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By Chris Schad -
There are two types of people during the Christmas season.
One type is like Cindy Lou Who. They decorate every square inch of their living space, hang lights that can be seen from outer space, and blast Mariah Carey the second they feel a chill in the air. The other approach is more measured. A string of lights here, an ornament there, and no Christmas music until Thanksgiving (if not later).
Christmas means something else for the Minnesota Wild. It’s a time when the team sells hope, and fans wake up to find nothing under the tree. It’s an endless cycle that gaslights a fan base just begging to get out of the first round or even dream of seeing their team win the Stanley Cup.
But maybe we’re overlooking the obvious, and Christmas just isn’t the Wild’s thing.
It started last October when Wild owner Craig Leipold declared July 1, 2025, Christmas morning. With the bulk of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyout penalties off the books, the Wild could be banging at the doors at the start of free agency as opposed to scouring through the picked-over clearance aisles and making the moves needed to end their first-round playoff drought.
Unfortunately, the Wild wound up being late to the party. Many of the big names in this free agency period re-signed with their teams. Others like Brock Boeser and Nikolaj Ehlers had a price and term too rich for Bill Guerin’s blood. With the price going up, the Wild pivoted and brought in right wing Vladimir Tarasenko and center Nico Sturm.
Adding these two players is better than nothing, and the Guerin will not hesitate to remind you that both are two-time Stanley Cup champions. Still, bringing in a pair of players on the wrong side of 30 is underwhelming compared to the expectations.
Alas, this is how the Wild operates on Christmas, and it’s still an important date for the future of the franchise. One year ago, they had one of the best records in the NHL on Christmas. Kirill Kaprizov was the frontrunner for the Hart Trophy, and fans believed that their present would end their playoff curse.
Once again, Christmas ended in disappointment. Kaprizov suffered a lower-body injury, while Jonas Brodin, Jake Middleton, and Joel Eriksson Ek wound up on the shelf. The Wild slumped so badly that they needed an Eriksson Ek goal late in regulation to force overtime against the Anaheim Ducks to make the playoffs. There, they blew a 2-1 lead to lose in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights.
It was the precursor for this year’s brown Christmas, but the Wild want to let you know there’s a white Christmas in the future.
Fans may be upset that they retained a core that has blown three straight 2-1 leads in the playoffs. But wait until you see Zeev Buium and David Jiricek on the blue line. With Liam Ohgren and Danila Yurov on the way, it will be just like they added a couple of impact players in free agency.
That core was the best team in the NHL last Christmas, by the way, and the Wild will tell you the only reason they slumped was because everyone got hurt. Maybe this is the year where Jared Spurgeon and Kaprizov don’t miss significant time, and Ryan Hartman doesn’t earn an eight-game suspension for losing his temper. Other players, like Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Foligno, who are in their mid-to-late 30s, won’t fall off the age cliff, and Matt Boldy doesn’t disappear for a month.
There’s a chance next year’s trade deadline could also be Christmas. By not spending now, the Wild could be in on the madness at the trade deadline to turn a fringe playoff team into a contender. Never mind the deals that brought Justin Brazeau and Gustav Nyquist to Minnesota. The Wild have the cap money to go after the big present next spring.
Then there’s the biggest Christmas of all. While the Wild didn’t have the chance to use their cap space this summer, they’ll be big players to add talent next year to enter Year 3 of Guerin’s five-year plan to bring a Stanley Cup to Minnesota.
Sports fans rely on hope to get them through tough times, and the promise of a big Christmas at the end of three years of massive cap penalties played a role. But when it comes to the Wild, it may be best to take a tempered approach when they start talking about the holidays.
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