The Wild Have Prevailed With Two Hands Tied Behind Their Back

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.