The Wild Needs Its Veterans To Be Its Backbone

The performance of veteran players often serves as a crucial indicator of success, particularly during critical moments in the season. As the Minnesota Wild look to establish themselves as strong contenders, evaluating their veteran players' capabilities and historical performances becomes essential. 

To highlight this, I will focus on the contributions of veteran players 30 years old and older from Stanley Cup-winning teams, including the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning. We question whether the Wild's veterans can perform at a comparable level and drive the team toward success.

Florida Panthers (2023-24)

• The Panthers had Evan Rodriguez, Nick Cousins, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Dmitry Kulikov, and Sergei Bobrovsky. 
• Rodriguez led the way in scoring with 12 goals and 27 assists for 39 points. 
• Ekman-Larsson came in 2nd with 9 goals and 23 assists for 32 points. 
• Kulikov came in 3rd with a goal and 19 assists for 20 points. 
• Bobrovsky played 58 games, posting a record of 36-17-4 with a 91.5 save percentage (SV%) and 2.37 goals against average (GAA). 

Vegas Golden Knights (2022-23) 

• The Knights had Jonathan Marchessault, Alex Pietrangelo, Alec Martinez, Brayden McNabb, Reilly Smith, William Karlsson, Mark Stone, and Ben Hutton. 
• Marchessault led with 69 points with 42 goals and 27 assists for 69 points. 
• Smith came in 2nd with 26 goals and 30 assists for 56 points. 
• Karlsson came in 3rd with 14 goals and 39 assists for 53 points. 
• Pietrangelo was 4th with 11 goals and 43 assists for 54 points. 
• Stone was 6th with 17 goals and 22 assists for 38 points but played 43 games. Stone leads with the highest point-per-game rate of 0.88 points. 
• Martinez was 7th with 3 goals and 11 assists for 14 points. McNabb finished last with a goal and 16 assists. 

Colorado Avalanche (2021-22) 

• The Avalanche had Nazem Kadri, Erik Johnson, Jack Johnson, Darren Helm, and Darcy Kuemper. 
• Kadri led in scoring with 28 goals and 59 assists for 87 points. 
• Erik Johnson came in 2nd with 8 goals and 17 assists for 25 points. 
• Helm came in 3rd with 7 goals and 8 assists for 15 points. 
• Jack Johnson came in last with a goal and 8 assists. 
• Kuemper played 57 games and posted a record of 37-12-4 with a GAA of 2.54 and a SV% of 92.1. 

Lightning (2020-21)

• The Lightning had Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Alex Killorn, Luke Schenn, Tyler Johnson, and Jan Rutta. 
• Stamkos led the way with a point-per-game rate of 0.89 points (34 points in 38 games). 
• Hedman is 2nd with 45 points in 54 games. Killorn's 3rd with 15 goals and 18 assists. 
• Johnson's 4th with 8 goals and 14 assists for 22 points.
• Maroon's 5th with 4 goals and 14 assists for 18 points. 
• McDonagh's 6th with 4 goals and 8 assists for 12 points. 
• Rutta's 7th with 8 assists. 
• Schenn came in last with 2 goals and 2 assists. 

Lightning (2019-20) 

• The Lightning had McDonagh, Killorn, Maroon, Kevin Shattenkirk, Braydon Coburn, and Maroon. 
• Killorn led with 26 goals and 23 assists for 49 points. 
• Shattenkirk was 2nd with 8 goals and 26 assists for 34 points. 
• Maroon was 3rd with 9 goals and 14 assists for 23 points. 
• McDonagh was 4th with a goal and 11 assists for 12 points. 
• Coburn finished last with a goal and 3 assists for 4 points. 

We can see that the Knights and the 2020-21 Lightning had the most success with their veterans, but the Wild should look to emulate Vegas. Mats Zuccarello, 37, is leading the way with 8 points in 7 games (on pace for 94 points), showing Wild fans he's ageless. While Kaprizov has been his driver, let's acknowledge that Zuccarello’s been a great passenger. 

Ryan Hartman is injured but on pace for 41 goals. We shouldn't expect Hartman to produce 40 goals. Still, he should be an excellent addition to the third line with Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko, where he's producing secondary offense. 

Marcus Johansson is the most questionable veteran because he’s inconsistent. Still, he's been a good passenger with Matt Boldy, playing like a man possessed. Johansson has 3 points in 6 games and is on pace for 41 points. He's been a 0.50 point-per-game scorer in his career, so it won't be a surprise if he continues this stretch. 

Can Jared Spurgeon make a comeback? If so, how will the Wild manage him now? Do they decrease his ice time? The Wild want to make the most of his contract. Spurgeon is an X-factor when he's healthy and one of Minnesota’s most productive players. That will be John Hynes’ biggest challenge. 

Can Jonas Brodin make up for the production Hynes wants from Spurgeon? Brodin currently has 4 points in 7 games and is on pace for 47 points in 82 games. Brodin hasn't played 82 games since the 2018-19 season. 

Jake Middleton's performance is crucial to keeping Brodin healthy. Are we witnessing Middleton's rise? He has 5 points in 7 games and is on pace for 59 points. If Middleton is showing to be more of an offensive producer, then it looks like his contract extension may not be a problem at all. 

Expect Zach Bogosian and Jon Merrill to be low producers. Bogosian will need to continue his stable defense and physical presence, which have been evident throughout his career. 

The Wild have capable veterans. However, it will be challenging for them to match the offensive output and overall contributions of the veterans from the analyzed teams, particularly the Golden Knights and Avalanche. 

The potential exists, especially with players like Zuccarello, Hartman, and Johansson. However, consistency and health will be critical. For the Wild to compete effectively, their veterans must elevate their performances to reach the levels seen in the other strong veteran groups.