain role. No problem if he didn’t like you. Enjoy Arizona. Khovanov didn’t make the show last year, and Wild had no problem losing him. No second chance.
Any of these moves are justifiable in isolation. Was Menell going to pass power? jared spurgeon, matt dumbaY Calen Addison in the depth table? Probably not. Was he a more valuable second-round pick than McBain? haight hunter will determine that. With prospects Vladislav Firstov, Sam Hentges and perhaps Pavel Novák vying for minutes in Iowa, why give them to Khovanov if he doesn’t take his career seriously?
Add it up, though, and Wild just lost two reasonably good prospects. At the very least, Khovanov’s departure from the system means they are a less talented group of prospects than they were on Friday.
Fans love Guerin for his unabashed bravado and active, vocal dedication to changing Wild’s culture. Their there is the door Mentality is definitely a part of that, and it works well for fans. To be fair, the wildlings have never really had a winning culture, so for all we really know, maybe that’s it is the correct road. And as long as Judd Brackett can inject elite talent into the organization, Minnesota may not miss out on the Menells, McBains and Khovanovs of the world.
But Guerin’s itchy finger on the waivers button also has plenty of opportunity to burn. Menell is already in his third organization, so maybe he’s not. McBain was decent at 150 minutes, but it’s too early to call. Still, they got a decent asset for a prospect firmly in the bottom six.
If he can ever figure it out, Khovanov’s lead definitely provides the potential for another team to benefit. It’s not certain that Khovanov will mature, but if he can answer his wake-up call, he has elite puck skills and a strong shot. If a team can nab him for free as a mid-six forward, it will be because the wildlings couldn’t get through to him.
Again, maybe that’s the price you pay to build a winning culture. But how easy should it be that Minnesota wanted people to design their way out? Fans saw something similar with Cam Talbot. Guerin tried to handle the hammer of having him under contract, but it’s hard to do when everyone else who isn’t on the show is sent right away.
Contrast that with St. Louis Blues’ handling of Vladimir Tarasenko, who has had an open exchange request for a year. His unhappiness didn’t stop him from a 34-goal, 82-point season.
However, back to perspectives. Even if these moves to get rid of small talent shards don’t have an impact on their own, will they add up? Are the savages going to get rid of one or two unhappy prospects each year prematurely? If so, eventually this will burn out Minnesota. It may be the price of Guerin’s culture, but that doesn’t mean it’s a smooth trade.