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  • The Wild Have Prevailed With Two Hands Tied Behind Their Back

    Image courtesy of Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
    Luke Sims

    By Luke Sims -

    Bill Guerin might have been a little too honest at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season. 

    "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."

    That was after the second season of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts that cost the Minnesota Wild nearly $15 million annually through the 2024-25 season. 

    Despite playing with roughly 30% less cap space than the rest of the NHL, Minnesota is in the thick of the NHL playoff race. The Wild are second in the Central Division and fourth in the NHL with 58 points and a 27-13-4 record. 

    The Wild are 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are three points ahead of the Dallas Stars and three behind the Winnipeg Jets. However, they play in one of the NHL’s most competitive divisions. Four of the top 11 teams in the NHL are also from the Central Division. 

    Minnesota has done all this despite losing Kirill Kaprizov, Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, and Jakub Lauko. That’s arguably four of your top six players on the team. Most teams cannot survive something like that, but the Wild have prevailed. 

    Jacob Middleton, Mats Zuccarello, Yakov Trenin, and Joel Eriksson Ek were also hurt earlier this season. The injury bug has been so bad that the Wild signed a backup goalie Dylan Ferguson to ensure they would have someone to play because Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt were hurt. However, he also got injured! 

    It seems like every time the Wild get a player back from injury, another one goes out. 

    That has forced players like Marco Rossi, Jake Middleton, and Zach Bogosian into higher roles in the lineup where they’ve excelled. Bogosian has had to fill in on the top pair some nights. While he hasn’t produced like a top-pair defenseman, Bogosian has been a serviceable player in this role. 

    Rossi has fit in as a first-line center alongside Matt Boldy and Zuccarello. Rossi has 38 points in 44 games centering Minnesota’s top line. He also has been productive on the Wild’s powerplay they sorely need. He leads the team’s powerplay with two goals and three points over the last month. 

    Middleton has been Minnesota’s de-facto No. 1 defender while Faber, Spurgeon, and Brodin have been hurt, and he looks like a top-pairing defenseman. He has 15 points in 33 games while logging the most minutes on the team. 

    Ryan Hartman has also stepped up in a larger role. He went 18 games without a point but has seven in his last eight. 

    Guerin has brought all these players in and has counted on them to produce when Minnesota must use its depth. The Wild have proven they can win without their offensive and defensive superstars. 

    The Wild had trouble beating the best teams in the Central. The news of Kaprizov’s injury hit before a game in Dallas. However, the Wild secured a thrilling win with Faber’s overtime goal. 

    Still, the Wild had lost four of their last five games until that point. 

    They lost Spurgeon after Zachary L’Heureux slew-footed him immediately before a road trip out east. However, the Wild shocked everyone and won back-to-back games against the Washington Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes. They followed that up with a comeback win in St. Louis for their fourth win in a row. 

    However, Faber got hurt in the St. Louis Blues game, leaving the Wild without their three best defenders. Since then, the Wild have gone 1-2, with two losses to the red-hot Avalanche and the league-leading Vegas Golden Knights. Their lone win came against a young San Jose Sharks team. 

    The schedule doesn’t get easier. The Edmonton Oilers come to town, and then the Wild have to travel to Colorado for a rematch with the Avs. Then, a feisty Utah team makes their way to St. Paul. 

    Kaprizov and Faber should return before the end of the month, with Brodin and Spurgeon soon to follow. Guerin tied one hand behind his back, but the hockey gods tied the second. Now, the Wildmusto pull off a Houdini act to maintain home-ice advantage in the playoffs. 

    All stats and data via CapWages, HockeyDB, and Evolving Hockey, unless otherwise noted.

    By Luke Sims  

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    Imyourhuckleberry

    As anticipated, not long ago due to injuries, the Wild have slipped to 6th in the conference in points percentage. They are still a bit ahead of Colorado, and 8th place Calgary is relatively far behind.

    Kaprizov and Faber seem pretty close to return, and Spurgeon might not be far behind, so that could stabilize them and stop them from falling further, but climbing back to the top 4 could be a tall task.

    If they Wild can stay healthy the last few months after these guys return, it's possible they could climb back to #4, but more time lost for key players could have them fighting just to make the playoffs.

     

    Johansson, placed on IR, has to miss at least seven days from the time of injury, so the soonest he’s eligible to come off IR is next Thursday’s game against Utah. Ohgren returns!

    Edited by Imyourhuckleberry
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    mnfaninnc

    Ohgren is a 2nd half player. It is very likely that Ohgren may step in and not look back. I think he will offer more hustle and better corner play than Johansson can give. 

    Any news on Kaprizov being back for Saturday? Faber? That would be a tremendous boost if they can come back. Lauko is already activated.

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    Thatoneguy
    41 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

    Ohgren is a 2nd half player. It is very likely that Ohgren may step in and not look back. I think he will offer more hustle and better corner play than Johansson can give. 

    Any news on Kaprizov being back for Saturday? Faber? That would be a tremendous boost if they can come back. Lauko is already activated.

    I read an article this morning saying Kap could be playing tomorrow night. I haven't seen anything on Faber. 

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    Thatoneguy
    2 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

    Ohgren had 2 goals and an assist in his last game with the Iowa Wild and could slide into a top 6 role for the Wild immediately upon his return.

    I hope they give him a shot to play a scoring role instead of stuffing him on the 4th line. I'd like to see him play in NoJo's spot on the 2nd line. 

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    Imyourhuckleberry

    Russo confirms the plan is for Ohgren on line #2, and a Faber return Saturday!

    1. Boldy-Rossi-Zuccarello

    2. Ohgren-Eriksson Ek-Hartman

    3. Foligno-Gaudreau-Trenin

    4. Shore-Khusnutdinov-Lauko

    Gaunce

    1. Middleton-Faber

    2. Chisholm-Bogosian

    3. Merrill-Jiricek

    Dermott

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    mnfaninnc

    This doesn't look like Kaprizov is returning 🤬.

    When Brodin gets back, I'd like to see him and Jiricek become a pair. I think you'll find that Jiricek becomes far more reliable with Brodin at his side. 

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    M_Nels
    36 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

    On another note, since narrative and perception is being discussed, we also have the perception of being a boring team. Visually we are boring until the '78s come on. I know it's like a broken record, but changing visually the uniform will help change the perception. We need that. 

    This is another point we’re going to have to agree to disagree. 
     

    I'm in the camp that those colors are of an era past that ended shitty and the Wild have their own “identity”. The 78’s are fun every once in awhile but I do not want them full time. I think the NHL has weird jersey rules IIRC but the Wild desperately need to bring back the script jersey, that was a beaut. 
     

    Winning on the big stage changes perception more than uniform colors every will. 
     

    See this is why I like these boards, differing opinions but for the most part it’s all civil. I just wish it was a tad more mobile friendly, same with HF. Reddit is the easiest for mobile but I’m on there less and less, that place is a cesspool. 

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    mnfaninnc
    2 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

    See this is why I like these boards, differing opinions but for the most part it’s all civil. I just wish it was a tad more mobile friendly, same with HF. Reddit is the easiest for mobile but I’m on there less and less, that place is a cesspool. 

    I have to comment on a PC. If I used my phone, I'd have gone through probably 5 or 6 by now just from throwing them out of frustration.

    3 minutes ago, M_Nels said:

    I'm in the camp that those colors are of an era past that ended shitty and the Wild have their own “identity”. The 78’s are fun every once in awhile but I do not want them full time.

    Take a look around the rinks and see which colors stand out. The '78s (though I prefer the '80s) stand out great, both home and away. The forest greens blend into the chairs, and the whites just look really stale. 

    On a personal note, the '78s as a design (not the colors) is a premium jersey, and at the very least you could change the colors but keep the design. It would be my preference to do the '78s using a purple and turquoise which would also be quite vivid, but the green and yellows have a bit of history. When I moved out of state in '84, the team was still doing well, they didn't fail until the '90s, but I think even then they were playing in black and greens. 

    Visually, though, the change of colors suggests a new era and a new team in town. Since we will be transitioning to a more offensive team, flashy uniforms is what we want. We want the team to get noticed. Out with the stale and in with the flash. This will help nationally. 

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