Time for some Wild hockey as the boys open their 2022-23 campaign with a featured home tilt vs. one of the Eastern Conference heavyweights, the New York Rangers.
Looking at the latest version of the Minnesota Wild there is a lot to like and some question marks that will need to be answered.
Let's begin with the constant, which is Kirill Kaprizov is one of the NHL's premier talents, and he is just scratching the surface of what he can become. Last season's Wild franchise record setting season in every offensive category (47 goals, 61 assists, 108 points) in his first full NHL season, has created quite the buzz around the State of Hockey, that bigger things are in store moving forward.
The 2021-22 season was one that saw many Wild players teach new career highs in offensive production, while the team achieved its best regular season record with 53 wins and 113 standings points. They set a new franchise single season mark in goals scored with 310 on their way to becoming one of the more entertaining teams to watch on a nightly basis.
This all has come in a remarkably short turn around. During the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season that saw the Wild just barely scrape into the altered "bubble" playoff format, the Wild were an old and slow team, that appeared to be headed for a near certain sell off and rebuild.
Owner, Craig Leipold, was adamant about not tearing it down and have to put the fans through the long process of a rebuild. Bill Guerin had been hired prior to the first COVID-19 shortened season and he was working his plan to systematically rework the Wild roster.
Guerin got a huge shot in the arm with Kaprizov's long awaited arrival for the truncated 2021 season that saw the first signs of the Wild transformation. Kevin Fiala who had been acquired by the previous Wild GM, Paul Fenton, now had another scoring threat, and a healthy Mats Zuccarello (Free Agent signed by Fenton prior to his firing in Summer 2019).
That Wild team surprised many with an up tempo game that led to their 3rd place finish in what was the Honda West Division, winning 35 games in the 56 game season.
The Summer of 2021 arrived and Guerin continued his work with his boldest move(s) yet, with the abrupt end to the Suter/Parise eea and the dual buyouts. That of course was met with criticism from many stating the obvious cap penalties the Wild would incur primarily in the second, third, and fourth seasons of the buyouts.
As we have discussed many times here that Bill Guerin has a plan and the buyouts made and make sense even more now. It was clear that the Wild needed to turn over the locker room to make any significant move forward as an organization. That was part A of the buyouts.
Part B of the buyouts come as a result of Bill Guerin's most important decision/hire of his Wild GM career. That was the hiring of Judd Brackett as the Director of Amateur Scouting. Brackett has overseen three drafts with the Wild which has stockpiled the organization with some top tier prospects, the first of those is Marco Rossi who will begin his official Minnesota Wild career tonight (he briefly played 2 games last season).
In addition to Rossi, the Wild have Marat Khusnutdinov, Ryan O'Rourke, Daemon Hunt, Pavel Novak, Jesper Wallstedt, Carson Lambos, Jack Peart, Liam Ohgren, and Danila Yurov in the pipeline, giving Bill Guerin assets to use as bargaining chips and also feeders to the big club on entry level deals.
The plan is that these younger skilled players will perform much better than the aging Suter and Parise ever would have and when it is time to give them a raise the bulk of the Suter/Parise cap hit will be in the rear view mirror.
Another piece of that plan is Matt Boldy, who was promoted to the big club midway through last season and took off immediately. Boldy scored 15 goals and had 39 pomts in just 47 games. Boldy, the Wild's first pick in the 2019 draft is a pure goal scorer who protects the puck well and plays the full 200 foot game. Boldy found and immediate chemistry with Kevin Fiala last season, and with Fiala in LA now there is some question how this will impact the young Wild winger.
All bets are that Boldy continues to progress and that he was the guy that fueled Fiala's strong second half just as much as it was the other way around. Boldy will have a new linemate in free agent Sam Steel to replace Fiala on the line with Freddy Gaudreau. Boldy has produced at every level including his first go round last year in the World's best hockey league, so no reason to expect anything less from the Wild's second year star winger.
Mats Zuccarello has thrived in Minnesota the last two seasons playing complement, mentor, and best friend to Kirill Kaprizov. Zuccarello was signed by Fenton in July 2019 shortly before Fenton was relieved of his duties as Wild GM. That signing was widely questioned both for term (5 years) and the contract value ($30M, $6M AAV). Through year one of the deal Zuccarello did little to quiet the critics.
Prior to the start of the 2021 NHL season, Zuccarello had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his arm that had plagued him the entire previous season (his first with the Wild). Now a healthy Zuccarello emerged and teamed with the Wild's prized rookie, Kaprizov, in early 2021. The two have been a fixture on the Wild's top line and feed off of each other like no duo the Wild have ever had before.
Ryan Hartman, another of Fenton's free agent signings in July 2019, proved to be a player that was capable of playing up and down the lineup. Hartman was originally signed as a depth forward who could bring some feistiness when needed with some offensive upside having scores 19 goals with the Blackhawks back in 2017. Hartman saw the opportunity during the 2021 season, that the Wild were desperate for production out of the center position.
Hartman was given the chance to play top line minutes and he seized the opportunity locking in the top line center position between Kaprizov and Zuccarello. His 34 goals and 65 points were proof that the former first round pick was much more than a depth forward. We cannot overlook the fact that Hartman is signed for two more years at $1.7 per season, providing the Wild with one of the best bargain contracts in the league.
The Wild are are a skilled team for sure, but at the core of this Wild club is a big and tough style of play that is led by the line of Joel Eriksson Ek, Marcus Foligno, and Jordan Greenway. Eriksson Ek is the top NHL shutdown center who agitated the NHL's best nightly without taking very many penalties of hisbown. Joel is adept at drawing the ire of his opponents and often leads to the Wild heading to the man advantage. Foligno is a true leader on the ice and in room and is the player that knows the pulse of game and when to get the sparks to fly to ignite his team. Greenway is a mountain of a man who has learned that in order for him to be successful he must play physical every night.
Greenway will miss the start of the season which opens the door for Tyson Jost, who was acquired last season at the deadline, to establish himself. Jost is looking to establish himself with an expanded role and he is also inbthe final year of his contract. That combination can prove to work well for both Jost and the Wild.
The Wild defense has long been the strong point of the club and this year's corps may be their best collective unit yet. Captain, Jared Spurgeon, is still the barometer for the Wild, but Jonas Brodin is the top blueliner on the squad. Brodin draws the opposition's top line assignment along with his longtime partner and best bud, Matt Dumba.
Dumba is also entering the final year of his contract and will once again be the topic of trade talks amongst hockeybscribes. Dumba has put the talk of contract to rest as he is fully focused on winning Wild hockey. Bill Guerin is the first Wild GM to show faith in Dumba, first with the move away from Suter to protect Dumba and then having the "A" proudly sewn onto #24's sweater as an alternate captain.
Jake Middleton was acquired at last season's trade deadline to solidify the Wild defense and to provide Spurgeon with a perfect complement of size and toughness. Middleton was resigned for three years at a very reasonable AAV of $2.45M/yr.
Alex Goligoski was also resigned at a modest $2M per season for the next two years. Calen Addison has finally been given his opportunity after paying his dues in Iowa since being acquired back in 2020 in the deal that sent Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh. Addison is expected to give the Wild powerplay a boost as his offensive upside from the backend will be a welcomed addition.
Jon Merrill, another of Guerin's subtle upgrades at reasonable deals (3 years at $1.2M/yr) will begin the season onbthe shelf but has been cleared for contact so his return may not be that far off.
Andrej Sustr was signed to round out the D corps and the 6'7" 217 lb former Lightning and Ducks blueliner gives the Wild some added NHL experience depth. Sustr will start the season with the Wild at least until Merrill is healthy.
Goaltending is firmly in the hands of Marc-Andre Fleury as he was re-signed for two years at $3.5 per year. Fleury was brought in last season at the deadline to provide stability between the pipes. Although the Wild did notnadvance past the Blues in the opening round last season, the team came together as they felt the belief ofbthe front office in then, primarily due to Fleury's presence.
Filip Gustavsson was acquired for Cam Talbot and he enters the season in a contract year himself, with a lot to prove. Playing behind the Wild team and teaming with Fleury can only be a positive for Gustavsson as the 24 year old looks to hit his stride in the NHL.
Jesper Wallstedt is the Wild's goalie of the future, and he will get his firstvtaste of North American hockey in Iowa this season. The plan in goal is also unfolding and Marc-Andre Fleury is looking to cement his legacy with the Wild.
Prediction for the Wild:
Definitely a playoff team. In my opinion they are the 2nd best team in the Central behind Colorado, but I do believe that the Wild coachingnstaff learned last season that home ice is not as important as the matchups may be.
Kirill Kaprizov will top 50 goals and push the NHL scoring leaders.
It's Always Hockey Day in The State of Hockey!