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The 50th edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships concluded at Grand Casino Arena on Monday, with Sweden taking home the gold medal with a 4-2 victory over Czechia. The game capped off a remarkable 11-day tournament that featured ten teams, 29 games, and some of the world’s best hockey prospects. Czechia’s Adam Benak was among the prospects that descended upon the Twin Cities for the tournament. The diminutive dynamo has become a fan favorite in Minnesota since the Wild selected him in the 4th round of the 2025 NHL draft last summer. Benak, who was voted the Wild’s 10th-best prospect by the Hockey Wilderness staff, further bolstered his reputation as a promising prospect with a strong performance at the World Juniors, where he finished fourth in points for the silver medal-winning Czechs. He produced eight points (1 goal, 7 assists) and a +4 rating in seven games despite being 7th on the team in ice time among forwards with an average of 15:32 per game. That the 18-year-old Benak was able to produce in a tournament generally dominated by 19-year-olds speaks to both the quality of his play and his high compete level. That was further underscored by his remarkable performance in Czechia’s epic 6-4 semifinal victory over Canada, in which he scored a goal, added two assists, and was a force in all three zones. Benak’s play to set up the game-winner with 1:14 remaining in the third period provided the exclamation point for one of the tournament’s best games. Benak produced five of his eight tournament points in Czechia’s two games against Canada and was ferociously competitive throughout the semifinal. It was noticeable from his first shift until his last. The winger was all over the ice, backchecking and pursuing pucks with dogged determination. Benak creates space for himself and teammates by setting up plays with his speed, vision, deft stickhandling, and ability to transport the puck. He was one of the best skaters on the ice throughout the semifinal, showing no signs of nerves despite being one of the youngest players on one of the world’s biggest hockey stages. Beyond points, Benak had a strong tournament overall. He was a dangerous playmaker throughout, especially on the power play. He served as the primary playmaker on the second unit, usually setting up shop on the half-wall and dictating play with incursions into the slot, deceptive puck handling, and constant motion that created lanes, which he exploited with passes or quick bursts into seams. He was also dangerous on the rush, working in tandem with linemates Tomas Poletin and Maxmilian Curran to move pucks cross-seam and generate chances. He sometimes spent too much time on the perimeter, which he could get away with because Poletin and Curran have good size. However, if there’s something to criticize, that might be it. Still, Benak was a possession influencer all tournament with his puck transporting and dogged defending and backchecking, making life difficult for opponents. He thrives at creating lanes with and without the puck, manipulating space, and using his quick hands and feet to back off defenders and allowing teammates time to get to the seams he helps create. These have been hallmarks of his game at lower levels, which he also displayed at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase last fall. The fact that Benak was able to translate his game to the elevated pace and physical play at the World Juniors, despite being a younger player, marked another important step in his development. Despite only tallying one goal in the tournament, he was one of Czechia’s most dangerous threats. Benak could easily have had half a dozen goals with the chances he created, but he occasionally showed his frustration as the tournament went on. While he couldn’t find the back of the net in his first five games, his approach didn’t change, except that he occasionally forced plays during games when Czechia was winning easily. When he was finally rewarded with a massive goal in the semifinals, you could see the relief wash over Benak as he celebrated the long-awaited tally, and his teammates were especially happy for him after he finally broke the ice. Benak and his teammates looked noticeably drained in the gold medal game, where they encountered a Swedish team that played a similar style to Canada; fast and physical, with skilled puck movement and heavy cycling that wears down opponents. Despite the disappointing result in the final, it was another strong showing for Czechia, which medaled for the fourth straight year and eliminated Canada for the third consecutive time. This World Juniors was just the most recent example of Benak producing in big moments on the world stage. He is the Hlinka Gretzky Cup’s all-time points leader after turning in 10- and 11-point tournaments in 2023 and 2024, respectively, while leading the Czechs to back-to-back silver medals. In last year’s Under-18 World Championship, he led Czechia in scoring despite missing a game and scored in Czechia’s quarterfinal overtime loss to Canada. What does Benak’s most recent strong showing say about his projection as an NHL prospect? It’s probably still too early to tell. Fair or not, he’ll have to continue to prove that he can be effective as he moves up levels, and it’s not easy to do that when all the other players get taller and heavier. He is intelligent, hard-working, fast, and skilled. Will that be enough to propel him to NHL success? Time will tell. In the meantime, Wild fans eager to check in on Benak can follow the OHL’s Brantford Bulldogs, where he is one of the top scorers on one of the league’s best teams. He’s also sure to be a key cog on Czechia’s 2027 World Junior squad. That event will take place in Edmonton and Red Deer, and while it’s too early to project how that tournament will go, you can bet that Adam Benak will once again be one of Czechia’s most important players.

Quinn Hughes' arrival in Minnesota has been an injection of adrenaline into an already surging team. It has changed the entire team's feel. The move has signalled that the organization is done waiting around and is ready to chase something bigger right now. The Wild didn’t make a safe middle-of-the-road trade. They pushed all their chips in, sending out a package centered on Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren, and a future first-round pick to acquire Hughes. That kind of price gets everyone's attention in the room. It tells players that management believes this group is close and willing to pay to put it over the top. Hughes arrived as a fully formed, elite No. 1 defenseman, not a project or might be good someday. He came with the resume of a star: huge minutes, power play quarterback, primary puck mover, and the kind of player other teams have to game plan around. For a franchise that has spent years trying to find that true cornerstone on the back end, it instantly raised the standard of what “good enough” looks like. From his first game in a Wild sweater, Hughes looked like he belonged. He scored in his debut and immediately started driving play from the back end, turning routine breakouts into controlled rushes and giving Minnesota a different gear in transition. The points came in short order, with Hughes adding to a season total of 30 points in 33 games and continuing to produce at roughly the same rate he had in Vancouver. The way he creates his production makes it so valuable. Hughes doesn’t rely on hopeful point shots; he walks the blue line, pulling forecheckers out of position, and threads passes through seams that open up only because of his patience and edge work. That ability to hold the puck and wait for the right lane has turned basic offensive zone time into real pressure, forcing penalty kills and five-on-five units to stretch and respect the threat at the top of the zone. Then there’s the workload. Hughes regularly pushes close to 29 minutes a night and has already gone past 32 minutes in a non-overtime game, essentially becoming the Wild’s metronome. When the game is getting away, he’s on the ice to settle things down. When they need a push, he's out there starting the play. Late in tight games, he’s the one taking those crucial shifts, touching the puck, and dictating tempo. The Hughes trade hit at the perfect time for a team that was already starting to heat up. Minnesota had been rolling since early November, and Hughes stepped straight into that stretch and made it look even more convincing. Minnesota kept stacking wins in the immediate aftermath of the deal, including a statement performance over Boston, and outscored opponents 16-4 in the first three games with him in the lineup. That kind of goal differential doesn’t happen by accident. You can see his fingerprints all over how the Wild manages games now. Breakouts are cleaner, with fewer blind chips off the glass and fewer panic plays under pressure. Forwards are getting the puck in stride, which leads to more controlled entries and longer spells in the offensive zone. All of that adds up to less time chasing, less time stuck in their own end, and more stretches where the Wild are dictating the pace instead of reacting to it. Defensively, Hughes has done as much to stabilize the team as he has to spark its offense. By handling the toughest matchups and the heaviest minutes, he lets the rest of the defense slide into roles that fit them better. The Wild aren’t asking second-pair guys to play like shutdown No. 1s anymore, and depth defenseman can focus on simpler, more defined responsibilities instead of being overextended. The overall look of the Wild’s back end has changed because of that shift. There’s less scrambling, fewer extended shifts where everyone is pinned and chasing, and more sequences where Minnesota kills plays early and flips them into possession going the other way. When Hughes is on the ice, the team plays with a calm, connected posture that has been missing in earlier stretches of the season. Off the ice, Hughes has brought a different kind of presence to the Wild’s locker room. He doesn’t need to be the loudest guy in the room. His confidence shows up in how he prepares, how steady he looks in big moments, and how comfortable he is carrying the weight of expectations. When your top defenseman never looks rattled, it has a way of settling everyone else down as well. That influence is easy to miss on TV but impossible to ignore around the team. A quick word on the bench after a tough shift, a nudge of encouragement to a younger defenseman, the quiet “give me the puck” body language late in periods, those moments add up. Younger players get a live example every night of what it takes to be one of the best at the position, and veterans gain a partner who shares the burden of driving the team forward. Taken together, the Hughes trade feels like a turning point for the franchise. For years, the Wild have been good, sometimes very good, but often stuck in that middle tier where they were hard to play against without truly scaring the league's elite. Now with a star on the back end to go with their core up front, the roster finally looks like the front office built it with a deep spring run in mind. People will debate the cost in prospects for a long time, but in the short term, the wins, the goal differential, and the way this team now carries itself suggest it was the kind of bold move that can redefine an era in Minnesota.

Back in October, Bill Guerin posed a simple question about Matt Boldy to The Athletic's Joe Smith: "You tell me. What wingers are better than him?" At the time, the list wasn't very long. The Minnesota Wild's "second star" was already in the top-20 wingers, according to NHL Network. Jack Fresher, or JFresh, of Elite Prospects ranked him 17th in the league, ahead of bona fide high-end players like Kyle Connor, Brady Tkachuk, and Filip Forsberg. The Athletic's Player Tiers was even higher on him, placing Boldy ahead of all but nine wingers. Obviously, it's a subjective question, and 10 different people might have produced 10 different lists when asked that question before the season started. Still, no matter who created the list or who was on it, it's a virtual guarantee that there would be a lot fewer names on it today. We're approaching Game 40 of the season, and it's impossible to dismiss Boldy's tear to start the year as a hot streak. On Saturday night -- Game 39 for Boldy and the Wild -- Boldy claimed the team lead in goals with his 23rd and 24th of the season, and is up to 45 points on the season. The 24-year-old has enjoyed hot starts before, but would often hit a slump that would derail a true breakout season. If that slump is coming, we haven't seen it yet. Matt Boldy, Time To Reach 45 Points By Season: 2022-23: 67 games 2023-24: 50 games 2024-25: 50 games 2025-26: 39 games At this point, it'll be shocking if this doesn't go down as the year Boldy finally takes "The Leap." Boldy is currently on pace for 50 goals -- a would-be Wild record -- and 95 points. His upside has taken an upturn in the past two weeks, even with Quinn Hughes joining the team. The All-World defenseman has assisted on Boldy's past three goals, after all. We've seen Boldy go on tears before, but he's never sustained something quite this good, this long. Maybe it's an awkward data point to not wait until Game 40, but this is Boldy's best 39-game stretch in any season by a wide margin. That's impressive, but not nearly as impressive as matching Kirill Kaprizov's output almost perfectly. Boldy's 24 goals are one ahead, and his 45 points are one behind the Wild's $17 million man. That's no criticism of Kaprizov, who comes into Monday tied with Jason Robertson for fifth in the NHL with goals, and eighth in the league in points. Instead, it's a testament to just how high Boldy's stock is rising, keeping up with a player who was an MVP favorite at this time last season. Usually, when you see these kinds of results from a "second star," you can credit the "Batman" for elevating "Robin's" numbers. Kaprizov and Boldy make for a lethal battery on the power play, but Boldy has thrived away as the primary driver of his own line at 5-on-5. Boldy has spent just 36.5% of his 5-on-5 minutes with Kaprizov, and when Boldy has been on a line with Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson, the Wild have out-scored opponents 12-2. Recency bias can overwhelm us, but it's still probably a bridge too far to suggest Boldy has leapt over Kaprizov. Kaprizov can run off a stretch where he scores nearly a goal per game for two months. It's telling that we're treating Boldy's production as a major revelation, while Kaprizov's nearly-identical numbers feel ordinary for him. But there's no doubt Boldy is closing the gap. The question is: How much? All three of the lists we mentioned earlier were solid on their top-three wingers, in some order: Kaprizov, Nikita Kucherov, and David Pastrnak. If we average out their placings on each list, the top-15 breaks down as such (tiebreaker goes to the highest rank on any list): Nikita Kucherov (Avg Rank: 1.00) David Pastrnak (2.33) KIRILL KAPRIZOV (2.67) Mikko Rantanen (5.00) Mitch Marner (5.33) Matthew Tkachuk (6.00) Artemi Panarin (7.33) William Nylander (7.33) Sam Reinhart (8.00) Jake Guentzel (11.33) Brendon Hagel (11.67) Jason Robertson (13.67) Jesper Bratt (13.67) Kyle Connor (14.67) MATT BOLDY (15.33) Boldy started the year at the very fringes of the top-15. Let's see how our 15 heroes have fared in terms of points per game (tiebreaker goes to goals): Kucherov, 1.44 Rantanen, 1.42 Connor, 1.25 Nylander, 1.24 Pastrnak, 1.21 KAPRIZOV, 1.18 Robertson, 1.18 BOLDY, 1.13 Marner, 1.08 Reinhart, 1.05 Guentzel, 1.03 Panarin, 0.97 Hagel, 0.94 Bratt, 0.81 Tkachuk, DNP Of course, we know that points are a big part of a forward's value, but it's not the end-all, be-all. Defense comes into play, and the ability to draw power plays without going to the penalty box matters a ton. So, let's take a look at how these players stack up through the lens of Evolving-Hockey's Standings Points Above Replacement, which tries to measure all-around value into an easy-to-digest number. Marner, 4.3 SPAR Robertson, 3.3 BOLDY, 3.2 Guentzel, 3.2 Connor, 2.7 Panarin, 2.7 Hagel, 2.4 Rantanen, 2.4 KAPRIZOV, 2.3 Nylander, 2.1 Bratt, 1.9 Kucherov, 1.8 Pastrnak, 1.6 Reinhart, 1.3 Tkachuk, DNP It's pretty indisputable that Boldy has moved past Bratt, Hagel, Panarin, and Reinhart. That puts him on the fringes of the top-10, automatically. We can also firmly keep Kucherov, Pastrnak, and Kaprizov in the top-3, given their reputation and production. Robertson's edged out Boldy in points and SPAR, so that also limits Boldy's ceiling to fifth. Make it sixth, giving Matty Tkachuk some deference for wherever he comes back. Now it gets interesting: Where does he land in the 6-to-11 range? Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference, but we're talking about some fascinating debates. To recap, this group comes down to, in alphabetical order: Boldy Connor Guentzel Marner Nylander Rantanen Your mileage may vary, but here's one opinion as to where these shake out: 1) Marner -- It's hard to discount either of these two things: His impact with the Vegas Golden Knights, and the fact that the Toronto Maple Leafs have completely fallen apart without him. He feels like an MVP candidate this year. 2) Rantanen -- He's putting up elite numbers on his second team, and with the Dallas Stars, he's arguably the best player on a contender. (small gap) 3) Boldy -- Homer pick? Maybe, maybe, but Boldy's contributions on both sides of the puck can't be ignored. His shorthanded chops have been a great development, and he's always been a low-key elite shutdown forward, especially with Eriksson Ek beside him. If his scoring is equivalent to this tier, the rest of his game makes a difference here. (small gap) 4) Guentzel -- Another player who puts up great numbers wherever he goes. He's 31, but not yet on the downswing of his career, and his passable defense elevates him over the rest in this mini-tier. 5) Connor -- Yes, defense matters, but so does scoring goals, and few do it better than Connor. Dude's averaged 40 goals per 82 games in the 2020s, gotta give him some props for it. 6) Nylander -- Great production, coming off three-straight 40-goal campaigns. But someone's gotta be here, and his defense has graded worse than Connor for this season and last. Again, your mileage may vary, and people who've watched other players for 82 games may well bring a different and valid perspective to the table. But it's hard to put Boldy outside the top-10 wingers right now, and that's a pretty remarkable development for the Wild. Boldy's not just showing himself to be a "second star" forward in Minnesota, but he's pushing to be a legitimate 1B to Kaprizov's 1A. If we're still having this conversation by Game 82, it will go a long way to helping the Wild's playoff chances.

Aron Kiviharju, a 2024 fourth-round draft pick of the Minnesota Wild, was in the Twin Cities for the past few weeks as he captained Team Finland to a third consecutive appearance in the medal round. It was Kiviharju’s second year as captain of the Finnish squad. While they were disappointed with their fourth-place finish after falling to Canada in the bronze medal game, it was another excellent performance by the 5-foot-10 defenseman. He was once again voted as one of Finland’s three best players after also receiving that honor in last year’s tournament. Kiviharju, who famously told Bill Guerin that the Wild “got the steal of the draft” after a serious knee injury in his draft year caused him to slide down draft boards, led Finland in ice time with 23:03 per game, which was also the fifth most by any player in the tournament. He was the most important player on a team lacking star power, which became crystal clear when he missed Finland’s preliminary round matchup against Canada. In the six games that Kiviharju played, Finland allowed an average of 2.83 goals against. In that New Year’s Eve tilt versus Canada, they allowed seven. It wasn’t just that the usually stout Finns got lit up; it was how it happened that was the most striking. All night, they looked disorganized on the back end, mixing up coverages, missing switches, and botching sort-outs when defending in transition. They were pushed around in front of the net, and several of Canada’s goals came on defensive breakdowns. Zone clears under pressure were an issue. There was even a five- or ten-second window at the tail end of a power play when they played with only four skaters after a mix-up that left them one defenseman short. It was clear from the get-go that they dearly missed their captain. Watching Kiviharju defend is like watching a good floor general in basketball. He directs traffic, calls out switches, supports teammates, and takes away options. Kiviharju is versatile. He can play both sides and often does, meaning the lefty can be mixed and matched with partners based on game situations and matchup preferences. And when he gets the puck on his stick, the game calms down, and he handles it with poise. Kiviharju rarely makes a bad decision, and he’s excellent at relieving pressure with deft maneuvers into space or short passes against the grain that evade forechecks. Perhaps most importantly, he plays big minutes. In Finland’s epic semi-final game against eventual gold-medalist Sweden, a thriller that ended in a 4-3 shootout decision for the Swedes, Kiviharju played a whopping 27:28, including 5:08 of the 10-minute three-on-three overtime. His ice time was nearly seven minutes more than the next highest total for a Finnish defenseman. Kiviharju was on the ice for all three of Finland’s goals and only one goal against. He assisted on Finland’s first goal and nearly ended the game in overtime, ringing the crossbar from the high slot. It was a phenomenal performance in the biggest of moments. It came two days after overcoming illness and playing a stellar game in a quarterfinal victory over the United States, in which he made a beautiful back-door pass to set up Finland’s second goal. It’s starting to become clear that Kiviharju will have the chops to succeed in North America once he makes the jump. He’s signed with HIFK in Liiga (Finland’s top league) through the 2026-27 season, so it’s likely that the earliest the Wild could sign him would be for the 2027-28 season. The question is, what is his ceiling? And does that ceiling include the NHL? Offensively, he should be suitably effective at any level. He is an excellent puck handler, and while he’s not flashy, he has subtle skill, making many good, efficient, and quick puck handles that he combines with excellent footwork. That allows him to stay square to the play to survey for options and find lanes, makes it difficult for defenders to anticipate his movements and buys him a little extra time and space. As a puck mover, he makes good reads and understands motion and play development in terms of when and where to find or create options in all three zones. I’ve noticed an improvement in his shot over the last year. He doesn’t have a powerful shot or the quickest release, but he’s improved in both areas, and he’s always been good at getting pucks through and shooting for tips or rebounds. He’ll never be a big point producer, but he can be an asset for an offensive unit. He runs a good power play at the junior level, but I don’t know if he projects to do that at the NHL level, because most teams will have better options. I could see him running an AHL power play unit. He currently looks to be getting power play time on HIFK’s second unit, but that power play has only produced at 17.14% success rate, though four of Kiviharju’s seven points on the season have come with the man advantage. Defensively, from a foundational standpoint, he has a lot of the tools that could help him succeed long-term. He overcomes his smaller stature in many situations with footwork and a solid base. He’ll get in on an opponent’s hands to take away their stick in front of the net, but he doesn’t lock up too early and get outmuscled by bigger players; he tries to time it so that he has the advantage when his man becomes an option, or when the puck arrives. Kiviharju uses a similar tactic in wall battles. If he gets there first, he’ll win nearly every time because of his footwork and leverage. However, if he doesn’t, he tries to stay in tight and disrupt an opponent’s ability to use his stick to make a play. Then, he’ll look for opportunities to poke the puck loose or lock his man up until he gets support. For Kiviharju, the question will always come down to his skating and whether he can continue to adapt as he moves up the levels. He’s not a fast skater and cannot generate quick bursts. That occasionally causes him issues, especially when he has to track speedy opponents around the offensive zone and win races to spots. In these instances, he tries to use his intelligence, reading, and footwork to anticipate and disrupt movements, get into passing lanes, and thwart plays that way. But if he gets caught on a guy’s hip or is at a positional disadvantage, opponents can occasionally exploit that. When Kiviharju is defending the rush, if he gets caught flat-footed or with bad gaps, he has a hard time recovering because he’s not the swiftest backward skater and doesn’t make powerful turns from backward to forward. Kiviharju has largely eliminated the risky poke checks and reaches he was making last year at this time. He also moves well laterally with strong pushes and pull-unders, so if he can keep position, he can defend against faster players. If I had to bet right now, I’d guess that Kiviharju eventually becomes an NHL defenseman, but probably a bottom-of-the-lineup one that can play steady but unspectacular minutes. First, he’ll need to prove he can handle the heaviness and physical rigors of North American hockey on a daily basis, and the AHL will allow him to do so. If he succeeds there, I think he’ll transition to the NHL rather easily once he makes the jump. With players like Kiviharju, who are well-rounded and have some tools but look like fringe players on the surface, I look at intelligence, competitiveness, and the ability to stay composed. Those tend to be the separators among prospects who profile similarly, and Kiviharju has each in abundance. He’s a mature player and a leader, and he’s played on some of the biggest hockey stages in the world and thrived. Whether Kiviharju becomes the steal of the 2024 draft remains to be seen, but he looks more and more like a valuable future piece of the Wild organization.

The Minnesota Wild have played 11 games with Quinn Hughes in the lineup, and they have to be loving what they see. The team has used the boost to go 7-1-3 in that span, which has allowed them to draw even with the Dallas Stars in the Central Division standings. They may be 11 points behind the superhuman-looking Colorado Avalanche, but they're also a commanding 15 points above the playoff bubble. Minnesota's record says "Contenders," and with Hughes in tow, they're looking the part. Their goal differential is currently plus-23, up from plus-17 since Hughes' arrival. The Wild are tied with the Avs as the top team in the NHL over that time. The team's resume also looks decent, having nuked the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, and Edmonton Oilers, taken a rare road win against the Winnipeg Jets, and steamrolled the Vegas Golden Knights in Vegas. But what have we actually learned, given it's such a small sample size? Quite a lot, actually. We'll start here: Yeah, Hughes Is THAT GUY. When the Wild traded for Hughes, there was some sticker shock from the fanbase. It was easy to fall in love with a future team that would ice Zeev Buium as a superstar, and Marco Rossi and Liam Öhgren as valuable supporting pieces. Was Hughes really enough of a difference maker to punt on Buium's potential and weaken the Wild's center depth? Sure seems that way. It feels silly to say "The defenseman with 12 points in 11 games is great," but Wild fans really don't have a frame of reference for just how good he really is. We've said it before in this space, but think of all the great Wild defensemen we've seen. A future Hall of Famer like Brent Burns, a borderline guy like Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, Matt Dumba, the list goes on. The Wild's record for single-season points by a defenseman is 51, a number Ryan Suter reached twice. Quinn Hughes is on track to set the franchise record with 55 points... and he can only play 50 games in a Wild sweater. Everything about this guy is different. He moves differently than any Wild defenseman -- maybe Wild player -- we've ever seen. Hughes thinks the game at a high level and is always prodding for holes in the defensive structure. Because of this... The Wild Have Picked Up the Pace Minnesota's story, at least on the offensive side of the puck, looked familiar until December 13. They weren't great at generating scoring chances, and goals were hard to come by. Minnesota ranked just 15th in the NHL with 2.66 expected goals per hour at 5-on-5, ranking in the bottom half of the league in shots and shot attempts. Throw in some underperforming shooting, and the Wild sat at 28th in 5-on-5 offense, with just 2.07 goals per hour. Enter Hughes, and suddenly, the entire team is faster. Minnesota Wild at 5-on-5, Since Hughes Trade: Goals per hour: 3.35 (sixth in NHL) Shots per hour: 28.3 (sixth) Shot attempts per hour: 62.5 (fourth) Expected Goals Per Hour: 3.09 (seventh) Teams can go on hot streaks, of course, especially when they get that New Trade Smell. But this is more than a blip of scoring out of nowhere. The Wild are backing it up by ratcheting up the pressure on opposing goalies. They're a top-six team in virtually all offensive categories since the Hughes trade. Even more remarkably, this is despite leading in over 47% of their 5-on-5 and trailing only around 21% of the time. Teams that are tied or behind are going to press to score, but even with the incentive to hang back, the Wild are still flooring the gas pedal and easily dominating play. The Stars and Avalanche Should Be Scared Look, we're talking about Minnesota sports. We get it. It's very Minnesota Sports to have a dominant, top-three team in the NHL, only to have to face the second-best team in the first round, then the absolute best team in the second round. You can get fatalistic, if that's what you really want. Or perhaps you can take comfort in knowing that Colorado or Dallas would much, much prefer facing some chump Pacific Division team early in the playoffs than having to face the Wild in those first two rounds. Nobody wants to face Hughes, Kirill Kaprizov, and Matt Boldy. No team wants their superstars going against a Hughes/Brock Faber pairing that has been dominating for Minnesota. And a team that looks as great as the Wild has with Hughes isn't just a tough out. They're a team that can stack up to what Colorado and Dallas can bring to the table. Just look at their 5-on-5 stats since December 13. Goals For %, 5-on-5: Avalanche: 68.4% (first in NHL) Wild: 62.5% (third) Stars: 56.9% (sixth) Expected Goals For%, 5-on-5: Avalanche: 56.4% (second) Wild: 55.9% (third) Stars: 51.0% (13th) There aren't any guarantees in the playoffs -- you can ask the Avalanche, who lost in seven games to the Stars in a first-round series. But the Wild have the makings of a team that can go on a deep, deep playoff run. You might be dreading that tough road to the Western Conference Final, but for the Wild, this could easily be a "You're locked in here with ME"-type of situation.

As the calendar flips to 2026, the hockey world is eagerly awaiting the rosters for next month's Olympic Games. While fans in Minnesota are getting a taste of international hockey with the World Juniors, that's nothing compared to what's on deck. With the NHL finally back in the Games after a 12-year absence, we get to see the best of the best compete for the highest stakes. Or at least, most of the best of the best. Since 2022, the IIHF has banned Russia and Belarus from international play over the war in Ukraine. That ban means superstars like Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Aliaksei Protas won't participate in the Milan-Cortina Games. Without weighing in too heavily on geopolitical affairs, it's kind of a bummer that a historical hockey powerhouse like Russia is on the outside looking in for this tournament. It's not like Nikita Kucherov is driving a tank into Kyiv, you know? Of course, that affects Kirill Kaprizov, the Minnesota Wild's first superstar. Watching him take the ice with Ovechkin, getting pucks fed to him from all-time playmakers like Malkin, Kucherov, and Artemi Panarin would be something to behold. No offense to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter back in 2014, but Wild fans haven't gotten to see players as great as Kaprizov represent the franchise on the international stage. Or at least, not until Quinn Hughes takes the ice for Team USA. Instead, Kaprizov gets three weeks in February to rest up and do whatever he wants. Maybe he'll take the opportunity to go home. Perhaps he'll put his feet up, recover from the first half of the season, and get to 100%. Heck, he could take some time to do some light tampering, campaigning for someone like Evgeni Malkin to come to St. Paul for a playoff run. Just kidding! Ha ha! (Please do this.) Jokes are fun! Kaprizov won't get to play for (another) gold medal, and it'd be surprising if that fact isn't eating away at him. Weirdly enough, though, this might be the best thing for him and the Wild. Three weeks of recovery time are a godsend, and it's one that's not being afforded to most other superstars in the league. The NHL's condensed schedule, in place to accommodate the three-week Olympic break, has been a gauntlet for teams. Injuries appear to be up, which makes sense given the reduced recovery time. Wild fans saw their team play eight games in 13 days in mid-December, and those kinds of stretches have been the status quo for most teams. Practices are all but a thing of the past, with teams looking for any time to get rest. An 82-game season was already grueling before the condensed schedule came into play. Now add the extra grind of five or six extra games -- games in a playoff-like environment -- for many of the NHL's best players. Suddenly, the Wild have an opportunity with Kaprizov. Looking at the Western Conference's five main contenders, we can see that almost all of their superstars are almost guaranteed to take on that extra workload. We can see that the Wild are about to be hit fairly hard by it, as well. Colorado Avalanche: Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Devon Toews (CAN), Martin Nečas (CZE) Dallas Stars: Thomas Harley (CAN), Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz, Mikko Rantanen (FIN), Jake Oettinger (USA) Edmonton Oilers: Connor McDavid (CAN), Leon Draisaitl (GER) Minnesota Wild: Joel Eriksson Ek, Filip Gustavsson (SWE), Matt Boldy, Brock Faber, Quinn Hughes (USA) Vegas Golden Knights: Mitch Marner, Mark Stone, Shea Theodore (CAN), Tomáš Hertl (CZE), Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin (USA) That's not surprising: The best players get to go to the Olympics, and the best teams have a wealth of great players. But the opportunity for the Wild exists in the star players who aren't going to the Olympics. At least in the West, it's not a long list. Most of the superstar Russians getting a break -- the Kucherovs, Panarins, Andrei Svechnikovs, and Igor Shesterkins of the world -- are in the Eastern Conference. No offense to Valeri Nichushkin or Pavel Dorofeyev, but three extra weeks of rest for them aren't going to turn them into a game-changing force. For an all-world talent like Kaprizov, a small edge pushing his game up another notch could spark an MVP-type run. Despite having 23 goals and 47 points this year (a 46-goal, 94-point pace), we haven't seen Kaprizov at his best. One really only needs to look to last season to confirm it, as Kaprizov had 25 goals and 56 points in 41 games. The superstar has been in the lineup for every game, but is he truly recovered from the lower-body injuries that plagued him last year? As well as he's played, Wild fans have had to wonder about lingering effects. If that's the case, then the three weeks of rest are a massive boon for him. Especially since Kaprizov's powers usually seem to grow as the season goes on. As the playoffs draw near, Kaprizov turns on the burners when it comes crashing the net and getting goals. Just look at what he accomplishes in (roughly) the second half of the season. 82-Game Scoring Pace, Kirill Kaprizov, Career: October to January: 42 goals, 99 points February and Beyond: 55 goals, 97 points Maybe his overall production doesn't increase, but goals are more valuable than assists. When teams are getting desperate, making their final pushes for the playoffs, Kaprizov is still able to get on the board and arguably shines brighter in those games than in the early part of the year. Combine this with getting to stand still while MacKinnon, Makar, McDavid, Draisaitl, Rantanen, Heiskanen, Eichel, Marner, and Stone are going to be traveling across the world to get a playoff series' worth of wear and tear. Kaprizov might have something to say about the way the Central Division shakes out because of the benefit of rest. The Stars are the only other team getting this sort of break in February. They have a similar advantage because Jason Robertson was snubbed from Team USA. Dallas, of course, is currently slated (locked in???) to be the Wild's first-round opponent, so that might offset some of the advantage Minnesota might get from resting Kaprizov. Still, if Kaprizov can capitalize on the downtime and get his fastball back, the Wild would probably be glad to take their chances against the Stars, even if everyone there in Dallas is fresh and healthy. When Kaprizov is on the tippy-top of his game, he's an MVP-caliber player. If he gets back to that pinnacle, there may be no stopping him, or Minnesota, in April.

When you look at the NHL's recent Stanley Cup winners, you can identify a superpower for each of them. That One Thing that elevates them above the pack, a unique attribute that the team leans on to great success. The Florida Panthers have boasted impossible forward depth in recent seasons. The Vegas Golden Knights had a towering blueline. The Colorado Avalanche arguably had the best skaters in the world at their positions in Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. The Tampa Bay Lightning had that unstoppable power play. Over this same time period, what was the Minnesota Wild's superpower? Kirill Kaprizov is one of the best goal-scoring forces in the NHL. Still, while he's great, he's not uniquely so. The Wild's most distinctive attribute has probably been its best checking line in the NHL. In Marvel Cinematic Universe terms, their Disney+ series would have been something like "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D's Roommates." A big reason the Wild made the Quinn Hughes trade was to pursue their superpower. Maybe they could have a dynamic duo in Kaprizov/Hughes that could rival MacKinnon/Makar. A bit derivative, perhaps, but definitely something you can build a blockbuster franchise around. Instead, through six games at least, it appears Hughes might have brought the Wild something a bit more distinctive. A superpower that's uniquely theirs. That would be the union between him and Brock Faber, which is looking lethal in the early stages of their relationship. Hughes has come as advertised. His four points in six games undersell the impact he's made on the team offensively. He's already pushing the pace in a way that we've rarely seen coming from the Wild, which makes the team feel faster up and down the lineup. Hughes is referred to as a "one-man breakout," and would be true... except we're also seeing Faber trying to play Hughes' game. Better yet, more often than not, Faber's succeeding. Faber's got the edge in points since the two took the ice together, with five points in those six games. While Faber can't duplicate Hughes' mobility in tight spaces, he's showing that he's a great skater in his own right by moving the puck nearly as quickly as Hughes. When Hughes hits a roadblock, Faber is there to get out of his own zone decisively, and is doing so with a new level of flair. Like all great partnerships in the NHL, each player is propelling the other to new heights. We're seeing Faber benefit from playing with someone like Hughes for the first time, but we may also be seeing Hughes play with the most talented defenseman he's ever played with. No disrespect to Filip Hronek, but Faber's raw speed is elite, and he combines it with top-tier defensive awareness. Faber is demonstrating on a nightly basis that he can shut down forwards, plus step up when the puck lands on his stick. It's a dream combination on paper to put Hughes and Faber together, and it somehow looks even better on the ice. In 114 5-on-5 minutes, the pair has outscored opponents 7-4 while controlling 64.3% of the expected goals share. Those are elite, elite numbers. What's more, they're excelling on both sides of the ice. There are 164 defensive pairs in the NHL with 100-plus 5-on-5 minutes together. Hughes and Faber are generating 3.92 expected goals per hour, ranking third in the NHL. In their own zone, they're 18th of 164 in allowing scoring chances, surrendering just 2.17 expected goals against per hour. It'd be impressive enough if the Wild simply had a pair of elite mobile defensemen who could push the pace and be responsible in their zone. Only Hughes and Faber don't stop there; they also happen to be two absolute workhorses. Hughes leads the NHL in average time on ice (27:34), while Faber is 11th in the NHL (24:40). In terms of 5-on-5 minutes, Hughes is No. 1 (20:54), while Faber is fifth (19:34). That combination of talent and minute-munching is hard to find. The Avalanche had it for years between Makar and Devon Toews, but that era appears to be over with Toews entering his early 30s. But the Avs rode the ability to almost guarantee they'd dominate for 25 minutes a night with their top defense pair (and yes, also MacKinnon) to a Stanley Cup. It's early, but one would expect Hughes and Faber to improve with time to build chemistry, not worsen. It's hard to get better results than what we've seen so far. Still, if there's an extra half-layer of efficiency that comes from getting comfortable with each other, then Hughes and Faber could be a superhero duo that puts Minnesota over the top.

Ryder Ritchie’s transition from junior hockey to Boston University has been anything but simple, forcing him to confront shortcomings in his game that the WHL never really exposed. He must sharpen and test the same instincts that made him a productive player in Medicine Hat, and rebuild them against older, stronger, and far more structured competition. In the WHL, Ritchie looked every bit the offensive driver experts projected him to be. With Medicine Hat, he piled up points, played big minutes, and regularly tilted the ice alongside top-end talent like Gavin McKenna. He operated with the puck on his stick, attacked defenders off the rush, and lived in high-danger areas where his hands and vision could take over. The league’s pace and defending still challenged him, but not in the same way; his skill could overwhelm mistakes, and his team’s offensive style gave him plenty of freedom to create. That freedom manifested in how he played. Medicine Hat leaned on him heavily on the power play. They also gave him prime offensive zone starts, and he rarely had to worry about being the low forward in the defensive zone or the first guy back on a broken play. The focus was simple: produce, push pace, and help carry Medicine Hat’s explosive attack. For a creative winger trying to build confidence and a highlight reel, the WHL was an ideal launch point. College hockey at Boston University is a different world. Instead of lining up against 16- to 19-year-olds, Ritchie is playing against 22-year-old seniors who are stronger, heavier, and well-drilled in systems that squeeze time and space. Shifts that used to feel open now close in an instant. Available passing lanes in junior are gone before he can exploit them. Even when the box score looks decent, the night-to-night grind feels tighter, more physical, and far less forgiving. That change in environment has highlighted specific areas where he is still catching up. One is processing speed. At development camps and now in college, there have been signs that when the pace really ramps up, his reads can lag behind the chaos in front of him. Plays that were automatic in the WHL – cutting into the middle, trying a delay, threading a seam pass – are suddenly risky against defenders who close quicker and sticks that are constantly disrupting lanes. It’s not that Ritchie’s skill has disappeared; it’s that he no longer has that extra half-second to maximize it. Another challenge is physical engagement. Ritchie has grown and added size, but using that frame consistently is a different skill than just having it. In junior, he could escape contact, circle into soft ice, and still find the puck. In college, he has to dig in more along the boards, take hits to make plays, and protect the puck in traffic against players who are older and stronger in their base and posture. Learning to initiate contact, not just absorb it, is part of the adjustment. Ritchie’s role has also shifted. He could be the guy at Medicine Hat. The primary puck carrier, the offensive engine, the player the system bent towards in key moments. At BU, he is surrounded by other high-end talents, and that changes what is asked of him. Some nights, he’s not the focal point; instead, he has to complement, support, and impact the game in smaller, more subtle ways. Winning races, closing a gap on the backcheck, making the simple play on the breakout, these details matter as much as any toe-drag at the blue line. That's where the tension lies between “thriving” and “struggling.” On paper, his early NCAA production does not scream failure. But scouts and coaches are looking beyond the numbers, asking whether he is driving play, whether his effort away from the puck is consistent, and whether he can be trusted in all three zones. In junior, a couple of big offensive moments could cover up a quiet defensive night. In college, those quiet stretches stand out. The encouraging part is that these struggles are not signs of a ceiling; they are signs of a gap between where Ritchie is and where he needs to be to succeed at the next level. College hockey, for all its growing pains, may be exactly the environment that forces him to close that gap. With more practice time, more video, and more structured habits, he has the chance to round out his game instead of just polishing his scoring numbers. That might be the most important takeaway for the Minnesota Wild. If Ritchie can blend the creativity and scoring touch that defined his WHL days with better defensive reads, stronger board play, and quicker decisions under pressure, his rough edges in college will look less like a red flag and more like a natural step. The WHL showed what he can do when the game runs through him. BU is teaching him how to matter when it doesn’t, and that lesson is what separates a flashy junior scorer from a reliable NHL forward.

The Minnesota Wild should be extremely careful about moving on from Charlie Stramel, because big, right-shot centers with his blend of size, physical edge, and growing offensive game are exactly the kind of premium asset this organization has struggled to find and develop. The Wild could move on from Marco Rossi because 6-foot-1, 180 lbs. Danila Yurov developed into a top-six center. At 6-foot-3 and roughly 220 lbs., Stramel has prototypical power-center size that cannot be replaced easily through free agency or using late first-round picks. He is a right-shot center, a profile that is in short supply league-wide. It’s even more scarce within the Wild system, where true, big-bodied pivots have been a recurring organizational need. That frame is not just numbers on a page; multiple scouting reports highlight how he “plays to his size,” is hard to knock off the puck, and can make life miserable for defenders trying to break the puck out. Minnesota finally has a prospect whose physical tools match the Central Division's playoff style. Therefore, trading him early would be betting that a type the franchise rarely finds will suddenly become easy to acquire. Stramel’s value is magnified by the position he plays. He’s a natural center, with the ability to slide to the wing if needed. Scouting reports and prospect profiles consistently list him as a middle-six, 200-foot center who can handle matchups, kill plays defensively, and chip in on offense. That’s exactly the kind of versatile pivot you need behind your top-scoring line in the postseason. The Wild have been searching for stability down the middle for years, cycling through converted wingers, undersized centers, and stopgap veterans while trying to build a true one-through-four structure. Moving a cost-controlled, homegrown center prospect with size, because his development took a little longer, would risk repeating the pattern of patchwork solutions instead of building a sustainable spine. The argument for not trading Stramel becomes even stronger when considering how his game has rebounded since leaving Wisconsin. After two difficult offensive seasons with the Badgers, he transferred to Michigan State under coach Adam Nightingale, who previously coached him with the USNDT and unlocked his game. His point totals jumped from eight points in his last year at Wisconsin to 27 in his first season with the Spartans and climbed further the following year. Stramel’s production is not empty, either. Reports describe him as a more assertive power forward who now drives to the net, creates screens, and generates chances through deflections and rebounds, rather than a big body floating on the perimeter. The fact that he transformed his conditioning, earned more responsibility, and responded with better numbers suggests his trajectory is finally aligning with what the Wild envisioned when they drafted him 21st overall in 2023. When you project Stramel into an NHL playoff series, the reasons to keep him become clearer. He brings a heavy, forechecking, middle-lane game that can wear down opposing defensemen. He wins battles below the dots and creates space for more skilled linemates, the exact style that tends to matter more when whistles go away, and ice shrinks in the spring. Stramel is also more than just a straight-line banger. Prospect evaluations highlight his small-area distribution, noting that he can act as a “hub” in the offensive zone, using his frame to draw defenders before slipping pucks into dangerous areas for teammates. When you combine that touch with a heavy shot and net front presence, you get a player who can anchor a second or third line in the postseason, even if he never becomes a top-line scorer. Perhaps the most important reason the Wild should be careful about trading Stramel is economic. If he even becomes a Nico Sturm-type center with more offensive upside, defensively responsible, strong on draws, and able to chip in secondary scoring, you are looking at a cost-controlled, homegrown solution to a long-term roster hole. Letting that go in a hurry, primarily while his value is still influenced by early struggles, risks selling low on a player whose archetype becomes extremely expensive once proven at the NHL level. For a team with big ambitions but that must navigate the cap and still build depth around its stars, being patient with a rare, big right-shot center is not just a developmental decision; it’s smart roster management that could pay off every spring for years to come.

Future considerations and a one-year, $5 million contract. That’s all it took to get former six-time 30-goal scorer and Minnesota Wild killer Vladimir Tarasenko from the Detroit Red Wings in the offseason. There was some optimism among pundits and management that, despite his goal totals dwindling and his time on ice declining over the past few years, he could experience a resurgence in Minnesota. Yet through the first 22 games, Tarsenko had only 2 goals and 10 points while missing time due to injury. All signs indicated that he might be over the hill. I even wrote that he was so bad I'd consider scratching him. He provided nothing positive to this team. Well, if Vlad reads Hockey Wilderness, then I’m sorry. Maybe Bill Guerin had a heart-to-heart with Tarasenko, a la Billy Beane and David Justice in Moneyball. However it happened, something has sparked Tarasenko. I didn’t even know he still had this in him: The makeshift second line of Yakov Trenin, rookie Danila Yurov, and Tarasenko has been tremendous in the face of Minnesota’s litany of injuries. That line would have given me nightmares at the start of the season. Since they’ve been assembled, they’ve been the Wild’s best line. Now, adding Quinn Hughes and his 30 minutes a night on the back end might also have something to do with that, but either way, it’s been impressive. Over the past seven games, Tarasenko has been the most impactful forward outside of Matt Boldy, Kirill Kaprizov, and Joel Eriksson Ek. He’s stepped up in the absence of top-six forwards like Marcus Johansson and Mats Zuccarello. Tarasenko’s recent play has been a massive boon for a Wild team in need of depth. Tarasenko will likely lose his spot on the top power play when Zuccarello returns, but he’s been productive with the man advantage. He’s got only a single goal, but six assists are good enough for fourth on the team in terms of power-play points. Not too shabby. Overall, he’s on pace for nearly 50 points and 18 goals, both of which would be better than his season in Detroit last year, where he had just 11 goals and 33 points. Tarsenko’s ability to serve as a mentor and leader to Yurov, Minnesota’s young Russian center, is another huge boost for the Wild. After trading Marco Rossi to Vancouver in the Quinn Hughes deal, the Wild will have to lean on the 21-year-old Russian to carry a load for their center depth. “I feel like you need some time when you come to the league to adjust,” Tarasenko said regarding Yurov. “And I mean, everybody tried to help him, he is helping himself, and I feel like he’s stopped being scared to make a mistake and play confident hockey, play a very solid 200-foot game. You know, not only offense, but he’s very good in the defensive zone, which makes our job easier, and it’s fun to play with him.” If Tarsenko can help elevate Yurov’s game, that makes the Wild all the more dangerous. While Tarasenko had a slow start to the season, lately he’s been skating as well as he has all season, and it’s showing on the scoresheet. I’m not saying he’ll be a point-per-game player from here on out. It would be cool if he did, but if this is the version of Tarsenko the Wild get for the rest of the season, it will go a long way toward helping this team truly contend. All stats and data via Evolving Hockey, HockeyDB, Moneypuck, and Natural Stat Trick unless otherwise noted.

Daemon Hunt has earned the right to start over David Jiricek for the Minnesota Wild because his current form, underlying profile, and fit with the team’s needs all point in the same direction. He helps them win right now in ways Jiricek has not yet consistently shown at the NHL level. Recent usage and transactions already hint at how the organization views both defensemen. Hunt has stepped into the Wild lineup this season, contributing two assists, 11 hits, 19 blocked shots, and a plus -3 rating in 13 games, while handling a depth role without the chaos that usually comes with a young defender learning on the job. Jiricek, meanwhile, has been sent down after a stint that featured decent minutes but little impact on the scoresheet and no offensive production in his first 10 to 12 games with Minnesota. Hunt’s offensive upside showed up last night against the Islanders in a tied 2-2 game. Quinn Hughes slid a pass down the left side to Hunt, who went cross-ice through the crease to Kaprizov, who slid the puck past Sorokin to take a 3-2 lead in the game. It was a beautiful tape-to-tape pass. If he can consistently make plays like this, he’s going to continue to earn himself more ice time with the Wild. That contrast matters for a team that cannot afford extended on-the-job training in the middle of a playoff race. Hunt's ability to come in cold and still tilt the basic results in the right direction gives the coaching staff a baseline of trust that Jiricek has not yet matched in a Wild sweater. Going back to his WHL and early pro days, Hunt's strength has been his smooth, powerful skating, paired with calm puck movement and solid defensive reads. Scouting reports consistently highlight his mobility, vision, and poise under pressure, describing him as an all-around blueliner who can move the puck efficiently and close plays with his stick and body positioning rather than desperation. For a Wild team that already leans heavily on high-end puck movers like Quinn Hughes and Jonas Brodin, a low-maintenance depth defender who can keep plays on schedule and avoid self-inflicted damage is hugely valuable. Hunt’s profile fits that template. He can advance the puck, survive forechecks, and eat defensive-zone shifts without the wild swings in decision-making that often show up in young high-ceiling defenders. None of this should take away from Jiricek’s potential. At 6-foot-3 and over 200 pounds, he has the size, reach, and a heavy shot that made him a top prospect, and the tools still project as a potential top-four, all-situations defender if the development curve hits. However, during his brief run in Minnesota, he has looked more like a player trying to survive than one dictating play. He has no goals, no assists, and limited shot volume across his early games. Minnesota’s coaches are sheltering him at five-on-five and keeping him away from special teams. The gap between tools and impact is exactly where the argument tilts toward Hunt. The Wild need reliability and mistake-free hockey from the bottom of their defense group, not a long runway for a high-variance player still figuring out reads against NHL pace. Jiricek’s ceiling is higher, but his game brings more risk than reward, and that is the opposite of what a contending lineup wants from its third pair. Look at how the depth chart stacks up. Minnesota already has premium puck-driving on the left side with Hughes and Brodin, plus size and snarl with Jacob Middleton further down. On the right, they need cost-controlled defenders who can hold the rope behind their stars, kill plays in the neutral zone, and handle second-wave matchups without demanding heavy puck-touches or power-play time. Hunt checks those boxes because his game scales to whatever minutes the staff gives him. He can slide next to a more offensive partner and play safety net, or pair with a stay-at-home veteran and be the one to transport the puck. Hunt’s recent usage and position-on-ice results show that he already fits within Minnesota’s current structure, which is not yet the case for Jiricek. There is also a development argument that actually favors both players but still supports starting Hunt over Jiricek. For Hunt, consistent NHL reps on a third pair and on the penalty kill accelerate the refinement of a game that already looks close to plug-and-play, especially after bouncing between organizations and being reclaimed on waivers. For Jiricek, big minutes and every-situation usage in the AHL (or a lower-leverage role elsewhere) are more valuable than sheltered, low-impact NHL shifts that neither build confidence nor showcase his strengths. In other words, starting Hunt helps the Wild win now, giving Jiricek the runway he needs to become the impact defender his pedigree suggests he can be. The franchise doesn’t have to choose between upside and long-term stability. However, in the short term, the lineup card should reflect who is ready to help most on a nightly basis. Right now, that is Daemon Hunt, and the Wild’s recent roster decisions are already starting to say the quiet part out loud.

There's no more ambiguity with the direction of the Minnesota Wild. They are buyers at the trade deadline because they should be buyers. Sure, the Colorado Avalanche are the superteam of the West, but the Wild entered Sunday tied for the second-most points in the NHL. They have Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and now Quinn Hughes, all in their primes. And for some bonus urgency: They're making a combined $24 million for the last season before Kaprizov's contract goes up to $17 million next year. A team like that buys. There will be no prospect hugging. There won't be patience. Bill Guerin is going to do his damndest to swing another trade to load up his team, and he should. But what does he have left to make a trade with? Over the past 14 months, Guerin has already surrendered... A consensus top-10 prospect in Zeev Buium (Hughes trade) Their best, young, movable NHL piece in Marco Rossi (Hughes) A first-round, NHL-ready player in Liam Öhgren (Hughes) 2026's first-round pick (Hughes) 2026's second-round pick (Gustav Nyquist trade) 2027's second-round pick (David Jiříček trade) That's what they call a war chest. So, what remains, and what can we expect to see Guerin put on the table for a splashy move? Here's our breakdown of what Minnesota can use to boost its team for the playoffs (and beyond?): S-Tier: Untouchable... Unless... Jesper Wallstedt, NHL The sound you're hearing is the Team of 18,001 suppressing their sudden urge to get sick, and it's understandable to be revolted by the idea of trading Wallstedt. He's a 23-year-old goalie whose .926 save percentage leads the NHL. It's arguable that without his emergence this year, the Wild would never have been in a position to land Hughes in the first place. At the same time, one can argue that Wallstedt is a luxury item. The Wild have a workhorse goalie in Filip Gustavsson, under contract for five more seasons. Gustavsson doesn't have Wallstedt's numbers, but his .910 save percentage is well above the league average, and his track record since arriving in Minnesota is strong. He's also shown up in the playoffs, with a .917 save percentage in 11 games. Luxury or not, though, Wallstedt has a great thing going, and the Wild are going to want to hold onto him as long as they can. He's under contract for $2.2 million next year, meaning there's no rush to move him, even if they're worried about paying two No. 1 goalies down the road. He's truly an "In Case of No. 1 Center, Break Glass" kind of asset. Unless the Wild are replacing Rossi's hole for the long haul, he's still in Minnesota. A-Tier: Splash Trade Centerpiece Danila Yurov, NHL Prying away Wallstedt feels like a pipe dream for other teams; Yurov feels like a more realistic trade target. Yurov's counting numbers as a rookie (six goals, 16 points in 39 games) rate more as "solid" than "Calder-worthy," but he's been solid on both sides of the puck. More offense is on the way. Still, the question for Minnesota is, will that offense come soon enough? Charlie Stramel, NCAA The Wild drafted Stramel after a disappointing freshman season in Wisconsin, and it got worse for him as a sophomore. But since moving to Michigan State, Stramel is back to "bona fide first-rounder" status. Stramel has 21 goals and 53 points in 57 games as a Spartan, and has found success centering top wingers Isaac Howard (in 2024-25) and Porter Malone (presently). In the meantime, Stramel's size (6-foot-3, 216 pounds) never went out of style, and a big, right-shot center who should be ready to sign as a pro this summer should be attractive to teams. While being in the same tier as Yurov sorta feels wrong, it's also not difficult to see Stramel be the primary piece that lands, say, a Ryan O'Reilly-type, so he's here. Minnesota's 2028 first-rounder (Unprotected) Normally, teams value a pick that comes sooner rather than later. After all, a GM who's selling might not be around to make a pick in two years, let alone three! But for a GM with job security, this should be the crown jewel of the Wild's pick stash. The Wild are gonna have Kaprizov, Hughes, and Boldy next year, at least to start the season. If a team picks up Minnesota's 2027 pick, that's going to be in the 20's. A 2028 pick is making a bet against the Wild having Hughes during the 2027-28 season. It's hard to imagine the Wild bottoming out next year, but if they lose Hughes and can't build a team around Kaprizov's contract? That 2028 first suddenly becomes a great asset. B-Tier: Prime Rental Fodder Minnesota's 2027 first-rounder The standard price of a good rental will include a pick like this. A lottery ticket in the 20s, maybe the high-teens if a team is lucky. David Jiříček, AHL It's hard to get a true gauge on Jiříček's trade value. In a vacuum, it probably should be here. Is it that way in reality? It's hard to be sure. The Wild went all-in on his potential, and cutting bait after a little more than a year would surely spark the question of why two teams would want to move him before turning 23. Regardless, the bloom is off the prospect rose, and his days as a prime asset are done until he establishes himself in the NHL. C-Tier: Decent Rental Fodder Adam Benák, OHL Benák is showing out as an 18-year-old rookie in the OHL, with the third-most points per game in the league. Having a strong World Junior tournament should have helped his stock, too. Still, he's seven months removed from 31 NHL teams (the Florida Panthers being the exception) passing on him at least once in the 2025 Draft. Benák is probably more valuable to the Wild than as a trade chip, at least now. David Spacek, AHL Spacek has been a lone bright spot on a bad AHL squad for the past two years. With some power play duty helping the cause, Spacek has 50 points in 107 games during that time. Despite his play, the 22-year-old, right-shot defenseman is buried on the depth chart behind Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon, Zach Bogosian, and Jiříček. A strong Olympic stretch could get teams interested. Ryder Ritchie, NCAA Ritchie has skill, but his stint as an older freshman at Boston University is reading more as decent than a top prospect. A second-half surge could change that quickly, but for now, he's dwelling in this tier. Hunter Haight, AHL Haight looked NHL-ready in training camp, but a weak Iowa Wild squad probably holds him back. He's tied for fifth in scoring on the Baby Wild, but 12 points in 26 games isn't going to turn a ton of heads. D-Tier: Throw-Ins Apologies to, in alphabetical order, Riley Heidt, Aron Kiviharju, and Carson Lambos, who each merited a bit of consideration for the C-Tier. Any unnamed prospect is here. As for the remainder of the team's draft capital in 2026 and 2027, this tier includes: 2026: Their third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-rounders San Jose's fifth-rounder (Calen Addison trade) 2027: Their third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-rounders The Wild took two big bites out of their prospect capital with the Hughes and Jiříček trades, for sure. But there's a decent amount left over for another big swing. The assets are there, and the motivation is, too. The only question left is: Who's it gonna be?

David Jiricek has turned from an exciting prospect into what Midwesterners politely call “interesting.” Well, that's not quite fair. Minnesota-"interesting" usually translates to awful, I hate it, never show me this again, please. Jiricek is more of a mix of confusing and polarizing. That's legitimately interesting. Only four years ago, he was a sixth-overall pick with incredible tools and offensive production to match it. Two years after that, Jiricek had progressed from the top professional league in Czechia to the AHL. He was producing an NHL equivalency (NHLe, a metric that translates scoring from minor leagues based on the difficulty of scoring) of about 30 points per 82 games. Then, in November 2024, Minnesota traded Daemon Hunt and four draft picks to the Columbus Blue Jackets to acquire Jiricek. This was supposed to be an opportunity for an ascending player to join an ascending organization. Instead, Jiricek’s production plummeted. In 2024-25, the Czech defender played only 6 games for Minnesota, averaging 13:02 per game. It’s not surprising that his NHL role was diminished from the 43 games and 14:36 per game he played on Columbus’s NHL team the year prior; the Blue Jackets finished near the bottom of the league standings in 2023-24, which meant they had plenty of meaningless games and minutes to feed their prospects at the end of the season. More concerning, however, is that Jiricek’s AHL production dropped drastically -- from 31 NHLe to 15 in Iowa. This is a per-game statistic, so the time he spent on the bench before the trade wasn’t a factor. On March 22, things went from bad to worse. Jiricek discovered an injury that would soon take him off the ice for the remainder of the season. Obviously, no injury is helpful, but it can be especially difficult for developing prospects. The Athletic’s Joe Smith reported that it took three to four weeks to resume running, and that Jiricek wasn’t able to participate in one-on-one battle drills during the summer of 2025. Jiricek called it “the toughest season for me in the U.S.” All that seemed to be behind him, until he was conspicuously left off the Czech Olympic roster. Not only that, but fellow Wild prospect David Spacek made the team. Spacek and Jiricek were in the same draft class, but Spacek was a fifth-round pick, selected 147 players after Jiricek. How is it possible that just four years later, only one of them is an Olympian -- and it’s not the 6’4” demigod? What’s especially strange about team Czechia’s preference for Spacek is that Minnesota has favored Jiricek for NHL callups. Jiricek has played 18 NHL games this year, while Spacek is yet to make his debut. That doesn’t necessarily mean that one of Team Czechia or Minnesota is wrong about the two players. It could be that Jiricek is a better fit for NHL hockey, while Spacek is more trustworthy in a best-on-best environment. Jiricek has shown a tendency in the NHL to turn the puck over in his defensive zone, which can be disastrous quickly if it comes against a line featuring Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, and Nathan MacKinnon. That’s a pretty thin line to walk. In most cases, a better hockey player is better at all levels, not specifically against certain levels of competition. More likely, Spacek may be a better fit for Czechia’s aspirations for these Olympics. That could be for a few reasons. Perhaps Spacek really is a better player right now. Perhaps Jiricek has only played in front of Spacek in the interest of Jiricek’s development. After all, Minnesota gave up a horde of draft picks to acquire Jiricek. On the other hand, the Olympics are once every four years. Czechia has little to gain from rostering players who won’t help it in the future. Another possibility is that Spacek’s talents fit Czechia’s system better than Jiricek’s. It’s not hard to imagine that the Czechs hope to keep games close as heavy underdogs (14-to-1 odds for a gold medal, compared to the USA around two-to-one and Canada at +135). Blocking shots and counterattacking are common strategies to that end, and Jiricek’s booming slapshot won’t factor into a plan like that. Finally, it could be that Jiricek’s unsteady performance at the NHL level has Czechia skittish. While Spacek might currently be a less effective player, it’s hard to be sure since he hasn’t yet played. That’s a knock on Spacek in and of itself, but Jiricek’s ugly turnovers are likely to become a factor at the Olympic level. Jiricek’s skill set might be better suited to medaling, but it’s just not realistic for Czechia to expect that in a tournament already featuring the USA, Canada, and Sweden. If Czechia’s goals are more modest -- perhaps focused on beating lesser teams in the group stage and securing a better record overall -- Spacek’s inclusion over Jiricek makes more sense. It’s possible that Czechia is flat-out wrong to leave Jiricek off its Olympic roster. At age 20, Jiricek’s impacts in The Athletic’s analytical model looked like a bottom-pair quality defenseman. That season, he took on minutes befitting a second-pair defenseman and came out with impacts similar to Zach Bogosian’s 2023-24 performance. Two years of development later, though, and it’s difficult for Wild fans to argue they see a better player on the ice. The Jiricek acquisition may be simply a colossal whiff by Bill Guerin. If it is, he’s earned it. In his tenure, he’s acquired Brock Faber via trade, Zeev Buium via the draft, and Declan Chisholm via waivers. He also extended Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin, then protected the later years of those contracts by acquiring Quinn Hughes to take over the top pair from them. Jake Middleton, Jon Merrill, and Zach Bogosian have been efficient and creative signings to cover the bottom pair and play higher in a pinch. Calen Addison busted out. If Jiricek is the only other true miss, that’s part of the process to build an exceptional defense corps. Before writing the towering blue-liner off, though, remember that development is not linear. It’s not a matter of getting one percent better every day; rather, players grind and develop individual skills such as shooting, skating, and (crucially for Jiricek) decision-making. Each of these skills can influence the others, which leads to a cycle of plateaus and breakthroughs. Nobody knows for sure how good David Jiricek will become. Someday, his story will become a lesson in what to look for (or avoid) in the NHL draft. For now, let him serve as a reminder that the development process often comes with frustration. Just don’t confuse frustration with the absence of progress.

Remember that fleeting moment last year when the Minnesota Wild were up 2-1 on the Vegas Golden Knights in the playoffs? The Wild stole Game 2, 5-2, in Vegas and returned to St. Paul with home-ice advantage. Minnesota took Game 3, 5-2, at the X. Visions of escaping the first round for the first time since 2014-15 danced in people’s heads. However, Shea Theodore notched a power-play goal to open the scoring in Game 4. Nicolas Roy tacked on another with the man advantage. It was the difference in a 4-3 game. That trend continued in the next two games. William Karlsson kicked off Game 5 with a shorthanded goal, negating Kirill Kaprizov’s power play tally minutes later and providing the difference in a 3-2 contest. Theodore’s power play goal put Vegas up early in Game 6 and was the difference in the clinching game. Everyone was left to wonder why the Wild traded a second-rounder for Gustav Nyquist. The 35-year-old, who had 9 goals in 57 games for the Nashville Predators before the trade, didn’t record a point in the playoffs. Memorably, though, he jumped offside on what would have been Ryan Hartman’s game-winning goal in Game 5. Bill Guerin’s blockbuster trade for Quinn Hughes has covered for many roster-building blemishes. Trading a second-round pick for Nyquist, whose most significant playoff impact was sending the Wild into Game 6 down 3-2, is chief among them. So is trading assets he could use to acquire a scoring forward for David Jiricek, who has no points and 12 penalty minutes in 18 games this year. Hughes’ masterful breakouts are distracting everyone from Minnesota’s 76.5% penalty kill rate. The San Jose Sharks, New Jersey Devils, and Montreal Canadiens kill penalties more effectively. Meanwhile, the Wild score 22.4% of the time with the man advantage, ninth in the league. They’re 2.2 percentage points away from the Detroit Red Wings (24.6%), who are fifth. However, they’re also only 2.2 percentage points higher than the Nashville Predators (20.2%), who are 15th. Still, the Wild’s power play has declined significantly since early in the season. Minnesota scored on 4 of 8 opportunities in their second game of the year against the Columbus Blue Jackets. They went 3 for 6 in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Kings and 2 for 4 against the Dallas Stars in Game 4. That’s 50% for those of you keeping score at home. However, the Wild haven’t had three power-play goals in a game since Game 3 vs. the Kings, despite multiple opportunities to run up the score with an extra man on the ice. They went 0 for 7 against the Anaheim Ducks on November 15, 1 for 5 in Chicago 11 days later, and 0 for 5 against the Calgary Flames on December 4. The Wild are 3 for 14 (21.4%) in their last three games. They haven’t scored two power-play goals in a game since December 14, the first game Hughes played for Minnesota. They’re 7 of 27 (25.9%) on the power play since then. Beyond the numbers, the power play just looks bad. For anyone who’s seen the Wild’s power play, it’s no mystery that they aren’t scoring on it. Minnesota has Kirill Kaprizov on a $136 million extension. Matt Boldy has come alive, and Marcus Johansson is defying age. The Wild have Quinn freaking Hughes, and yet, they can’t score with an extra professional hockey player on the ice. The Wild need to add another forward so they’re not banking on Johansson, 35, and Mats Zuccarello, 38, in top-six roles. Despite what Guerin would lead you to believe, players decline as they get older. Just ask Gustav Nyquist. That’s why teams value second-round picks, which the Wild could use to draft a young player with upside or trade for a forward in his prime this year. Still, will adding a forward alone fix the power play? Does a power play unit that will probably end up around league average make up for a penalty kill that’s bottom-third in the league? Minnesota must have an answer to those questions, and soon. Because, as we saw in the playoffs last year, special teams are vital to playoff success. The Wild could hang with Vegas 5-on-5; the power play and penalty kill were difference makers. Special teams were a problem last year, and the Wild haven’t fixed them this season. And if they can’t win in the playoffs this year, what makes anyone think Quinn Hughes will stick around after his contract is up next season?

One year ago, David Jiricek was the Minnesota Wild’s blockbuster addition. The Wild acquired the sixth overall pick in the 2022 draft in a massive trade that sent Daemon Hunt, a 2025 first-round pick, 2026 third and fourth-round picks, and a 2027 second-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jiricek’s cost, draft capital, and 6-foot-4, 204-pound frame made it easy to envision that he would be a staple of Minnesota’s blue line for years to come. But life comes at you fast in the NHL, and it may have given the 22-year-old whiplash when the Wild pulled another blockbuster trade for Quinn Hughes last month. A former Norris Trophy winner, it hasn’t taken Hughes long to get acclimated after he arrived from the Vancouver Canucks. But his presence has a ripple effect throughout the organization, and it could impact Jiricek’s future. He could “get Ohgrenned.” “Ohgrenned” is a reference to former Wild winger Liam Ohgren's situation. At this time one year ago, Ohgren was one of the players, along with Jiricek, who formed one of hockey's best farm systems. That group, which included Zeev Buium, Jesper Wallstedt, and Danila Yurov, was supposed to establish roots in the NHL this season. While that trio was able to do it, Ohgren couldn’t take advantage of his opportunity. Coaching staff don’t have a vendetta against players that fans sometimes believe, but it felt like the Wild liked but didn’t love Ohgren. Despite showing up to camp in great shape, he didn’t show much in the preseason and lost his job to Marcus Johansson, a 35-year-old winger playing on a veteran minimum contract. With no points in 18 games with the Wild this season, it felt like Ohgren was going from promising prospect to an afterthought in Minnesota. That was confirmed when he was part of a package that included Marco Rossi, Buium, and a 2026 first-round pick to acquire Hughes on Dec. 13 and may have foreshadowed Jiricek’s future with the team. Like Ohgren, Jiricek hasn’t been able to show he can stick in the NHL. In just over a full calendar year with the Wild, Jiricek has played 24 games, recording a goal and an assist and logging a plus-3 rating. Jiricek showed an ability to create offense earlier in the season, but his game isn’t at a level that can help a team that believes its championship window is right now. While Ohgren is one example, Buium is another. At 20 years old, Buium had a solid start with three goals and 14 points in 31 games with the Wild. But like most young players, he was inconsistent, which led the Wild to pursue Hughes as an immediate upgrade to compete with the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. Nobody can argue with the results, as the Wild are 7-1-2 since Hughes arrived in Minnesota. The deal to bring him here, along with last year’s trade for Jiricek, depleted Bill Guerin’s war chest to make another deal. It also may have put the writing on the wall for last year’s prized acquisition, especially if Hughes re-signs next summer. It’s impossible to know what Hughes is going to do when it’s time to sign a new contract. Playing for the New Jersey Devils with his brothers, Jack and Luke, has to be appealing. He could also return to Michigan to play for the Detroit Red Wings after playing at the University of Michigan. Both were realistic scenarios before the Canucks traded Hughes to Minnesota. Still, the Wild have the ace up their sleeve: they can exclusively offer an eight-year contract with front-loaded pay and unlimited signing bonuses before the new collective bargaining agreement kicks in next fall. Even if that results in Hughes signing a shorter-term deal to potentially hit the market with Jack after the 2029-30 season or Luke after the 2031-32 season, it still creates a short-term problem that Jiricek may not be able to overcome. The Wild have paired Hughes with Brock Faber, and it has the potential to be their top pairing for the next decade. Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon have slid down to the second pairing, but are still producing in their 30s. They've also signed Jake Middleton through the 2028-29 season, clogging another roster spot, and Jiricek’s best hope may be to grab that final spot sometime in the next two seasons. Even with the possibility that Brodin and Spurgeon will age out, it’s an uphill climb. Zach Bogosian is Minnesota's sixth defenseman. At 35 years old, it wouldn’t be surprising for the Wild to move on when he becomes a free agent this summer. But like Johansson, Bogosian is considered a staple of locker-room culture, to the point that Buium chose No. 24 to honor his former teammate when the Wild traded him to Vancouver. Michael Russo also noted in The Athletic that Minnesota could re-sign Bogosian, which would essentially lock in the top six for the next season or two, depending on the length of the extension. This seemingly puts Jiricek in the seventh defenseman role. Still, he’d also have to compete for that spot with Hunt, who, despite being traded for Jiricek a year ago, has been able to stay ahead of him in the pecking order. The Wild could wait a few years and see how things play out. But the Hughes trade also showed that they’re willing to mortgage the future to help this team compete for a championship in the short term. If Steven Stamkos, Ryan O'Reilly, or even Sidney Crosby become available in the next two months, Jiricek would be the best trade chip the Wild has to get a deal done. They have no picks until the third round of the 2026 draft, and they already traded their 2027 second-rounder to Columbus for Jiricek. This may make the Jiricek trade seem like a waste of resources unless the Wild gets a valuable short-term piece back in return. But nobody is arguing with what it took to get Hughes right now, even with his contract status hanging over the franchise entering next summer. In the end, Ohgren may be the best example of how the Wild is viewing their roster strategy right now. It could also mean Jiricek's time in Minnesota ends much differently than fans envisioned a year ago.

At least once a season, a discourse on wearing hockey jerseys emerges on social media. Who “can” or “should” wear jerseys? Where are they appropriate to wear? Is there a rhyme or reason to it? Without getting into the specifics, some people have very specific and annoying ideas on who is “allowed” to wear jerseys, according to them. Personally, I think jerseys are great, and while it might be a little weird to see someone wearing a jersey from a team that isn’t actually playing in a particular game, to each their own. If I’m at a Minnesota Wild vs. Florida Panthers hockey game and someone wants to wear a McDavid jersey, I’m not gonna be bothered. The IIHF World Juniors Championship has been in town, and I brought my 10-year-old daughter. I tried to explain that the reason it was quieter than a Wild game is that people are there to watch good hockey overall. That also meant that there was a whole range of unique jersey choices, along with fun things like sparkly hats and fur coats. Here are the jerseys that I saw, from the ones that made the most sense to the ones that were a bit more unique and earned a second glance. Minnesota Wild Obviously, there were going to be Minnesota Wild jerseys in the house that the Wild built. But the most interesting part was the range. I saw a Wild jersey of every type and variety that has existed over the 25 years of franchise history. The best was a Winter Classic Kaprizov. And, just like usual, most jerseys were Kaprizov or Boldy. Team Sweden and Team Canada I went to the USA vs. Slovakia and USA vs. Switzerland games. At each one, a few folks were walking around in jerseys for other teams that were competing in the tournament. I thought it was fun to see such dedicated fans who came to the State of Hockey to watch the tourney! Minnesota Gophers Again, this one makes sense because there are current Gopher players who were competing with Team USA. It was nice to see both the jerseys with the M, along with the more vintage feeling Goldy playing hockey version. Columbus Blue Jackets I didn’t catch if this jersey had a player’s name on the back, but the best part was that it appeared to be their 2025 Stadium Series cannon jersey, not just a regular old CBJ jersey. Props to a cool jersey. Colorado Avalanche There were actually two different Avalanche jerseys that I spotted. I’m assuming that the way Colorado is dominating the league has raised the fashionable ranking of their jersey quite high in the minds of hockey fans. One was a regular Malinski Avs jersey, while the other was the 2022 Reverse Retro with the large C styled after the Colorado state flag. Not only that, but this was a Landeskog jersey with the C on the front. Mighty Ducks 1 There were a few of these Mighty Ducks jerseys fashioned after the first movie of the trilogy that were peppered throughout the crowd. Most of them were Charlie Conway jerseys, but I spotted at least one Goldberg jersey. Mighty Ducks 2?! Even more amazing was the Charlie Conway jersey, which appeared to be based on the Team USA jerseys the cast wore at the Junior Goodwill Games in D2: The Mighty Ducks 2. I didn’t get a good look at the jersey, but if I am correct and it was based on the second movie of the trilogy, I tip my hat to the guy who was wearing it. Miracle on Ice These jerseys aren’t odd to see at a World Juniors game where Team USA was expected to dominate. (Oopsies.) But the fun part was seeing how many different players from the 1980 Olympics team were represented. I saw multiple jerseys of Jim Craig, Mike Eruzione, Rob McClanahan, and Jack O’Callahan. Mixing Countries One fan was wearing a New York Rangers jersey. It was the classic Lady Liberty jersey, so it fit with the patriotic vibes of cheering on Team USA. The funny part, though, was that it had the name and number of the famously Canadian Wayne Gretzky. Basketball? This one was my favorite for just how out of place it was at World Juniors, but in a delightfully eccentric way. Sitting a few rows ahead of me was a guy who had a Timberwolves jersey on over his hoodie. Even better, instead of saying "Naz Reid," it said "Big Jelly" on the back -- an all-around delight. Bonus Points For Accessories The best non-jersey fashion I saw at World Juniors was a group of three friends who had seemingly spraypainted cheeseheads into the very American red, white, and blue. Classic football accessory co-opted into a perfectly Midwestern encapsulation of patriotism.

One of the world’s premier hockey events comes to the Twin Cities this week. The World Junior Ice Hockey Championships will take place at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul and 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis, from Friday, December 26 to Monday, January 5. Ten teams, divided into two groups, will square off in a format featuring a preliminary round of group play, from which eight teams will advance through a bracket to compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals. As usual, this tournament will provide a showcase for some of the best drafted prospects in the world, several of whom have already spent time in the NHL, as well as some of the top draft-eligible prospects for the upcoming 2026 NHL draft. Also, as usual, the tournament is filled with connections to Minnesota. Team USA, the two-time defending gold medalist, features its usual arsenal of players from the State of Hockey, with as many as eight Minnesotans on the roster (the team still has two cuts to make, as of December 23). In other words, it’s business as usual for Team USA. Beyond the red, white, and blue, Minnesota connections are sprinkled throughout the tournament field. The Wild only have two draft picks playing (more on them below), but there are several other familiar names and neat links that might pique the interest of Wild fans and hockey heads in general. Team Finland Aron Kiviharju – Defense – HIFK (Liiga) – Drafted by Wild in 4th round, 2024 Kiviharju, the self-proclaimed steal of the 2024 NHL draft, is captaining Finland for a second consecutive season. Last year, he led the plucky Finns all the way to overtime in the gold medal game, where they ultimately fell to Team USA. The 5-foot-10, 181-pound defenseman is a steady, reliable puck mover and solid defender. While he doesn’t have a lot of flash to his game, he’s well-rounded and is a strong game manager from the back end. He usually makes the correct pass and is adept at creating lanes with deceptive body language, solid footwork, and a great sense of time and space. He’s never rattled and uses efficient footwork and a great stick to defend in all three zones and along the wall. I wrote an in-depth profile of his game after last season’s tournament, which you can read here. Kiviharju should be a fun player to watch in this tournament, and Finland is going to be a tough out once again, with a battle-tested group of returnees being joined by skilled newcomers. Aatos Koivu – Center/Wing – TPS (Liiga) One of those newcomers has a familiar name for Wild fans; Aatos Koivu, a 2024 3rd round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens, is the nephew of longtime Wild captain Mikko Koivu, and the son of former NHL star Saku Koivu, the legendary former Canadien who remains an icon in Montreal. Aatos is a skilled, lanky forward with great hands, a strong shot, and a responsible two-way game, as one might expect from a Koivu. He’s had a slow start with his professional club in Finland, but was one of the standouts during last summer’s World Junior Summer Showcase at Ridder Arena. Koivu should be a key contributor for a Finnish forward group that won’t have a lot of high-end offensive talent. Team Czechia Adam Benak – Center – Brantford (OHL) – Drafted by Wild in 4th round, 2025 The diminutive Benak became an instant fan-favorite after the Wild selected him last summer, and he immediately backed up the hype with a sterling performance at the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase. The 5-foot-7 center is having a tremendous year for a loaded Brantford team that has run roughshod over the Ontario Hockey League for much of this season. While Benak’s production has slowed a bit of late, his 1.65 points per game is good for third in the entire league. Czechia is loaded with talent this year, and after medaling in three consecutive tournaments – and eliminating Canada in each of the past two – they return as a legitimate contender to take home the gold. Benak will play a prominent role, and his speed, skill, and tenacity should make him a very impactful player at this level. Benak also has an international track record of success. His performance at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, along with another strong showing at last year’s Under-18 World Championship, were major contributors to his rise as a prospect leading up to the draft. Adam Jireck – Defenseman – Brantford (OHL) Jiricek, the younger brother of Wild defenseman David Jiricek and Benak’s teammate in Brantford, has emerged as a legitimate prospect with high upside. He’ll likely be the No. 1 defenseman for Czechia in this tournament, which is his third consecutive World Juniors. Jiricek, a 2024 first-round pick of the St. Louis Blues, suited up for the Blues prospects at the Tom Kurvers showcase last fall and looked fantastic throughout the weekend. He’s mobile, an excellent passer, and can play with varied pace to suit any situation. He’s also not afraid to mix it up physically and puts his 6-foot-2 frame to good use in that regard. The younger Jiricek is tracking to be a key member of St. Louis's blueline down the road, so Wild fans will have the chance to get a look at a player that they’ll likely be seeing a lot of. Team Slovakia Luka Radivojevic – Defense – Boston College (NCAA) It’s not often that you see a Slovakian player whose listed birthplace is Edina, but that’s the case with Radivojevic, the son of former Wild player Branko Radivojevic, who brought his hockey talents and incredible name to St. Paul from 2006 to 2008. While his dad was a burly, physical winger, Luka is a smaller, mobile defenseman who is having a good freshman season at Boston College. Radivojevic was on a lot of draft lists last summer, but his 5-foot-10, 173-pound frame is likely the reason he went unclaimed. Still, his skill as a puck mover and strong skating, along with the fact that he’s looked quite good on the Boston College blue line, could be enough to get him drafted next summer. Radivojevic was a key member of Slovakia’s squad as an under-ager last season, and returns as an alternate captain who will be asked to carry an even bigger load this time around for a team that features only two NHL draft picks. Team Canada Ethan Mackenzie – Defense – Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) MacKenzie put himself on the Wild’s radar last season after a strong second year in the WHL, and earned an invitation to last summer’s Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase. The 6-foot, 189-pound prospect has been draft-eligible since 2024 but has gone undrafted twice. That’s likely to change after his meteoric rise, which has seen him become a lock for Canada’s lineup despite never having played in an international event. In fact, he suited up on the top pair in their most recent pre-tournament scrimmage against Sweden. He should be a fun player to watch and is probably a player that is on the Wild’s radar for next summer’s draft. Team Latvia The Latvians were the darlings of last year’s tournament, where they pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Juniors history by taking down Canada in a shootout, on Canadian soil no less. The result was so shocking that it sent the entire Canadian nation spinning into an existential crisis. It also marked a giant step in Latvia’s development into a hockey nation that is to be taken seriously. The Minnesota connections on the Lativan squad are minor, but notable nonetheless. Forward Martins Klaucans and defenseman Krisjanis Sarts both spent last season playing for the St. Cloud Norsemen of the North American Hockey League. Both players also represented Latvia in last year’s tournament. Klaucans was a double under-ager as a 16-year-old, and he’s draft eligible this season, though he's probably a long shot to be selected. Klaucans and Sarts will be key players for this year’s Latvian squad, one that should advance from the group stage once again. ---- This year’s tournament is shaping up to be another fantastic event, and anyone with time on their hands would do well to snag a ticket or two and check out what has become a truly one-of-a-kind hockey spectacle. For those interested, tickets can be purchased here. Otherwise, grab a beverage and a snack, kick your feet up, and tune in to see some fun, intense hockey. The full tournament schedule can be found here, and TV and radio information is available here.

When the Minnesota Wild signed Nico Sturm over the offseason, it wasn’t quite the splash many had hoped for on the Wild’s proverbial Christmas Morning. While it wasn’t the most eye-catching acquisition, the Wild brought Sturm in to fit a particular role. The German forward has carved out a niche for himself in the NHL as a defensive specialist, particularly valuable for his strength at the faceoff dot and on the penalty kill. Those attributes made him a perfect target for the Wild. The Wild have struggled at the faceoff dot for several years. 2017-18 was the last time they weren’t in the bottom ten in the league in faceoff percentage. You have to go back to the 2016-17 season to find the last time Minnesota was successful on more than 50% of its faceoffs. Minnesota has also been a weak penalty-killing team, especially in the last two seasons. The Wild have been a bottom-three team in penalty-killing percentage in each of the previous two years, with a 74.5% success rate in 2023-24 and 72.4% in 2024-25. With such obvious deficiencies, bringing a player like Sturm in made a lot of sense, but Sturm’s second stint with the Wild got off to a bumpy start when the forward got injured on the first day of training camp. After the injury, it became natural to wonder whether Sturm was going to make the impact on this team that they brought him in for. Fortunately, he’s checked many of the boxes he needed to since returning from surgery. The best place to start to see Nico Sturm’s impact is on the penalty kill. At the beginning of the season, the Wild’s penalty kill was as bad as it had been the last few years. Nico Sturm’s injury kept him out of the lineup until November 23. From the beginning of the season until that time, the Wild were only killing off penalties at a 74% rate. That was fifth-worst in the league at the time. Since Sturm rejoined the team, the Wild have been much better down a man, with an 82.1% penalty kill rate (good for 12th in the league in that time span). Of course, there are a lot of factors that have led the Wild’s PK to be respectable. Minnesota’s goaltenders have played excellently this year. Jared Spurgeon has stepped up after his season got off to a rocky start. Still, Sturm deserves credit for the turnaround. The defensive specialist is averaging 1:35 of penalty kill time on ice per game, third on the team among forwards. Sturm’s defensive play has been an enormous boon to the Wild's PK, but he’s also played his role well at even strength. When you analyze some of Sturm’s underlying numbers, you get some interesting results. The first thing that’s apparent is that he does a reasonably good job at producing quality possessions for the Wild. With a higher on-ice expected goals percentage than off-ice, Minnesota is generally winning Sturm’s minutes. An intriguing aspect of Sturm’s play is that his possession numbers aren’t spectacular. A team’s fourth-line center often has pretty heinous possession analytics, so that’s expected. What sets this apart is that, even though the other team is possessing the puck more with Sturm on the ice, the Wild are still getting the better of his minutes. There are 13 players on the Wild with an on-ice expected goals % greater than 50%. Sturm is tied with Yakov Trenin for the lowest Corsi For rating among those players. How does that happen? The explanation lies in Sturm’s great defense. Other teams get shots against Sturm, but they aren’t great ones. According to Natural Stat Trick, 16 forwards have skated more than 50 minutes for the Wild this season. Nico Sturm is fifth-best in expected goals against per 60 minutes. While the Wild brought Sturm in for his defensive skills, it helps that he’s also been able to chip in offensively. Sturm has scored two goals and added three assists in 15 games. Those aren’t elite stats, but his .33 points per game is the third-best pace of his career. That offensive output is backed up by his underlying numbers, where his 2.98 expected goals per 60 is the best of his career. All that being said, Sturm’s season hasn’t been perfect. The biggest disappointment has been his performance in the faceoff dot. As of this writing, Sturm is winning just 49.3% of his faceoffs. It isn’t a terrible number, but it’s well below his career average of 56.2%. He’s still one of the strongest on the team, given that the Wild are second-worst in the league with a 45.77% winning rate. If Sturm’s faceoff numbers can get back to where they’ve been in the past, it’ll be crucial help for a team still struggling in the dot. When the book is written on the Minnesota Wild’s 2025-26 season, their fourth-line center will not be what determines where the story ends. Still, it’s important to give props where they’re due over the course of the season. Nico Sturm is a fourth-line center who has been a vital part of turning the team’s penalty kill around, is playing solid defense while winning his minutes, and has chipped in offensively. It’s difficult to ask for much more out of the Wild’s defensive specialist.

Adding Quinn Hughes, arguably the best defender on the planet, does a lot for a team’s gameplan. So, how should the Minnesota Wild deploy their shiny new blueliner? Well, there are a few ways to look at this. Who should the Wild pair Hughes with? Hughes finished ninth in the league in ice time during his Norris Trophy-winning season. Brock Faber is also in the top 10 in time on ice over the past two seasons and is no stranger to playing big minutes. Faber is also more of a defensive player. Still, he’s not a bad offensive player, and probably one of the better offensive defensemen the Wild have ever had. Still, relative to Hughes, Faber’s defensive metrics are better. Hughes and Faber are responsible in all areas of the ice, 200-foot players. Faber makes up for what Hughes lacks in defense. Where Faber lacks in offense, Hughes delivers in spades. These two seem like a natural fit to play together, and John Hynes and the Wild coaching staff seem to agree. Jonas Brodin would also seem like a natural fit, given his strong reputation as a shutdown defender. The Wild could pair Hughes with a defensive defenseman, as the Edmonton Oilers do with Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm, or as the Colorado Avalanche do with Cale Makar and Devon Toews. However, the luxury of having players like Jared Spurgeon, Brodin, and Faber is that you can create one of the best shutdown pairs by having Spurgeon and Brodin play together on the second pair. Now with injuries, that dream will have to wait. Still, when that top four is assembled, the Wild arguably have the most complete D-core in the NHL. It allows them to slide Jake Middleton down to the third pair, a more natural fit for him. And then give that other spot to Daemon Hunt, Zach Bogosian, or David Jiricek. In the past, people have been concerned about Hughes’s size. He’s only 5’10”, 185 lbs, but he won the Norris Trophy in 2023-24, and that has not stopped him from being a productive playoff performer. While he’s the sixth smallest active full-time NHL defender in the league, none of that seems to matter because of how good he is with his stick, his edgework, and his intelligence. And that’s to say, anyone playing with Hughes is going to play better. There are 0, yes zero, full-time Canucks skaters since 2023-24 who have a sub 50% xGF% at 5v5 when playing with Hughes. That is an asinine stat. Any way you look at it, Hughes is a floor raiser for the players he’s playing with. Suddenly, the third line of Vladimir Tarasenko and Yakov Trenin looks a whole lot better with Hughes as one of the defenseman skating with them. How should they deploy him? Hughes is going to play a lot, make no mistake about that. Still, how to deploy Hughes is another story. Naturally, he’ll get the most time as the QB1 on the power play for Minnesota, but at 5-on-5 or on the penalty kill, it gets a little more complicated. Of his nearly 24 minutes at 5-on-5 against the Boston Bruins on Sunday, Hughes spent nine-and-a-half of those minutes against David Pastrnak, or 40.3% of his ice time. However, Hughes doesn’t typically spend nearly half of his playing time matched up against the other team’s top forward. Of his 26 games with the Canucks this season, Hughes only matched up with the other team’s top forward more than 40% of the minutes a total of six times. And this trend looks even worse when you look at last season's schedule, where it was only 6 times in 68 games. The Wild typically play Faber often against the other team's best players. But after adding Hughes, Faber doesn’t have to be the sole offensive contributor for the Wild on the back end. They can also pair Brodin and Spurgeon, freeing the defensive stalwarts to take on the tough matchups and allowing Hughes to take a more aggressive offensive role without as much of a defensive burden. We saw the Vancouver Canucks do this with Tyler Myers. They matched him up with the other team's best players more often, freeing up Hughes to do his thing offensively. We’ve seen this in Nashville and in Tampa Bay with guys like Mattias Ekholm covering for Roman Josi and guys like Eric Cernak and Ryan McDonagh covering for Victor Hedman. What’s the ideal role for Hughes? The Wild lead the league in attempted stretch passes, but aren’t good at completing them. They also lead the league in icings. Well, Hughes leads the league in completed stretch passes this season. We’ve already seen it pay dividends in both of his first two games. Check the end of this clip to spring a Tyler Pitlick chance: And this viral tweet from Mike Kelly sums it up pretty well: Where the Wild lacks, Hughes makes up for with his individual abilities. He’s able to carry the transition game and break the puck out at a level that no other player can match. He’s also a catalyst for zone entries, which was previously a weakness for the Wild. The best way to use Hughes is to play him a lot, pair him with whoever the Wild wants, and use him in whatever situation they want. Give him the minutes, give him the matchups, let him control the puck, control the flow of your defense and transition, and you’ll more likely than not see yourself on the winning side of most hockey games. With the way he weaponizes the Wild’s defensive core and with the way he elevates everyone around him, the Wild can’t go wrong with playing Hughes and playing him a lot. All stats and data via HockeyDB, Evolving Hockey, and Natural Stat Trick unless otherwise noted.

The Minnesota Wild spent much of the 2020s trying to keep their defense pipeline flowing. Preparing for the day when the team would move on from Jared Spurgeon, Ryan Suter, Jonas Brodin, and Matt Dumba, they invested heavily in the position. In 2020, they used a second-round pick on Ryan O'Rourke and a third on Daemon Hunt. The following year, they drafted Carson Lambos and Jack Peart. Minnesota then traded for Brock Faber in 2022 and David Jiříček in 2024, months after drafting Zeev Buium. The Wild have had their successes. Faber is a no-doubter home run. Zeev Buium became the centerpiece of the Quinn Hughes trade. As for everyone else, politely, the jury is out. Well, except for O'Rourke, who's out of the organization. Part of the reason has been a numbers game on the roster. When healthy, the Wild are six-deep with veteran talent, firmly entrenching themselves in the lineup. Minnesota's top-four, in particular, have been healthy. Faber and Spurgeon have played all 48 games, with Buium/Hughes combining for 47, and Brodin playing 42. Not a lot of room for opportunities. But another big part is that this collection of players hasn't seized the opportunities that have been there. Jiříček has gotten the most run with 18 games, but his decision-making has caused defensive issues that have failed to earn John Hynes' trust. Hunt has been the designated No. 7 defenseman, but hasn't exactly dazzled in his 16 games. Beyond that? Lambos has played in one game, and the Wild just debuted David Spacek, a 2022 fifth-rounder who's led the Iowa blueline in points in each of the past two seasons. And now, there's a hole wide-open for... somebody. Brodin is now week-to-week, and with him out, there are over 21 minutes to fill in. Technically, Brodin's role is being filled by Jake Middleton, who is used to big minutes in Minnesota. Until the Wild tried transitioning to Buium, then Hughes, Middleton has been a top-four defenseman with the Wild since he arrived in 2022. Middleton's ideal role is as a third-pairing defenseman. Still, part of being good in that spot is the ability to slide up when needed, which is obviously the case now. It might not seem like "fill-in third-pair defenseman" is a crucial need, but a lot rides on whether or not someone can perform well there. Hughes leads the NHL in time on ice per game, averaging over 27-and-a-half minutes per night, and slightly more in his time with the Wild. And that's mostly with a healthy Brodin. Last night, Hughes played 28:28 in a game where Minnesota trailed 6-1 after 40 minutes. Think about how bizarre that is. Hynes leaned on Hughes to play 9:26 in the third period of an out-of-reach game. Special teams can skew those numbers sometimes, but the Wild had just one power play in the final 20 minutes. Hughes played over eight minutes of 5-on-5 ice time in the third, with Hunt getting less than half of that. That's a problem. If Hynes can't trust Hunt in garbage time of a blowout, when will he trust him? And while Hughes is one of the best skaters alive, he's surely human, no? Even he must have limits on how much work he can take on, especially with a trip to the Olympics on the horizon. We've seen Faber -- a brilliant skater in his own right -- see his play drop off from fatigue before. The Wild should learn from that and be cautious about pushing their new superstar to the absolute limit. The caveat is that these players are all pretty young. Hunt and Lambos are 23, while Jiříček and Spacek are both 22. None of them has played 30 games in a Wild uniform. At the same time, though, it's getting late early. The trade deadline is deceptively close, just 14 games away for the Wild. Minnesota may have to decide to bring in veteran help for their blueline, which more or less closes off the season for a youngster to get a foothold in the lineup. Then it's decision time. Hunt, Jiříček, Lambos, and Spacek are all RFAs at the end of the season. Only Hunt has arbitration rights, and none are likely to be in line for a significant raise. Still, the Wild can choose to non-tender any of them, as they did with O'Rourke last summer. Minnesota could decide to pursue a longer-term solution for the third pair, closing off its path to the NHL for the foreseeable future. Or perhaps, the team could make a decision on them much sooner, flipping them at the deadline. There are things to like about this group of developing defensemen, but it's crunch time. Are the Wild going to get a return on these investments this season? Or are we going to enter another summer in which the team wonders when these assets will pay off? The next few weeks can go a long way toward answering that.

Yakov Trenin and Marcus Foligno have brought back an edge to the Minnesota Wild, and they have made life much easier for their linemates. Their physicality doesn’t just fire up the crowd or pad the hit totals. It literally opens up ice, widens lanes, and buys time for Minnesota’s skill to take over. Defenders have to brace for contact first and worry about the puck second when Trenin and Foligno are on the ice. That slight shift in priorities is where their teammates find room to operate. When they are barreling in on the forecheck, defensemen stop playing as aggressively up in the neutral zone and start backing off. They know if they try to stand still at the blue line, they might get run through. Trenin is the league-leading hitter with over 225 hits to date, and stretches where he's sitting in the top tier for physical play, so opponents understand he’s coming every shift. Foligno has been one of the Wild’s best wall-players for years, turning harmless dumps into extended offensive-zone shifts just by winning battles and pinning defenders deep. Because those defenders are worried about getting hammered, they retreat a half-step earlier or peel off the wall sooner than they’d like. That creates a wider middle lane for a center to cut through, or for a trailing winger to arrive late into a soft spot in coverage. It’s often the difference between a rushed, outside shot and a clean look from a dangerous area. Trenin and Foligno don’t always make the highlight reel, but they meaningfully influence plays that lead to goals. When they ride shotgun with skilled players like Danilla Yurov or Ryan Hartman, they crash in, blow up the first battle, and the skill guy arrives second with the puck already loose. Trenin has enough touch to chip in double-digit goals, but his real offensive value is in winning races, knocking defenders off balance, and kicking pucks to the middle or up high once coverage collapses around him. That kind of shift-after-shift pressure means their lines often spend more time in the offensive zone than a typical checking unit. It also forces opposing coaches into uncomfortable decisions. If they use their top pair against Kirill Kaprizov’s line, they risk exposing a softer group of defensemen to Foligno and Trenin’s physical style. The value they bring without the puck is just as significant. Coaches lean on them whenever the game tightens up. Foligno draws tough defensive zone starts because he can close a cycle, seal the boards, and finish a hit without taking himself out of the play. Trenin’s mix of size, speed, and nastiness makes him a natural fit on the penalty kill and as a matchup forward against bigger, heavier lines. That style scales really well to playoff hockey. Over a seven-game series, defensemen start rushing their decisions because they don't want Foligno to bury them in the corner. Trenin’s repeated contact has the same effect. By Game 4 or 5, opponents are chipping pucks away earlier, which feeds right into Minnesota’s structure and keeps the puck out of their own net. There’s also the emotional and cultural side of what they do. Foligno has been a tone setter in the room for years, backing up his words with the way he plays, hard, honest, and willing to answer the bell for his teammates. Trenin arrived with a playoff reputation as the kind of power forward who can chip in depth offense, fight his own battles, and make every shift a miserable experience for the other team. Together, they give the Wild a clear identity. They can skate and score, but they can also grind out a physical game if that's what it takes. Their physicality allows the skill guys to stay on the puck instead of constantly fighting through tight gaps and taking clean hits. The stars get the space; Trenin and Foligno take the punishment that creates it.

Marcus Johansson made headlines recently when he stated his desire to play for Team Sweden at the 2026 Olympic Games. Of course, most players have the ultimate goal of representing their country in best-on-best international competition. That isn't news. What made Johansson's bid for Team Sweden noteworthy is that it underscored a huge bounce-back season for the veteran forward. Johansson's efforts to crack Sweden's initial roster ultimately came up short, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be recognized for his work this season. He’s the kind of player who, rightfully, has received a lot of criticism for his streaky play during his Wild tenure. However, none of those issues have manifested this season. Instead, Johansson has been one of Minnesota's most valuable depth scorers. In 44 games this season, Johansson has recorded 12 goals, a high mark for his time in Minnesota, and 20 assists for 30 points. The numbers speak for themselves, but they’re even more impressive given that the Wild haven’t given him substantial ice time. The forward is averaging 15:57 of time on ice per game, or just 26% share of possible ice time, the lowest number of his career since his rookie season. Less responsibility has paid dividends for Johansson. His 2.74 points per 60 minutes is the highest total of his career and places third on the team behind star players Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov. It's evident to anyone who watches the Wild that Johansson is having his best regular season since the Wild traded for him in 2022-23, but let's take a deeper dive into what's made him so successful in 2025-26. Johansson is scoring more efficiently this year. He’s scoring on 18.2% of his shots after shooting below 10% in each of his previous two seasons. A high shooting percentage can sometimes indicate that a player is having some luck with the puck. However, in Johansson's case, it should be seen as a sign of efficiency. He's earned his shooting percentage through generating solid scoring chances. That improvement is evident in his shot selection this season compared to last year's. (Source: NHL EDGE) This season, roughly 67% of Johansson's shots on goal are coming from either high-danger or mid-range chances. Last season, that number was about 62%. An even starker contrast is how much less Johansson is deferring to long-range shots this year. Only 6% of his shots come from long range, compared to about 13% last year. His shooting percentage is high, and it's likely to regress to the mean a bit. Still, it shouldn't fall drastically, given Johansson's efficiency this season. Another impressive part of Johansson's game has been his ability to maintain his skating speed throughout his career. Speed has always been a part of Johansson's game. However, it'd be understandable to see that take a dip now that he's entering his late 30s. That dip hasn't manifested yet, with NHL EDGE tracking Johansson in the 91st percentile league-wide with a max speed of 23.06 miles per hour. The top-end speed is impressive, but even more remarkable has been his ability to consistently reach high speeds. Johansson has reached 20 miles per hour or faster 110 times this season, one of the best marks in the league. (Source: NHL EDGE) Johansson playing a fast, direct, and highly efficient game is an obvious blueprint for success. It’s produced some incredible results this year, and that seems sustainable as long as he can continue using his speed to reach good scoring areas. While Johansson has played well individually, he must find his role on the team. That’s another area where the Swede has excelled this season. He’s found great chemistry with Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy. The Johansson-Eriksson Ek-Boldy unit has played 256 minutes together this season, more than any other three-man unit for Minnesota. “Playing with those two is a lot of fun and easy for the most part, too,” Johansson recently said of the trio. “We’ve been clicking. I think we all like playing with each other, and we work hard. Just try and help each other out. I don’t think we make it too complicated most of the time. We work hard and try to do the right things, and, like I said, we help each other. We all want the puck and give each other outs, and that makes it easier as well. It’s fun when it’s working.” The numbers back up the trio’s effectiveness. Boldy is having a career season, Eriksson Ek is steady as always, and the line has excelled offensively and defensively. Among Wild lines that have played more than 50 minutes together, Johansson’s line ranks second-highest in expected goals percentage (55%) and second-lowest in expected goals against per 60 minutes (2.13). (Source: Moneypuck) Of course, Johansson isn’t the straw that stirs the drink on that line. Boldy and Eriksson Ek are two of the Wild’s most vital talents. Still, Johansson is a great complement to the two stars, and it’s difficult to ask much more out of a 35-year-old who makes $800,000. For a player who has often been defined by his inconsistency, this season represents a meaningful course correction for Johansson. He’s using the strengths of his game better than in the past few seasons to drive meaningful results for a team that often struggles to find scoring beyond its top talent. When the Wild re-signed Marcus Johansson over the summer, it was unlikely that most thought he’d play a vital role on the team. Yet, here Johansson is, playing a key role for a team that has become a contender.

Nazem Kadri’s play-driving, edge, and center depth would fit exactly what the Minnesota Wild need. His current production and faceoff workload in Calgary also underline that he can still handle tough minutes down the middle. Danila Yurov has shored up some of the issues down the middle, but his play is inconsistent, and I don't believe he is ready to carry a team through the tough Western Conference playoffs. Kadri would be an immediate upgrade on either the first or second line. He’s still producing at a top-six level for the Calgary Flames, which is critical for a Wild team that has often lacked a true, reliable second scoring line behind Kirill Kaprizov’s unit. In the 2025-26 regular season, Kadri has eight goals and 24 assists for 32 points, showing he remains a consistent playmaker who can both finish and distribute from the middle of the ice. That comes on the heels of a 2024-25 campaign in which he posted 31 goals and 30 assists, with over 250 shots on goal, marking his third 60-point season in the last four years and reinforcing that this is not a late-career mirage. For a Wild team that has too often asked its wingers to carry lines without a true offensive driver at center, Kadri’s track record suggests he could instantly elevate a second line. Minnesota’s power play has also been up-and-down in recent seasons, and Kadri’s history as a 30-goal scorer with strong power play usage in Colorado and Calgary indicates he could help unlock more dangerous looks from the bumper or net-front spots. Kadri’s faceoff numbers will never be confused with Patrice Bergeron’s, but they are legitimately useful on a roster that has frequently hovered around league average in the circle. Over his career, Kadri has won about 48.7 percent of his faceoffs. In recent full seasons with Calgary, he has consistently taken over 1,200 draws a year, shouldering a true No. 2 center workload even without elite percentages. Early in the 2025-26 season, his faceoff percentage sits in the mid-40s, including a stretch of games where he went 11-for-18 (61.1 percent) and 8-for-13 (61.5 percent), showing he can control matchups on the right night and handle key situational draws in his own zone or on special teams. What makes Kadri so appealing to Minnesota is that he can combine heavy faceoff usage with responsible two-way play against good competition. Even in a recent year where his plus-minus dipped into the negatives on a flawed Calgary team, he still logged top-six minutes, killed penalties, and drove shot volume. That would fit nicely on a Wild roster built around structure and five-man commitment. If the Wild are serious about chasing a Stanley Cup in Kirill Kaprizov’s prime, they need players who have been deep in the playoffs and understand how to tilt a series with more than just raw skill. Kadri’s 2021-22 season with the Colorado Avalanche is a blueprint. He put up 87 points in 71 games, then added 15 points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and played through injury, giving the Avalanche secondary scoring, physical bite, and a relentless motor that wore teams down. Minnesota’s identity has long been tied to structure and effort. Still, the group has sometimes lacked that snarling, line-driving center who can drag teammates into the fight and get under opponents' skin without disappearing offensively. Kadri brings that edge every night, and his history of big-moment performances, overtime goals, net-front battles, and emotional swings would give the Wild a different dimension in tight Central Division games and long playoff series. In a Conference where teams like Colorado, the Dallas Stars, and others stack proven, battle-tested centers, adding a veteran who already has a Cup ring and a reputation for showing up when it matters would help Minnesota close the experience gap that has hurt them in previous springs. On the ice, Kadri slides neatly into a top-six center role that eases pressure on younger pivots and lets everyone slot more naturally. Imagine a lineup where Kaprizov and Boldy can each play with a legitimate play-driving center, rather than constantly having one line patched together or leaning on a winger to carry transition and chance creation; Kadri’s 30-plus goals and 250-plus shots last season show he can both finish chances off the rush and generate looks off the cycle. His willingness to attack the middle of the ice, hold pucks in the offensive zone, and draw penalties would also complement Minnesota’s skilled wingers, giving them more space and more power-play opportunities over an 82-game grind. Off the ice, Kadri has been part of different dressing rooms, Toronto Maple Leafs pressure, Colorado’s Cup run, Calgary’s ups and downs, and that broad experience would be extremely valuable for a Wild core still learning how to manage expectations as a true contender. His reputation as a vocal, competitive presence meshes well with the tone Bill Guerin has tried to set: honest accountability, internal competition for ice time, and a belief that this group can do more than just sneak into the postseason. Any trade for Kadri would have to navigate his long-term contract with Calgary, which runs through the 2028-29 season and carries a $7 million cap hit, but that is precisely why his acquisition window might be open. The Flames have teetered between retooling and rebuilding, and moving a veteran on a big deal could make sense for them if the return includes futures and flexibility; for the Wild, locking in a proven top-six center through the prime of Kaprizov’s tenure has real value, especially if the cap continues to rise. The question for Minnesota is less about whether Kadri helps. His current 2025-26 line of 8 goals and 24 assists, his heavy faceoff workload, and his playoff resume all say he does, and more about how aggressive Guerin wants to be in terms of picks and prospects. If the organization truly believes its window is opening now, then paying a premium for a center who brings offense, edge, and big-moment credibility is the kind of calculated swing that can shift a franchise from “dangerous opponent” to “legitimate threat” in the Western Conference.

The NHL has the best players in the world, so what gives Quinn Hughes the ability to break out so much better and rank in the top 10? At any level of hockey, you need time and space to make plays, and players have almost none of that in the NHL. Hughes stands out for both his ability to create time and space and make plays without it. That’s why he ranks 1st for zone entries, zone exits, and puck possession for defensemen. Connor McDavid stands out as the fastest player on the ice. Hughes doesn’t match the same top speed, but he has incredible edge work and stickhandling skills, and he's second in skating distance per game at 4.76 miles, only behind McDavid, who averages 4.83 miles. The breakout starts with the defensemen, and faster, cleaner passes help reduce the time the forwards need to gain control and make the next play. Hughes always seems to be making perfect passes. Ideally, every defense would make tape-to-tape passes every time, but there are several reasons Hughes can do so while other players cannot. At 5-foot-10, he’s on the smaller side for a defenseman, and bodying his way through players isn’t going to be as effective. He doesn’t have the stride length to move as fast as a taller player straight up the ice, but he has nearly unmatched edgework that helps him gain speed and lose opponents quickly. Curving back away from danger is one way he creates time and space for himself. It’s also one of the reasons we rarely see Hughes make a risky pass. He’ll keep moving his feet and turning until he has a better option. However, that doesn’t mean he won’t take risks. He goes for the dangerous, cross-ice pass, and he gets away with it. Hughes often sends the puck across a zone and a half, tape-to-tape, through defenders. Below is an example during a Vancouver Canucks game against the Florida Panthers. Hughes’ neutral-zone stretch pass is fairly dangerous because it leaves a lot of room to get picked off, potentially leading to an odd-man rush for the other team. Most of the defensive-zone breakout passes are short and along clear paths. However, Hughes constantly picks the pass that gains the most ice, and can make a strong, cross-ice, tape-to-tape pass. He also does an excellent job of creating an outlet for himself. During Wednesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, Hughes picked up the puck and passed it to Kirill Kaprizov, but stayed in a spot to receive it back from Kaprizov. The Sharks immediately pressured Kaprizov, who passed it to Hughes, who then passed it back to Kaprizov once he had more space. Hughes’ offensive mindset creates opportunities for the Minnesota Wild and helps support the forwards. He also knows how to accentuate his strengths, and his equipment reflects that. He prioritizes speed and control to be the best at stickhandling and passing, which is clear through the flex and curve of his stick. A stick’s flex is based on height, weight, and position. Forwards typically have a lower flex, but all-time goal-scorer Alexander Ovechkin uses a 100-flex stick. Ovechkin weighs in at 236 lbs. More importantly, his signature move is a slap shot or one-timer out front. A stiffer stick is important to generate power on this type of shot. Alternatively, Hughes uses a lower flex, ranging from 82 to 87, which helps him release the puck quickly. In a conversation with Auston Matthews, Hughes mentioned he uses a 5 lie, specifically because he skates pretty low to the ice. Getting lower to the ice is important for his edge work. He also noted that his curve is similar to the Zegras curve, or a P86. The P86 is a new, popular mix between the P92 and the P28 that optimizes puck control while still offering loft and quick release. Most players are going to be particular about their curve and flex, but Hughes is going to make sure every last detail is right to gain that edge. Hughes’ reputation can also bring him time and space. Every other player in the NHL knows who he is and how good he is and reacts accordingly. Other players might play a little more defensively and take fewer risks around Hughes than they would an AHL call-up or rookie, because they don’t want to get beaten back. While this makes it harder for Hughes to beat an individual player, it gives him more time and space to move the puck across the ice. Finally, he’s just incredible at stick handling. Hughes can get the shot off in high traffic areas and consistently thread the puck through defensemen and screens. He might lose the puck, but he’s excellent at recovering, as he does here. Hughes excels at every aspect of the game. Still, his hockey IQ, edgework, and stickhandling make him one of the absolute best defensemen in the league. Like other great players, he dominates a couple of areas, making him a lethal threat on the ice.

It feels like the Minnesota Wild’s goaltending duo of Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt is extremely special. The anchor of a team that looks poised to turn regular-season promise into a deep spring run reminiscent of the franchise’s magical 2003 run backstopped by Dwayne Roloson and Manny Fernandez. In both eras, the Wild have relied on a steady duo in the crease to stabilize a roster built on structure, depth, and opportunistic scoring. Two decades apart, the scripts feel similar in that they feature two goaltenders playing at an elite level. The significant difference between these two teams is that the Wild now have a few elite goal scorers and a defense that can drive the offensive play while still maintaining defensive responsibility. If this team is going to break through the Western Conference in the playoffs, it's going to start in the blue paint. Gustavsson has emerged as a workhorse for Minnesota, logging starter minutes while playing with a calm, economical style that allows the Wild’s defense to stay aggressive in front of him. His recent seasons show a pattern the fans can trust. He has a goals against average in the mid-two’s and a save percentage in the low .910. Gustavsson also has a knack for keeping games within reach even on nights when the team hasn’t been its sharpest offensively. His play perfectly complements the Wild’s identity, built on patience, tight checking, and grinding opponents down over 60 minutes. Meanwhile, Wallstedt offers both security and intrigue as the highly touted first-round pick waiting in the wings. When he gets the net, he looks the part: technically sound, composed through traffic, and unbothered by chaos around the crease. He can track the puck through traffic as well as anyone in the league currently. He has a mature ability you would often associate with a veteran goaltender: the ability to shake off an unlucky bounce or defensive breakdown. Together, the duo gives something every other team in the NHL craves. A tandem that can win different ways without the drop off that usually comes when the starting netminder has the night off. For die-hard Wild fans, it's hard not to think back to Roloson and Fernandez when watching this duo settle into their roles. In 2003, Jacques Lemaire turned to each goalie at different moments. He leaned on Roloson’s steady positional style and Fernandez’s more explosive athletic presence to match the rhythm of a series or spark the group when it needed a jolt. That flexibility created a safety net that allowed the rest of the lineup to play on its toes, knowing there was always one more layer of trust behind them. Gustavsson and Wallstedt bring a similar vibe with a modern twist. Gustavsson’s quiet efficiency mirrors Roloson in many ways. At the same time, Wallstedt’s dynamic reads and confidence on big stages echo the swagger Fernandez brought when he jumped into the crease and took over a game. For opponents, especially in the playoffs, there is no easy adjustment. No “backup night” where the shooters can exhale. Matched with the Wild’s stellar defensive core, this is going to be a nightmare for opponents to play against at all times. This version of the Wild is not just fighting to squeeze into the tournament; the numbers and projections hint at a team positioned to make real noise once it gets there. Minnesota sits firmly in the playoff picture with strong underlying results and postseason odds that place them among the more secure teams in the Western Conference. What elevates their ceiling is how cleanly their defensive structure and goaltending fit together. The Wild limit high-danger looks, clear bodies from the front of the net, and rely on a mobile blue line to move pucks quickly, all of which play perfectly into Gustavsson’s rebound control and Wallstedt’s ability to track lateral plays, and even play the puck as a third defender. In tight one-goal playoff games, those small edges often decide who advances and who is shaking hands too early. That 2003 run still serves as a blueprint for what this group can achieve, or perhaps even more. The 2003 team was not the most talented on paper. Still, they were connected, stubborn, and backed by a tandem that made everyone a little taller on the bench, erasing series deficits and toppling favored opponents along the way. The Xcel Energy Center turned into a cauldron that spring, and every big save from Roloson or Fernandez felt like a turning point waiting to happen. This year’s roster has more top-end offensive talent than that early-era team, but the emotional core can be the same if the goaltending continues to hold up the way it has so far this season. Gustavsson’s recent playoff experience and Wallstedt’s big-game pedigree, winning bronze at the 2022 World Juniors on the international stage, give Minnesota a sense of inevitability in net. No matter how the bracket breaks, the Wild don’t walk into any series outgunned at the most important position. Recent seasons have been marked by early exits and “what ifs,” but the mix of a maturing core and this emerging tandem has shifted the tone around the franchise. In a conference loaded with high-octane offenses, few teams can confidently say they have two goalies capable of carrying them through a series. That’s exactly the kind of edge that turned 2003 from a nice story into a real threat. Twenty-two years after that first magical run, the Wild again have a team that defends hard, scores by committee, and trusts its goaltenders to hold the line when the margins get razor thin in April and May. If Gustavsson and Wallstedt can tap into the same resilience and shared load that defined Roloson and Fernandez, this duo might be remembered as the backbone of the deepest playoff push Minnesota has seen since that unforgettable spring.

For the past few seasons, Minnesota Wild fans have been anxious for Matt Boldy to take the leap. Boldy has played at an All-Star level over the past two years, but fans have been waiting for him to become a franchise-caliber player who can complement Kirill Kaprizov. Saturday’s game over the Winnipeg Jets was a big step in that direction. Boldy scored twice, including the game-winner in overtime. Now with 24 goals in 39 games, he’s on pace to flirt with the 50/50 season that Bill Guerin had predicted he was capable of before last season and lead the Wild into their first prolonged playoff run in nearly a decade. Of course, Boldy’s detractors, if there are any left, are anticipating his annual slump to ruin those plans. Consistency has been the one thing holding Boldy back from being among the NHL’s elite. Still, an adjustment to his approach is not only fueling the best start of his career but also helping him find the consistency that has kept him from reaching his full potential. Take a look at Boldy’s game log, and you can see where he needed to improve coming into this season. While Kaprizov earned Hart Trophy consideration for how he started this season, Boldy was a catalyst for the Wild’s surge toward the top of the standings, scoring 11 goals and recording 24 points in his first 23 games. The well ran dry when Boldy scored twice and logged seven points in the next 16 games, but he turned it on again with seven goals and 17 points over the final 17 games before the 4 Nations break. Boldy’s performance at the 4 Nations Tournament led many to believe he would be set for a breakout in the final stretch of the season. But after recording a goal and an assist in the first game out of the break, Boldy went dark again, scoring two goals with 10 points over the next 15 games. Those numbers also don’t do the slump justice, as both of Boldy’s goals came in a March 19 win over the Seattle Kraken. You could argue that the last slump was a blessing in disguise. Boldy sharpened other areas of his game, such as his passing and defense, to contribute even when he wasn’t scoring. Boldy also snapped out of the slump in a big way, scoring nine goals and 20 points in the final 16 games, including five goals and seven points in six playoff games. Most goal scorers go on streaks, but finding the reason for those cold spots is the difference between a good player and an elite one. With that said, Boldy may have found the answer with a more aggressive approach than he had a season ago. HockeyViz’s heat map for Boldy, which excludes empty net goals, shows part of the adjustment. Excluding empty-net goals, Boldy’s expected goals total of 29.6 shows he was snakebitten compared to his actual total of 23. Boldy’s 10% shooting percentage was also the lowest of his career, but it could have been a difference in where he was taking the shots as opposed to a decline in performance. This year’s heat map shows a real difference. Boldy has used his 6-foot-2, 201-pound frame to get into the dirty areas, and as a result, he’s done most of his work around the net. The Athletic’s Michael Russo noted on Saturday that Boldy leads the NHL with 15 goals within 15 feet of the net. While he’s still shooting from all over the ice, the volume in front of the net has removed some of the variables from the equation. Of course, it’s easier to instruct a player to get to the net as opposed to actually doing it. But you can’t argue with the results. While Boldy’s 18.6% shooting percentage may hint at some regression down to his career 12.7% mark, he’s found a way to curb some of the inconsistencies that have led to slumps in the past. This could become extremely important as the year progresses. You could argue that Boldy was one of the biggest winners of the Quinn Hughes trade. Boldy has another player who can find him in the most effective areas to score goals. With defenses trying to focus on Hughes and Kaprizov, Boldy can go to the net more often, and it’s leading to one of the highest scoring outputs of his career. If it gives Boldy more opportunities to contribute, the annual slump that has kept him from reaching his full potential may not occur this year, and the Wild may finally see their vision of a player reaching a new level as he approaches his prime fulfilled.

Bill Guerin looked exhausted but delighted after trading for Quinn Hughes in mid-December. A call to his old boss, Jim Rutherford, had resulted in an opportunity to land the NHL’s second-best defenseman. It was nearly a perfect trade. The Minnesota Wild needed a scoring boost, and Hughes breaks out the puck with aplomb. Guerin only had to give up Marco Rossi, who it felt like Guerin always believed was too small, Liam Öhgren, whose development had stalled, and Zeev Buium, whose upside is Quinn Hughes. The only catch? Minnesota only has Quinn Hughes under contract for one more season. “You can’t make promises,” Guerin said when a reporter asked if Hughes or his agent, Pat Brisson of CAA Hockey, had offered any reassurances about re-signing in Minnesota. “After the deal is done, talking to Quinn and Quinn’s agent, I think Quinn will really like it here.” Guerin had to make the trade, regardless of Hughes’ contract situation. He had built a .500 team with little hope of succeeding in the playoffs this season. The Wild needed a jolt of talent, and a top-tier defenseman like Hughes can transform a middling team into a monster. Still, Hughes could leave at the end of the season, and it would be a devastating trade for the Wild. In addition to losing the league’s second-best defenseman, Minnesota will have lost Rossi, Ohgren, and Buium – three first-round picks – and a 2026 first-rounder. They likely will revert to being a .500, first-round-and-out team again through most of Kirill Kaprizov’s prime. Nobody can predict the future, but there’s a number that comes close. Minnesota’s playoff odds leapt from +4500 to +2500 after they traded for Hughes. That’s still meaningfully behind the Colorado Avalanche (+320), Vegas Golden Knights (+850), and the Dallas Stars (+1200) – Minnesota’s three most likely playoff opponents. However, Minnesota’s Stanley Cup odds are even with the New Jersey Devils (+2500), who employ the other two Hughes brothers. The Devils took Jack Hughes first overall in 2019 and have him signed through the 2031-32. Two years later, they drafted Luke Hughes fourth overall. They’ve signed him through the 2029-30 season. Quinn Hughes has to be interested in playing with his brothers. If he doesn’t see a viable pathway to winning in Minnesota, especially with Colorado and Dallas in the division, he could sign with the Devils as an unrestricted free agent. He could also push for the Wild to trade him in the offseason or at next year’s trade deadline. The Devils are a significantly worse team than Minnesota. New Jersey has 42 points, a negative goal differential, and resides on the playoff bubble in the East. The Wild have 52 points, a positive goal differential, and are still third in the Central Division. Therein lies the problem. MoneyPuck gives the Avs a 64.5% chance of advancing past the first round, and an 12.1% to win the Stanley Cup. Both are the league's highest marks. Comparatively, the Wild have a 52.2% chance of reaching the second round for the first time since 2014-15 and a 7.3% chance of winning it all. That’s still higher than Dallas (48.1%, 5.5%), which Vegas believes is two times more likely to win the Cup. It’s also higher than most of the league. However, the Wild’s path is significantly harder than it would be if they played in a different division. Minnesota likely will have to go through the Stars, Avs, and Golden Knights to reach the Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, if the Devils make the playoffs, they face steeper competition as a wild-card team, but less so if they can finish in the top three in the Metropolitan Division. New Jersey would likely play the Carolina Hurricanes or Tampa Bay Lightning (both +750) if they make the playoffs as a wild-card team. However, the Devils would likely face the Washington Capitals (+1600), the New York Islanders (+10,000), or the Philadelphia Flyers (+15,000). According to MoneyPuck, Washington has a 44.8% chance of making it out of the first round. The Islanders are at 30.6%, and the Flyers are at 24%. New Jersey is 16.6%, although that would increase if they were in the playoff picture. The Wild are a significantly better team than New Jersey. They also have the advantage of being the only team that can sign him to an eight-year extension. Hughes is also a competitive player who is “a hockey nut,” according to Guerin. “He watches every game. He knows what’s going on in the league.” Hughes likely wants to play on one of the league's three best teams and knows the Devils aren't that good. Vegas odds also aren’t gospel. They’re a mix of psychology and analytics. The oddsmakers must get people to bet on their odds, and they want to get equal money on both sides. It’s not as though Hughes will check the Vegas odds to decide whether to re-sign in Minnesota. However, if he gets the hunch that he’s just as likely to win a Cup in New Jersey, he’s as good as gone. In that case, the Wild will be lucky ever to have +2500 odds to win it all again during Kaprizov’s prime. Guerin’s only job this season is to ensure that Minnesota decreases that number after the trade deadline this year. Otherwise, the fallout will be dire.

The Minnesota Wild admin team is top-notch, obviously, and one of the best things they have released so far this year was the pre-Christmas caroling video. “But Christmas is over! Why are we still talking about it?” Well, without being pedantic, the Wild players sang their rendition of the 12 Days of Christmas, and since we are currently on Day 4, it is still relevant. As a warning, most of this video can be summed up with two statements: “That’s so cute!” and “Aaah, they tried so hard.” The Main Singer Perhaps the best cameo in the entire video is that of John deCausmaker, the Wild’s National Anthem singer. As someone who attends tons of games in person, I have always enjoyed hearing deCausmaker sing, and having him as the de facto narrator of the Wild’s singing telegram was perfect. Brock Faber In A Christmas Cowboy Hat Who better to wish joy to the State of Hockey but our golden boy himself? Faber slapped on that faux-fir trimmed Christmas cowboy heat and tried his hardest to bring joy to the State of Hockey with his golden retriever energy. Personally, I think it worked. The Star of the Video, Matt Boldy In the best possible decision to make sure that we don’t all have to listen to off-tune singing for a full 10 minutes, the video goes straight to 12 days with a wonderfully deadpan Matt Boldy stating “12 is my number” in such a way that you know he was forced to participate, probably with Faber encouraging him from the wings. Shot Blocking and Lakes Nico Sturm does a good job of singing about blocking shots, but he and Jared Spurgeon, who gets Day No. 10, are mostly forgettable because they are so genuine about it. The only thing of note is that Spurgeon looks like an actual Christmas elf in the hat he was given to wear, and it’s delightful. Ryan Hartman Helps Out A Friend Instead of singing about 9 of anything for the 9th day of Christmas, the Wild have Ryan Hartman simply say “Mats Zuccarello” in a deadpan voice second only to Matt Boldy’s “12 is my number.” My bet? Zuccarello is a bit of a fun sucker and, as an elder on the team, probably nixed any involvement in this video. But jokes on him, because he came in as Day No. 9. No Quinn, But Contract Talk Our new favorite Quinn Hughes doesn’t feature, but Kirill Kaprizov does pop in with his crooked smile to remind us that he has “8 more years in Minny.” They even convinced him to wear a Christmas tree headband. He truly is the angel to Zuccarello’s devil. “Sing Talking” At Its Finest Nordy, with something about 7 loons, doesn’t even attempt to sing (because duh, he’s a mascot), but Yakov Trenin does his best try at sing-talking with 6 big hits. The Moose With the Most Marcus Foligno is going to be a TV personality when his hockey career is done. It is almost a certainty. With his movie-star looks, penchant for silliness, knowledge of the game, and willingness to jump in and do what needs to be done, he is an ideal TV personality. In this video, he showcases everything but his hockey knowledge. Wearing reindeer antlers to match his Moose nickname, he tries his hardest to carry a tune while also reminding everyone that he’ll drop the gloves if he needs to. As always, Mama Moose is one of the stars of the show. Yurov and Eriksson Ek Do Their Best Danila Yurov is still sort of an underground beauty. Most outside of Minnesota probably don’t know him, and especially won’t recognize how his skills are trending upward. His singing skill, however, isn’t one of those. But he gained 10 million extra points by doing his best and is still working on English. In a rare smiley social media appearance, Joel Eriksson Ek references his ability to perpetually lose teeth, deeming Day 3 as “3 missing teeth.” Saving the Best For Last Okay, it’s the second day and not the very last, but Jesper Wallstedt and Filip Gustavsson team up to deem the second day as “Two Swedish Tendies.” No notes. It’s enough to warm the heart during this holiday season. All hail one of the best and most cutie pie goalie tandems in the league!

With their fourth game in six days on the second night of a back-to-back, against two of the NHL’s most talented teams, the Minnesota Wild got off to a bit of a sluggish start against the league-leading Colorado Avalanche, which isn’t much of a surprise considering they were on the second game of a back-to-back, and going up against the best team in the league. It was the first time they had looked completely overmatched since the Quinn Hughes trade, and the Wild’s first loss in their last eight games. The Wild have built a team with strong veteran role players and emerging young talent, and they’re consistently winning in one of hockey's toughest divisions and on a nightly basis against the best teams in the NHL. If you look at the numbers, the Wild hold the third-best record in the NHL; they would be leading every division except their own. Unfortunately, the current NHL playoff structure does not place much emphasis on overall performance. Instead, it rewards geographical placement over league-wide merit. This is why, despite their stellar record, the Wild could immediately face a gauntlet against the Colorado Avalanche or Dallas Stars, the teams with the best record in the Western Conference. It isn’t just bad luck; the league has built it into the playoff structure. In 2014, the NHL adopted a divisional playoff format designed to highlight regional rivalries and reduce travel costs. The idea was straightforward: make the early rounds more exhilarating by ensuring hated division rivals face each other immediately. Under this structure, the top three teams in each division automatically qualify, while two additional teams from each conference get “wild card” spots based on points. This isn’t the first time the Wild or other teams have been on the wrong side of this structure. In 2018, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals finished the season near the top of the NHL standings but faced each other in the second round because of divisional seeding. One team had to go home early despite ranking among the league's elite. Meanwhile, a team with nearly ten fewer points went deeper because of a more favorable path. Fans and analysts have debated this issue for years, suggesting alternatives like reverting to the classic one-through-eight conference seeding, where the best team faces the lowest, the second-best faces the second-lowest, and so on. That system rewards teams' regular-season consistency and doesn’t punish elite teams for their geography. Under this playoff format, Minnesota’s likely first-round opponent would be a wild-card team barely eking into the playoffs – not a top-three contender. Better hockey teams would have better odds of showcasing their talent longer, giving fans across the league higher-quality late-round matchups. Revising the playoffs wouldn’t be easy. The NHL values rivalries and television-friendly matchups, and the current format guarantees those storylines early. But the downside is how Wild fans are feeling currently. A system where hard work and great hockey don’t always translate to meaningful advantage. One compromise could be to keep division-focused seeding for regular-season scheduling, but return to pure conference-based seeding once the playoffs begin. That way, the rivalries the NHL covets still get the spotlight, but the postseason rewards excellence across the league, not just within geographical boundaries. Another proposal often discussed among analysts is the crossover format, in which if the fourth-place team in one division has more points than the third-place team in another, it takes their playoff spot. This idea preserves divisional races while preventing elite teams from being punished for playing in tough divisions. Wild fans are not asking for an easy road through the playoffs, just a fair one. Minnesota’s roster, which was built through patience, precision trades, and scouting, has earned its way into the conversation with hockey’s best. We have watched this group develop chemistry and resilience against some of the sport’s most formidable opponents. When a team that ranks in the top three of the entire NHL has to open against another top-five squad because of where they’ve drawn divisional lines, something just doesn’t feel right. It's time for the league to take a closer look at how playoff alignment affects competitive balance. The Wild’s success should be celebrated, not punished. If the league truly wants to see its best teams competing deep into spring, it might be time to replace “rivalry-driven” drama with a system that prioritizes fairness and gives deserving teams like the Wild the chance to prove how far their talent can take them.

Mats Zuccarello regrets that the Minnesota Wild didn’t get off to a better start in their 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday. “We showed them a little too much respect, I think,” Zuccarello said. “A good team like that, you gotta be on the front foot. But you gotta give them credit. It’s simple. They were a better team than us today. We didn’t have our best, and then you don’t win games like this.” Minnesota shouldn’t beat itself up too much about losing to the Avalanche. The Avs are still the better team – not just on Sunday, but in general. Colorado’s 59 points lead the NHL. They score 4.03 points per game and have a +61 point differential. MoneyPuck gives them a 19.3% chance to reach the Stanley Cup Final and a 10.3% chance to win it, higher than any other team in the league. The Wild might be tempted to highlight its 3-2 shootout win over the Avs in late November as evidence that they can hang with the league’s best team. That was before the Quinn Hughes trade that changed everything. Minnesota went from a .500 team that couldn’t score three goals per night to winning four straight by a combined score of 21-6. That’s 5.25 goals per game for those keeping score at home. Still, the win in November feels more like an anomaly. Last night’s game better represents how the Wild would fare in a seven-game series. Colorado looked better on special teams, which was Minnesota’s downfall last year. The Avs also looked more skilled than the Wild, even after they acquired Hughes. Sunday’s game should be a wake-up call for the post-Hughes Wild. Minnesota may be able to smoke mediocre Eastern Conference teams and the Edmonton Oilers, whose goaltenders have combined for an .881 save percentage this year. Still, as currently constructed, they’d lose to the Avalanche if they met in the playoffs. According to MoneyPuck’s “deserve to win o-meter,” the Avalanche win Sunday’s game 56.5% of the time. There is still a chasm between the Wild and the Avs. Vegas has Colorado’s Stanley Cup odds at +350, meaning you can bet $100 on them and get $350 if they win it all. The oddsmakers have Minnesota at +2500, the ninth-best odds in the league. Minnesota’s 49 points lead every division other than the Central. Still, they have a difficult path through the playoffs. The Wild meaningfully improved after adding Hughes. Still, the Avs are a meaningfully better team. By trading for Quinn Hughes, they’ve firmly moved out of the Wild Card bubble. However, they will likely play the Dallas Stars, who have +1100 odds of winning the Cup in the first round. MoneyPuck gives the Wild a 54.2% chance of advancing out of the first round for the first time since 2014-15. Meanwhile, they only give the Stars a 46.2% chance of reaching the second round. Still, MoneyPuck predicts the Avs have a 62.4% chance of advancing past the first round, meaning the Wild will likely have to beat them in a series to reach the Western Conference Finals for the second time in franchise history. There, they would likely face the Vegas Golden Knights, who MoneyPuck gives a 16.4% chance of reaching the finals, and an 8.6% of winning it all. Both are higher marks than the Wild. The oddsmakers have the Golden Knights at +900 to win the Cup, behind only Colorado and the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning (both +750). Minnesota’s odds of winning the Cup increased from +4500 to +2800 after the Quinn Hughes trade. However, adding Hughes raised the Wild’s floor more than it increased their odds of reaching the Cup, according to The Athletic. “The impact on Minnesota’s Stanley Cup odds was a lot smaller than expected,” Dom Luszczyszyn wrote for The Athletic. Technically, Minnesota’s odds doubled, but it was only from 1 percent to 2 percent.” Luszczyszyn blames the NHL’s playoff structure, which promotes division rivalries by pitting teams from the same division against one another, for creating a difficult pathway for the Wild. “Things would be tight enough against the Dallas Stars, but the Colorado Avalanche look like an absolute behemoth, likely to give any team a hard time,” he added. “Having to get through that gauntlet limits just how much Hughes’ impact affects the team’s Cup odds.” The downside to the playoff structure is that the Wild may have added Hughes, only to lose in the first round again. The upside is that everyone will learn whether Minnesota is ready to contend immediately. If Hughes doesn’t believe they can, they might want to flip him in the offseason to recover assets. The playoffs will be a moment of truth. The Wild only has Hughes under contract for one more year, and they must convince Hughes to stay. Otherwise, they traded Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, and Liam Öhgren for a 54% chance of advancing past the first round and a season with him on an expiring contract. Trading for Hughes took meatballs, but it’s what Minnesota had to do to escape the mushy middle. If Bill Guerin adds a scoring forward and potentially another center, the Wild may be contenders throughout Kirill Kaprizov’s prime. However, if they allow Hughes to leave them empty-handed, Kaprizov will waste his best years on a mediocre team. Such are the stakes after a blockbuster trade. Adding Quinn Hughes changed a lot of things for the Wild, but the Avs still stand in their way. Call Guerin many things, but give him this: He’s not afraid to gamble. Now, we’ll have to wait and see if he has any regrets.

It’s game night! No, not at the Grand Casino Arena. It’s team bonding game night, most likely hosted at the Spurgeon household, just like everything is. Don’t worry, there’s a large spread of snacks and drinks along with plenty of board game options. Let’s take a peek and see how everyone is doing. Mentor/Mentee Relationship Jared Spurgeon has set up a chessboard, and he was so excited to finally teach Brock Faber how to play and the strategy behind chess. Faber did his best to pay attention; he really did. But poor Spurgeon had to finally admit defeat when Faber wandered away. Faber tried to suggest that he just really needed some more crackers and cheese from the charcuterie board, but Spurgeon knew exactly what he was headed for instead. Quinn Hughes stepped in to take over, and the Captain and former Captain spent the night quietly playing in the corner. Moose’s Game of Choice Marcus Foligno set up his game of choice, and Faber just couldn’t resist the siren song of Twister. Moose was really hoping that the goalies would join in with their flexibility, but they were too busy. Instead, Moose and Faber had to entice Nico Sturm and Marcus Johansson to join, and they were both too nice to say no. Trivial Pursuit The goalies were both too busy playing trivia games to show off how they do the splits. Mats Zuccarello, Jonas Brodin, and Joel Eriksson Ek joined in, but things almost came to blows when Zuccy and Ekkie started arguing about the correct answer to one of the questions. Ek was actually correct, and Zuccy knew that, but it was the whole principle of the thing. Cards Against Humanity The big winner of the night is Cards Against Humanity. Most of the boys don’t want a mentally or physically stimulating game, so they settle in for Cards Against Humanity. Zach Bogosian is the leader and ensures everyone knows the rules and follows them. Matt Boldy stays quiet, but somehow pulls off a few surprise wins. Ryan Hartman and Vinnie Hinostroza surreptitiously tag-team to figure out how to pull off a coup and both win the game. Jake Middleton is terrible at the game because he just puts in whatever he thinks is funny, even if it doesn’t make sense. He giggles a lot and loses almost every round. The Russians Kirill Kaprizov makes sure all of the Russians come to board game night even though it really isn’t their jam. Danila Yurov, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Yakov Trenin are good sports, but mostly just watch the fun go down. Kaprizov relents and plays one game of Twister because it’s hard to turn down Foligno. The others play a little Cards Against Humanity, but it slows the game down because they keep having to translate entries from Urban Dictionary into Russian to understand what the cards mean. Middleton gets impatient and wanders away to shotgun a beer.

The Minnesota Wild are back on their "Everyone Is Injured" bulls*** again. After a plague of devastating injuries in the 2024-25 season, the Wild managed to get through about half the season relatively unscathed. But the specter of missed time comes for everyone, eventually, and it's Minnesota's turn to get bit. In the span of a week, Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Matt Boldy have all landed on injured reserve. Marcus Johansson is also on the shelf, not traveling on the Wild's current road trip. If you're keeping score at home, that's four of Minnesota's eight best players in terms of Standings Points Above Replacement. SPAR Leaders, Minnesota Wild, 2025-26 (Injured players in bold): Jonas Brodin: 3.8 Matt Boldy: 3.5 Marcus Johansson: 2.8 Kirill Kaprizov: 2.6 Quinn Hughes: 2.5 Brock Faber: 2.4 Yakov Trenin: 2.4 Joel Eriksson Ek: 2.2 Ouch. It's hard to get much more dire than that. Fortunately, the Wild showed on Saturday what kind of mileage a decimated team can get with two MVP-caliber players. The Wild's 5-4 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres was ugly, for sure. Minnesota turned a 3-1 lead into a 3-4 deficit in the span of six minutes in the second period. On the road against a team as hot as the Sabres, who had won 15 of their past 17 contests heading into the game, the Wild's losing skid could easily have hit four games. But MVPs don't let their teams lose easily. Better yet, they elevate their club into winning games they shouldn't. That's what happened. First, Quinn Hughes knotted the game at 4-4 near the end of the second period. But while Hughes dazzled with his fourth multi-point game in 17 outings with the Wild, Kaprizov did his part in putting the team on his back. He logged over 24 minutes and registered three assists, including the primary on Hughes' tying goal, and finding Mats Zuccarello across Royal Road to ice the game in overtime in the dying seconds of a power play. The weirdest thing about Minnesota's season is how infrequently Kaprizov has felt like the Face of the Franchise. It's not because the soon-to-be $17 million man isn't putting up the requisite numbers. Kaprizov is tied for seventh in goals alongside big names like Leon Draisaitl and Tage Thompson. He's 13th in the NHL with 55 points. He leads the team with 168 shots, putting him in sixth-place league-wide. So what is it? Maybe it's a rising tide in Minnesota? Matt Boldy has come out strong this season, surpassing Kaprizov in goals (27 to 25) and nearly equalling him with 51 points. And of course, Hughes was seen around the league as at Kaprizov's level, and he's shown early on that he might have just been better all along. Boldy and Hughes's emergence added star power, but it's only part of the equation. The real reason Kaprizov felt somewhat underwhelming is that we've yet to see him at his best. Right now, Kaprizov's on pace for a 42-goal, 92-point season. That's awesome. If Boldy gets there, it'll be taken as a sign that Boldy has truly arrived as a superstar. But for Kaprizov? Well, that's below the 47 goals and 98 points he's averaged for his career. No one can really complain about Kaprizov's consistency. Every month, he has posted a point-per-game or better. But the magic of Kaprizov isn't getting a point-per-game like clockwork; it's his ability to get stupid-hot for a month or two. His October and November last season (17 goals, 31 points in 26 games) were so blistering that they single-handedly kept Minnesota afloat for the half-season he was out with injury. He's often powered the Wild down the stretch by scoring at a goal-per-game pace. With no Boldy, no Eriksson Ek, no Johansson, and after trading Marco Rossi, there aren't many people left to carry on a secondary scoring role. Ryan Hartman played over 22 minutes on Saturday. Zuccarello played an astounding 25:35. When the second line is Vladimir Tarasenko, rookie Danila Yurov, and Yakov Trenin, Kaprizov has to assert himself as the straw that stirs the Wild's drink. Maybe some of it is just simply waiting for Kaprizov's luck to change. That sounds kind of nuts for a player who's shooting 14.9% on the season. Still, that's pretty low for someone with Kaprizov's scoring talent. Kaprizov is a career 16.2% shooter, which would give him two more goals if he'd kept that up through his first 49 games. Again, it's not like Kaprizov isn't getting scoring chances. His 26.36 expected goals on the season are fifth in the NHL, behind just Connor McDavid, Dylan Larkin, Jake Guentzel, and Sam Reinhart. On a per-hour basis, that's the highest xG rate Kaprizov has ever generated. The thing is, he usually blows way past his xG figures, as you'll see from his year-by-year stats: Kirill Kaprizov Goals (vs. Expected Goals), by year: 2020-21: 27 (18.95) 2021-22: 47 (29.59) 2022-23: 40 (35.42) 2023-24: 46 (38.95) 2024-25: 25 (21.97) 2025-26: 25 (26.36) Until this season, Kaprizov has outperformed his xG in every year, scoring an average of 1.28 actual goals per expected goal. If he kept in line with his career average this season, he'd have 34 goals (rounded up from 33.65), putting him just two behind Nathan MacKinnon in the Rocket Richard Trophy race. We'd absolutely be looking at his season as an MVP-type campaign, worthy of even a $17 million price tag. Everyone knows that Kaprizov has an insane run in him at some point; we just haven't seen it yet this season. With just him and Hughes as Twin Atlases holding the team up in the wake of all these injuries, they sure could use that hot streak at this exact moment.

Before the overtime winner in Buffalo, the Minnesota Wild have been a tough watch for the past week. Weak plays, stupid mistakes, lack of finish, bad goals going in, all of the hallmarks of a terrible team made the Wild borderline unwatchable. What happened to one of the best teams in the league? Why the sudden slump? Look no further than the top of the Injured Reserve list, where Joel Eriksson Ek unfortunately resides for now. It’s tempting to assume that the highest-paid superstars are the most important players on the team. But on the Wild, Eriksson Ek is the most important player because he does it all. He takes the hard faceoffs. He plays in the dirty areas, and he always takes the brutal physical punishment that comes with it. Ek plays on the top power play unit and on the penalty kill. He takes the all-important faceoffs during overtime. He does it all. When Ek is out, it takes more than just one person to fill in for everything he does. When Eriksson Ek is out, the Wild's linchpin on the wagon has been removed. A linchpin is a fastener that keeps a wheel on the axle. Take that away, and the wagon is suddenly out of control. As evidenced by the last few games, the wagon was careening toward a cliff that could lead to certain demise. Thankfully, someone took the reins and steered the wagon onto a better path (looking at you, Quinn Hughes and Kirill Kaprizov). Still, it took a few games and tweaks to figure out the path forward without Ek. Now, as an eldest daughter, I can recognize a fellow eldest daughter from a mile away, and Ek fits the stereotype. He’s unappreciated for doing the toughest jobs. He does everything because someone has to do it, so he just does. And when he isn’t able to do something, everyone freaks out and tries to do it, but Ek is just so good at his job that it takes an entire team to make up for his absence. Joel Eriksson Ek isn’t the only eldest daughter on the team. He is joined by the likes of Quinn Hughes. It’s probably why they share the blank expression of someone fighting a demon that only they can see. They sacrifice everything to get the job done, and if that takes being haunted by the Ghost of Hockey Yet to Come, they will accept it. Overall, we should be happy to have a few eldest daughter types to hold the team together. Now, hopefully, we can get Ek back in the lineup instead of worrying about who will keep trying to take on the excessive amount of work he constantly shoulders.

The Minnesota Wild have lost seven of their last eleven games and five of their previous seven. Their depth at center has been the main culprit of this recent skid. Joel Eriksson Ek has been out over the last two games, and the stretch has only reinforced the argument that this team needs another NHL-caliber center to be more than a one-line threat in the Western Conference. In Eriksson Ek’s absence, the Wild have looked easier to play against, less reliable defensively, and far more matchup-dependent. The recent skid underscores that internal options alone are not enough. Over the last ten games, Minnesota has slid from one of the league’s hottest teams into a group fighting to stabilize its form. After a long run of banking points, the Wild have dropped four of their last five (1-2-2), including back-to-back home losses capped by a 5-2 defeat to the New Jersey Devils on Monday. Minnesota generated some chances against the Devils but wasn’t as sharp as usual. That has become a common occurrence recently. In this ten-game window, Minnesota has too often chased games instead of dictating them, struggling to lock down the middle of the ice late in periods and late in games. As a result, overtime and one-goal losses have piled up, turning what could have been a solid stretch into a worrying sign of how thin the margins are when the lineup is not at full strength. The turning point came when Eriksson Ek left last Thursday’s win over Seattle with a lower-body injury after a collision near the bench. He has been listed as day-to-day since, but his absence has already reshaped the Wild’s identity over these last few games. Eriksson Ek had been playing well before the injury, posting four goals and four assists over his previous 11 games. He was averaging more than 18 minutes a night and anchoring both top-six minutes and power-play duties. His absence has affected the rest of the roster. The Wild have asked Ryan Hartman to shoulder more of the heavy lifting at center. Meanwhile, they’ve pushed younger players like Danila Yurov into tougher matchups, and call-ups like Ben Jones are pressed into NHL minutes that are no longer sheltered or situational. Minnesota is compensating by committee. Still, there’s a difference between the Wild patching a hole for a night and trying to play playoff-caliber hockey when its best two-way center is not available. It has become clear in this ten-game snapshot that Eriksson Ek’s presence typically stabilizes Minnesota’s five-on-five game. He takes hard defensive-zone starts, faces top lines, and allows Hynes to deploy Hartman and others in more offensive situations, balancing the forward group. With that safety valve missing, the Wild have looked a step slow closing on shooters in the slot and more vulnerable off the rush. On Monday, New Jersey broke things open with rapid-fire third-period goals. When one center must take on more defensive responsibility and tougher minutes, the strain shows not just on one line but across the entire lineup, especially in compressed parts of the schedule. If there’s a lesson from this stretch, it’s that the Wild cannot afford to have one injury throw off their game. Eriksson Ek’s day-to-day designation is encouraging, but his brief absence has highlighted a structural issue. Minnesota lacks proven depth at center behind him, particularly players who can handle tough defensive assignments and still contribute offensively. Adding another legitimate NHL center would give Hynes a second trusted matchup option, easing Eriksson Ek’s burden and allowing more favorable offensive usage for other forwards. It would push fringe centers and natural wingers playing in the middle back into roles that better suit their skill sets, while insulating the team against injury. As a result, a short absence for Eriksson Ek would not immediately force a full line-shuffle and a cascading loss of chemistry. The Wild’s core is good enough to compete, but this ten-game stretch has shown how thin the margin is when one player's two-way excellence holds together in the middle of the ice. With Eriksson Ek out, even briefly, Minnesota has looked more like a bubble team than a contender. That reality should sharpen the front office’s focus on finding another center who can stabilize this group for the grind ahead.

Joe Thornton is a one-of-a-kind figure in NHL history. It isn't just because of his work-of-art beard, unique status as a playmaking power forward, or his creative goal celebration ideas. (On a related note: congrats on your recent Rooster Trick, old friend Marat Khusnutdinov.) When Thornton lifted the Hart Trophy in 2006, he secured his own page in the history books. He is the only NHL MVP to win the award in a year he was traded. The San Jose Sharks were 8-12-4 when they pulled off one of the biggest trades of the century. Thornton's presence transformed the team, which went 36-15-7 with him in the lineup. Jumbo Joe led the league with 125 points, propelling the Sharks to the playoffs. Two decades later, the Minnesota Wild made the biggest mid-season trade the NHL has seen since Thornton, landing Quinn Hughes. The impact has been immediate, even if it's not quite reflected in the team's 8-3-4 record with Hughes in the lineup. Minnesota is a faster, more potent offensive team, controlling play at 5-on-5 in a way it simply wasn't without the superstar defenseman. Hughes has been at the center of this new-look squad. John Hynes is giving him Prime Ryan Suter minutes; he's averaging 27 minutes, 45 seconds a night. Only Kirill Kaprizov has more points on the team than Hughes' 16 since his arrival, and Hughes is fourth among defensemen in scoring during that time. He's single-handedly fixed the Wild's transition problems. It's been 15 games, but Hughes has played MVP-level hockey to start his Wild tenure. Evolving-Hockey has Hughes being worth 2.5 Standings Points Above Replacement to the Wild already. That's not just the difference between the Wild being 12 points above the playoff bubble and 9 or 10 points above it. It's tied for 27th in the NHL among defensemen. Again, in just 15 games! Hughes isn't likely to keep that pace up for the final 35 games, but it's easy to see a world where he's able to double his full-season SPAR (3.3) and end the season around 7.0 SPAR. That would put him in the running for the best at his position in most years. And if he puts up about six points of value in 50 games for the Wild, is that enough to merit MVP consideration? It'd be fun as hell, but the odds are stacked against Hughes by virtue of his position. The last time the Hart Trophy went to a defenseman was in the 1999-2000 season, when Chris Pronger won the award. We don't have SPAR data for that season. Still, since Pronger was second among NHL defensemen with 62 points and finished the year a ridiculous plus-52 on the President's Trophy-winning St. Louis Blues, we'll assume it was an exceptional year. Even that factoid doesn't fully communicate how tough it is for a defenseman to win MVP. No defenseman has even been a finalist (that is, in the top three in voting) since Pronger won. The award typically goes to forwards having an insane scoring season, and there is a pretty obvious front-runner. Nathan MacKinnon is on a 66-goal, 148-point pace for the President's Trophy lock Colorado Avalanche. Another big issue is one of timing. The Wild may have started the season slowly, but they were playing at a 105-point pace by the time Hughes joined the team. Since then, the team has 20 points in 15 games, a 109-point pace. It's a boost, but not the night-and-day shift that Thornton gave the Sharks in 2005-06. It's a fun scenario to contemplate, and there's time for it to build hype, but it's going to take Hughes a lot to muster an MVP campaign. They'll have to make a move on MacKinnon and the Avalanche to make it a real conversation, and that's a tall, tall order. The Wild have actually lost ground to the Avs since the trade, being 13 points behind the Central Division leaders, instead of 12 on December 14. But whether or not Hughes can get an MVP campaign off the ground is secondary to the fact that he's playing like an MVP for Minnesota. He's fundamentally changing the team dynamic and raising their ceiling to heights the franchise has never seen. Joe Thornton's page in the history books is probably safe, but Quinn Hughes is at least looking capable of making this a conversation going forward.

Last spring, the Minnesota Wild may have had their best chance to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2014-15. The Wild seized momentum early in the series, jumping out to a 2-1 lead. While they lost three straight games to book their early tee times, there were several positive developments to take from it, including Marcus Foligno's play. Foligno was a wrecking ball during that playoff series, scoring three goals and an assist. He was a physical presence that temporarily threw the Golden Knights off their game. He made it feel like this was a different Wild team, if only for three games. After turning 34 last August, Foligno’s performance was always going to be a year-to-year thing. However, few saw the decline he’s experienced this season. Entering Thursday’s game against the Seattle Kraken, Foligno had just two goal and six points through his first 37 games. His minus-9 rating is tied for the worst on the team with Zeev Buium, who the Wild traded in the Quinn Hughes deal, and it doesn’t feel like Minnesota is getting the value out of his $4 million AAV contract. So what happened to Foligno? And can the Wild get him back in time for the second half? It’s a storyline that could play a key role in how this year’s team pans out. Foligno signed a four-year, $16 million contract extension before the 2023-24 season, and the price tag may have raised some eyebrows. He had posted a career year during the 2021-22 campaign, scoring 23 goals and recording 42 points. However, it came with the caveat of a league-leading 23.5% shooting percentage. That percentage should have been a warning. Foligno crashed back to earth the following year, scoring seven goals, recording 21 points, and posting a 8.4% shooting percentage over 65 games. But general manager Bill Guerin pulled the trigger anyway, extending him into his mid-30s. There were two reasons for this. The first is that Guerin doesn’t mind the price tag if it brings intangibles to the team. While Foligno is best suited as a bottom-six player, Guerin covets his leadership and presence in the locker room. In his mind, paying a little more or giving a no-movement clause is better than not having the player at all, which explains why Foligno is still in Minnesota. But the other is that Foligno is one of the NHL's best defensive forwards. Evolving Hockey’s player card shows the difference between both sides of Foligno’s game. While he’s ranked in the seventh percentile of offensive production, he’s still in the 89th percentile defensively. At this point, the Wild may need to take the good with the bad. But while the defense has done wonders for Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt, the offense has become a significant issue for the bottom six. Basically, if top guys like Matt Boldy and Kirill Kaprizov aren’t scoring, the Wild typically aren't scoring enough goals to keep up with top-tier teams like the Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche, especially during a seven-game series. It's also possible that injuries are having a cumulative effect on Foligno, who led the Wild with 253 hits last season. He could also just be hitting the age cliff, which many believed would happen as he entered the midpoint of his contract. It also paints a grim picture. The Wild may have an untradeable asset in the bottom six. Still, it could also be that Foligno knows when to turn it on. That’s why his performance in last year’s playoffs is an important data point. The statistical production was a nice surprise, but few were blown away by how physical Foligno was in that series. With the Wild virtually locked into a playoff spot, Foligno could be biding his time and knowing that the final stretch of the regular season and the playoffs are the time to turn it on. But it becomes a bigger problem when the Wild needs production from its bottom six immediately. Ryan Hartman has done his part with 12 goals and 19 points over 43 games. Still, the rest of the group has been unproductive, with Yakov Trenin scoring three goals with 14 points over 46 games and Vinnie Hinostroza scoring three times with seven points and a minus-5 rating in 32 games this season. It’s also something that could be fixed at the trade deadline. While Foligno is unlikely to be moved, a trade for an offensively gifted bottom-six forward could breathe life into the group. That could put Foligno in more advantageous situations and help him provide enough offense to raise his overall value. If Foligno can find his previous form, he could be a physical force that adds just enough offense to help Minnesota get over the top. If he can’t, it invites long-term questions about the final two years of his contract and could also send the Wild to another first-round exit.

Kirill Kaprizov went from driving an early Hart-caliber pace last season before his lower-body injury to opening this year below his usual scoring clip. The contrast between those stretches tells a story about expectations, health, and how much weight rests on his shoulders in Minnesota. The underlying signs suggest his game is rounding into form. Still, the bar he set before getting hurt makes this season’s “slow start” feel louder than it might actually be in a vacuum. The numbers suggest there may be an extra gear he can reach, or that his scoring is a bit more spread out this year. Before everything derailed in late January, Kaprizov’s 2024-25 season was one of the best individual campaigns in franchise history. He scored 23 goals and 52 points in only 37 games before surgery, putting him on a 50-goal, 115-point pace over a full season. Kaprizov’s production was front-loaded but sustainable, driven by his usual blend of volume shooting, power-play touch, and transition play. In his first 19 games alone, he recorded 13 goals and 34 points, essentially dragging the Wild to relevance every night with multi-point performances. Those early months were the version of Kaprizov that changes game plans and award ballots. Defenses shaded towards him at five-on-five, and penalty kills overplayed his flank. Still, he found ways to create, often tilting the ice almost single-handedly when Minnesota needed a push. The turning point was the lower-body injury that ultimately led to surgery in late January and a much longer absence than the original four-week estimate. What began as he’ll be back before the end of the regular season turned into months of uncertainty and speculation around how much damage had been done, physically and rhythmically, to the Wild’s most important player. Kirill Kaprizov missed roughly half the season, playing in only 41 games, yet still finished with 25 goals and 31 assists for 56 points, a testament to his dominance when available. Even in a “lost” year, he produced at a 122-point pace over 82 games, reinforcing just how far above replacement level his game sits when he is healthy and in rhythm. The injury didn’t just rob him of games. It disrupted his timing, interrupted his conditioning curve, and forced him to rebuild his explosiveness and confidence in tight spaces. All are areas central to how he attacks off the rush and manipulates defenders on the half wall. Fast forward to 2025-26, and Kaprizov’s counting numbers still look strong, but they lack the same shock-factor as last year’s pre-injury explosion. Through 42 games, he has 24 goals and 48 points. That’s excellent by most standards, but clearly a step down from the 56 points he had through only 41 games a year ago. One notable pattern: Kaprizov needed time to heat up, with only eight goals over his first 29 appearances before finding the net more consistently as the schedule wore on. The “slow start” label fits relative to expectations, not reality. Kaprizov is the same player who once started with three goals in 15 games and still finished with 47 on the year has a history of building as seasons progress. His volume and usage suggest the underlying engine remains intact. Kaprizov continues to log heavy minutes, drive the top power-play unit, and generate a high number of attempts, even if the puck has not exploded off his stick quite as ruthlessly as it did before the injury disrupted his trajectory. Kaprizov’s early 2024-25 heater reset what normal looks like for him, and that context is doing a lot of work this season. When a winger spends three months on a 50-plus-goal, Hart Trophy pace, anything short of that can be read as underwhelming, even if the actual numbers are still star-level. Fans are no longer comparing Kaprizov to the rest of the roster; they’re comparing him to his peak. The version who had 7 goals and 14 assists in his first 11 games of last year and seemed to create something dangerous every shift. The memory of that dominance makes this season’s streaky finishing and quieter stretches feel somewhat magnified, especially in games where Minnesota’s offense still runs almost entirely through him. There is also the residue from last year’s injury. Any time a player has surgery and misses months, the focus naturally shifts beyond box scores to questions about burst, edgework, and whether he looks “like himself.” That lens has colored much of the discussion around his 2025-26 start. History suggests this version of Kaprizov, more streaky than overpowering, but still productive, is more of a phase than a new baseline. He has shown before that early-season lulls do not prevent him from finishing among the league's elite scorers. Nothing in his usage or role suggests Minnesota will dial back expectations anytime soon. As Kaprizov’s confidence in his post-surgery body continues to grow, so should his willingness to attack off the rush, cut inside more aggressively, and lean into the deceptive release that made last fall such a nightmare for goalies. If his recent scoring bump holds, this “slow start” may ultimately look more like a delayed ignition in the first truly normal season after a major disruption, not a sign that last year's form was a one-off spike. In other words, last year's pre-injury heater established the ceiling; this year's early grind reflects the reality of recovery and expectation. The rest of this season will determine how quickly Kaprizov can climb back towards the standard he set when everything was clicking.

That's Wild Because of the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships taking place in Minnesota, the Wild have been on a very long road trip and still are on the very same road trip that started 12 days ago in Winnipeg. It has been a difficult trip -- maybe not for the actual record, since the Wild have gone an adequate 3-1-2 over the six games since Dec. 27, but lately it's really worn on the team. Back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Kings, a team that is in the tier below them, and now facing a Seattle Kraken team, who is certainly in a tier or two below the Wild. Just one last game. [StarTribune] On Wild prospect Adam Benak soaring up through his path to the NHL. Now dominating the OHL, who knows what comes next? [The Athletic] One specific thing failed the Wild when they last went to the playoffs. And, well, they still haven't really addressed it. [Hockey Wilderness] Off the trail... Glenn Hall, the legendary goaltender whose consecutive games played streak of 502 will never, ever be broken in the NHL, has passed away at the age of 94. [NHL.com] Nick Kypreos weighing in on what some teams, who are in crucial positions, are thinking about two months before the trade deadline. [Sportsnet] Standouts and surprises (both good and bad) from the 2026 World Juniors. [ESPN]

While the dust is still settling on the Quinn Hughes blockbuster trade, the Minnesota Wild likely still has business to conduct. The Central Division is an arms race this season, and the Wild has some deficiencies to shore up. The main area they can improve is at center. With the team still in the market for a centerman, one interesting name has recently been discussed as a possible fit for Minnesota. In The Athletic's recent piece predicting where trade targets would end up, NHL insider Pierre LeBrun forecasted Ryan O'Reilly would end up in St. Paul. At first glance, this is a perfect fit. O'Reilly is an accomplished veteran who was a key contributor to the St. Louis Blues' Stanley Cup victory. He’s respected leaguewide and is an elite two-way center and faceoff man. He also continues to contribute offensively with 32 points in 37 games this season for a Nashville Predators team where nearly every other player is underperforming. While he checks all the boxes for the Wild, there is one crucial potential hang-up. According to LeBrun, Pat Morris, Ryan O'Reilly's agent, has let teams know that the player isn't currently interested in a move. The reason is that O'Reilly "sees himself as part of the solution in Nashville and doesn't want to abandon ship." O'Reilly doesn't have a no-movement clause, but Chris Johnston has reported that Nashville management respects him enough to treat him as if he did. That fact means he's in control of potential transactions. That seems like bad news, but it actually may position Minnesota better than other teams to acquire O'Reilly's services. He clearly still wants to play a significant role on a team, something the Wild can offer him due to their lack of center depth. For example, the Colorado Avalanche were also linked to O'Reilly in The Athletic's piece. But Colorado has Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson, which would make O'Reilly the team's third-line center. That may not be enticing for a player who still wants a crucial role. On the other hand, the Wild could guarantee O'Reilly would be playing in their top six. Let's suppose the chance for a vital spot on a team that has every other piece in place is enough to entice O'Reilly out of Nashville. What might a trade look like? Pierre LeBrun believes the price for O'Reilly is a first-round draft pick and a top prospect. That’s a starting point, but it's also crucial to review recent comparable deals to nail down what an O’Reilly deal would look like. There are three main trades to examine when examining a potential Ryan O'Reilly trade. The first, conveniently, is a trade involving Ryan O'Reilly. The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired the center and Noel Acciari in 2022-23 for a playoff push. Interestingly, Minnesota was also involved in the trade as a middleman to retain salary. Toronto gave up first, second, and third-round picks along with prospect Mikhail Abramov and roster player Adam Gaudette. Abramov ultimately never played in the NHL, so he wouldn't be considered a top prospect. This trade helps determine O'Reilly's value, since there's already been a recent market set for him. He was 31 years old then and had recently come off a Conn Smythe performance, so he carried more value than he would this year at 34, but it's a starting point. Last season, the Colorado Avalanche acquired Brock Nelson at the trade deadline. Similar to O'Reilly, Nelson is a respected veteran known for his playoff performances and two-way play. Colorado acquired Nelson for a conditional first-round pick, William Dufour, and Calum Ritchie. Ritchie is more in line with the "top prospect" designation, with TSN ranking him as the sixth-best NHL-affiliated prospect. The Leafs made another similar trade last year when they obtained Scott Laughton for a first-round pick and prospect Nikita Grebenkin, with the Philadelphia Flyers retaining 50% of Laughton’s salary. Grebenkin is a solid prospect who has played in Philadelphia this year but is unlikely to become a top-six player. O’Reilly is likely worth a bit more than Laughton but a bit less than Nelson, given the Avalanche center's more consistent play in recent seasons. Using these deals as a guide, it’s reasonable to assume the Wild would need to put together a package that is centered around a first-round pick and a prospect that falls somewhere between Calum Ritchie and Nikita Grebenkin on the spectrum of future potential. The Wild have the draft capital. Minnesota doesn’t have its next first-round pick after trading it for Quinn Hughes, but the team still has one in 2027. While it isn’t ideal to go two straight years without a first-round pick, the Wild are in win-now mode. The prospect part is where things get more complicated. The Wild have already emptied the cupboards for Hughes, and don’t have too many obvious top prospects. According to Daily Faceoff's Steven Ellis, the Wild’s top five prospects coming into this season were Zeev Buium, David Jiricek, Danila Yurov, Jesper Wallstedt, and Liam Ohgren. Two of those players, Buium and Ohgren, are already gone. Wallstedt has developed into a player too essential to trade, and Nashville is already set in the net with Juuse Saros. That leaves Yurov and Jiricek. Yurov is a good asset, but trading him for O’Reilly is a significant risk. O’Reilly would be an upgrade on Yurov, but swapping a roster center for another roster center doesn’t address the Wild’s primary issue – center depth. Jiricek’s value is also difficult to gauge. According to Steven Ellis, the right side of Nashville’s defense is a weakness in its prospect pool. Jiricek would immediately address that. Still, he has had issues sticking in the NHL with two teams now. It could also be tough to justify trading Jiricek for O’Reilly, given the assets Minnesota has invested in Jiricek. Trading the defender and a first-round pick would mean essentially trading two first-round picks, a second, a third, and a fourth-round pick for Ryan O’Reilly and 14 games of David Jiricek. That doesn’t feel like great asset management. The Wild could use additional draft capital and a lower prospect, such as Adam Benak or Charlie Stramel. However, that may become an issue if a bidding war ensues for O’Reilly and the Wild can’t match other suitors’ offers. Making two blockbuster trades in one season was never going to be easy, but the Wild have to go all-in now, and the price for O’Reilly is clear. A first-round pick and a top prospect. Minnesota can meet that price, but it will be painful. Whether it’s uncomfortable asset management or losing an important player like Yurov, there is no easy way for Minnesota to get this done. Still, the pain of significant transactions tends to fade when a team lifts the Stanley Cup. If the Wild believe O’Reilly can accomplish that, they need to do it.

There's one team in the NHL that is separating itself from the rest of the NHL, and it's obviously the Colorado Avalanche. Minnesota Wild fans are well aware of this, having gotten a taste of the buzzsaw known as the Avs in a 5-1 loss last Sunday. But Colorado's fearsome reputation has been built upon far more than one game. Their 27-2-7 record through 36 games is borderline historic. The Avs' current pace is to hit 138 points, leaping over the 2022-23 Boston Bruins for the NHL record. Evolving-Hockey projects the team to finish with 125.7 points — let's call it 126 — which would put them seventh all-time. They lead the league by a wide margin in both goals for percentage and expected goals for percentage. As everyone here probably knows, that's a huge problem for the Wild and Dallas Stars. The three Central Division rivals have the three highest point totals in the NHL, and are near-locks to enter the same playoff bracket. The Wild are highly likely to face the Stars in the first round, and their reward for winning will almost definitely be running head-first into the Avs for the second. It's a situation that's making Wild fans very antsy, for good reason. With not one, but two legitimate superstars in Quinn Hughes and Kirill Kaprizov, the Wild are perhaps in the best position for a Stanley Cup since the start of the 2003 Western Conference Finals. This should also theoretically be a great opportunity for the franchise to break out of the first round for the first time in a decade. Having the third-best record in the NHL, but having to face the league's second-best team would be the most "Not Weird, Wild" outcome imaginable. It can be easy to buy into the fatalism of it all, the unfairness. But doing so ignores the signature trait of the Stanley Cup Playoffs: its volatility. Now, looking at the very recent past, the NHL's postseason doesn't seem so unpredictable. The past two Cup Finals have had the same matchup and outcome. The Florida Panthers have gone to the Final in three straight seasons, following a run in which the Tampa Bay Lightning represented the Eastern Conference three years in a row. In that continuity, we forget just how infrequently the "best" team in the regular season actually follows that up with a successful postseason. We see this most famously play out when looking at Presidents' Trophy winners: President's Trophy Winners in Playoffs, 2016-2025: 2025: Winnipeg Jets, Lost in Second Round 2024: New York Rangers, Lost in Conference Finals 2023: Boston Bruins, Lost in First Round 2022: Florida Panthers, Lost in Second Round 2021: Colorado Avalanche, Lost in Second Round 2020: Boston Bruins, Lost in Second Round 2019: Tampa Bay Lightning, Lost in First Round 2018: Nashville Predators, Lost in Second Round 2017: Washington Capitals, Lost in Second Round 2016: Washington Capitals, Lost in Second Round While we see a sprinkling of forgettable President's Trophy winners like the 2024-25 Jets, we also see some of the best teams in recent memory. Those 2023 Bruins, remember, have the NHL record for points in a season. The 2019 Lightning generated "Best Team Ever?" discussions throughout the regular season. Still, we have one combined Conference Final appearance. One could rightfully point out that the best teams don't always have the best record. They could also correctly say that the Avs don't just have the best record, but also the best underlying numbers. How do those teams do? Highest 5-on-5 Expected Goals For% Team in Playoffs, 2016 to 2025: 2025: Carolina Hurricanes (55.4%), Lost in Conference Finals 2024: Edmonton Oilers (57.6%), Lost Cup Final 2023: Carolina Hurricanes (59.9%), Lost in Conference Finals 2022: Boston Bruins (57.5%), Lost in First Round 2021: Colorado Avalanche (60.7%), Lost in Second Round 2020: Golden Knights (56.5%), Lost in Conference Finals 2019: Carolina Hurricanes (55.6%), Lost in Conference Finals 2018: Boston Bruins (54.4%), Lost in Second Round 2017: Minnesota Wild (56.3%), Lost in First Round 2016: Pittsburgh Penguins (55.8%), Won Stanley Cup We absolutely see more success in this group, but we're also looking at a field where 40% of teams didn't make it past the second round. Are we still to believe the Avalanche are inevitable? Yes, they have two of the best four players in the NHL in Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, both of whom are Grade-A playoff performers. MacKinnon has 125 points in 95 career postseason games, and has averaged a point-per-game or more in every single one of his trips to the playoffs. Makar has 85 points in 79 career games as a defenseman. It's an intimidating duo. And yet... Colorado has had relatively little playoff success with two players who have been top-10 in the NHL for their entire time together. Colorado Avalanche in Playoffs, MacKinnon/Makar Era: 2025: Lost in First Round (Dallas Stars) 2024: Lost in Second Round (Dallas Stars) 2023: Lost in First Round (Seattle Kraken) 2022: Won Stanley Cup 2021: Lost in Second Round (Vegas Golden Knights) 2020: Lost in Second Round (Dallas Stars) 2019: Lost in Second Round (San Jose Sharks) Of those six one-or-two-and-done seasons, how many of them did Colorado not have the best forward and defenseman in the series? It's only arguable that it was 2019, when the Sharks had just-out-of-his-prime Erik Karlsson going against a rookie Makar. The 2021 version of Vegas didn't have either Jack Eichel or Alex Pietrangelo. As good and consistent as Dallas has been, they've never had a forward as good as MacKinnon, and Heiskanen has always been a half-step below Makar, at least. No one would suggest that the Avalanche's playoff ceiling is a second-round loss; that would be silly. The Avs are more than capable of blasting through the Wild, or even their frequent foil, the Stars, in a playoff series. But even with a tough first-round matchup ahead of the Wild in the Stars, an Avalanche victory in the second round is far from guaranteed. Does the playoff format stack the deck against Minnesota more than it should? Of course. But trading for Hughes was meant to give the Wild a forward/defense duo that could match any in the NHL. The Wild having to get through a bracket with Dallas and Colorado is inevitable, but the good news? Nothing else is. Bring it on.

The Minnesota Wild might have had their seven-game win streak ended in a disheartening loss to the Colorado Avalanche, but there is a chance for them to pick up right where they left off. Facing the Avalanche on any night is difficult but it was even more of a hill to climb when the divisional rivals saw that Minnesota was beginning to build a whole lot of hype after acquiring the only player that can rival Cale Makar as the best defenseman on the planet -- so they had to put a stop to that quickly. But, we'll just wait for this team to actually get some players back to really see it as a test of strength. Fortunately, the Wild's upcoming schedule has some potential to be another win streak. Minnesota is hosting the lowly Nashville Predators on Tuesday night, travelling up to Winnipeg after the Christmas break, and then down to play the faltering Vegas Golden Knights shortly after. And then, well, it's a California road trip followed by a trip to Seattle before heading home. That takes us all the way into the middle of January and while some teams are more difficult outs than others, there is certainly a path to forming another win streak -- or at least taking the vast majority of those games. We don't need to hang our head for too long because the Wild weren't able to continue dominance against one of the most dominant teams we have seen in the NHL's modern era. That's Wild In that loss to Colorado, the Wild certainly found out that the Avalanche are the team to beat -- the hill they'll have to climb if they even think about going on a lengthy playoff run. [StarTribune] Judd Brackett spoke with The Athletic to give some details on the Quinn Hughes trade. [The Athletic] If we can take anything from one single loss, the loss to the Avalanche highlighted a bit of the risk that comes with making the trade for Hughes. [Hockey Wilderness] Off the trail... The Toronto Maple Leafs' power play with Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Matthew Knies, and William Nylander, is somehow the worst in the entire NHL. So, they fired the guy in charge of it. [TheScore] And with that news: Is Craig Berube finding himself on the hot seat in Toronto? Could there be a wave of firings up there? [ESPN] Darren Raddysh is continuing his late-career bloom into some offensive powerhouse from the blue line for the Tampa Bay Lightning. In their latest win over the St. Louis Blues, the 29-year-old earned three points to make it 27 in 30 games this season. [NHL.com]

The age-old question surrounding the Minnesota Wild has always been whether they are contenders or just a playoff team. The Athletic has a Stanley Cup Checklist. It’s a tool that can help you understand where your team stands relative to past Stanley Cup winners, whether you have the pieces in place to bring Lord Stanley’s mug back to your state, or how far you are from achieving that dream. For reference, here is the chart: So let’s evaluate Minnesota’s roster and see how it stacks up against this list. Franchise Forward: This one is obvious. It’s Kirill Kaprizov. The Athletic defines a franchise forward as an offensive carrier with strong defensive metrics. Kaprizov is on pace for nearly 100 points again and is one of the best wingers in the league. He’s a passable defensive player, and I think he falls into the solid category simply because he does not play center. Overall, Kirill fits the mold well. Star Forward: Matt Boldy is Minnesota’s franchise forward and an ideal player for this role. Another year for Boldy, where he’s averaging over a point per game, makes him an ideal running mate for Kaprizov and a secondary scorer. Boldy is great defensively and has shown he can be a playoff performer, a great fit here. Franchise Defenseman: Welcome, Quinn Hughes. The former Norris Trophy winner is the best defenseman the Wild have ever had. He’s a clear-cut No. 1 defender who can be a leader on the back end of a team. He’s an ideal player for this role, even with his sometimes questionable defensive metrics. Shutdown Forward: People outside of Minnesota may not see Joel Eriksson Ek as all that special. Still, he’s a legit Selke trophy contender who is amazing defensively without being a black hole on offense. He’s on pace for almost 60 points again. Ek is not the most flashy player, but he’s a solid fit in this role. Star Goalie: Pick your poisons for opposing teams. Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt have been fantastic this season. With either one of these guys, you’d feel confident in starting them in the playoffs. Gustavsson and Wallstedt have been up and down in their careers, but if one of them gets hot, they should probably get the nod to start. Both of these guys are passable and could even move to solid or ideal, especially playing with the top four that the Wild have. Scoring Forward: Here is where the Wild kind of falls off. Pick between Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Johansson, or maybe Vladimir Tarasenko. Zuccarello plays on the top line with Kaprizov, so he’d be the most likely candidate to fill this role. Still, he’s definitely on the passable end of this; without Kirill, he’s not a top-line player at all. So the Wild miss out on this spot. Scoring Defensemen: While Brock Faber is not the most offensively inclined defender on the team, he’s shown a lot this season. With Hughes entering the fold, he will be better at five-on-five and potentially unlock more of his offensive game. He had 47 in his rookie year and is on pace for over 40 again this season. Faber fits in the solid category for a scoring defenseman. Shutdown Defender: Brodin is the easy answer for Minnesota’s shutdown defender. One of the best defenders in the league fits this role perfectly. He’d be ideal or a luxury in this situation. Support Forward: Danila Yurov is probably the support forward for the time being. He’s shown he can be a solid two-way player who supports the top six. He’s played well with Kaprizov and Tarasenko. Maybe you have Johansson take this spot, but I feel Yurov will improve over time, whereas Johansson is 35 and his production may drop in the second half of the season. Either way, this is probably a passable spot for the Wild. Offensive Forward: Tarasenko or Johansson fit this role here. Maybe you take Jojo, since he’s the one who's been with Ek and Boldy. But in either case, it’s not great. There’s no good fit for the Wild here. Defensive Defenseman: Jared Spurgeon should shine as Minnesota’s defensive defenseman. He’s a great defender, and with Brodin on the second pair, they make an elite shutdown pair that this team can lean on in the playoffs. Spurgeon is a luxury here. Depth Forward: I’ll take playoff Ryan Hartman here. For some reason, he’s able to take his game to another level in the playoffs. If he plays like he did against the Vegas Golden Knights last season, then he’s passable here or even solid as a guy who fills out the forward core. Defensive Forward: When healthy, Marcus Foligno or even Yakov Trenin fit this mold perfectly. Both have been among the best defensive forwards in the league over the past few years. Are The Wild True Contenders? Given this criteria, the Wild have a solid chance to win the Cup. Even if they were to make no moves, they’d be in it. With the strength of the defensive core and the ability of their goalies to be special, they could go far with Hughes, Kaprizov, and Boldy carrying the offense. The true weak link here is the third forward, who can drive offense and be a legit top-line player on their own. Think of how the Pittsburgh Penguins added Phil Kessel to their already stud core of Sydney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Now, I’m not saying call up Phil, but that’s the kind of move the Wild need to make to give them a real chance at looking like all the other teams that have won the Cup over the past 15 years. So, does the Quinn Hughes trade make the Wild true contenders? Yes, it does. The Hughes trade makes the Wild more of a contender than we’ve ever seen in 25 years of Wild Hockey in Minnesota. But this team is still a piece away from being the favorites.

There was a time, not so long ago, when the Minnesota Wild beat lousy hockey teams. In the halcyon days of mid-December, the Wild traded for Quinn Hughes and looked like they could compete with the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche in a seven-game series. They crushed the Boston Bruins 6-2, the Washington Capitals 5-0, and the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2. They exposed the Edmonton Oilers’ porous goaltending in a 5-2 win. Then, the Avalanche beat them 5-1, and reality set in. Minnesota’s desperate (and exciting!) trade for Hughes can only do so much. Bill Guerin was papering over the flawed roster he had built. Still, remove a piece or two from his Jenga tower, and it starts to sway. The Wild are a month removed from trading for Hughes, and they’re losing to bad teams again. On Thursday, the Winnipeg Jets routed them 6-2. The New Jersey Devils beat them 5-2. The New York Islanders beat them in overtime; the Seattle Kraken took them there. The Los Angeles Kings beat them in a shootout, then beat them again two days later. The San Jose Sharks beat them in a shootout earlier on that trip. Winnipeg has the second-worst record in the West. New Jersey has a -19 goal differential and is out of the playoff picture in the East. The Islanders’ +9 goal differential is worse than Boston (+9) and the Buffalo Sabres (+10), the East’s wild-card teams, and the Capitals (+17). Seattle is a 2021 expansion team with a -8 goal differential. The Kings are Western Conference bubble teams. A month removed from dominating the NHL during the Hughes sugar rush, the Wild have crashed. They’ve resorted to blaming bad bounces again. “Look at the goals,” Mats Zuccarello said after losing to Winnipeg. “All top, top corners, bouncing off the wall, and that. So, it’s one of those days where it’s really hard to lose like that, but you just have to brush it away.” Zuccarello is a 38-year-old, 16-year veteran. He knows that’s nonsense. The Wild played undisciplined hockey and left Jesper Wallstedt to fend for himself. John Hynes’ decision to leave him in throughout the second period risks killing his confidence again. Ultimately, the Jets outclassed Minnesota on Thursday. Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin are recovering from injuries. Still, the Wild shouldn’t topple over after losing a middle-six center and a second-pair defenseman. Eriksson Ek’s absence has highlighted Minnesota’s lack of center depth. They don’t have a 1C, which may prevent them from contending altogether, and they had to give up Rossi in the Hughes trade. More pertinently, the Wild previously had the league’s No. 2 prospect pool. However, their player development staff wasn’t able to translate enough of that talent into productive NHL players. Therefore, they used most of those resources on David Jiricek, who is toiling away in Iowa and has dropped down in their prospect hierarchy below David Spacek. They used the rest on Hughes, who is on an expiring contract. Turning prospects into NHL assets is a tried-and-true strategy for bona fide contenders. Stanley Cup windows are small, and teams must capitalize on their best players’ prime years. Still, even contenders must rely on their minor leagues to produce depth when impact players suffer injuries. There’s no Eriksson Ek or Brodin in Iowa, but the Wild should be able to create a facsimile of each player. However, they haven’t been able to do that, and as a result, they’ve become a lousy team. Trading for Hughes wasn’t supposed to get the Wild into the playoffs. They’ve been there before. It was supposed to turn Minnesota into a contender. If it didn’t, Hughes is as good as gone. He’s not going to sit around and hope a team with +2000 odds to win the Stanley Cup, and +4500 before they traded for him, miraculously figures it out. In trading for Hughes, Guerin removed three bricks from the bottom of Minnesota’s Jenga tower to place a star player on top. Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, and Liam Ohgren are foundational pieces if developed correctly, which is why the Vancouver Canucks coveted them. But Hughes is good right now [italics], and the Wild need to contend immediately after signing Kirill Kaprizov to a $136 million extension. Any general manager with good sense trades for Hughes and inherits the risk associated with trading for him. Still, there are consequences to this blockbuster trade. Hughes is only under contract for one more season. If he leaves, the Wild lose him, three players they took with first-round picks, and their first-round selection in the upcoming draft. In that case, the Wild are back to being the mediocre, backwater team they’ve always been in a hockey-obsessed state. Kaprizov can count his millions backward and forward, toiling away on a one-and-done playoff team until he gets bored with that and demands a trade. Minnesota will probably blame bad bounces. That’s every lousy team’s last resort.

Moving Matt Boldy to first-line center would be a swing for upside that fits both his evolving game and the Wild’s roster realities. It would also create an opportunity to exploit a trade market where impact wingers are far more prevalent and simply easier to find than true top-six centers. Framing Boldy as a 1C solution while targeting a high-end wing at the deadline could give Minnesota a more balanced, matchup-proof top six without paying the premium cost that centers usually demand. Matt Boldy has already established himself as one of the NHL’s better young offensive wingers, consistently producing between roughly 26 and 32 goals and 64 and 75 points at five-on-five and on the power play. At 6-foot-2 with strong edges, puck protection, and vision, his toolkit looks a lot like the modern play-driving center archetype rather than a pure finisher. There’s already evidence that the staff is willing to experiment with him down the middle. Boldy started as the first-line center against the Dallas Stars on November 16th, 2024, took 13 draws, and handled matchups before ceding some faceoffs later in the night. That look showed he can survive the responsibilities at center and hinted at upside if he gets a longer runway with consistent linemates. Shifting Boldy to 1C would help address Minnesota’s long-running issue of high-end center depth without having to win a bidding war for an established star down the middle. A top line built around Boldy, with Kirill Kaprizov and a proven scoring winger, would distribute playmaking, finishing, and puck transport across all three spots instead of forcing Kaprizov to carry the bulk of primary creation from the flank. Moving Boldy inside also has a cascade effect down the lineup. It allows Joel Eriksson Ek to anchor a hard-match second line in more defensive and penalty-kill heavy minutes, creating a powerful one-two punch that can tilt both shot share and expected goals in Minnesota’s favor at even strength. That kind of structure has become the standard for contenders, who almost all run at least two lines capable of driving play in tough usage. The trade market consistently shows a clear pattern: top six capable centers are scarce and extremely expensive, while impact wingers are more available in any given deadline season. Recent trade block boards are loaded with capable, scoring wingers. And middle-six wingers with term, while the few true centers who can play in a top-six role are treated as premium assets with big acquisition prices in picks, prospects, and cap space. For a cap-conscious team like Minnesota, that matters. Paying full freight for a 1C means sacrificing multiple futures, and often taking on serious salary, whereas landing a top-six wing rental or short-term fit usually costs less and comes with more options. If Boldy can give you “center time” impact in-house, it’s more efficient to spend assets in the scoring wingers, where supply is deepest, and prices are competitively softer. Reimagining Boldy as 1C allows the Wild to build a forward group that looks more like a modern contender without needing a franchise-altering trade. A plausible blueprint would be to have Boldy center the top line with Kaprizov and Zuccarello as his wings, and the second line run with Eriksson Ek, Johannson, and a top-six winger from the trade block. Someone like Alex Tuch or Jordan Kyrou comes to mind. That combination leverages Kaprizov’s elite shot and Boldy’s play-driving down the middle, while the new winger benefits from playing alongside two savvy veterans in Ek and Johannsson. It also gives the Wild more flexibility to spread the offense around, mixing and matching to provide different offensive looks. The bigger picture is philosophical: Using Boldy at center is a bet on internal development, while trading for a winger is a bet on market inefficiency. Minnesota can avoid overpaying for a scarce 1C, lean into Boldy’s growth curve, and still add a meaningful top-six piece from the deepest part of the deadline board. Suppose Boldy holds his offensive impact in the middle and becomes an above-average 1C. Then, the Wild would suddenly have a legitimate high-end center solution and a more dangerous, deeper top six, all without mortgaging the future for a single expensive center acquisition.