By Cray McCally -
As the 2025-26 hockey season approaches, whether the Minnesota Wild have success scoring will largely depend on the lines that John Hynes chooses to form the nucleus of his team. Star forward Kirill Kaprizov will anchor the first line. Still, the Wild must get offensive production and solid defense from their second line.
On the second unit, I’d like to see rising star Matt Boldy on left wing, Marco Rossi at center, and new acquisition Vladimir Tarasenko on right wing. That combination of players gives the Wild a nice blend of skill, speed, and scoring ability. It would feature two players entering their primes, Boldy and Rossi, and one who provides veteran leadership and savvy.
Matt Boldy took significant steps last year in fulfilling his potential, becoming a nearly point-a-game player and playing well in both the Four Nations Cup and the playoffs. Boldy continued his ascent in the lineup since becoming a full-time player in the second half of the 2021-22 season, with a team-leading 27 goals and 46 assists. He seems poised to take on a bigger leadership role this season, and the Wild will count on him being another dynamic forward besides Kaprizov.
Marco Rossi’s career has taken a bit longer to develop than Boldy’s (both are 24 years old). Still, his 24 goals and 36 assists last season made him the Wild’s second leading scorer behind Boldy due to Kaprizov’s long injury-related absence. Like most European centers, Rossi is a skilled playmaker and creates opportunities with his on-ice quickness. However, Hynes seems to have doubts about Rossi's defense, as evidenced by his demotion to the fourth line in the playoffs.
The addition of veteran Vladimir Tarasenko on right wing could help Rossi learn to play a more defensively oriented game while still being an effective top-six forward. By pairing Tarasenko with Boldy and Rossi, he might regain some of the scoring touch he had before last season with the Detroit Red Wings. He’s won two Stanley Cups and will be another veteran leader on the squad.
If Tarasenko can regain some of his scoring touch, he could meaningfully help the Wild improve offensively, especially as scoring depth from the right-wing position seems to be one of the Wild’s weaknesses. Crafty winger Mats Zuccarello will give the Wild a creative playmaker with whomever he plays with, while Vinny Hinostroza is a rugged two-way player well suited for the fourth line.
The future holds some promising young forwards in the pipeline, like Swede Liam Ohgren, Russian Danila Yurov, and Canadian Hunter Haight. Given the near certainty of injuries over the NHL’s grueling season, one or more of these young players may get their shot this year with the Wild.
The Wild’s third and fourth lines contain solid veterans like Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman, Marcus Johansson, and Hinostroza, while players like Tyler Pitlick and Yakov Trenin provide the team with the depth that they’ve lacked in the past couple of years. If those two lines could generate just a few more goals in pivotal situations, the Wild would have a much better chance of improving in the Western Conference standings.
While Kiril Kaprizov’s contract status has dominated the headlines this offseason, signing Marco Rossi to a three-year, $15 million extension may become pivotal to the Wild’s future success. Rossi and first-line center Joel Eriksson Ek give them a pair of Top 6 forwards whose best seasons are right in front of them. If Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov can bounce back from injury-plagued seasons last year, the Wild could easily be in the top half of the standings.
Like spring for baseball, early fall presents endless opportunities for NHL players and teams. Like many teams, the Wild decided to keep its free agent spending to a minimum and retain that money in-house.
Extending Marco Rossi’s contract and signing Vladimir Tarasenko in free agency were their most important moves so far this year. Pairing those two together with Matt Boldy would give them an excellent second line going into the 2025-26 season.
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