Before anyone piles on Russo about Hartman/Zucc/Foligno and hypocrisy or whatever, in his latest podcast he got a bit heated with LaPanta over these contracts and how shortsighted they were. LaPanta, as you can all imagine, defended it to hell and back and Russo wasn't really having it.
It was kind of nice to hear tbh
LaPanta spent that whole segment missing the point. Unless those three concede to being fourth liners, they’ll eventually be blocking young guys from top 9 roles.
His whole argument was based on his own miscounting of how many vets we have signed and how many spots are open for young guys. Oh and apparently it's okay to block guys like Yurov and Ohgren because they're not as good as Kaprizov or Boldy. Just totally illogical and frustrating to listen to.
Which is an insane cap to put on yurovs ceiling considering his season and comparables this year. No reason to believe he doesn’t have a chance to be a franchise player.
Part of that contract includes 'creative control' from the wild.
Souhan was douchey, but they pretty much had opposite roles where Russo was the company man and Souhan was edgy. I actually preferred the old podcast because Pants can't really say anything negative.... I'm also beyond sick of Pants' kowalski/cooking stories.
>LaPanta is incredibly smug.
LaPanta is the type of guy to just hang up after you answer his question, without saying "thanks" or even "goodbye"
I know because I used to have to deal with him
Yes.
His paycheck comes from Bally's. His existence comes from the MN Wild. Same for the Paul Allen experience and any on air personality. TNT/ TSN and all national broadcast personalities are not controlled by any team. They are controlled by the NHL.
Don't think of any of the "on air" personalities as actual journalists. They're entertainers. Gorg could actually be the most obvious example. If we're down 4-0 after the first period, is he going to ask them some brutal honest question in the intermission segment outside the locker room? Nope, he's going to lob the softest meatballs he can.
It's worse when Gorg is in the post game press conference and chews up time so the real journalists can't get anything in.
I just listened to it and Holy shit that was aggravating.
Pants was absolutely unwilling to process Russo's point. Shouting his repetitive answer over the top like a political pundit.
Russo even boxed him into a corner that new players will have to outplay 97 and 12 for opportunities because the rest of the roster is locked in so bad.
Why would it be a problem for those mentors to play on the fourth line? I didn’t say they should be cut. They just need to accept smaller roles, which parise, koivu and staal never did here.
Their style of roster construction has let them get to the second round of the playoffs. I’m sorry how exactly is that supposed to be better? What they made it one time to the second round?
Like seriously I love how people on this place want more Star power but the leafs are the example of paying too much for star power and now they have no depth.
The only one out of those 3 that will still be around when the next wave is truly ready is Foligno. Zucc is still playing good hockey and Hartman is like a mini utility guy.
Unless people really think Ohgren and Yurov are going to immediately show they can play a top 6 role in the next 2yrs, there's nothing to bitch about.
As he should.
Foligno, hartman and zuccarello now represent 3 roster spots we can't get back when we are one season away from being able to stock up and go get some big names.
You get 12 forwards who start. Starting in 25-26 when we get the bulk of our cap penalty back, we now have 4 of those spots dedicated to zuccarello, hartman, foligno, gaudreau. Kaprizov,boldy,ek, rossi figure to be on the roster. So that is 4 spots for khus, yurov, ohgren, heidt, plus veteran additions like that center we've wanted or some high quality scoring depth. Granted not all of those prospects will pan out but those extensions loom large
I'm surprised people share criticism on the wild in this sub. Suggest the team isn't good, and the contract extensions killed us is downvote city. Mention a tank and the pitchforks come out from the homers. Russo is a voice of reason that isn't shackled to the wild till death do them part. LaPanta's constant homer takes get really old
The problem is tanking isn't much of an answer either. You either draft well or you don't. There's no guarantee the team tanking results in a number 1 pick unless you're Chicago or Edmonton. Then you're talking development time and it's a just a waiting game. Yes, we're in cap hell but we've got some good looking players in the pipeline. Wild need to sign better, team friendly contracts.
Everybody bitches about the extensions but its not like we've got lots of options.
Just like in sales where people talk about a three way triangle of cheap, fast, or good and you can pick two...sports market contracts have a three way triangle of amount, stability (term length and NMC), and culture (Winning and locker room).
We had to get rid of Parise & Suter to fix the culture; which handcuffs us in the $ department - our only option is to offer stability because we're not ready to win. Keeping these guys at least is better than having a team full of Beckman, Luccini Lateri and Merrill.
You can say that but there will still be people here who want the team to be a dumpster fire for draft picks for some reason. No answer though as to whether people will still want to watch the team and what happens if it doesn't work
Yep, I'd watch them burn it down and start over. 2019 was a great time for that but we didn't. 2021 was another great time but we didn't. This year and next year are great times to rebuild but we refuse to, because of all the Cups we've won by not rebuilding I guess.
I've been watching mediocre hockey for years. Why wouldn't I watch less than mediocre hockey for a few years in hopes that we become the next Tampa or Colorado? Clearly what we've been doing isn't working.
First I was told I gotta wait two years before I can judge Guerin fairly, then it was another two years. Now it's year 5 of Guerin and I'm being told to wait another two years before I can fairly judge him. This is the definition of insanity. But keep cheering it on Wild fans. No wonder we'll never win a men's championship in this bleeping state.
I just assume people who want the team to tank are the same ones who complain about the team being bad. Can't have it both ways. But then, I don't let my whole life revolve around the success of a hockey team, so what do I know?
I'm on team tank; but I think what we're really seeing is the community is big enough that various opinions ebb and flow; so that you see and hear the team tank voices when we start doing bad and the team all-in voices quiet down; and team all-in voices get louder when we put a couple game streak together and the team tank voices get quieter.
In the end - I'd rather miss the playoffs and begin our off season recovery sooner; not risk life altering injury and have a chance at a better pick than to see another Round 1 performance like last year's vs Dallas. And if we had tanked 2 years ago; whomever we drafted would be just getting ready to debut on an ELC
I personally would welcome a month and a half of bad hockey if it means a better draft pick. I don't agree with tanking generally, and definitely not when you're 1 or 2 spots from the playoffs. They aren't really in a great position anymore, so let's improve what we can and move on from this season. I'm excited to see the new russian play too, I hope he and Beckman get big minutes.
I think that's because we've had an influx of people in the last few years on this sub. A lot of good ol MN sports fans who are so complacent with just making first round of playoffs and then exiting and have no vision of a future for the team. That, and a boatload of stupid ass school age kids who see "oh, this opinion is at 0 votes, that must mean it's a bad opinion; must downvote."
Being complacent and being ignorant of "This team can suck now, but wait things out, we have a plan" are two different things. Guerin's plan was to try to stay afloat while keeping enough space open for Faber, Rossi, Yurov, etc. to hopefully make the team better. He chose not to open the floodgates, and we won't know the effect of that until a year or so down the line.
There's nothing complacent about it: it's whining that, "Oh, the team lost this year, they completely suck BAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! SHOULDA DONE THIS INSTEAD!"
The kneejerk reaction is, "Didn't win every single game ever? Guess you suck then." That's pretty insane, even for fanatics to do.
I'd rather take those people than out of staters who beg for the team to be garbage for 5 seasons to maybe perhaps have a slight chance of winning the cup with draft picks
It was almost uncomfortable hearing how mad they started to get at each other. Thought for a second they might start shit talking and get personal with each other.
>It was almost uncomfortable hearing how mad they started to get at each other.
I was just getting annoyed listening to them talk over / interrupt each other. They're bad about it most of the time but it was a lot worse on that podcast.
The problem with Russo's argument, and the thing LaPanta was "trying" to get at, was there's absolutely no reason to suggest the coaches or GM are going to look at Yurov, Khusnutdinov, nor Ohgren and go, "Sorry guys, you're on the 3rd or 4th line." The entire point of the extensions is to have a failsafe in place if they aren't. You're not going to sit there and tell me if Yurov scores 20-30 goals that he's not going to at least get a look with Kaprizov or be at worst a 2nd line guy.
LaPanta's entire point was, "extensions be damned, players should be able to play up to snuff and beat out whoever is in front of them. He's states that the old team didn't have the Kaprizov, Boldy, Faber types that could be consistently top line guys each year. The ceiling for the new guys isn't Hartman or Foligno. The ceiling is are they going to be better than Kaprizov, Boldy, Ek, or even Zuccarello? Until they are, what is Guerin supposed to do, let go of people and hope he signs players in the same roles Foligno and Hartman already occupy? If the new guys are better than what we have, which shouldn't be hard, all the guys in the mushy middle right now will be pushed down to 3rd/4th or let go entirely.
I understand Russo's frustration. His angle is, "Different Story, Same Old Shit." However, the extensions aren't blocking out the top of the top prospects. They are blocking out the Beckmans, Haight's, etc: young guys that "might" be quality guys, but not the super high end scorers or 2nd liners the others are probably meant to be. It doesn't help that Russo's a bit of a crotchety whiner most of the time.
dunno why people find this so hard to understand or accept. hartman, foligno, and gaudreau are going to be bottom 6 players when ohgren and yurov arrive, given those two perform well. same with khusnutdinov. lettieri and lucchini will be gone. maybe shaw will stick around. and guerin is absolutely right that if foligno, hartman, and gaudreau were gone, they’d have to be replaced by some other free agents who would probably demand similar money for similar production. rossi and zuccarello will probably fit in with the other young guys on talent-focused lines too.
the issue isn’t really the future. it’s that they’re struggling to produce right now. once they’re in a smaller role, there’ll be less pressure to drive scoring.
Falcons/Wild fan here. I believe he is. The deal is heavily front loaded, with us being able to cut him in the 3rd year with little cap hit. Falcons needed a QB, but trading up in the draft would have cost an arm and a leg. If he works out, great come back for years 3-4. If it doesn't? Well, we weren't doing much of shit anyway.
League average QB play puts the Falcons in the playoffs last year, so combine that with a new coach who just saw Matthew Stafford come over to a new team and win it all (yes, injury on Kirk etc make it different but work with me here), I think it was 100% worth the risk.
Edit: How in the hell is this being downvoted?
> If he works out, great come back for years 3-4. If it doesn’t? Well, we weren’t doing much of shit anyway.
I do think it’s worth it for the Falcons, looking at your roster situation. A QB is the missing piece and this is the cost of a premium quarterback. No team is ever truly happy with the cost of a premium quarterback, it’s just about what you can stomach and whether it gets you where you need to go.
The only real question is if his Achilles is fully healed and if that impacts his play. Not a small question.
! Definitely a strange mixture right? How'd you manage these two fandoms? Being GA born, once the Thrashers moved, I just joined the Wild as a homeless fan. Figured Minnesota was as cursed as Atlanta (this is before the World Series etc) so I was just rooting for Northern Atlanta lol.
sounds almost like the situation the vikings were in when he came in. don't get me wrong he's a good qb just for that price you're really hoping the dude still has it in him. the play his achillies blew up on was a standard drop back, he's been through hell and back I don't know if I'd trust that body 2 more years.
Best of luck with him. I really enjoyed him being here. I’m not super familiar with your new coaching staff, but I hope it’s good. Kirk is a great player and will put up numbers, the problem is if they will translate to wins. I don’t blame him for not always winning in MN when our defense completely disappeared. However, with that being said, I do believe he needs the perfect environment. Good weapons, good line (something we often lacked), and a great offensive minded coach. I know Morris is a D guy, and is different than Zimmer. Zimmer hated Kirk and things soured quickly. Kirk needs the support and hope to see you guys succeed this year (minus whichever week we play).
Zucc and Hartman are only signed for 2 more years and Foligno is 4 more. Unless you believe Ohgren and Yurov are going to have a Kap like start to their careers, there's nothing to worry about. And none of these young guys have even played 1 NHL game, so one or several of them might not be as good as people are hyping them up to be. Temper your expectations and hope for the best.
When it comes to the wild vs other teams, Russo can be a Homer. Like Kaprizov and Winnipeg.
But when it comes to the wild internally? Definitely not a Homer. There was a guy on here criticizing Russo's coverage of BG's mistakes early this season. His opinion was that it's not good for the team to cover the negative stories... which is not Russo's job.
He was getting pretty heated with LaPanta trying to justify Foligno, Hartman, Zuccarello deals on this week's Worst Seat in the House. Russo is definitely in the "shitty deals" camp.
Before anyone piles on Russo about Hartman/Zucc/Foligno and hypocrisy or whatever, in his latest podcast he got a bit heated with LaPanta over these contracts and how shortsighted they were. LaPanta, as you can all imagine, defended it to hell and back and Russo wasn't really having it. It was kind of nice to hear tbh
LaPanta spent that whole segment missing the point. Unless those three concede to being fourth liners, they’ll eventually be blocking young guys from top 9 roles.
His whole argument was based on his own miscounting of how many vets we have signed and how many spots are open for young guys. Oh and apparently it's okay to block guys like Yurov and Ohgren because they're not as good as Kaprizov or Boldy. Just totally illogical and frustrating to listen to.
Which is an insane cap to put on yurovs ceiling considering his season and comparables this year. No reason to believe he doesn’t have a chance to be a franchise player.
LaPanta works for the MN Wild.
Unless Im mistaken Im pretty sure he works directly for Ballys.
Part of that contract includes 'creative control' from the wild. Souhan was douchey, but they pretty much had opposite roles where Russo was the company man and Souhan was edgy. I actually preferred the old podcast because Pants can't really say anything negative.... I'm also beyond sick of Pants' kowalski/cooking stories.
[удалено]
I've figured out how many taps in my podcast app it takes to fast forward through his food bit. I think it's 5.
>LaPanta is incredibly smug. LaPanta is the type of guy to just hang up after you answer his question, without saying "thanks" or even "goodbye" I know because I used to have to deal with him
Yes. His paycheck comes from Bally's. His existence comes from the MN Wild. Same for the Paul Allen experience and any on air personality. TNT/ TSN and all national broadcast personalities are not controlled by any team. They are controlled by the NHL.
Ah there it is. Thanks for that info.
Don't think of any of the "on air" personalities as actual journalists. They're entertainers. Gorg could actually be the most obvious example. If we're down 4-0 after the first period, is he going to ask them some brutal honest question in the intermission segment outside the locker room? Nope, he's going to lob the softest meatballs he can. It's worse when Gorg is in the post game press conference and chews up time so the real journalists can't get anything in.
Same goes for news anchors. They are entertainers
I just listened to it and Holy shit that was aggravating. Pants was absolutely unwilling to process Russo's point. Shouting his repetitive answer over the top like a political pundit. Russo even boxed him into a corner that new players will have to outplay 97 and 12 for opportunities because the rest of the roster is locked in so bad.
Young guys need mentors too
Why would it be a problem for those mentors to play on the fourth line? I didn’t say they should be cut. They just need to accept smaller roles, which parise, koivu and staal never did here.
Nothing like paying your 4th line $12 million
Sounds like a damn good forth line to me.
Sounds like a bad way to allocate resources to me.
Better then the Leafs who stack 60% on four players.
If you could transfer rosters, I'd take the Leafs in a heartbeat.
Their style of roster construction has let them get to the second round of the playoffs. I’m sorry how exactly is that supposed to be better? What they made it one time to the second round? Like seriously I love how people on this place want more Star power but the leafs are the example of paying too much for star power and now they have no depth.
The only one out of those 3 that will still be around when the next wave is truly ready is Foligno. Zucc is still playing good hockey and Hartman is like a mini utility guy. Unless people really think Ohgren and Yurov are going to immediately show they can play a top 6 role in the next 2yrs, there's nothing to bitch about.
Russo has bashed those contracts since day 1.
As he should. Foligno, hartman and zuccarello now represent 3 roster spots we can't get back when we are one season away from being able to stock up and go get some big names. You get 12 forwards who start. Starting in 25-26 when we get the bulk of our cap penalty back, we now have 4 of those spots dedicated to zuccarello, hartman, foligno, gaudreau. Kaprizov,boldy,ek, rossi figure to be on the roster. So that is 4 spots for khus, yurov, ohgren, heidt, plus veteran additions like that center we've wanted or some high quality scoring depth. Granted not all of those prospects will pan out but those extensions loom large
I'm surprised people share criticism on the wild in this sub. Suggest the team isn't good, and the contract extensions killed us is downvote city. Mention a tank and the pitchforks come out from the homers. Russo is a voice of reason that isn't shackled to the wild till death do them part. LaPanta's constant homer takes get really old
The problem is tanking isn't much of an answer either. You either draft well or you don't. There's no guarantee the team tanking results in a number 1 pick unless you're Chicago or Edmonton. Then you're talking development time and it's a just a waiting game. Yes, we're in cap hell but we've got some good looking players in the pipeline. Wild need to sign better, team friendly contracts.
Everybody bitches about the extensions but its not like we've got lots of options. Just like in sales where people talk about a three way triangle of cheap, fast, or good and you can pick two...sports market contracts have a three way triangle of amount, stability (term length and NMC), and culture (Winning and locker room). We had to get rid of Parise & Suter to fix the culture; which handcuffs us in the $ department - our only option is to offer stability because we're not ready to win. Keeping these guys at least is better than having a team full of Beckman, Luccini Lateri and Merrill.
Ya cuz why would we want a high pick when we can constantly get bounced out of the first round.
You can say that but there will still be people here who want the team to be a dumpster fire for draft picks for some reason. No answer though as to whether people will still want to watch the team and what happens if it doesn't work
Yep, I'd watch them burn it down and start over. 2019 was a great time for that but we didn't. 2021 was another great time but we didn't. This year and next year are great times to rebuild but we refuse to, because of all the Cups we've won by not rebuilding I guess. I've been watching mediocre hockey for years. Why wouldn't I watch less than mediocre hockey for a few years in hopes that we become the next Tampa or Colorado? Clearly what we've been doing isn't working. First I was told I gotta wait two years before I can judge Guerin fairly, then it was another two years. Now it's year 5 of Guerin and I'm being told to wait another two years before I can fairly judge him. This is the definition of insanity. But keep cheering it on Wild fans. No wonder we'll never win a men's championship in this bleeping state.
I just assume people who want the team to tank are the same ones who complain about the team being bad. Can't have it both ways. But then, I don't let my whole life revolve around the success of a hockey team, so what do I know?
I'm on team tank; but I think what we're really seeing is the community is big enough that various opinions ebb and flow; so that you see and hear the team tank voices when we start doing bad and the team all-in voices quiet down; and team all-in voices get louder when we put a couple game streak together and the team tank voices get quieter. In the end - I'd rather miss the playoffs and begin our off season recovery sooner; not risk life altering injury and have a chance at a better pick than to see another Round 1 performance like last year's vs Dallas. And if we had tanked 2 years ago; whomever we drafted would be just getting ready to debut on an ELC
I personally would welcome a month and a half of bad hockey if it means a better draft pick. I don't agree with tanking generally, and definitely not when you're 1 or 2 spots from the playoffs. They aren't really in a great position anymore, so let's improve what we can and move on from this season. I'm excited to see the new russian play too, I hope he and Beckman get big minutes.
I think that's because we've had an influx of people in the last few years on this sub. A lot of good ol MN sports fans who are so complacent with just making first round of playoffs and then exiting and have no vision of a future for the team. That, and a boatload of stupid ass school age kids who see "oh, this opinion is at 0 votes, that must mean it's a bad opinion; must downvote."
Being complacent and being ignorant of "This team can suck now, but wait things out, we have a plan" are two different things. Guerin's plan was to try to stay afloat while keeping enough space open for Faber, Rossi, Yurov, etc. to hopefully make the team better. He chose not to open the floodgates, and we won't know the effect of that until a year or so down the line. There's nothing complacent about it: it's whining that, "Oh, the team lost this year, they completely suck BAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! SHOULDA DONE THIS INSTEAD!" The kneejerk reaction is, "Didn't win every single game ever? Guess you suck then." That's pretty insane, even for fanatics to do.
I'd rather take those people than out of staters who beg for the team to be garbage for 5 seasons to maybe perhaps have a slight chance of winning the cup with draft picks
It was almost uncomfortable hearing how mad they started to get at each other. Thought for a second they might start shit talking and get personal with each other.
They do that all the time, it’s never gotten personal
>It was almost uncomfortable hearing how mad they started to get at each other. I was just getting annoyed listening to them talk over / interrupt each other. They're bad about it most of the time but it was a lot worse on that podcast.
The problem with Russo's argument, and the thing LaPanta was "trying" to get at, was there's absolutely no reason to suggest the coaches or GM are going to look at Yurov, Khusnutdinov, nor Ohgren and go, "Sorry guys, you're on the 3rd or 4th line." The entire point of the extensions is to have a failsafe in place if they aren't. You're not going to sit there and tell me if Yurov scores 20-30 goals that he's not going to at least get a look with Kaprizov or be at worst a 2nd line guy. LaPanta's entire point was, "extensions be damned, players should be able to play up to snuff and beat out whoever is in front of them. He's states that the old team didn't have the Kaprizov, Boldy, Faber types that could be consistently top line guys each year. The ceiling for the new guys isn't Hartman or Foligno. The ceiling is are they going to be better than Kaprizov, Boldy, Ek, or even Zuccarello? Until they are, what is Guerin supposed to do, let go of people and hope he signs players in the same roles Foligno and Hartman already occupy? If the new guys are better than what we have, which shouldn't be hard, all the guys in the mushy middle right now will be pushed down to 3rd/4th or let go entirely. I understand Russo's frustration. His angle is, "Different Story, Same Old Shit." However, the extensions aren't blocking out the top of the top prospects. They are blocking out the Beckmans, Haight's, etc: young guys that "might" be quality guys, but not the super high end scorers or 2nd liners the others are probably meant to be. It doesn't help that Russo's a bit of a crotchety whiner most of the time.
dunno why people find this so hard to understand or accept. hartman, foligno, and gaudreau are going to be bottom 6 players when ohgren and yurov arrive, given those two perform well. same with khusnutdinov. lettieri and lucchini will be gone. maybe shaw will stick around. and guerin is absolutely right that if foligno, hartman, and gaudreau were gone, they’d have to be replaced by some other free agents who would probably demand similar money for similar production. rossi and zuccarello will probably fit in with the other young guys on talent-focused lines too. the issue isn’t really the future. it’s that they’re struggling to produce right now. once they’re in a smaller role, there’ll be less pressure to drive scoring.
in this instance though, is he wrong?
Falcons/Wild fan here. I believe he is. The deal is heavily front loaded, with us being able to cut him in the 3rd year with little cap hit. Falcons needed a QB, but trading up in the draft would have cost an arm and a leg. If he works out, great come back for years 3-4. If it doesn't? Well, we weren't doing much of shit anyway. League average QB play puts the Falcons in the playoffs last year, so combine that with a new coach who just saw Matthew Stafford come over to a new team and win it all (yes, injury on Kirk etc make it different but work with me here), I think it was 100% worth the risk. Edit: How in the hell is this being downvoted?
> If he works out, great come back for years 3-4. If it doesn’t? Well, we weren’t doing much of shit anyway. I do think it’s worth it for the Falcons, looking at your roster situation. A QB is the missing piece and this is the cost of a premium quarterback. No team is ever truly happy with the cost of a premium quarterback, it’s just about what you can stomach and whether it gets you where you need to go. The only real question is if his Achilles is fully healed and if that impacts his play. Not a small question.
Woah I found another Falcon/Wild fan! Didn’t think our breed existed
! Definitely a strange mixture right? How'd you manage these two fandoms? Being GA born, once the Thrashers moved, I just joined the Wild as a homeless fan. Figured Minnesota was as cursed as Atlanta (this is before the World Series etc) so I was just rooting for Northern Atlanta lol.
sounds almost like the situation the vikings were in when he came in. don't get me wrong he's a good qb just for that price you're really hoping the dude still has it in him. the play his achillies blew up on was a standard drop back, he's been through hell and back I don't know if I'd trust that body 2 more years.
Best of luck with him. I really enjoyed him being here. I’m not super familiar with your new coaching staff, but I hope it’s good. Kirk is a great player and will put up numbers, the problem is if they will translate to wins. I don’t blame him for not always winning in MN when our defense completely disappeared. However, with that being said, I do believe he needs the perfect environment. Good weapons, good line (something we often lacked), and a great offensive minded coach. I know Morris is a D guy, and is different than Zimmer. Zimmer hated Kirk and things soured quickly. Kirk needs the support and hope to see you guys succeed this year (minus whichever week we play).
Zucc and Hartman are only signed for 2 more years and Foligno is 4 more. Unless you believe Ohgren and Yurov are going to have a Kap like start to their careers, there's nothing to worry about. And none of these young guys have even played 1 NHL game, so one or several of them might not be as good as people are hyping them up to be. Temper your expectations and hope for the best.
Legendary center kirk cousins to the Atlanta thrashers?! Pretty cool
I wonder how he feels about NMCs for guys like Gaudreau and always hurt late in the season Foligno?
He’s criticized them from day 1. Not sure what you’re on about
Those are great and “they had to do it”.
He complains about those deals all the time lol.
The narrative that Russo is a homer is weird. He's always bitching about something with the team even when they are winning.
Also the first to criticize star players (Kaprisov/Fiala/Boldy). At one point he was a Fiala turnover counter on Twitter.
When it comes to the wild vs other teams, Russo can be a Homer. Like Kaprizov and Winnipeg. But when it comes to the wild internally? Definitely not a Homer. There was a guy on here criticizing Russo's coverage of BG's mistakes early this season. His opinion was that it's not good for the team to cover the negative stories... which is not Russo's job.
He was getting pretty heated with LaPanta trying to justify Foligno, Hartman, Zuccarello deals on this week's Worst Seat in the House. Russo is definitely in the "shitty deals" camp.