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Devan Dubnyk

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Minnesota Wild

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As the holiday season approaches, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for as the season heads towards the midway mark. 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.

What are the Wild most thankful for?

Not being at the bottom of the Western Conference. For the first 18 games of the season, Minnesota had a 6-11-1 and were at the bottom of the conference and looked to be an obvious lottery team that had a chance at the top pick. Instead the veterans seems to have found their game, going on a 11-3-4 run (including a six-game winning streak) and the team suddenly finds itself in the playoff race once again.

While the team currently sits outside the playoff race, the Wild have returned to respectability and have plenty of time to make up for lost time and try and fight for a playoff spot down the road.

Who are the Wild most thankful for?

Eric Staal.

The team got 42 goals from the veteran winger after the 2017-18 season, but then came away with a disappointing 22-goal performance last season, suggesting that the now 35-year-old might be fading quickly. While he may never return to that 42-goal season form ever again, Staal has looked a bit more like himself, having scored 13 goals already through 37 games, which could bring him close to a potential 30-goal season, something the team desperately needs.

Staal still has another season on his contract after this one and a big performance from Staal this year, will make his final year sound more promising.

What would the Wild be even more thankful for?

While the team has gotten solid production from backup goaltender Alex Stalock who has been solid with a 2.81 GAA and a .907 save percentage, the Wild need to get starter Devan Dubnyk back on track. The starter, who just returned Thursday after being out since Nov. 16 due to a personal matter, has struggled before this season. He carries a 3.48 GAA and a .891 save percentage through 15 games. Dubnyk appeared in 67 games last season and maintained a .913 save percentage, which is a number that the team needs their star goaltender needs to return to. A solid netminder in goal would help this veteran team make a legitimate playoff run.

What should be on the Wild’s Holiday Wish List?

The team needs to get some of its young players going and producing more offense. The team has been waiting for Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway and Luke Kunin to take that next step and develop into bonafide top-six players. While they occasionally find themselves up there, they have yet to show any consistency the team needs to move forward. Eriksson Ek has just two goals and 12 points through 30 games, while Greenway has just four goals and 13 points in 35 games. Kunin might have the most goals with eight, but still has just 13 points in 36 games.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Goalie Notes: Dubnyk, Fleury, Anderson

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The Minnesota Wild saw Kaapo Kahkonen get his first NHL win recently, and they will need to rely on him for a little while longer as part of a tandem with Alex Stalock. That’s because Devan Dubnyk, though back with the team after taking a personal leave, will need some time to get up to speed.

Dubnyk’s absence was due to his wife Jennifer dealing with some medical issues, ones that have not yet been resolved. The emotional goaltender spoke with reporters including Michael Russo of The Athletic, thanking everyone for the support he has been given in recent days.

  • Dubnyk’s story is very similar to the one playing out with Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights, who has left the team to deal with a “serious illness” in his family according to Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The Golden Knights relied on Malcolm Subban last night in their comeback win against the Nashville Predators and will need him and emergency recall Garret Sparks to hold the fort while Fleury deals with more important things.
  • Craig Anderson (who is no stranger to off-ice issues either), has been placed on injured reserve according to Hailey Salvian of The Athletic. The goaltender is dealing with a lower-body injury but will travel with the Senators on their upcoming road trip. Ottawa will be in Minnesota tomorrow for an afternoon game against the Wild.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Minnesota Wild

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2019-20 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Minnesota Wild

Current Cap Hit: $73,541,089 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Luke Kunin (one year, $925K)
F Jordan Greenway (one year, $917K)
F Nico Sturm (one year, $874K)

Potential Bonuses

Kunin: $600K
Greenway: $500K

Kunin and Greenway will both have to earn their way onto the team this year, but both have legitimate shots at making the team as a potential third line forward. Kunin showed some promise last season, playing in 49 games and scoring six goals and 11 points, although he will have to take his game up a notch to stay there. Greenway, on the other hand, scored 12 goals over 81 games, picking up 24 points, but the former Boston University star, has the potential for a breakout season for the Wild.

Sturm was the team’s big signing this offseason as he was considered to be one of the top unrestricted free-agent college forwards this year and choose to ink a deal with Minnesota. He scored 36 goals over three seasons at Clarkson University, and while he could make the team out of training camp, he might need a year of seasoning in the AHL as well.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Mikko Koivu ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Jared Spurgeon ($5.18MM, UFA)
F J.T. Brown ($688K, UFA)

At 36 years of age, this could be his final year with Minnesota, although much of that decision will depend on how his final season will turn out. The captain was having a solid season with eight goals and 29 points in 48 games, but his season was cut short in February when he went down with a torn ACL and torn meniscus in his right knee. The team can only hope that Koivu bounces back from his injury and is ready to go as the season opens.

Spurgeon, on the other hand, is coming off another impressive season with the Wild and while there had been rumors of Minnesota looking to move their 29-year-old defensive star, the team also hasn’t gotten very far in locking him up this summer as he is eligible to sign an extension. With so much money tied into veteran players, the real question is whether there will be money left to sign Spurgeon to a new deal or whether he wants to stay. If no deal can be made, Spurgeon could be a valuable trade chip at the trade deadline.

Two Years Remaining

G Devan Dubnyk ($4.33MM, UFA)
D Jonas Brodin ($4.17MM, UFA)
F Eric Staal ($3.25MM, UFA)
F Marcus Foligno ($2.88MM, UFA)
D Greg Pateryn ($2.25MM, UFA)
F Ryan Hartman ($1.9MM, RFA)
F Ryan Donato ($1.9MM, RFA)
F Joel Eriksson Ek ($1.49MM, RFA)
D Nick Seeler ($725K, UFA)
D Brad Hunt ($700, UFA)

A lot of the Wild contracts are set with two years remaining, which could make for an interesting offseason in two years, considering that a number of their young players and key pieces will come up at the same time. The team must decide over the next two years is Dubnyk will continue to be the goaltender of the future down the road. He’ll be 35 at that point and he will have to prove he’s still a top-line goaltender. Dubnyk has had two solid seasons over the past two years. He finished the 2018-19 season with a 2.54 GAA and a .913 save percentage in 67 games.

Brodin is another candidate, whose status could be determined by what happens with Spurgeon. The 26-year-old has been a solid defensive presence and a top-four performer, but will have to prove that he is in the team’s long-term plans. If the team signs Spurgeon, it might have to move on from Brodin to save some of its cap room, but the team still has two years to sort it out. After two impressive seasons with Minnesota, Staal’s play dropped a little last year as he managed just 22 goals after tallying 70 in his first two years with the Wild. However, at 36, the team hopes he can still provide enough offense to lead the team and eventually take more of a middle-six role in the future.

The team also has a number of youngsters who will still be restricted free agents, but a breakout year from Hartman, Eriksson Ek or Donato could make any of them an expensive contract in two years. Hartman was brought in to provide a combination of scoring and grit to the team’s bottom-six, while both Eriksson Ek and Donato are both young pieces that the team hopes can move into their top-six within the next two years. Eriksson Ek has struggled since reaching the NHL, scoring just seven goals last season in 57 games, while Donato had stalled in Boston before breaking out after the Wild picked him up at the trade deadline. Donato picked up 16 points in 22 regular season games with Minnesota.

Three Years Remaining

F Victor Rask ($4MM, UFA)
G Alex Stalock ($785K, UFA)

Unfortunately, one trade that brought out the wrath of fans was the trade in which now former GM Paul Fenton sent underachieving Nino Neiderreiter to Carolina for Rask. While taking Rask back was part of the deal to match salaries to a certain extent, Neiderreiter established himself as a top-six player in Carolina, while Rask struggled even more. The 26-year-old Rask finished the season with just three goals, two while in Minnesota and there remain questions about what role Rask will play this season. While many have him penciled in as the team’s fourth-line center, there is a legitimate possibility that he could lose find himself buried in the AHL if he can’t rebound and put together a better season. That shouldn’t be too hard. He did score 51 goals over the previous three seasons, so there is potential. As for Stalock, the team has a reliable backup at a very friendly price, but could easily cut him loose if the team can find a better option in net over the next three years.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Zach Parise ($7.54MM through 2024-25)
D Ryan Suter ($7.54MM through 2024-25)
F Mats Zuccarello ($6MM through 2023-24)
D Mathew Dumba ($6MM through 2023-24)
F Jason Zucker ($5.5MM through 2022-23)

The matching contracts of Parise and Suter are starting to be felt in Minnesota. While both players are still providing solid play, the fact that Parise is 35 and Suter will be 35 in January, could start to be worrisome to fans as they each have six mores seasons left and their play could start declining soon. Parise has dealt with injuries for the past few years although he only missed eight games last season. However, before being fired, Fenton did look into the possibility of trading off Parise, but the pair were brought to Minnesota in 2012 to win a championship and with many people not picking them to even reach the playoffs this year, their usefulness might be at an end unless Minnesota can reshape its roster into a winner sooner than many have been expected.

With what many people thought was a rebuilding phase coming, many people were thrown off when the team signed the 32-year-old Zuccarello to a five-year deal, giving them another high-priced veteran on the team. However, Zuccarello is a solid playmaker who should make a big impact on the Wild’s top-six. He was impressive in the playoffs for the Dallas Stars, scoring four goals and 11 assists in 13 games last year. Zucker has been another player rumored to be on the move after a 33-goal move in 2017-18 and a decline to 21 goals last year. However, the team can only hope that Zucker can return to his 30-goal ways. Regardless, even with a new GM in Minnesota, the team might also have a great trade chip if the team wants to move out a contract.

With the exception of a fight that cost him a good chunk of the season, Dumba has established himself as a first-line defenseman, scoring 12 goals and 22 points in just 32 games after a 50-point season the previous year. Finally healthy, Dumba should step up and be one of the team’s top players on the blueline and could be a bargain over the next few years if he continues to develop his game.

Buyouts

F Tyler Ennis ($1.22MM in 2019-20)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

F Kevin Fiala

The key to Fenton’s tenure will be how Fiala fares. The team unloaded Mikael Granlund in an attempt to bring Fiala in, a young and talented winger. The 23-year-old posted 23 goals and 48 points in 2017-18, but struggled out of the gate in Nashville, posting just 10 goals and 32 points before the trade. In Minnesota, he scored three goals and seven points in 19 games and will have to prove that he was worth the trade. Of course, the Wild must find a way to sign him and might be forced to use a bridge deal to bring him in.

Best Value: Dumba
Worst Value: Parise

Looking Ahead

The Wild are not necessarily expected to make a big impact on the Central Division considering the division is loaded with top teams and might be the most challenging one in the league. However, the team has a number of young players who could take that next step this year and the team will need that if they want to compete in the Central. Of course, the Wild must also avoid injuries, which have ravaged the franchise for the last few years. Their high-priced veterans must stay healthy and continue to contribute at a high level for the next few years or Minnesota will be in even bigger trouble.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Combine Notes: Hughes, Sogaard, Kallionkieli

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Today is the last day of the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, with fitness testing, final measurements, and media availability for all invitees. An unexpected omission from the fitness testing portion though was none other than presumptive No. 1 overall pick Jack Hughes. Hughes was schedule to undergo the numerous fitness testing programs, but opted out instead. Speaking with the media, including The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington, Hughes simply said that after a long season he didn’t feel the need to further prove himself. The phenom forward just wrapped up a World Championship tournament that came after a full season with the U.S. National Team Development Program and stints at the U-20 and U-18 World Junior Championships. While Hughes has been busy playing hockey this last month, the vast majority of combine participants have instead been preparing for the specific fitness tests. Hughes accurately compared undergoing fitness testing without preparing to taking a test without studying. There is little question as to where Hughes will be selected later this month and thus no upside to his participation today. It also helps his case that Kaapo Kakko, the only player who could push Hughes from the top spot in the draft, skipped the combine entirely to celebrate his World Championship victory with Finland back home.

  • The minor deviations of height and weight recorded at the combine generally don’t make much of difference to NHL teams putting together their draft boards. However, sometimes those numbers are worth noting and one top goalie prospect in particular turned some heads this year. Danish keeper Mads Sogaard of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers received an official height measurement of 6’7 1/2″. As The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler notes, that would make Sogaard the tallest goalie in the NHL if and when he reaches that level. Devan Dubnyk, Ben Bishop, and the like all pale in comparison to Sogaard, who NHL Central Scouting ranked as their No. 2 goalie prospect. Size is a trait all teams value in their net minders, but combine Sogaard’s 99th-percentile height and his substantial talent, and you likely have a second-round pick in the upcoming 2019 NHL Draft. One last fun fact about Sogaard’s measurement: he is officially more than a foot taller than fellow top prospect Cole Caufield; the USNTDP sniper came in at 5’7 1/4″.
  • Forward Marcus Kallionkieli was a popular player for the gathered media today – and likely for teams as well this week – as there are still so few answers about his future. Kallionkieli came over from Finland this season to play in the USHL, in hopes of eventually landing in the NCAA. However, a year has passed and he is still without a college commitment. It certainly is not due to a lack of talent, as Kallionkieli was considered the top uncommitted player in the league this year, but for one reason or another, Kallionkieli lacks an NCAA team to play for next season. As such, Wheeler relays the news straight from Kallionkieli today that his plan for now is to return to the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers next season, which would keep the possibility of following the collegiate route open. So too would a return to Finland, albeit a less helpful choice if he is trying to land a long-term fit stateside. Yet, Kallionkieli also mentioned that he would consider playing in the CHL for whoever selects him in the CHL Import Draft. That decision would put an end to his NCAA hopes, but would be a just as acceptable developmental path. There are likely more details about Kallionkieli’s decisions that are not available to the public, but have been disclosed to teams, as the Finnish forward does not want to come off as being indecisive or malcontent. As for what his performance on the ice says, Kallionkieli was a near point-per-game scorer this season and has great hands and offensive instincts. He continues to be pegged as a third-round pick at worst, despite the mystery surrounding his future.

NHL Announces All-Star Skills Competitors

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The NHL All-Star Skills Competition is scheduled for this evening, and though Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon have both pulled out due to illness and injury there are still an incredible amount of talented players taking part. Most notable however may be the final entrant in the fastest skater competition: Kendall Coyne. A member of the US Women’s National Team, Coyne will take MacKinnon’s place after the Colorado Avalanche forward suffered a foot injury this week. The Olympic gold medalist is known for her speed and posted a 14.226 yesterday during event testing according to Emily Kaplan of ESPN. Though that wouldn’t have been enough to dethrone Connor McDavid last year, it would have put her ahead of Zach Werenski, Noah Hanifin and Josh Bailey in the competition. We’ll see what Coyne can do tonight, along with the rest of the competitors:

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2019 All-Star Rosters Announced

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The NHL has announced the four rosters for the 2019 All-Star Game today, scheduled to be held on January 26th in San Jose. Earlier today, Alex Ovechkin, who was elected captain of Metropolitan Division squad, told the league that he wouldn’t be attending and will accept the punishment of missing one game either before or after the break. Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Auston Matthews will represent the Pacific, Central and Atlantic respectively, as the other captains. A replacement Metropolitan captain for Ovechkin has yet to be named.

The full rosters are as follows:

Pacific Division

G John Gibson (ANA)
G Marc-Andre Fleury (VGK)

D Erik Karlsson (SJS)
D Brent Burns (SJS)
D Drew Doughty (LAK)

F Connor McDavid (EDM)*
F Johnny Gaudreau (CGY)
F Joe Pavelski (SJS)
F Elias Pettersson (VAN)
F Clayton Keller (ARI)

Central Division

G Pekka Rinne (NSH)
G Devan Dubnyk (MIN)

D Roman Josi (NSH)
D Miro Heiskanen (DAL)

F Nathan MacKinnon (COL)*
F Mikko Rantanen (COL)
F Blake Wheeler (WPG)
F Patrick Kane (CHI)
F Mark Scheifele (WPG)
F Ryan O’Reilly (STL)

Atlantic Division

G Jimmy Howard (DET)
G Carey Price (MTL)

D Keith Yandle (FLA)
D Thomas Chabot (OTT)

F Auston Matthews (TOR)*
F Nikita Kucherov (TBL)
F Steven Stamkos (TBL)
F John Tavares (TOR)
F David Pastrnak (BOS)
F Jack Eichel (BUF)

Metropolitan Division

G Henrik Lundqvist (NYR)
G Braden Holtby (WAS)

D John Carlson (WSH)
D Seth Jones (CBJ)

F Sidney Crosby (PIT)
F Taylor Hall (NJD)
F Mathew Barzal (NYI)
F Claude Giroux (PHI)
F Cam Atkinson (CBJ)
F Sebastian Aho (CAR)

*Denotes team captain

One final skater spot on each roster has yet to be announced, as it will be determined by the “Last Man In” fan ballot, a concept borrowed from Major League Baseball. The format of the current All-Star Game, which requires one representative from each team on these smaller 3-on-tournament rosters, was bound to cause some confusion with the initial selections. Seven top-twenty scorers were not selected – Mitch Marner, Brayden Point, Leon Draisaitl, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, Phil Kessel, and Gabriel Landeskog – and several will inevitably remain out of All-Star participation even after the fan ballot additions. Morgan Rielly, the league’s top-scoring defenseman, and Mark Giordano, enjoying an elite season on both sides of the puck, are two surprising omissions on the blue line. Several of the league’s top goalies are also going to miss out, ineligible for the fan ballot, including Ben Bishop, Frederik Andersen, and Andrei Vasilevskiy. The “Last Man In” will be an intriguing new addition to the All-Star process, with nominees to be named shortly, but more than a few notable names will be left out regardless. Meanwhile, the health of players like Price and Chabot for Team Atlantic and Hall for Team Metropolitan will bear watching, as those players may opt to skip the All-Star festivities, opening up more players to selection.

Central Notes: Klingberg, Koivu, Morrissey, Kayumov

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While many people may not have noticed as much with the impressive play of rookie Miro Heiskanen, the Dallas Stars have been missing their top defenseman John Klingberg for an entire month after suffering a hand injury. The team’s top defenseman, however, is closing on a return and is expected to be back somewhere around Christmas, according to NHL.com’s Mark Stepneski.

“The latest we would think would be Dec. 27, the game after Christmas,” Stars coach Jim Montgomery said earlier this week. “But he might be right before Christmas.”

Klingberg has already missed 13 games and is not expected to join the team for their upcoming four-game road trip starting on Sunday. However, the 26-year-old hopes to begin practicing with the team when they return from that road trip. While his hand has been improving, he still has trouble of doing specific things with his hand, which includes tying his skates. However, he has gotten clearance to do more with his hand.

“It’s been tough because I haven’t been able to lift anything with this hand,” Klingberg said. “I saw the hand doctor [Thursday], and they said they you are good to go and try as much as you can and no sharp pains. So, I am going to grab a stick next week and when the guys come back home we will see where I am.”

  • Sarah MacLellan of the StarTribune writes that with Minnesota Wild Mikko Koivu returning to Minnesota to get his lower-body injury looked at, the team hopes that other players might step up with more minutes available. Koivu led all forwards this season in ATOI with 18:32. That could mean more minutes for guys like Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter as well as youngsters Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway. “Mikko’s obviously a huge part of our team,” goalie Devan Dubnyk said. “He’s irreplaceable, but that’s a good opportunity for people to fill some different roles and get some more ice time. When we’re winning, we’re winning because we’re deep and everyone’s chipping in. That doesn’t change when somebody goes down.”
  • While sitting out for the last week, Winnipeg Jets’ Josh Morrissey has been doing nothing but studying film in his off time, according to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. Morrissey has watched more than a dozen NHL games, including some of his own to see what’s missing from his game, while keeping an eye on future opponents. In the meantime, the defenseman has passed all of his tests, while recovering from a lower-body injury, and hopes to return to the Winnipeg lineup on Sunday.
  • While the Chicago Blackhawks have liked what they see on the ice from 2016 second-round prospect Artur Kayumov so far in his early career, the 20-year-old picked up some negative publicity recently as the KHL announced that Kayumov has been suspended for 13 games after a hit to the head to Jokerit’s Jesper Jensen as well as punching a referee in the process. Kayumov, playing currently for Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, has 11 points and 55 penalty minutes this season.

 

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Minnesota Wild

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Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2018-19 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Minnesota Wild

Current Cap Hit: $77,729,424 (under the $79.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Luke Kunin (two years, $925K)
F Jordan Greenway (two years, $917K)
F Joel Eriksson Ek (one year, $894K)

Potential Bonuses:

Kunin: $500K
Eriksson Ek: $425K
Greenway: $400K

Total: $1.35MM

The team has just three entry-level players and all three will be critical to the team over the next couple of years. Their 2016 first-rounder, Kunin, suffered an ACL injury in April that required surgery. While he is close to be ready to return, he’s still being held out to allow his knee to fully heal. Regardless, the team has high expectations for him. He struggled to capture a full-time role with Minnesota last year, but scored 10 goals in the AHL in just 36 appearances there, while getting 19 games in with the NHL club. The team will need him to step into a full-time role as soon as he’s healthy. Eriksson Ek, the team’s 2015 first-rounder, got himself a full-time role, but struggled to put up points in the bottom-six, posting six goals in 75 games. A bigger role could allow him to take that next step.

The team also has big hopes for Greenway, who the team pried away from Boston University this spring. The 6-foot-6, 226-pound winger should provide the team with a solid power forward, who could jump into the team’s top-six immediately.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Eric Staal ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Eric Fehr ($1MM, UFA)
D Gustav Olofsson ($725K, RFA)
F Matt Hendricks ($700K, UFA)
F Matt Read ($650K, UFA)
D Nate Prosser ($650K, UFA)
G Alex Stalock ($650K, UFA)
G Andrew Hammond ($650K, UFA)

The team will have an interesting decision to make on Staal at the end of this season. Staal, who was coming off a disappointing 13-goal season a few years ago, signed a three-year, $10.5MM deal, which has been one of the team’s best signings in their history. Staal, who many thought might be slowing down, responded with 28 goals in 2016-17 and followed that up with a 42-goal season last year. Now at age 33, what will Minnesota do in a year when he’s 34 and in need of another deal? If he posts another impressive season, the Wild will have to pay up to keep his services. A disappointing year could mean the end of a thrilling ride.

The rest of the group are full of one-year deals in which the players must prove their worth. The team brought in Fehr, Hendricks and Read to shore up their fourth line, which struggled at times last year, while the team also has a pair of veteran netminders fighting for the backup goalie spot in Stalock and Hammond.

Two Years Remaining

F Mikael Granlund ($5.75MM, UFA)
F Mikko Koivu ($5.5MM, UFA)
D Jared Spurgeon ($5.18MM, UFA)
F Charlie Coyle ($3.2MM, UFA)
F J.T. Brown ($688K, UFA)

The team gave Koivu a two-year extension a year ago, but the 35-year-old is starting to fade after a 14-goal, 31-point performance last season and could be moved down a line, especially if Eriksson Ek continues to improve. Koivu still remains the all-time leader in both games played and points, however, but this could very likely be his last contract.

Granlund could also be an interesting situation. The 26-year-old has improved his game over the last two season, posting a combined 47 goals and he had a career-high in assists last year with 46. His second half was also a big success as he posted 45 points in 46 games, almost a point a game. If he can keep that production up, the Wild should look good. Fortunately, the team has two more years to monitor his success before they have to offer him a new contract. Coyle is another player, who has the ability to put up big points, yet Coyle has struggled more recently, posting just 11 goals and 37 points in 66 games. However, a broken fibula could have been a cause of his on-ice struggles. The team hopes that he can bounce back and prove he belongs in the team’s top-six.

Spurgeon has been perhaps the team’s best defenseman this season. The 28-year-old missed 21 games with a partially torn hamstring and rushed back for the playoffs, but wasn’t 100 percent. Already injury-prone, the team still has the veteran for another couple of years before they have to decide on another long-term contract.Read more

Minnesota’s Fenton Has Tried To Make Moves This Offseason

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With a new general manager in house and the fact that the Minnesota Wild can’t seem to take a step forward despite reaching the playoffs six straight seasons, many people expected Paul Fenton to do something significant this offseason when he took over.

Instead it’s been a quiet offseason so far for the Wild as they have locked up some of their own players including Jason Zucker (five years, $27.5MM) and Mathew Dumba (five years, $30MM), but the team looks almost exactly the same from last season. The team did add some veteran depth when they signed Eric Fehr, Greg Pateryn, Matt Hendricks, J.T. Brown, Matt Bartkowski and Andrew Hammond. But they are only there to help the team’s bottom lines as well as add some physicality. The core of the team remains in tact. However, that’s not from a lack of trying, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required). In a mailbag column, the scribe writes that he’s talked to many contacts around the league who have told him that Fenton has been working the phones this summer, trying to make a deal, but has had little luck as teams often attempt to low-ball new GMs in hopes of catching a steal when the new GM is desperate to make a deal.

While owner Craig Leopold said he wanted to tweak the lineup after losing in the first-round this year, many felt that he wanted to alter the team’s core of  Charlie Coyle, Zucker and Nino Niederreiter. While Fenton has talked about those three, it is believed he’s talked about almost every player on the team, but hasn’t found a good enough deal yet to pull the trigger. Of course, Coyle and Niederreiter are coming off down seasons, which is not the best time to be shopping them. The 26-year-old Coyle has been with the team for six seasons, but after two straight seasons in which his stats increased significantly, Coyle struggled this year, posting 11 goals and 37 points in 66 games. A lot of that has to do with injuries as he broke his fibula early in the season and then had surgery on both of his wrists after the season, suggesting he was never fully healthy. Niederreiter also suffered a broken fibula as well as dealt with a high ankle sprain, which prompted his season to slip from 25 goals and 57 points to just 18 goals and 32 points in 63 games. Neither made for good trade bait. Zucker himself put up solid numbers last year with career highs in goals (33) and points (64), but he was a restricted free agent, which many teams shy away from.

Other players would have been even more difficult to move considering that Zach Parise is locked up at $7.54MM for the next seven years and has a no movement clause. Ryan Sutter is coming off a serious injury, while Mikko Koivu holds a no-trade clause after signing his two-year extension. Eric Staal, Devan Dubnyk and Jared Spurgeon all have modified no-trade clauses, but were not asked to submit their no-trade lists at the NHL Entry draft in June, suggesting the team had no interest in moving any of them.

With all those issues, it’s no wonder that Fenton and the Wild were unable to shake up the roster like many thought they would. The only positive scenario is that the team, which should be healthier this year, should return to the playoffs again and might be able to turn their fortunes around from then on. The team has a number of young players, who could have breakout seasons, including Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway and Nick Seeler who could help take the team to the next level.

Minnesota Notes: Free Agent Targets, No-Trade Lists, Rau, Mittelstadt

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In a loaded article for The Athletic today, Michael Russo addresses the Minnesota Wild’s plans for the off-season with new GM Paul Fenton through his first draft and ready for free agency. While Russo speculates that the Wild could look more toward the trade market than the UFA market this summer, he does name a few player who he feels the team has interest in and are likely to be good fits. Among those named are top-six scorers – and two of the biggest names on the market – James Neal and David Perron of the Vegas Golden Knights, as well as two-way contributors Michael Grabner and Jay Beagle. Russo also adds that the team is likely to take a look at upgrading the backup goalie position. Perhaps the deepest free agent position group this summer is at #2 netminder, where some of the league’s best backups from last season, several veteran former starters, and a few young keepers in need of a change compose a large group of possibilities. The Wild used Alex Stalock as their primary backup in 2017-18 and he performed well enough, but the veteran still has a year left on a two-way contract and the team could easily stash him in the AHL if they can woo a superior option to Minnesota.

  • While the following information could frighten fans of the Wild, particularly given the team’s interest in exploring the trade market, don’t be too alarmed. Russo reports that Fenton has requested updated No-Trade lists from starting goaltender Devan Dubnyk, top-pair defenseman Jared Spurgeon, and top scorer Eric Staal. However, Russo believes that this is just a formality that the new GM wanted to get out of the way. With Minnesota expected to be a playoff team again next season, it is very unlikely that any of these three star players are likely to be traded any time soon.
  • Russo believes that fan-favorite local product Kyle Rau is unlikely to test the free agent market is instead close on a two-year extension with the Wild. There has been no official word on the contract, but Russo believes it is a done deal. A former “Mr. Hockey”-winning Minnesota high school phenom and a star at the University of Minnesota, Rau signed as a free agent with the Wild last summer after two years with the Florida Panthers. Although he only played in three games with Minnesota this season, he was an offensive force with AHL Iowa, posting 50 points in 69 games. The 25-year-old forward would likely draw some interest on the open market, but seems more inclined to re-sign and fight for a roster spot with the Wild
  • Over at Rau’s alma mater, the University of Minnesota, the Gophers hope that they have two more future stars on the way. John and Luke Mittelstadt, the younger brothers of former Gopher and top Buffalo Sabres’ forward prospect Casey Mittelstadt, have announced their commitments to the university. John, 16, is a forward who produced well in his first season at Eden Prairie High School and Luke, 15, is a defenseman who will be a freshman at Eden Prairie in the fall. Like brother Casey, the Mittelstadt’s are undersized and not elite athletes, but make up for it with tremendous skill and hockey sense. They will arrive at Minnesota in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and will join the likes of Blake McLaughlin, Bryce Brodzinski and others on a top program that has been gaining some major commitments over the past few months.

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