Offseason Keys: Minnesota Wild

As teams are eliminated from the playoffs, it means that the offseason has arrived for several more squads.  Having covered the teams that weren’t a part of the NHL’s return, we shift our focus to the ones that have been ousted.  Next up is a look at Minnesota.

This season was another one that could be classified as same old, same old for the Wild.  They weren’t bad enough to be in the lottery nor were they good enough to be in the playoffs under the normal format.  They ended their regular season on a better note following the coaching change from Bruce Boudreau to Dean Evason but it didn’t translate to much success in the play-in against Vancouver.  GM Bill Guerin certainly has some work to do over the coming months which will include these key items.

Add An Impact Center

This one has been at the top of their to-do list for a while now and unfortunately for Minnesota, this isn’t the best year to try to get one.  The UFA market is bereft of top pivots and trading for a top liner is probably something they’re not going to be able to do either.

But even at this point, a capable second liner would be an improvement on their current situation.  Mikko Koivu has seen better days and is a pending unrestricted free agent.  Even if he returns, he’s better suited for a bottom-six role.  Alex Galchenyuk, who has spent a lot of time on the wing and was included as salary ballast in a trade in February, is one of the better centers in this UFA class which says everything you need to know about that group of free agents.  He had some good moments after joining the Wild and it’s possible that he could return.  But given how his last couple of years have gone, that can’t be the only move they make at that position.

On top of that, Eric Staal is only a year away from UFA eligibility.  He’ll be 37 early in the 2021-22 campaign so he’s not going to be in the picture for long, even if he’s brought back.

This will be an interesting situation to follow.  The Wild simply have to make a move (or two) to shore up this position.  Their hand is being forced by their free agent situation and realistically, their only option is to trade for one and other general managers won’t be lining up to throw Guerin a lifeline.  But one way or the other, they need to add at least one notable center in the coming months.

Determine Brodin’s Future

Jonas Brodin has been a key cog on Minnesota’s back end for his entire eight-year NHL career.  However, he has frequently been involved in trade speculation for the last few years.  Minnesota has been looking to shake things up for a while now and an impact defenseman would certainly do that although any move would definitely leave a hole on their back end as well.

The 27-year-old has one year left on his contract which has opened the window for contract extension talks.  Although his offensive numbers typically aren’t the highest (though he had 28 points this season, a new career best), his defensive play and ability to log heavy minutes will have him in line to earn a nice raise on his $4.167MM AAV.

However, the Wild have three blueliners locked up on long-term deals already with Jared Spurgeon and Ryan Suter both making a little over $7.5MM while Mathew Dumba checks in at $6MM.  Can they afford to add a fourth defender at or around that price point?

If the answer is no or they at least can’t agree to terms on a new deal, the time may be right to move Brodin after all.  His below-market deal will be appealing to teams that are looking to make a splash but have limited cap room to work with.  An in-season trade would be harder to pull off with many teams likely to be capped out by then so if there’s no momentum on an extension, a move may be in his future.  That would be one way to try to fill their void down the middle.

Add Goalie Help

A year ago, it seemed unlikely that this would be on Minnesota’s needs list at this time.  Devan Dubnyk was coming off of a solid season and Alex Stalock’s three-year deal was set to kick in.  How quickly things can change.  Dubnyk’s campaign was nothing short of a disaster to the point where a buyout or a trade with considerable salary retention (the maximum is 50%) both have to be on the table.  Stalock did well as a backup but when he was put into the number one role, he faltered a bit.  He’s fine as the second option but bringing Dubnyk back would be risky.

The Wild have Kaapo Kahkonen in the system who is coming off of an outstanding season with AHL Iowa.  However, even though he’s already 24, he only has a couple of years in North America under his belt and is still exempt from waivers.  Another year in the minors to give him some extra development time certainly wouldn’t hurt while handing him the starting role in Minnesota would also be quite risky.

Whether it’s a platoon goalie off the free agent market or someone via trade, it’s hard to envision Minnesota trying to contend next season while returning their same goalie tandem from this season.  Dubnyk’s deal only has one more year left on it anyway so this was something that was going to have to be addressed in the near future.  That time has come a year earlier than expected.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.