2024-25 Wild Season

[upnorthkid]

As of today, the Wild are projected to have $22M in cap space for 2025-26 which puts them right in the middle of the league. Is that just enough to remain a treadmill team in the NHL? Or can Guerin pull a rabbit out of a hat?

Everything he's done as a GM has led to this moment in the off-season and we will find out soon if Guerin's long-term vision can get paid off.

exactly. i think the unfortunate part is that we're talking about "rabbit out of a hat" territory in terms of the roster. it's 22M in cap with the following roster currenlty signed
wings: Kap, Boldy, Zuccy, Foligno, Hartman, Hinostroza
Centers: Ek, Trenin, Gaudreau

Needs in F group: top line center (minimum 9M AAV if you want an actual top center; if you're going to believe in Ek as a C1 then you're looking at at least 7-8. Rossi fits as another C2/C3 type guy IMO) and a couple of mid line wingers. Hartman and Foligno's scoring dropping drastically means you need some mid-line scoring added or you will never keep up in the west. That's going to be another 5-10M AAV.
--F costs are going to be in the 13-20 range depending on how "in" you want to go
---you also need to be thinking about resigning Kap who becomes a UFA after next year and you probably want to get that done first given waiting probably only increases the odds he leaves if we look like we're not going to contend

Defensemen: most of D core is back (for better or worse) with Brodin, Spurgeon, Faber, Middleton and Bogo. They will sign Buium which will be a cheap deal. Question is if they try move one of these guys by finding someone who needs to eat some contract dollars and trade future draft capital to try add or if they want to stand pat with this group who's been notoriously unhealthy.

Goalie: we'll need 3rd goalie unless they think Wallstedt still isn't ready.

The bummer part is that the FA class is rather lacking in terms of top end guys, unless you're going to try sign someone like Marner or Boeser which again doesn't really address your need at center unless you think if you pair Rossi or Ek with enough scoring it will be fine and those guys will be hellishly pricey.

I just don't see it with how the roster is constructed. We have a pair of pillars for the D core (Faber and hopefully Buium) and 2 high end forwards in Kap and Boldy (and some great middle 6 guys). I'd try blow up the rest and retool around those guys who will be continuing in and progressing into their primes

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

As of today, the Wild are projected to have $22M in cap space for 2025-26 which puts them right in the middle of the league. Is that just enough to remain a treadmill team in the NHL? Or can Guerin pull a rabbit out of a hat?

Everything he's done as a GM has led to this moment in the off-season and we will find out soon if Guerin's long-term vision can get paid off.

The salary cap goes up a lot next year, and a lot more in the next several years than was expected.

Some teams are going to spend a lot of money wisely, and some teams are going to spend a lot of money foolishly. The cap increase is going to benefit the teams that handle the cap masterfully already; for the teams that don't know how to manage their cap, the increase is going to entice them to throw around some stupid money on some dumb contracts.

There will be some awful contracts signed this summer, you just have to hope it's not your team that's doing it.

 

[Slim Tubby]

The salary cap goes up a lot next year, and a lot more in the next several years than was expected.

Some teams are going to spend a lot of money wisely, and some teams are going to spend a lot of money foolishly. The cap increase is going to benefit the teams that handle the cap masterfully already; for the teams that don't know how to manage their cap, the increase is going to entice them to throw around some stupid money on some dumb contracts.

There will be some awful contracts signed this summer, you just have to hope it's not your team that's doing it.

As UNK stated, we also have to factor in KK's new contract as well. You mentioned it early on...just because the Parise and Suter contracts drop off, it doesn't mean the Wild will be flush with cap space.

 

[GreasyGopher]

imo, no.

This offseason they have to make a choice on Rossi. Otherwise other guys like Merrill, Johannson, Nyquist, Chisholm all probably depend on the number. They still are missing a number 2 scorer unless Boldy can become more consistent as well as a 1st line center (to me; others think better of Ek but to me he's best suited as a 2 and shut down defensive guy rather than one who can make the offense go). Defensively they'll add Buium I'd sure assume and you're likely viewing him and Faber as the future, but it's going to take some time for Zeev to mature into that.

They'll have plenty of cap room, but the aging contracts of Foligno, Hartman, Gaudreau and to a lesser extent Trenin and Zuccarrello are things they need to figure out. You obviously need some balance between your scorers and physical guys, but your physical guys are now all aging/slowing down and offer next to nothing offensively so they're getting closer to Pat Maroon status with each passing year.

They're kind of at a hinge point as they have a ton of money next year with the dead cap coming off the books, but with a roster that either you have to spend big for some high end guys or kind of blow it up. I don't know if I see enough where if you spend (and if the FA class has what we need) you're going to be rewarded like you'd hope.

I’m in a similar spot with this team. They seem to be more than a few bolt ons away from being contenders.

A big trade (or 2) to shake up the team may be a good way to move up the timeline.

 

[Ogee Ogilthorpe]

As UNK stated, we also have to factor in KK's new contract as well. You mentioned it early on...just because the Parise and Suter contracts drop off, it doesn't mean the Wild will be flush with cap space.

Sports was so much simpler when we thought it was just about having good players and maybe some good coaching.

I heard a quote from Bill Walsh from back in the 80's that they were really only competing against 6 or 7 teams, the rest, forget about it. At the end of the day, no matter what they say, not every franchise and ownership group is "in it to win it", at all costs. There's an epidemic of poor ownership and management, in all leagues really.

Where do the Wild fall in all of that? I really don't know. Watching it from an outside perspective, in comparison to how my own team handles things (the VGK), it doesn't look the same I'll tell you that. But I don't follow what Wild ownership and Front Office say and do closely enough to gauge if they are 100% all in on winning.

The brunt of those Suter and Parise contracts come off after this year, but not all of it. Doesn't seem like much but that remaining $1.66M/yr for the next 4 years, that's a bottom 6 Forward or decent blue liner. Much better than it has been, but it's still something

 

[GopherVotary]

Much-needed defeat of the Caps tonight. And classy move by Ovechkin, organizing a post-game handshake line for MAF.

 

[TRF Guy]

Much-needed defeat of the Caps tonight. And classy move by Ovechkin, organizing a post-game handshake line for MAF.

I was there also and very classy by Ovie.
Brazeau is a waste of ice time. Not sure what BG was thinking with him. Not only slow but for his size he's not physical.
Guy I was sitting next to started a conversation about Boldy and how he needs to get his ass in gear. Must of heard us because he had one sweet goal about 5 minutes later. Huge W that I did not see coming

 

[TRF Guy]

The hand shake

Ovechkin: 'It's been an honor' to battle Fleury throughout career

Alex Ovechkin had nothing but praise for Marc-Andre Fleury after the Washington Capitals' loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.Ovechkin met Fleury, the goalie he's played most throughout his NHL career, at centre ice for a handshake following their final regular-season meeting before the...

thescore.com

 

[TRF Guy]

Another ugly performance at home last night. They had a Devils team come in after getting destroyed the night before in Winnipeg 4-0 and they had a days rest but still managed to lay an egg. Blues now tied with them with the Canucks 6 points back and Flames 7 back

 

[Full Speed Ahead]

Another ugly performance at home last night. They had a Devils team come in after getting destroyed the night before in Winnipeg 4-0 and they had a days rest but still managed to lay an egg. Blues now tied with them with the Canucks 6 points back and Flames 7 back

At least we control our own destiny. To guarantee a spot in the playoffs, we have to win 6 out of our remaining 8 games, including the one against the Canucks and the one against the Flames.

 

[TRF Guy]

At least we control our own destiny. To guarantee a spot in the playoffs, we have to win 6 out of our remaining 8 games, including the one against the Canucks and the one against the Flames.

Say they do then they get the Jets or Knights. One and done per usual

 

[TRF Guy]

Good news is the Wild scored 4 goal tonight. Bad news is the Rangers scored 5

 

[GopherJake]

Good news is the Wild scored 4 goal tonight. Bad news is the Rangers scored 5

Gus blew it on the OT goal. Chisholm blew it on a goal. Johansson is playing extremely well. Bunch of sloppy penalties, but one sweet shorty and almost another. With all that and no Ek or Kaprizov, I’ll definitely take the point.