By Tom Schreier -
The Minnesota Wild curbed some issues that cost them in previous postseasons. Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy broke through, scoring five goals on the top line. Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno (mostly) stayed out of the penalty box and provided vital secondary scoring. Filip Gustavsson was reliable in net, despite battling illness in Game 4.
Still, Minnesota’s season ended with a first-round exit again. The Wild have made the playoffs in eight of the past ten years. However, they have lost in the first round every single time, a record in the four major North American sports leagues.
“We hear the noise of getting by the first round,” Foligno acknowledged. “We understand it. We really felt like we could have done it this year, and that’s the disappointing part.”
Puck luck is always a factor, but fortune alone hasn’t determined their fate. The Wild last reached the second round in 2014-15, where they lost to the old Chicago Blackhawks dynasty for the second year. Minnesota has established a pattern of mediocrity. It predates Bill Guerin, who the Wild hired in 2019, but he’s only extended it.
Guerin has been on scholarship since he arrived in Minnesota. His new-GM smell hadn’t worn off before COVID hit and shortened the NHL season. Then, the Wild suffered another first-round exit before Guerin bought out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter out, sending the team into four years of severe cap penalties.
The Wild were in a no-win situation. In 2012, they signed Parise and Suter to matching 13-year, $98 million contracts to inject life into the organization. A year later, the NHL collective-bargaining agreement outlawed contracts where teams paid players up front and wouldn’t carry a cap hold if the player retired early.
Guerin bought out Parise and Suter, who were aging and grouchy. In doing so, he likely improved the culture and bought himself time on the job. The Wild lost in the first round in 2021-22 and 2022-23, but the Wild promoted Guerin in the offseason.
After losing in the first round for the fourth straight year, Guerin highlighted the cap restraints as the reason the Wild couldn’t win in the playoffs.
"I rarely bring this up, but I'm going to bring it up today because it's real and it's important," Guerin said. "I think our players and our coaches deserve a lot of credit because they're fighting with one hand tied between their back because of these cap restraints. We don't apologize for it. We're fine with it."
Guerin said that in the middle of one of his many media feuds. He got upset with the fourth estate after the trade deadline in March. The Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, and Winnipeg Jets loaded up at the trade deadline; Minnesota’s most significant move was trading a second-round pick for 35-year-old Gustav Nyquist.
“We’ll have our day, but it was the same thing this summer when you’re watching other teams load up. For some reason, we still have to play the games,” he said. “If we’re going by that, we might as well just pack our s— and go home. But I think we’ll show up and play the games and see how it checks out.”
The Wild were 35-22-4 on March 3, the trade deadline, with a 97% chance of making the playoffs. They went 10-8-3 after the deadline, nearly missed the postseason, and the Vegas Golden Knights beat them in a gentleman’s sweep. Nyquist went offside on Hartman’s late goal in a crucial Game 5.
Few general managers survive failing to advance in the postseason for a fifth time after missing the playoffs the year before. Furthermore, Guerin “mutually parted ways” with his cap expert in 2023. Later that year, Guerin was investigated for verbally abusing an employee, but upper management determined he had not committed a fireable offense.
He has feuded with the media and a former goalie. He lashed out at a referee. Marco Rossi was an NHL-ready prospect but spent most of 2022-23 in Iowa. He’s a 20-goal per 82-game player, and the Wild need two viable top-6 centers. However, the organization will likely shop him this summer.
Will Zeev Buium’s size concern Guerin? Jesper Wallstedt’s development already seems off-track.
Guerin says he has a long-term plan but traded a second-round pick for the declining Nyquist. He could have used cap hell to invest in Minnesota’s young players. Instead, he prioritized large, aging players, likely because he wants players who look and play like him. Guerin was a 6-foot-2 forward who bucked the odds and was more productive in his 20s than his 30s.
He created a crisis by buying out Parise and Suter. After five first-round exits in six years, the Wild don’t appear close to contending. Nothing Guerin has done assures the Wild will effectively leverage their prospect pool. Kirill Kaprizov is a free agent in 2026-27, and there’s no guarantee he’ll buy into Guerin’s plan. He hasn’t given Kaprizov much reason to believe he has created a pathway to contention.
After four years of cap hell, Guerin may have wasted a good crisis.
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