Next up on my Elimination Eval Series, the Minnesota Wild. In their 22 seasons as a team in the National Hockey League, the Wild have only gotten past the Conference Semifinals once back in 2003 and in the years that followed, have only gotten back there twice with their last visit being in 2015. In the last eight seasons, they’ve only missed the playoffs once but have failed to win a round ever since. With another first round exit in the books, you have to wonder what is going on in Minnesota. Frankly, they’ve been a bit of a tough team to get a read on as they aren’t a team to be taken lightly, but aren’t really a team that posed a major threat one way or another. They also drew a tough hand going into the playoffs having been matched up with the Dallas Stars in the first round which brings us to, what went wrong for the Wild.
While there’s no doubt they didn’t play perfect hockey night in and night out, the Wild were definitely mismatched against the Stars who are one of the top dogs in the Western Conference. However, the Wild did get off to a great start in the series which brings us to their high moment in these playoffs. Game one was among the most exciting games we’ve seen thus far in the postseason. After back and forth regulation, the Stars went to double overtime with the Wild and it was Ryan Hartman who became the hero to give Minnesota the lead in the series. Sure enough, the Stars were quick to even things up with a demanding 7-3 Game 2 win, but the Wild would follow it right back up with a big win of their own. However, their 3-2 loss to Dallas in Game 4 would really change the tide of this series as it was all Dallas from that moment on.
Part of why that game held such a make or break factor on the series was because of how many chances came and went for the Wild to get ahead. Had they found a way to win game four, they would have taken a two game lead on the series giving them a much better chance at the series. Instead, they fell short by a goal, which led to Dallas picking up a shutout win in Game 5 which became the low point for the Wild before losing the series in a 4-1 Game 6 loss. The key difference maker, as it often is in playoffs would become special teams as the Wild weren’t particularly strong on the power play or penalty kill. That really took its toll as the Stars took full advantage of their chances both on special teams and at 5-on-5 which led to yet another early exit for Minnesota.
The biggest question for Bill Guerin and the Minnesota WIld this off season is centered around one of their longest tenured players who’s a pending UFA, Matt Dumba. Dumba has spent his entire career with the MInnesota Wild and in that ten year span, has not only been a great player for them on the ice but a great ambassador for the game. In most circumstances, he’s a guy you would love to have spend the entirety of his career with your franchise, but things are never that simple. For starters, Dumba put up career lows in points this season and only missed three games in the process. However the bigger point to take into consideration is the surplus of young talent this team has on the right side in Brock Faber and Calen Addison. It’s safe to assume that Jared Spurgeon, the team’s Captain, is locked in on the right side of the top pair. Then you have Calen Addison who put up double the amount of points Dumba did in far less games played, having a great rookie year in the process. On top of that, you have Brock Faber, the Minnesota kid who is fresh off a run to the NCAA Championship, with the University of Minnesota, ready to be a steady full time defender with the team next season.
You still have Jonas Brodin and Jacob Middleton on the left side, not to mention veterans Jon Merril and Alex Goglioski, as much as you’d assume Minnesota would hate to see Dumba move on, you have to think there’s a pretty fair chance he’s played his last game in Minnesota. Aside from Dumba, the Wild have Gustav Nyqvist, Oskar Sundkvist, Ryan Reaves, Marcus Johansson, and John Klinberg all set to hit the open market on July 1st. Most of those names were brought in at the trade deadline to help the Wild make a run so the chances of any of them hanging around are pretty slim. Without those players and even without assuming any signings/trades the Wild can still ice a pretty well balanced team:
Kaprizov - Hartman - Zuccarello
Boldy - Eriksson-Ek - Gaudreau
Beckman - Rossi - Foligno
Dewar - Steel - Duhaime
Middleton - Spurgeon
Brodin - Faber
Goglioski - Addison
Merril
Another big question and potential trade opportunity for Bill Guerin is among their goaltending. They brought in Marc-Andre Fleury to be the guy but as it turned out, they liked what they got from Filip Gustavsson who started 37 games for them this season. Not to mention, they still have Jesper Wallstedt in the system. Fleury has one year left on his contract and Gustavsson is among their list of RFA’s to negotiate new contracts with. Will the Wild look to roll with Gustavsson or will they maintain more of a split with the two through next season? On paper it makes sense for them to roll a duo of Gustavsson/Fleury next season and hope that Wallstadt will be ready year after next. However, Fleury is going to be 39 in November. He could be considering retirement or may even want to chase one last cup somewhere else.
Regardless, Minnesota is definitely capable of building into a stronger contender. They have some exciting names that can take on bigger roles next season in Marco Rossi, Adam Beckman and Brock Faber. There were some rumors floating around about Rossi potentially being a trade target but assuming he sticks it out, he could find his footing if given the opportunity. It’s all going to depend on how these younger guys continue to develop and how some of the veterans that have been here for a while will look to persevere, continuing to lead this group into the playoffs in an attempt to get over that first round hump. Management will definitely have some work to do this off-season but it’s mainly going to consist of simply stocking up on the right kinds of depth players.
Just before the playoffs started, Guerin worked out an extension with forward Frederick Gaudreau that has him in Minnesota through 2028. He’s had a pair of solid seasons with the Wild and fits in among the likes of Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno. I like the balance they have in this group now that some of these younger players are becoming Stars, you just have to wonder how all parties involved are feeling about the process from an organizational standpoint. Especially now that the Leafs finally got over that first round hump, at what point does it become a significant issue that this group hasn’t been able to get over that hump in a while? You have Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Foligno entering the final years of their contracts so they could look to give it one more year before considering big changes but regardless, you have to think the Wild underachieved this year. Considering their opponent, I wouldn’t really say the season was a failure, but if we’re having similar conversations this time next season, something’s going to have to change.
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