By Kalisha Turnipseed -
The Minnesota Wild are officially out of cap hell. Wild fans take a deep breath. However, don't relax too much. The Wild have cap space to work with, but will still have a roster crunch. Therefore, they will likely consider moving Marco Rossi.
The Wild must extend their top star, Kirill Kaprizov, and starting goaltender Filip Gustavsson. Kaprizov has been instrumental to Minnesota’s offense and will likely be a Hart Trophy finalist. However, he won't win the Hart because he was injured from January to March 2025.
Gustavsson should be a Vezina trophy candidate. He's been instrumental to the Wild’s defense, helping them make the playoffs and put up a fight against the Vegas Golden Knights. He's showing Jesper Wallstedt what it takes to be a difference-maker in the NHL.
Neither of them will be cheap. Kaprizov will likely get anywhere from $12 million to $14 million on his new extension. Maybe $15 million because of owner Craig Leipold’s commitment to keeping him here, avoiding another Marian Gaborik situation.
Gustavsson could earn around double his current salary ($3.75 million). His playoff stats are notable. He has played 11 games with the Wild and has posted a 2.53 goals against average (GAA) and a save percentage of 91.7% (SV%).
He's likely getting at least $5.75 million when negotiations start. Who knows where negotiations go? Could he get $7.5 million (double of $3.75 million)? He could make around what Jeremy Swayman (Boston Bruins) and Linus Ullmark (Ottawa Senators) are making ($8.25 million).
Guerin will need to be strategic when handling a Marco Rossi trade. The Wild relegated Rossi to the fourth line in the playoffs, and he’ll likely want another role elsewhere. Guerin wants a big center to replace Rossi, but he isn't going to get that in a 1-for-1 trade.
How about the Wild target an Austrian right-shot defenseman in David Reinbacher for Rossi, an Austrian center?
Reinbacher is a 6-foot-3, 207 lbs. version of Jared Spurgeon and Brock Faber mixed together. Montreal Canadiens’ head coach Martin St. Louis can be someone who can help Rossi take his game to the next level.
He understands what it means to be an undersized forward in the NHL, while Guerin doesn’t. Guerin was a 6-foot-2 power forward who played 18 years in the league. Reinbacher has the size Guerin wants, while St. Louis can show Rossi how to excel as a smaller player in the NHL. Each player is a perfect fit for both teams.
Remember when the Tampa Bay Lightning traded Jonathan Drouin to the Montreal Canadiens for Mikhail Sergachev? Sergachev helped the Lightning win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2019-20 and 2020-21.
Meanwhile, Drouin didn't become a franchise player for the Canadiens. Sergachev isn't a franchise defenseman, but a top-four safety net who can play a heavy two-way game. That's how I visualize Reinbacher.
I love what David Jiricek brings, but the Wild won’t expect him to shut down top stars. They will ask him to match their offense as much as possible and play the body. Faber and Reinbacher are better shutdown defenders, and that's perfectly fine. Jiricek can thrive with Jonas Brodin, one of the league’s best shutdown defenders!
Brodin is showing signs of becoming more injury-prone as he ages, so the Wild must monitor his minutes. Someone like Reinbacher is the perfect candidate to alleviate the pressure on Brodin.
Wild captain Jared Spurgeon has two more seasons remaining with the Wild, and the 35-year-old defenseman isn't getting any younger or bigger. There was a time when the Wild would consider moving Spurgeon, but only if they were going to replace him immediately. Now, they must consider a succession plan.
Spurgeon played well against the Golden Knights, blocking shots and breaking up odd-man rushes. While Spurgeon is an elite positional defender, Vegas exposed his weaknesses by moving him from in front of the net. Reinbacher can replace what Spurgeon offered for years to come. That will relieve the burden on Faber as a top-pairing defenseman. We've seen Faber have a sophomore slump because he played excessive minutes.
Reinbacher is cost-effective when the team needs to extend Kaprizov and Gustavsson. Their window is open to win. No more excuses. Reinbacher should improve the team's penalty kill by playing with Brodin on the second unit while Jake Middleton and Faber play the top unit.
Reinbacher plays physical in the slot and is positionally sound. He wears No. 64 for the Laval Rocket (AHL). The last player to wear No. 64 for the Wild was Mikael Granlund. How about Reinbacher gives us great new vibes with No. 64?
Rossi can thrive with new Russian star Ivan Demidov. Much like Rossi has seen some success with Kaprizov, but the Wild prefer to put Joel Eriksson Ek or Ryan Hartman on that line. He also would likely play with speedster Alex Newhook. Now you give Rossi a highly-touted Russian, the Habs’ version of Kaprizov, and a speedy Swiss Army knife. You can trust St. Louis to put Rossi in the best position to succeed. He’d be a reliable center behind Nick Suzuki.
Trading for Reinbacher gives Zeev Buium a safety net and a big defenseman to play beside. Reinbacher brings long-term stability, unlike Zach Bogosian, who is at the end of his playing career. He's at the Pat Maroon stage. Buium offers exciting puck movement and offensive skill, while Reinbacher brings secondary puck skills and is an intelligent defensive player with a physical frame.
Placing Reinbacher and Buium on the Wild’s bottom pair gives head coach John Hynes a new advantage. He can reunite Middleton and Faber on his top pair as his main shutdown pair, with the support of two elite depth pairs. The Wild landed Faber by trading Fiala. Now Rossi can get the Wild Reinbacher, who can be Faber 2.0 with a bigger and more physical frame.
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