Nikolaj Ehlers’ Could Elevate His Game Next To Kirill Kaprizov

The Minnesota Wild are looking for an upgrade at center in free agency, but the center pool is shallow. The Wild will have to continue to build from within. General manager Bill Guerin can still make noise by signing a winger who can be the complete scoring threat to replace Marcus Johansson in the top-six. The Wild can spread their forward depth to 12 forwards by putting players in the right roles. 

Nikolaj Ehlers is going to test free agency. He's ready for a fresh start after the Winnipeg Jets signed Neal Pionk to a 6-year deal with a $7 million per year (AAV) cap hit. The Jets will likely sign Kyle Connor to a deal worth around what Colorado Avalanche’s star Nathan MacKinnon ($12.6 million per year) or what Toronto Maple Leafs’ star Auston Matthews ($13.25 million per year) is making. Ehlers won't be able to get a better raise. With newfound cap space, Guerin can make a splash by signing Ehlers, which sets up a Kirill Kaprizov extension. 

Ehlers is coming off a career year in which he scored 63 points in 69 games. He nearly produced a point-per-game season, but injuries hampered his production. Ehlers can continue where he left off, but he needs to stay in the lineup to earn a raise. 

If the Wild can get him to play up to 75 to 80 games, they’re getting more value. Furthermore, Kaprizov may be able to build chemistry with Ehlers by creating breakaways for him. 

That’s why getting Ehlers can be a game-changer for the Wild. He's a speed demon like Marian Gaborik was, propelling Kaprizov to play at a higher level. We think we've seen the best of Kaprizov, but with Ehlers’ speed being an excellent complementary skill, Kaprizov will be unstoppable. 

This dynamic duo can perform at a high level with a big, rugged, hardworking two-way center in Joel Eriksson Ek. 

Eriksson Ek will block the middle of the ice to set up turnovers as he feeds Kaprizov the puck with Ehlers flying down the wing with a breakout pass. Suddenly, Ehlers is skating all alone, bearing down on the opposing goaltender. The Wild must find a way to upgrade from Johansson to keep him out of a top-six role now that Guerin has money to spend. 

Johansson can still thrive in a depth role, and that’s a bargain for $800,000, even if fans have grown tired of him. Thanks to his transition speed, Johansson can still be useful on the second power play. Is it possible for head coach John Hynes to play Ehlers and Johansson on the second unit? That would instantly make the Wild’s power play better due to how many odd-man rushes they can generate! 

Ehlers hasn't played with a talent like Kaprizov. Connor is the closest talent to Kaprizov on the Jets. However, Ehlers played on Winnipeg’s second line while Gabriel Vilardi spent most of his time with Connor on the top line. Playing with Kaprizov consistently instead of Vladislav Namestnikov and Cole Perfetti will improve Ehlers’ production. Ehlers’ speed is comparable to Mitch Marner’s, but the Wild can’t afford Marner and Kaprizov.

Adding Ehlers would improve the Wild’s top-six because Hynes could move Matt Boldy to the second line. He could help Danila Yurov’s transition to the NHL. The Wild will likely move on from Marco Rossi to improve the top six. Yurov playing with Boldy gives him a head start in replacing Rossi’s production and providing secondary scoring. The Wild might have their own version of Florida Panthers’ Sam Reinhart, who Wayne Gretzky p as the league’s smartest player. 

Yurov can benefit from playing alongside Ehlers on the second power play unit. Yurov will likely play bumper, which will help Yurov as a goalscorer. Yurov can also line up for deflections because David Jiricek will be shooting from the point. Yurov doesn’t have the speed like Ehlers and Johansson have, but he will be in the right place at the right time, which is all that matters. Mats Zuccarello joining makes their power play lethal. 

Ehlers makes the Wild a faster team, and they should add more speed in their lineup instead of bringing back Justin Brazeau. He would provide more skill and consistent scoring than Gustav Nyquist. 

The Wild should give Ehlers a five-year contract worth around $9 million annually to convince Ehlers to sign. If Ehlers weren’t injury-prone, he would likely get $9.5 million, but the Wild need to conserve cap space. Ehlers gets to be Kaprizov’s speedster at even-strength while making the second power play faster by playing with Johansson. The Jets will hate this move because Ehlers will take his game to the next level with a rival team.