By Tom Schreier -
You’ve probably seen the “Not Weird. Wild.” commercials. Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello ride a tandem bicycle and eat PB&Js. The pillow fight in Matt Boldy’s hotel room. Brock Faber’s mother reminds him to wear his glasses as he waits for the Gus Bus.
They’re pretty weird but kinda fun. However, the problem is that the Minnesota Wild have taken on the persona of their advertising campaign.
- They traded a second-round pick for 35-year-old Gustav Nyquist in what’s likely a lost season. That’s weird.
- Trotting Kaprizov out to play the nameless Utah team before he has surgery? Kinda strange.
- Trying to carry three goalies while in cap hell and messing with Jesper Wallstedt’s confidence? Doesn’t make a lot of sense.
On the one hand, the Wild look like they have a good young core as they escape the worst of their Zach Parise-Ryan Suter buyout penalties. Kaprizov, Faber, and Boldy are bona fide stars. Marco Rossi and Joel Eriksson Ek are viable top-6 centers. Minnesota has risen Vinnie Hinostroza from the dead!
The Wild also have Corey Pronman’s second-ranked prospect pool. They will likely make the playoffs, giving their green players valuable experience. The cap is rising faster than expected, accentuating Boldy and Eriksson Ek’s contract value while covering for some overzealous extensions.
Still, the Wild are paying Ryan Hartman, who’s recently gone from glue guy to unglued, $8 million over the next two years. Perhaps his recent eight-game suspension will serve as a wake-up call. However, it’s also possible he’s lost control, and Minnesota should have offloaded him a year ago.
Minnesota also would have benefitted from extending Rossi after his All-Rookie season last year. With the rising cap, they could have gotten him at value. That would have given them the flexibility to use him as a third-line center if Charlie Stramel pans out while assuring they have two viable top-6 centers if he doesn’t.
Rossi has already matched his career-high 21 goals from last season while looking like a top-line center. Once the season concludes, the Wild must either extend him on a market-rate deal under the new cap or offer him a bridge contract. If they bridge him, they are assuming that Stramel will pan out. Otherwise, they’ll have to spend a lot to extend him or let him leave in free agency.
Stramel only had 20 points in his first two seasons at Wisconsin. However, he finished with 25 in 34 games after reuniting with his US National Development Team coach, Adam Nightingale, at Michigan State this year. Still, the Wild reached for the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Stramel at the draft, and he may develop into a depth center.
Even if Stramel becomes a star, the Wild have a strange approach to player development. Despite his rookie production in the AHL, they didn’t trust Boldy after he came over from Boston College. They brought Rossi up for 19 games as a rookie, then never recalled him after he had 51 points in 53 games with Iowa two years ago. They will likely take the same approach with top prospects like Stramel and Zeev Buium.
Guerin bought out Parise and Suter in July 2021 but wanted to maintain a competitive roster. Since then, they’ve twice lost in the first round and missed the playoffs last year. Worse yet, Guerin held onto Dean Evason after Peter DeBoer outcoached him with the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars, only to fire him when the team started 5-10-4 two years ago.
Minnesota was competing with the Winnipeg Jets for the Central Division at Thanksgiving. Three months later, they’re battling to stay out of a Wild Card spot and made a desperate trade for a 35-year-old former player.
Injuries have been a factor, but the Boston Bruins raised concerns about Minnesota’s medical staff after Charlie McAvoy played through an AC joint injury and suffered from an infection at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Those may be valid complaints, given they allowed Eriksson Ek to play on a broken leg in the 2023 playoffs and Kaprizov to play before a major surgery this season.
To summarize:
- The Wild bought out Parise and Suter and tried to win with limited cap space instead of tanking for top picks. Unless they rally this season, they haven’t gotten to the second round since 2014-15.
- Guerin has locked in Boldy, Eriksson Ek, and a core of aging, declining players who haven’t advanced in the playoffs. Meanwhile, he played hardball with his franchise player, Kaprizov, and dragged his feet with Rossi.
- Minnesota’s prospect pool is its greatest strength. However, the Wild could have doubled down on it by bottoming out to get better picks. Instead, they’ve tried to win while in cap hell and recently traded a second-round pick for a player in his mid-30s. Furthermore, they’ve prioritized veteran experience over young players with upside.
The Wild will benefit from increased cap space after this season. Still, they won’t change their fate unless they change their methods. Minnesota will need cost-controlled players with upside after extending Kaprizov under the new cap. They already have $75.9 million committed to next year’s roster, and most of their core has long-term deals with no-trade clauses.
Knowing what we know now, how they’ve navigated cap hell was kind of weird. Then again, it’s the Wild.
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