By Chris Schad -
The Minnesota Wild were searching for offense last year. They were 21st in goals scored during the 2023-24 season, and they needed a player who could turn their second line into a formidable threat.
As with any need over the past couple of seasons, the Wild needed to address it on a budget due to the $14.7 million cap penalty they incurred after buying out Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. The Wild had to get creative to find offense, and rumors centered around winger Patrik Laine.
Laine was a polarizing player who flashed a high ceiling early in his career, but injuries and a stint in the NHL’s Players' Assistance Program made acquiring him a risk. His eventual $8.7 million salary made him too pricy for the Wild, and the Columbus Blue Jackets traded him to the Montreal Canadiens.
The Wild went on to have a rotating crew at wing, and none of them provided the scoring punch that Bill Guerin believed Laine would provide. Fast forward to today, and the Wild are placing a similar bet on Vladimir Tarasenko, who could become Minnesota’s mulligan for missing out on Laine one year ago.
It’s interesting to think what would have happened if the Wild had the cap space to acquire Laine. A knee injury suffered in the preseason limited Laine to 52 games. Still, he scored 20 goals and recorded 33 points to lead Montreal to the playoffs. Had he played in a full season, Laine would have had 31.5 goals and 52 points, which is the kind of scoring punch the Wild were missing on their second line last season.
The Wild had a pair of top wings. Matt Boldy finished with 73 points, and Kirill Kaprizov finished with 56 despite missing half the season with a lower-body injury. But outside of Mats Zuccarello (19 goals, 54 points), the Wild didn’t have a scoring threat on the second line.
The next-highest scoring winger was Marcus Foligno, who finished with 14 goals and 29 points. His physicality and occasional offensive ability are a fit on the third line. Still, like many of the Wild’s players during the buyout era in recent seasons, they elevated Foligno one line higher than he should have been playing.
Foligno played with Ryan Hartman and Zuccarello on the second line in the playoffs, and Minnesota didn’t have the firepower to keep up in a six-game series loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
Placing Laine in that role could have made things different. He's not the offensive threat he was when he scored 44 goals and recorded 70 points as a teenager during the 2017-18 season. Still, he showed he could put the puck in the net at least, netting 20-plus goals in three of the past four years while also playing an average of 54 games in those seasons.
Laine has some shortcomings defensively, but Zuccarello, Hartman, and Laine would have provided a legitimate second scoring line. Meanwhile, Foligno could be in a more suitable role on the third line. But the Wild never traded for Laine, leaving them with the same issue they had a year ago.
Here's where Tarasenko comes into play.
Like with Laine, fans are reasonably skeptical about Tarasenko. He’s scored 20 or more goals twice over the past seven seasons. His last 30-goal campaign came during the 2021-22 season, when he scored 34 times for the St. Louis Blues. Tarasenko will turn 34 in December, making him seven years older than Laine. Still, the Wild are hoping he can serve the same role that they were trying to fill at this time last year.
Minnesota's top line seems to be set early in camp with Kaprizov teaming with Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy. But Zuccarello's injury has already shaken up the second line. Zuccarello's injury has allowed Liam Ohgren to step in on the second line, and Tarasenko a chance to play with Joel Eriksson Ek.
The line has already drawn rave reviews and had head coach John Hynes complimenting Tarasenko’s game during the early days of training camp.
“Vladdy, from what I see…I think he’s tracking both sides of the puck,” Hynes said via The Athletic’s Michael Russo. “I see him getting in on the forecheck. I see him tracking. But I think that his ability to make some plays has been impressive to me, as well. I think he’s a guy that seems like he knows what he’s going to do with the puck before he gets it.”
Tarasenko may not have been the big, flashy acquisition many were hoping for this offseason. The Wild may also find themselves in the same position next summer, because Tarasenko will be a free agent after this season. However, his skill set is similar to the one Laine would have brought to the Wild one year ago, and could be an important piece in helping Minnesota score more goals.
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