Sources: Wild plan to be ‘very aggressive’ with cap space this summer
Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin knew the consequences when he shocked the world with the dual buyouts to forward Zach Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter in 2021. The two Minnesota natives were bought out of the final four years of their respective, identical contracts that they signed with the Wild in the summer of 2012, resulting in a hefty cap penalty for Guerin to navigate through for the last number of years. The past two seasons, specifically, have been the most challenging for Guerin, having to deal a little more than $14.7 million of dead cap space.
The penalty has kept the Wild from going “all in” and pushing themselves to be authentic Stanley Cup contenders, which Guerin himself alluded to following his (relative) inactivity leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline. But with the buyout penalty dropping by roughly $13 million this summer – to say nothing of the salary cap rising by $7.5 million to $95.5 million – the Wild are finally getting the financial shackles taken off.
Speaking with a source close to the situation, I’m told that the Wild plan to be very aggressive this summer with their new found cap space. According puckpedia.com, the Wild are set to have a little more than $20.5 million in salary cap space this summer at their disposal. They do have to prepare for forward Kirill Kaprizov’s next contract – he is eligible to sign an extension as of July.1 of this year – in 2026, but the Wild project to have more than $49 million of disposable money to play with by that time.
According to the source, the Wild are content with their defense and goaltending outlook heading into next season. By all accounts, the Wild’s focus is to bolster their forward group – specifically down the middle. Leading up to the deadline, the Wild were tied to Brock Nelson (ultimately dealt to the Colorado Avalanche) but passed on the hefty haul that was requested by the New York Islanders. Nelson, a Minnesota native, has history with Guerin with Team USA at this past season’s 4 Nations Face-Off, and it sounds like the Wild will target the 33-year-old in free agency this summer.
Nelson finished the season with 56 points in 80 games between the Avalanche and Islanders; set to turn 34 at the beginning of next season, Nelson seemingly still has tread left on the tires in the way of being a top-six center. His four assists in seven playoff games were a little disappointing, but he still projects to be one of the more sought after free agents in an otherwise shallow 2025 class. With the Wild’s new found additional money, they could find themselves in a position to outbid any team also looking for Nelson’s services.
Aside from Nelson, Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett is another name I’m told that the Wild will target this summer.
Bennett, who will turn 29, had a career year with 51 points and has become a force in the playoffs whose skill set was on full display for Team Canada at the 4 Nations. Bennett figures to be the best center available this summer and could garner upwards of $9 million per season; as mentioned before, the Wild may be poised to outbid any other interested teams.
Speaking with those inside the organization, the thought process is to bring in a top-six center to insulate Joel Eriksson Ek, who finished the season as the club’s No. 1 center between Kaprizov and Matt Boldy. Eriksson Ek, 28, is under contract until 2029 at a more than reasonable AAV of $5.25 million. But if the Wild are to bring in another top-six center at decent dollars, one has to wonder what the future holds for 2020 first-round pick Marco Rossi.
According to sources, there has been no advancements in contract talks with Rossi, who is set to become an RFA. While the team still likes Rossi as a player and is open to bringing him back, all options are on the table in terms of the player’s future. One person even suggested to me that the Wild could be looking for a team to offer sheet Rossi, though that is speculation more than anything.
Rossi’s name has been out there going back to last summer, and at least one Eastern Conference team had loose trade talks with the Wild regarding in the fall of last year. According to an executive from that team, one of the fears with Rossi is how his game would translate to the playoffs – he finished with two goals and three points in six games despite playing on the club’s fourth line. The same team voiced concerns of what Rossi’s ceiling would be without playing alongside Kaprizov and whether the player’s camp would be looking for too hefty a contract.
Should the Wild field calls for Rossi, I’d imagine there’d be no shortage of teams interested in the player’s services. Rossi, 23, finished with 24 goals and 60 points while playing in all 82 games this season.
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