Article: Wild Drop Their First "Hughes Bowl" In Minnesota

[Thomas Williams]

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[mnfaninnc]

We need to talk about the elephant in the room: Eriksson Ek is still the most irreplaceable player on this team.

Is there any doubt that his absence was the difference in the NYI game? Would his presence have affected the outcome in last night's NJD game? I think the answer to both is yes.

The trouble is that even collectively, the Wild have nobody who can do what he does. He can score goals, is a real handful around the net, can pass, and defends like few other centers. When he's missing, Hartman cannot pick up the offense and is way behind defensively. Yurov is exposed for his greenness which is not the color of his jersey. Sturm moving into the 3 hole does not possess what Hartman could give and Jonesy is not Sturm. 

Of course, we knew this when we were trading Rossi to Vancouver, but we never really backfilled the position. Are there any solutions? ROR would be nice except that Nashville has played itself back into playoff contention. ROR has also said he doesn't want to leave there thinking he is part of the solution.

There is a name out there that could help out and take more pressure off of Ek. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who, apparently has asked for a trade and would come with little compensation. In fact, the real compensation might be to get Carolina to retain money, and they have a lot of cap. 

Kotkaniemi needs a change of scenery pretty badly. He's got a 10 team trade list, but is willing to consider many destinations. At 6'3" 212 he is a large bodied center. His normal FO% is around 51.5%, but is down this year. He plays a similar game to Eriksson Ek, with the exception that he scores about 10 less goals a year. He's 25 and has lost his way. His contract is $4.8m/yr. 

Kotkaniemi has spent the last couple of years as a #4C. Why? Because the Canes have one of the best #3Cs in Jordan Staal. Kotkaniemi did not work out as the #2C, and I'm not sure why. Carolina plays a structured style like the Wild. It appears as if his progression has stalled, but could a change of scenery change that? 

More importantly, could Kotkaniemi be that pain in the butt center we could use come playoff time? Is his game, perhaps, better suited for the Western Conference? Could Eriksson Ek unlock some potential that has yet to be realized? 

In the area of assets to give up, I don't think there is much. It's the retention part that may require a pick. From what it looks like, he is playing uninspired in Carolina, and his play reflects that. Take away that he was a #3 overall pick in '18. This guy could help us, and more importantly may be able to help take wear and tear off of Ek. This team runs on 200' players, and this is one of those. Right now, Kotkaniemi is playing at his floor. He is a buy low type of asset. Even with Hartzy here, he replaces him at C and allows him to move to wing. The team gets younger and bigger, and likely faster.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

14 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

In the area of assets to give up, I don't think there is much. It's the retention part that may require a pick.

Hard to say what they might need, but doubt they are just going to give him away.  https://thehockeywriters.com/ says, "Centers remain difficult to acquire, and Kotkaniemi’s age and manageable $4.82 million cap hit add to his appeal. With Carolina firmly in win-now mode, any move would need to deliver immediate value—or an asset that can be quickly flipped to help them contend."

Do the Wild have the assets to win out if other teams show strong interest?

I'd be happy to add him, just unsure about the cost of that move.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

I know a hot November had a lot of people talking about a changing of the order that they rank the Wild goaltenders, and some even started talking about trading Gus. Unsurprisingly, more data has poured cold water on those hot takes.

Since December 1st, the wild goalies have 10 or 11 starts, so fairly even minutes.

In the Wild's most recent 21 games:

Gus has a .921 save percentage, 2.20 GAA, and attained 72.7% of available standings points.

Wall has a .909 save percentage, 2.88 GAA, and has gained 70.0% of available standings points. Still good, but not #1 on the team.

Wallstedt certainly had a November to remember with shutouts in half of his 6 games played, and another in his first December start, but has an .899 save percentage since that 1-0 shutout of Edmonton on December 2nd. He also was hot early on with shootout stops, but has cooled off a bit.

Gus has multiple seasons with strong play. Wallstedt likely will have some better seasons than Gus throughout their long careers, but it's very wise to keep both for quite a while.

Too many great goalies is never a problem, as injuries or down years can force you to rely on guys who may not be atop your goalie depth chart to start a season...or a playoffs. Fleury, for instance, only won it all while playing a game in the finals 1 season in his career even though his team won 3 Stanley Cups. Matt Murray played all goalie minutes in the final round for two of those cup runs.

I'm not suggesting that Wallstedt cannot reach a higher level, but it's nice to have a strong option in Gus that they can rely on, particularly with the condensed schedule this season.

[raithis]

2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

We need to talk about the elephant in the room: Eriksson Ek is still the most irreplaceable player on this team.

Is there any doubt that his absence was the difference in the NYI game? Would his presence have affected the outcome in last night's NJD game? I think the answer to both is yes.

The trouble is that even collectively, the Wild have nobody who can do what he does. He can score goals, is a real handful around the net, can pass, and defends like few other centers. When he's missing, Hartman cannot pick up the offense and is way behind defensively. Yurov is exposed for his greenness which is not the color of his jersey. Sturm moving into the 3 hole does not possess what Hartman could give and Jonesy is not Sturm. 

Of course, we knew this when we were trading Rossi to Vancouver, but we never really backfilled the position. Are there any solutions? ROR would be nice except that Nashville has played itself back into playoff contention. ROR has also said he doesn't want to leave there thinking he is part of the solution.

There is a name out there that could help out and take more pressure off of Ek. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, who, apparently has asked for a trade and would come with little compensation. In fact, the real compensation might be to get Carolina to retain money, and they have a lot of cap. 

Kotkaniemi needs a change of scenery pretty badly. He's got a 10 team trade list, but is willing to consider many destinations. At 6'3" 212 he is a large bodied center. His normal FO% is around 51.5%, but is down this year. He plays a similar game to Eriksson Ek, with the exception that he scores about 10 less goals a year. He's 25 and has lost his way. His contract is $4.8m/yr. 

Kotkaniemi has spent the last couple of years as a #4C. Why? Because the Canes have one of the best #3Cs in Jordan Staal. Kotkaniemi did not work out as the #2C, and I'm not sure why. Carolina plays a structured style like the Wild. It appears as if his progression has stalled, but could a change of scenery change that? 

More importantly, could Kotkaniemi be that pain in the butt center we could use come playoff time? Is his game, perhaps, better suited for the Western Conference? Could Eriksson Ek unlock some potential that has yet to be realized? 

In the area of assets to give up, I don't think there is much. It's the retention part that may require a pick. From what it looks like, he is playing uninspired in Carolina, and his play reflects that. Take away that he was a #3 overall pick in '18. This guy could help us, and more importantly may be able to help take wear and tear off of Ek. This team runs on 200' players, and this is one of those. Right now, Kotkaniemi is playing at his floor. He is a buy low type of asset. Even with Hartzy here, he replaces him at C and allows him to move to wing. The team gets younger and bigger, and likely faster.

I like the thought. 

It's going to be really hard to get a top 6 player without a serious overpay or giving up top 6 roster players, and I'm not referring to some of the roster players we play in the top 6.  Teams are more likely to re-sign those players than trade them away.

Because of this, depth with potential is probably the right call, but as Imyourhuckleberry mentioned, I don't think the Wild have anything that Carolina would want, at least nothing that would just end up making the team weaker as a result since the return would have to be roster player that they would want.

If it's futures, it would have to be an overpay, or there would have to be a 3rd team involved that wanted the prospects/picks more than there own roster player that Carolina would want.

[Kato AK]

4 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Kotkaniemi needs a change of scenery pretty badly. He's got a 10 team trade list, but is willing to consider many destinations. At 6'3" 212 he is a large bodied center. His normal FO% is around 51.5%, but is down this year. He plays a similar game to Eriksson Ek, with the exception that he scores about 10 less goals a year. He's 25 and has lost his way. His contract is $4.8m/yr. 

I don't know where you got the idea that he plays similar to JEEK, because he may have size, but he doesn't use it. He is a high IQ player that tries to be in the right position over battling for the puck. 

Here is a quote from JK himself, last year:

“I think postseason is always a little different. You want to bring more out (of) the physical part in the game,” Kotkaniemi said. “I think if you run around 82 games, you’re going to be pretty tired when the playoffs come. So you need to get smarter with that, too. So maybe I’ll try to play a little more hockey in the regular season and maybe just run around a little more in the postseason.”

He is admitting that he is not built for the grind of an 82 game season and playoffs.

But, he has offensive potential that could be interesting. He's just not a JEEK replacement.

[Beast]

Well getting absolutely steamrolled and watching his brothers celebrate together certainly isn’t going to help convince Hughes to choose Minnesota over Jersey.

This team over the last few weeks does not look like a team that’s going to win a playoff series against Dallas.  If they even hold onto that spot.  Still way too deficient in the scoring department and on the powerplay.  All of these OT losses and PP stagnation are particularly frustrating when you’re supposed to have to have multiple elite scorers and the best skater and puck moving defenseman on the planet.  They should be dominating the 3 on 3.  I have a hard time seeing how a midtier centerman like O’Reilly or Kotkaniemi fix these problems.

Hopefully it’s just a little slump we’re stuck in from the grinding road trip, but this play is concerning.  There is no valid excuse for losing 5 of 6 games to mediocre teams, capped off by total decimation against Jersey.  We’ve seen this out of this team before, and it hasn’t ended well.  Boldy and Kaprisov have to find a way to play an entire season.

This stretch has brought me crashing back down to reality.  This team can’t compete with Colorado or Dallas, and we’ve completely mortgaged our future in the attempt.  Hughes likely isn’t going to stay here to get bounced in the first round every year for eternity.  Kaprisov isn’t as transcendent as we all like to believe.  And Hughes isn’t covering the scoring warts as much as many predicted.  Just my observations.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

13 hours ago, Beast said:

This stretch has brought me crashing back down to reality.  This team can’t compete with Colorado or Dallas, and we’ve completely mortgaged our future in the attempt.

Dallas went through a slump like this not long ago, but I agree that it looks like a long shot for anyone in the West if Colorado is healthy for these playoffs.

Hopefully the Wild players who don't go to the Olympics will be training hard back in Minnesota during that break in the schedule.

Remember how Hartman came back from suspension as a more productive player in the prior season, after they were pushing him hard to get in better shape for his return? That's what I'd like to see from all the guys who aren't at the Olympics, including Kaprizov.

The guys returning from the Olympics might be a little travel weary when the NHL season continues, and Kaprizov should shine in those final 24 games.

[mnfaninnc]

On 1/13/2026 at 11:53 AM, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Do the Wild have the assets to win out if other teams show strong interest?

I'd be happy to add him, just unsure about the cost of that move

From what I've read, there isn't a lot of interest in him league wide, and he's been on the trading block for awhile now. Could Tlusky be looking for more than has been offered? 2-4-6 in 30 games doesn't give you much to work with, it screams overpaid. 

Perhaps he is unwilling to retain? Perhaps nobody is interested? I don't think I'd be interested at $4.8m/yr., but would be very interested in $2.4m/yr. I wouldn't mind using a 3rd party for retention either.

[mnfaninnc]

22 hours ago, raithis said:

Because of this, depth with potential is probably the right call, but as Imyourhuckleberry mentioned, I don't think the Wild have anything that Carolina would want, at least nothing that would just end up making the team weaker as a result since the return would have to be roster player that they would want.

If it's futures, it would have to be an overpay, or there would have to be a 3rd team involved that wanted the prospects/picks more than there own roster player that Carolina would want.

I am not certain that a roster player is required, especially if the player wants out which would certainly reduce his trading leverage. This is why I wouldn't offer Hartman or Foligno. They could use a Foligno!

What they want to do is go big game hunting, and they have plenty of cap room to do it. I don't think they're looking to rentals, I think they'd want to re-sign the player if he's on an ending contract. Raleigh offers a mild climate with snow that melts in 3 days if they get any. They also offer a decent state tax system which moves to 3.99% in '26. Not as good as Florida, but still plenty competitive. 

Kotkaniemi may not be seen as a throw in or a sweetener. Maybe freeing up space helps. Their cupboards are also fairly deep. Any prospect they get is probably part of a larger deal. 

[mnfaninnc]

20 hours ago, Kato AK said:

“I think postseason is always a little different. You want to bring more out (of) the physical part in the game,” Kotkaniemi said. “I think if you run around 82 games, you’re going to be pretty tired when the playoffs come. So you need to get smarter with that, too. So maybe I’ll try to play a little more hockey in the regular season and maybe just run around a little more in the postseason.”

He is admitting that he is not built for the grind of an 82 game season and playoffs.

But, he has offensive potential that could be interesting. He's just not a JEEK replacement.

I'm not asking for an Ek replacement, I'm asking for a guy who can take some of the pressure off of Ek, which Kotkaniemi does. Ek is Ek, but he needs to play smarter in the regular season too, and is there anyone in the league that is as positionally sound as Ek? 

His offense has dried up, but he has some sneaky skill like Ek does, and he has young legs to go with that larger body. He's not going to blow anyone up, but if you look at Sturm who was brought in to relieve some of the pressure on Ek, he walls guys off pretty good and uses his reach and positioning, especially on the PK. 

I think he'd be a very solid 3C, probably a top 10 3C if given the chance. Plus, he admits in his quote that he will take the body much more come playoffs. 

[mnfaninnc]

16 hours ago, Beast said:

This team over the last few weeks does not look like a team that’s going to win a playoff series against Dallas.  If they even hold onto that spot.  Still way too deficient in the scoring department and on the powerplay.  All of these OT losses and PP stagnation are particularly frustrating when you’re supposed to have to have multiple elite scorers and the best skater and puck moving defenseman on the planet.  They should be dominating the 3 on 3.  I have a hard time seeing how a midtier centerman like O’Reilly or Kotkaniemi fix these problems.

The bottom line here is that this team still has to be a structured team. The defense, outside of the top pairing must play structured. Losing Ek exposed a depth issue the Wild have that they cannot fix.

They've moved Hartman into Ek's spot. Hartman throws a backhand up the middle against NYI that gets picked off at the point and ends up in the back of the net, a silly defensive play that Hartman coughs up from time to time. This is supposed to be a shutdown line, and Hartzy just can't do that. At least with Kotkaniemi, that line could perform in its shutdown capacity. 

ROR would do this too, but it would likely be on the top line where he'd be inserted. I like what I've seen from Yurov, he needs time, and he's just not there yet. ROR would take minutes away from Yurov. Kotkaniemi offers a solid defensive center who has some skill, but does not threaten minutes from Yurov. I also believe that Kotkaniemi would enhance our PK which is needed come playoff time.