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What Your Team Is Thankful For: Minnesota Wild

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2023-24. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Minnesota Wild.

Who are the Wild thankful for?

John Hynes.

Being one of four head coaching changes to take place so far this season, Hynes has helped the Wild turn their season around, albeit as the team still sits seventh in their division and 11th in the Western Conference. Since taking over behind the bench on the team’s November 28th game against the St.Louis Blues, Hynes has led Minnesota to a 7-2-0 record, after starting the year 5-10-4 under former-head coach, Dean Evason.

Time will only tell how well this experiment will work out for the future of the club, as Hynes’ track record should not breed too much confidence in success. As a head coach in the National Hockey League, Hynes left the New Jersey Devils with a 150-159-45 record after five years, and a 134-96-18 record with the Nashville Predators after four years.

Making the playoffs four times in nine seasons in his career, Hynes has a combined playoff record of 4-15, failing to coach his respective team out of the first round, and failing to coach a team higher than fourth place in their respective division. Hopefully, for the sake of the Wild organization, Hynes can not only turn the team around but also his coaching career at the NHL level.

What are the Wild thankful for?

The future still being bright.

Being one of the older teams in the league this year on average, Minnesota still has a young stockpile in the NHL, with Kirill Kaprizov, Marco Rossi, Matt Boldy, Brock Faber, and Connor Dewar all 26 years old or younger. Even with many veterans on the roster, the Wild still have a solid-looking future compared to other teams around the league.

Aside from those already on the roster, Minnesota has players such as Carson Lambos, Charlie Stramel, and Jesper Wallstedt in waiting who should compete for a roster spot as soon as next preseason. Keeping this in mind, although it may not seem like the roster is ready to compete for a Stanley Cup this year, the Wild are set up relatively well for the future.

Nevertheless, having strong young talent does not automatically guarantee success in the future, as Minnesota will need to make sure its internal development can increase the ceilings for each one of these players. Furthermore, the team must also be able to put adequate talent around their prospects once they do graduate in the NHL, ensuring no more wasted seasons at the top level.

What would the Wild be even more thankful for?

More cap space.

The largest factor in Minnesota’s lack of cap space is due to the contract buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, now already three years removed from the monumental move. Still paying the two veterans not to play for the Wild, the team owes the two a combined $14.74MM this season and next, currently accounting for approximately 17.7% of their total cap space.

Impressively, even with the massive cap penalty lasting until the end of next season, Minnesota has still been able to sign high-dollar contracts for Kaprizov, and Boldy, as well as retain core veterans such as Marcus Foligno, Ryan Hartman, and Mats Zuccarello.

It’s a tough situation for the Wild, who likely wouldn’t have had their needle moved forward over the last several years even with Parise and Suter still on the active roster. Nevertheless, one can only wonder that if Minnesota had access to that much more cap space, would this team be anywhere close to the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, or Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference?

What should be on the Wild holiday wish list?

An effective two-way player.

With the goaltending and defense beginning to play much better under the direction of Hynes, it’s hard not to notice the dreadful special teams play coming out of Minnesota this season, with their powerplay (23rd) and penalty kill (29th) both bottom-ten in the league.

Because of their middling powerplay, the Wild have largely struggled to generate much consistent offense over the year, now failing to average even three goals a game. Although the playoffs may be out of reach, the Wild should attempt to pick up a player who can get the job done on both sides of the puck.

One player who may be available and also fit the mold of being able to play on both sides of the special teams is the captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets, Boone Jenner. Although currently injured, Jenner has largely been known for his work ethic, and at 30 years old and three years left on a relatively affordable contract, would likely fit Minnesota’s competitive timeline much better than Columbus’.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Zuccarello Out With Upper-Body Injury

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The Penguins could certainly use the reinforcements, as the team is suffering through a 4-3-3 record in their last 10 games, falling to fifth in the Metropolitan Division, and are currently five points back of the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference as we approach the New Year. In their current stretch, besides their most recent game against the Toronto Maple Leafs two nights ago, each game’s goal differential has been between one and two goals, showing that with improved depth moving forward, Pittsburgh could turn things around rather quickly.

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Jared Spurgeon Won’t Play Tonight, Out Day-To-Day

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The Minnesota Wild have announced that defenseman Jared Spurgeon will miss tonight’s game against the Calgary Flames and will be out of the lineup day-to-day as he is banged up and dealing with a lower-body injury. The Wild captain was activated off the long-term injured reserve just over a month ago after he was originally injured in the pre-season. The 34-year-old has played in just 13 games this year and hasn’t been able to get going offensively as he has just four assists.

The Edmonton, Alberta native is no stranger to being out of the lineup having played just one full 82-game season since breaking into the league back in 2010. Spurgeon has always been undersized at just 5’9” and 166lbs, but despite being undersized and not overly flashy offensively, Spurgeon has remained an incredibly effective two-way defenseman. He continues to be matched up against the top players on opposing teams, and a lot of the Wild’s struggles this season can be attributed to how many games they’ve had to play without Spurgeon.

The Wild are already without the services of Jonas Brodin and could be in tough to replace two of their top defensemen. With Spurgeon, Brodin, and Zach Bogosian out, Minnesota will be looking for someone to step in and eat some of the minutes that have been vacated. That could mean a big bump in ice time for both Brock Faber and Jacob Middleton.

Minnesota sits seventh in the Central Division with a record of 10-12-4 and has been one of the more active teams in recent weeks as they’ve made a handful of trades and initiated a coaching change as well. Currently, the Wild sit four points of the last Wild Card spot in the Western Conference with a pair of games in hand.

Wild Recall Three Players, Move Jonas Brodin To LTIR

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The Wild recalled defensemen Daemon Hunt and Dakota Mermis, as well as forward Vinni Lettieri, from AHL Iowa on Wednesday, per a team release. To make the Wild salary cap-compliant, defenseman Jonas Brodin was moved to long-term injured reserve retroactive to December 9. He remains out indefinitely with an upper-body injury sustained last Friday on a hit from Oilers winger Evander Kane.

Doing so gives the Wild a 23-player active roster for the first time this season. Recalling both Hunt and Mermis gives the Wild eight defensemen to choose from on a nightly basis while Brodin is sidelined, while Lettieri will serve as injury insurance as an extra forward with the Wild slated for an East Coast road trip early next week.

This is the fourth recall of the season for Hunt, the 65th overall pick in the 2020 draft. The 21-year-old last suited up for an NHL game on November 9 and has been a healthy scratch in four out of the nine games he’s been rostered for this season.

Including his NHL debut on October 27 against the Capitals, Hunt’s played in five games, recording three shots on goal while averaging a paltry 8:36 per contest. He’s still looking for his first NHL point. The physical two-way defender is beginning to look comfortable at the professional level, notching a goal, eight assists and a +3 rating in 14 games for AHL Iowa this season. He recorded 11 points in 59 games last season, his first in the pros after completing his junior career with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors.

Mermis comes back up to the NHL promptly after being sent down Monday to extend his waiver-exempt status, which lasts for 30 NHL-rostered days after he last cleared waivers on November 18. The 29-year-old has played in a career-high 14 games this season, recording two goals and three assists while logging 15:29 per game. After playing 13 straight games between October 17 and November 12, Mermis has frequently been a healthy scratch when on the NHL roster and has played just once in the last month, logging 12:37 and a +1 rating against the Oilers on Friday.

Lettieri, 28, returns to Minnesota after a week-long stint in the minors. The high-end minor-league point producer has split the 2023-24 campaign between leagues after signing with his hometown club in the offseason, recording eight points in ten games for AHL Iowa and three points in 13 games for Minnesota. His last appearance came on November 30 against the Predators.

Latest On Minnesota Wild Drafting Strategy

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  • Although we’re far away from the 2024 NHL draft, recent reporting has given some interesting insight into the draft strategy of one NHL team. The Minnesota Wild raised some eyebrows at the 2023 NHL Draft when they spent the 21st overall selection on divisive center Charlie Stramel, passing on more consensus picks such as the USNTDP’s Gabriel Perreault. With Perreault now setting college hockey ablaze at Boston College and Stramel struggling mightily at the University of Wisconsin, the Wild’s decision is under increased scrutiny. The Athletic’s Michael Russo reported that the Wild “team skipped somebody on its list in the first round in order to fill a need,” and has more recently asked Wild scouting director Judd Brackett about the team’s draft strategy. (subscription link) Brackett said, “It’s no secret that we’ve continued to draft at that position for the last couple of years,” indicating that the club may continue to prioritize drafting centers over other positions. That shouldn’t come as a huge surprise, of course, as the Wild have never had a truly elite center at any point in franchise history, and the team’s current center depth is generally considered below average.

Wild Assign Dakota Mermis To AHL

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The Wild reassigned defenseman Dakota Mermis to AHL Iowa on Monday night, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo. As Russo articulates, the move allows the Wild to bank some cap space as the team doesn’t play again until Thursday. While they no longer have an extra healthy skater on the active roster, the Wild now have a few days to decide whether they want to bring Mermis back up or recall the younger Daemon Hunt to serve as the team’s seventh defenseman in Jonas Brodin’s weeks-long absence.

Mermis can be assigned directly to Iowa because he’s been on the NHL roster for less than 30 days and played in less than 10 games since last clearing waivers in mid-November. Assigning Mermis to Iowa also extends his waiver-exempt clock, providing Wild GM Bill Guerin with some added roster flexibility.

Minnesota acquired Mermis in free agency in October 2020, and he’s since served as a valuable farmhand who can rather seamlessly step into NHL play. He’s played in a career-high 14 games this season, recording five points and a 48.5% Corsi share at even strength while averaging 15:29 per game. He has one assist in four games with Iowa, although he’s never been a considerable scoring threat at the minor-league level. The nine-year pro has 472 career professional games under his belt – 430 in the AHL, 41 in the NHL and one in the ECHL.

Jonas Brodin To Miss Significant Time

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Last night, in the team’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild defenseman, Jonas Brodin, went down with an injury after a hit-from-behind from Evander Kane. In an update today, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports that Brodin will be out for a significant amount of time due to the hit.

In the short-term, the Wild will have veterans Alex Goligoski and recently-acquired Zach Bogosian to rely on in Brodin’s stead, but their defensive depth will ultimately be tested without one of their top defensemen in the lineup for the foreseeable future. Leading the team in ATOI, Brodin has scored one goal and nine points in 25 games, mostly impacting the game on the defensive side of the puck.

If Minnesota’s current depth is unable to properly fill in the hole on the left side of the defense in Brodin’s absence, the team may look to once again call up defenseman Daemon Hunt to Minnesota. Although he was unable to score a point during a five-game stretch in late October and early November, Hunt has scored one goal and eight points in 12 games for Minnesota’s AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild, so far this season.

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Fleury Remains Undecided About Playing Next Season

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  • Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury remains undecided about his playing future beyond this season, notes John Shipley of the Pioneer Press. The 39-year-old is in his 20th NHL season and second with Minnesota but this one hasn’t gone as well as his first with the team.  Fleury has played in ten games so far heading into tonight’s action, posting a 3.21 GAA with a .884 SV%.  If those hold, it would be the lowest save percentage of his career and his highest GAA since the 2005-06 campaign.  Fleury is in the final year of his contract, one that carries a $3.5MM cap charge.

Afternoon Notes: Chytil, Rust, Bogosian

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New York Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette shared that forward Filip Chytil is, “moving in the right direction” with his upper-body injury, adding that he thinks Chytil will return this season. The 24-year-old centerman is currently on long-term injured reserve, sitting out of action since November 3rd with an upper-body injury.

Chytil appeared in 10 games with the Rangers before going down with injury, recording six assists and four penalty minutes. He was averaging nearly 16 minutes of ice time each game through the early season, the highest average of his seven-year NHL career. Chytil scored a career-high 22 goals and 45 points in 74 games last season, after recording either 22 or 23 points in each of his four prior NHL seasons. The step forward in scoring brought Chytil’s career totals to 144 points in 337 games.

Chytil is one of many injured Rangers forwards, with the team also without Barclay Goodrow and Chris Kreider, who are both day-to-day with injury, and Kaapo Kakko, who is alongside Chytil on injured reserve.

Other notes from around the league:

Bogosian Considered Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury

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  • Michael Russo of The Athletic is reporting that Minnesota Wild defenseman, Zach Bogosian, is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning to provide more defensive prowess into the lineup, Bogosian has one assist in nine games for the Wild, averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time per night.

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