2024–25 NHL team preview: Minnesota Wild

Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

LAST SEASON

“Minnesota Wild hockey: Feel the excitement!”

There’s a reason the Wild opted to go with “The State of Hockey” instead of that particular slogan when they entered the National Hockey League in 2000, and their performance last season only reinforced why. With a 39-34-9 record and 87 points in 82 games, the Wild were as close to the NHL’s median as you can get without actually finishing 16th overall. Their offense was unremarkable, their defense was only slightly better, and both their goaltenders finished with save percentages in the mid-to-high .890s. If that doesn’t get your heart pumping, nothing will.

Kirill Kaprizov finished last season with 46 goals and 96 points in 75 games. Did you know that?

The most memorable aspect of an otherwise dreary season in Minnesota was the emergence of defenseman Brock Faber, who finished second in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy — awarded to the league’s top rookie — after establishing himself as a bona fide top-pairing option over a full 82 games in 2023-24. The Maple Grove, Minnesota product, who first joined the Wild in 2022 as the main piece of the Kevin Fiala trade with the Los Angeles Kings, only just turned 22 at the end of August.

The Wild desperately need more stars to emerge from their prospect system in the years to come, especially as Kaprizov enters the latter part of his 20s and nears unrestricted free agency. At the very least, the vast majority of the buyout money allocated to Ryan Suter and Zach Parise vanishes from the books after the 2024-25 season. But most importantly, the Wild need to finally identify the top-notch center that has eluded them since their inception. While the extra cap space in 2025 and beyond may help the Wild attract better players in free agency, they’ll only be able to get that franchise pivot through the draft — unless, that is, he’s already in their organization …

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions

Yakov Trenin, RW
Jakub Lauko, LW
Graeme Clarke, RW
Travis Boyd, C
Devin Shore, C

Departures

Alex Goligoski, D (retired)
Mason Shaw, LW (WPG)
Vinni Lettieri, RW (BOS)
Dakota Mermis, D (TOR)
Jake Lucchini, C (NSH)

OFFENSE

As mentioned above, Kaprizov had yet another exemplary season with the Wild in 2023-24 — although, since it was in service of a non-playoff year, you’d be forgiven if you failed to notice. Given that their Russian superstar has just two years remaining on his $9 million AAV contract before he can test the open market as a free agent, the Wild are nearing a crossroads of sorts. Kaprizov will turn 29 just before his current deal expires.

Minnesota’s other offensive players have yet to reach the heights Kaprizov has arrived at over his four NHL seasons to date, but the team isn’t without other bright spots. Matt Boldy, whose selection in the first round of the 2019 NHL Draft was one of Paul Fenton’s last acts as Wild GM, has gone on to cement himself as a true top-six forward in very short order since making his debut with Minnesota midway through the 2021-22 season. In 203 career games with the Wild, Boldy has collected 75 goals and 171 points — and, better yet, the 6’2″ winger is signed through 2030 at an extremely reasonable $7 million cap hit.

But therein lies the problem: Minnesota’s two best forwards are both left-shot wingers, and their center depth leaves a lot to be desired. With all due respect to Joel Eriksson Ek, who is a fantastic two-way pivot in the same vein as a guy like Mikael Backlund (albeit a bit more productive), the Wild don’t have a true No. 1 guy down the middle and haven’t since the days of Mikko Koivu — who also lacked the dynamic offensive ability of his peers. Marco Rossi, the No. 9 pick in the 2020 draft, scored at an overwhelming rate in the OHL and reached the 40-point mark in Minnesota last season, but his name has popped up in trade rumors here and there amidst concerns about his lack of size and consistency. Marat Khusnutdinov didn’t look much like a future top-line guy in his cup of coffee with the Wild last year, either.

The Wild have a jam-packed prospect pool that features plenty of intriguing young forwards, but until they can finally get their hands on that elusive No. 1 center, their lineup will always feel a bit incomplete.

DEFENSE

Since the early days of Jacques Lemaire, Dwayne Roloson, Koivu, and … Filip Kuba? … the Wild have almost always been known as a defense-first team. It briefly looked like that might no longer be the case in the immediate aftermath of Kaprizov entering the league, but things have certainly reverted to “normal” in Minnesota.

In a way, it feels like the Brock Faber trade was the universe’s way of paying the Wild back for Brent Burns, who they regrettably traded to the San Jose Sharks in 2011 for a package headlined by Charlie Coyle and Devin Setoguchi. Burns was already 26 and a seven-year NHL veteran when Minnesota traded him, but Faber never played a game for the Kings before making his Wild debut at age 21. Not only did the Wild finally get payback, but they also got Faber right at the start of his career instead of a third of the way in. If he keeps playing like he did last year, Faber’s new eight-year, $8.5 million AAV extension will be well worth it.

One major impediment to Minnesota’s success in 2023-24 was the loss of captain Jared Spurgeon, who missed all but 16 games while dealing with a variety of injuries. The 34-year-old rearguard ultimately underwent hip and back surgery in the winter and is expected to be good to go for training camp, which should provide a major boost to a defensive group that was exposed in his absence for being rather top-heavy.

Beyond Faber, Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin, Minnesota’s blueline is littered with relatively unproven or unremarkable players with uncertain NHL futures. Save for top 2024 draft pick Zeev Buium, who is still at least a year away, Minnesota’s prospect pool isn’t as strong or as deep on defensemen as it is at other positions. Carson Lambos, Daemon Hunt, and Jack Peart all have their strengths, but they don’t have the same upside as guys like Yurov, Liam Öhgren, and Jesper Wallstedt. As long as Buium lives up to his potential, it might not matter, but with Brodin and Spurgeon both on the wrong side of 30, the Wild will need reinforcements soon.

GOALTENDING

Minnesota’s goaltending tandem of Filip Gustavsson and Marc-André Fleury looked quite strong as of a year ago, with the veteran Québecer serving as the perfect mentor for a young Swedish starter on the rise. But the shine seemed to wear off of both Gustavsson and Fleury in the 2023-24 season, with Minnesota’s team save percentage dropping 21 points to .893 compared to a terrific .914 in 2022-23.

The 26-year-old Gustavsson will be given every opportunity to right the ship over the two years remaining on his current contract with the Wild. Nobody is demanding that he replicate his .931 save percentage from the 2022-23 season, but he needs to be better than what he showed last year. An .899 over 45 games just isn’t good enough, not even with three shutouts.

Heading into his final NHL season (more on that later), you can be Fleury will be motivated to put on one last show. He’s coming off the worst year of his career — prior to 2023-24, he had managed a .905 save percentage or above in 18 consecutive seasons — but even an .895 isn’t that bad, particularly given Spurgeon’s absence for the majority of the campaign.

But wait — there’s more. If Gustavsson falters once again, or if Fleury opts for an early retirement, the Wild have another option they can turn to in goal. Check the “Rookies” section for more.

COACHING

After relieving head coach Dean Evason of his duties less than two months into the 2023-24 season, the Wild opted to replace him with John Hynes, who has won four playoff games in total through nine years as an NHL bench boss. Although Hynes had the Wild playing at a serviceable 95-point pace over their final 63 games of the season, it still wasn’t enough to get them within even 10 points of the playoff picture in the end.

Going from Evason to Hynes always looked like a lateral move at best, and Minnesota’s performance down the stretch did little to alter that perception. During his tenure with the New Jersey Devils, Hynes led the team to a single postseason appearance in five years and won just one playoff game; later, as head coach of the Nashville Predators, Hynes guided his club to a qualifying round setback against the Arizona Coyotes (!!!) and back-to-back conference quarterfinal losses against the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche, being swept in the latter.

Some teams need a change in messaging to unlock their full potential. Hynes might end up pulling a rabbit out of his hat with a full year to guide the Wild. Unfortunately, not much in his NHL track record suggests this is a likely outcome.

ROOKIES

Jesper Wallstedt hasn’t been as prolific as some of his American Hockey League counterparts over the last two seasons, but he’s done enough behind a leaky Iowa Wild team to maintain his positioning as one of the top goaltending prospects in the world. The 6’3″ Swede appeared in his first three NHL games with Minnesota last season, posting a 2-1-0 record with an .897 save percentage. Now, with Gustavsson’s trajectory uncertain and Fleury primed to ride off into the sunset, it’s just about time for Wallstedt to take the reins.

Also technically qualifying as a rookie: Khusnutdinov, one of Minnesota’s two 2020 second-round picks. The Russian center collected four points in 16 games with the Wild last season and projects as a quality middle-six option with the right mix of development and opportunity.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning Liam Öhgren, who made his North American professional debut late last season and didn’t look out of place over his four games in Minnesota. The 2022 first-round pick is, you guessed it, another left-handed winger, but he scored at an extremely impressive rate for a youngster with Färjestad in the SHL. Between Kaprizov, Boldy, Öhgren, and Danila Yurov, the Wild should be set on the wings for a long, long time.

BURNING QUESTIONS

1. When will Danila Yurov come over? The No. 24 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft has already emerged as a star in the KHL, collecting 21 goals and 49 points in 62 games with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the 2023-24 regular season. While the Chelyabinsk-born Yurov is — gasp — another left-shot winger, he’s still a potential star in waiting for a Wild team that desperately needs some extra sizzle. Yurov’s KHL deal expires at the end of Metallurg’s 2024-25 season, meaning he could join the Wild at some point next spring.

2. Will Marc-André Fleury be traded? As we mentioned in our feature on the last four active players from the 2003 NHL Draft, Fleury is already slated to retire at the end of the 2024-25 season. The 6’2″ goaltender will turn 40 in November and is entering his third full season with the Wild after originally being acquired by the club at the 2022 trade deadline. But could another in-season deal be in Fleury’s future? It’s not difficult to envision the former Pittsburgh Penguins star welcoming one last chance to add another championship to his Hall of Fame résumé.

3. Can Mats Zuccarello remain effective? After a bit of a sluggish start to his Wild tenure, the lizard-like Zuccarello has topped 60 points in each of his last three seasons and inked a two-year extension with the club last September. While it does feel like Zuccarello has been around forever, it’s also a bit surprising that he’s already 37 years old. The 5’8″ winger is undeniably the greatest Norwegian player in NHL history, but can he keep the good times rolling as he nears the dreaded Big 4-0?

PREDICTION

If the Wild played in any other division, they might stand a better chance of returning to the playoffs in 2025. As it is, they play in the Central, and through no real fault of their own, the Wild could finish as low as seventh in that group this year. With Utah HC making waves this offseason in a concerted bid to steal a playoff spot, there’s a very real chance that Minnesota, coming off a largely stagnant summer, ends up being leapfrogged. It’s certainly difficult to imagine the Wild overtaking any of the Central’s four playoff teams from last season. There’s a chance the St. Louis Blues could plummet in the standings, but they’re very similar to the Wild in a lot of ways (except with a top center instead of a top defenseman). We won’t go too crazy by saying the Chicago Blackhawks will finish ahead of the Wild in 2024-25, but it’s hardly far-fetched to expect the other six Central Division teams to end up above them. If anything, it’s flat-out reasonable.

Advanced stats courtesy of Natural Stat Trick and MoneyPuck

_____

POST SPONSORED BY bet365