All Things 2025 Minnesota Wild Offseason

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drewhaus7 said:
So when does Caedan Bankier and Hunter Haight get the opportunity to be nhl centers? Hurricanes seem to do well with Logan Stankoven around the same time as these too? We draft all these prospects to then sign older veterans to take their spots? With the over pricing on this years weaker nhl free agency. 7 years at 7M doesn't seem so bad for Rossi either, but instead seems like another prospect at 23 years age which went from 40 pts to 60 pts and is a C is going to get away. Seems like Center situation of Rossi, Ek, Haight, Bankier would have some years promise. LW you got Kirill(8 years 15M potential is a huge risk in my opinion), Boldy, Ohgren, Foligno. RW go sign Boeser to go with Yurov, Zuccs, and Taresenko.
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wild have the advantage that they can offer more years this year than anyone else could with the CBA changing. Marner just got 12 but i'd expect KK to be at Draisaitl or higher. He's 28 and so maybe you get away with 7 years (will still be longer than the 6 anyone could give him next year) at that dollar amount given the groin injury and you're pretty low risk with getting a guy locked down for the entirety of his prime and only a little bit of the decline with a cap that's about to go up massively (his deal at 14 is going to look just fine in 2-3 years imo)

I'd like Rossi at way less of a term than that. His numbers are inflated from playing 1st line and on the 1st PP which he won't do when this team is healthy. If someone is giving him that, you walk away. Don't overreach and eat cap for a 3rd line center (who doesn't kill penalties well and is meh on the dot) on a 7 year deal out of desperation. if it's 4-5 years, that's a little different. I don't think the market for him is going to be super hot
 
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A few early highlights...

- Brent Boeser ends up staying in Vancouver, signing at the 11th hour. He was a player the Wild were at times rumored to at least be interested in.

- LA Kings lose D-man Gavrikov to NYR, a big loss for the Kings, and sign Corey Perry, which I kinda don't get. Perry looked good playing next to McDavid, but damn he's got a lot of miles on those tires

- Sharks young star William Eklund signs what seems to be a pretty cheap extension? 3 yrs, $5.5M/year? That deal could look awfully good in a few years when the cap goes way up. San Jose is definitely building something, but are still probably a year or two away.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
A few early highlights...

- Brent Boeser ends up staying in Vancouver, signing at the 11th hour. He was a player the Wild were at times rumored to at least be interested in.

- LA Kings lose D-man Gavrikov to NYR, a big loss for the Kings, and sign Corey Perry, which I kinda don't get. Perry looked good playing next to McDavid, but damn he's got a lot of miles on those tires

- Sharks young star William Eklund signs what seems to be a pretty cheap extension? 3 yrs, $5.5M/year? That deal could look awfully good in a few years when the cap goes way up. San Jose is definitely building something, but are still probably a year or two away.
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good deal for both sides. Eklund will get to make bank when the cap is fully exploded if he continues to grow, SJ is protected from this being his peak if they gave him too many years/dollars. SJ will be a fun team to watch over the next 3-4 years if they stay intact

On former Gopher news, Ryan Lindgren (Sea) and Ryan Johnson (Buf) both signed new deals/extensions today as did Bjugstad (STL)
 


I was hoping we could step off the treadmill once we had the Suter/Parise deals off the books but that doesn't seem to be the case.
 


sounds like the Wild are going to match whatever offer sheet Rossi gets put forward
 


NHL announced players will be able to participate in the 2026 Winter Olympics 👍
 

I think he Pietrangelo gets all the money due him. He is injured. The Knights just get to use his salary since he can't play. It would be interesting to know if NHL teams have insurance for this or they write it off as a cost of business.

As for Eichel's extension, I think he will wait and let McDavid set the market.
 



Winnipegopher said:
I think he Pietrangelo gets all the money due him. He is injured. The Knights just get to use his salary since he can't play. It would be interesting to know if NHL teams have insurance for this or they write it off as a cost of business.

As for Eichel's extension, I think he will wait and let McDavid set the market.
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For Petro, yes he gets all of his money and from what I understand SOME of those contracts are covered by insurance. I have no clue how much.

I'm curious to see how these three big contracts, Kaprizov, McDavid, and Eichel all play out. The Wild's inability to come to terms with Rossi make me think the KK97 negotiations could get testy and drawn out.

As for Eichel and McJesus, I actually think the opposite. Eichel signs quickly, in the next couple weeks. Vegas is a very, very proactive team when it comes to signing and they won't want to let the McDavid contract impact things. They have signed a number of contracts in the last 8-12 months that were a fair amount before it was really urgent to get done.

I think Eichel signs for around $12.5/year (NO way it's over $13M), and McDavid will want at least $15M/year. I have no idea where Kaprizov will land in this ballpark for the Wild.
 

I dunno. I think KK is going to just wait until after those contracts hit market and we'll offer him somewhere around Drai's number for 8 years (would expect right around 14-15). Guerin has shown no hesitancy in giving the longer contracts to his stars and the added years that he gets if he signs this year vs next I think will make it pretty straightforward unless it's obvious he wants out. If he hits the season and hasn't signed, means he's not coming back in all likelihood.

McDavid I don't know. I could also see him taking a shorter term deal and a lower cap hit given he's 28, the cap is rising, and he can then sell out to win in Edmonton with his guys so like 3 yrs, 12 mil. the guys already made 100mil and is the face of the league, he'll be just fine monetarily where he's going to start thinking of legacy. If he doesn't, then yeah it's going to be the megadeal for 8 years for 15+. In all honesty, think he'd make more money signing the shorter deal to hit his last big deal at 31, rather than take an 8 year now and be signing his last deal at 36, AND have a better shot to win the SC

Eichel you know better than I. They did just give Marner 12 so Eichel is only there if he doesn't want more or wants the really long deal so he takes less money. I would've pegged him around 14, which I think is a good deal given where the cap is heading to lock down a 1C in his prime with risks only coming from his injury history and that that last year or two he'll be on the decline. Kind of crazy he's only 28. Feels like he's been around forever.
 

upnorthkid said:
I dunno. I think KK is going to just wait until after those contracts hit market and we'll offer him somewhere around Drai's number for 8 years (would expect right around 14-15). Guerin has shown no hesitancy in giving the longer contracts to his stars and the added years that he gets if he signs this year vs next I think will make it pretty straightforward unless it's obvious he wants out. If he hits the season and hasn't signed, means he's not coming back in all likelihood.

McDavid I don't know. I could also see him taking a shorter term deal and a lower cap hit given he's 28, the cap is rising, and he can then sell out to win in Edmonton with his guys so like 3 yrs, 12 mil. the guys already made 100mil and is the face of the league, he'll be just fine monetarily where he's going to start thinking of legacy. If he doesn't, then yeah it's going to be the megadeal for 8 years for 15+. In all honesty, think he'd make more money signing the shorter deal to hit his last big deal at 31, rather than take an 8 year now and be signing his last deal at 36, AND have a better shot to win the SC

Eichel you know better than I. They did just give Marner 12 so Eichel is only there if he doesn't want more or wants the really long deal so he takes less money. I would've pegged him around 14, which I think is a good deal given where the cap is heading to lock down a 1C in his prime with risks only coming from his injury history and that that last year or two he'll be on the decline. Kind of crazy he's only 28. Feels like he's been around forever.
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I can't imagine the players union would be thrilled about McDavid taking $12M/year.
 

upnorthkid said:
McDavid I don't know. I could also see him taking a shorter term deal and a lower cap hit given he's 28, the cap is rising, and he can then sell out to win in Edmonton with his guys so like 3 yrs, 12 mil. the guys already made 100mil and is the face of the league, he'll be just fine monetarily where he's going to start thinking of legacy. If he doesn't, then yeah it's going to be the megadeal for 8 years for 15+. In all honesty, think he'd make more money signing the shorter deal to hit his last big deal at 31, rather than take an 8 year now and be signing his last deal at 36, AND have a better shot to win the SC
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Gophers1992 said:
I can't imagine the players union would be thrilled about McDavid taking $12M/year.
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I think McDavid basically says, Screw you, you're going to have to really PAY me to stay in Edmonton. That number will be a big number, and it probably should be. I think he gets $15M/year.
 



Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
I think McDavid basically says, Screw you, you're going to have to really PAY me to stay in Edmonton. That number will be a big number, and it probably should be. I think he gets $15M/year.
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idk. i haven't gotten a ton of that vibe from him so far. he did throw the "you've gotta make the best decision for your family" comment in there, which does give some pause but he's historically been nowhere near the attention seeking type in that regard. I also do truly think that he from these last 2 runs being so close is seeing how much his legacy is going to matter (him winning the MVP in a losing effort and saying no I'm not going on the ice was pretty telling). Edmonton has treated him well and tried to invest to get there and I think he knows if he signs that mega deal, he's probably not sniffing a cup for the next 8 years as Edmonton can't afford the goalie they need and is otherwise in a really good place to win now for the next 3-4 (hence why I could see that short contract then the mega one afterwards)
 

Gophers1992 said:
I can't imagine the players union would be thrilled about McDavid taking $12M/year.
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they've already agreed to 50/50 split in revenue until 2030 (with the players part being how the cap is decided). The salary cap is going to be going up regardless of McDavid
 

upnorthkid said:
they've already agreed to 50/50 split in revenue until 2030 (with the players part being how the cap is decided). The salary cap is going to be going up regardless of McDavid
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Edmonton paying Bouchard a big fat number doesn't help them much either. They have major decisions they are facing next year, particularly on the blue line. I know the cap is going up quite a bit in each of the next few years but not enough for them....

Edmonton paying Darnell Nurse $9.25M/year until 2030 is the gift that just keeps giving to the rest of the Pacific Division. Has to be one of the worst contracts in the NHL right now. Nurse is a shit player, hardly worth $3M/year. They are essentially spending $20M/year for the next four seasons on Bouchard and Nurse. Woof
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Edmonton paying Bouchard a big fat number doesn't help them much either. They have major decisions they are facing next year, particularly on the blue line. I know the cap is going up quite a bit in each of the next few years but not enough for them....

Edmonton paying Darnell Nurse $9.25M/year until 2030 is the gift that just keeps giving to the rest of the Pacific Division. Has to be one of the worst contracts in the NHL right now. Nurse is a shit player, hardly worth $3M/year. They are essentially spending $20M/year for the next four seasons on Bouchard and Nurse. Woof
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agreed. would not be surprised to see him not sign a deal and become a FA next year, which would lead to a pretty much unprecedented bidding war for his services
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Edmonton paying Bouchard a big fat number doesn't help them much either. They have major decisions they are facing next year, particularly on the blue line. I know the cap is going up quite a bit in each of the next few years but not enough for them....

Edmonton paying Darnell Nurse $9.25M/year until 2030 is the gift that just keeps giving to the rest of the Pacific Division. Has to be one of the worst contracts in the NHL right now. Nurse is a shit player, hardly worth $3M/year. They are essentially spending $20M/year for the next four seasons on Bouchard and Nurse. Woof
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What complicates the Nurse issue is that he and McDavid are very close.

Toronto fans seem to think McDavid will play out his contract and return to his hometown of Toronto. As if any top player will willingly walk into the toxicity of the Toronto media market after the Marner mess.
 

Holy shit. Talk about franchise-altering.... in retrospect, feels dangerously close to the Herschel Walker trade

 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Holy shit. Talk about franchise-altering.... in retrospect, feels dangerously close to the Herschel Walker trade

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Not sure I agree with that assessment. They didn’t reach the heights we wanted, but I don’t put that blame on those guys. People forget how irrelevant the Wild were before those two arrived.
 

Wild will be tested out of the gate without Jonas Brodin and Erickson Ek, as Michael Russo now says both Swedish stars will miss time recovering from surgery, in Brodin’s case, to repair “upper body injury” (should we guess, shoulder reconstruction?)

Erickson Ek, meanwhile had core surgery” (Is this hernia repair, back surgery?), and also may not be ready when season begins.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
And to think, I come here daily to see if you've weighed in on the Wild's 3rd line Center situation, or who they might be targeting when Free Agency opens in a few hours.

A few people asked questions, I answered, heaven forbid. You better get over to the Wolves board, there are some posts and even threads over there that mention the Lakers and Knicks. There was a time, a long time ago, when you were funny.... now you're just an angry, TDS-riddled rager with a little too much attention towards me to not make me a little creeped out. Is there an HR office to reach out to on the board?

Free Agency starts in One Hour!!
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You’re funny.

I make a post addressing no one and you assume it’s about you.

I made no mention of politics, or you, but you call me a “angry, TDS-riddled rager with a little too much attention towards me to not make me a little creeped out”.

Get over yourself, gasbag.
 

The Athletic with a short blurb on the upcoming situation with Kaprizov and his extension:
  1. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota: Another face of a franchise — and “the first true superstar in Wild history” — set to cash in in a big way. Kaprizov feels likely to surpass the $14 million a season cap hit that Leon Draisaitl signed for last fall, given the way the cap is going up, and the good news is Minnesota has the cap room to make that happen.
 

Gophers1992 said:
Not sure I agree with that assessment. They didn’t reach the heights we wanted, but I don’t put that blame on those guys. People forget how irrelevant the Wild were before those two arrived.
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You would know better than I would. A majority of my take on the situation is how the buyouts buried them for the last number of years. Crippling for sure, but at the time I'm sure the deals made some sense to the powers that be.
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
The Athletic with a short blurb on the upcoming situation with Kaprizov and his extension:
  1. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota: Another face of a franchise — and “the first true superstar in Wild history” — set to cash in in a big way. Kaprizov feels likely to surpass the $14 million a season cap hit that Leon Draisaitl signed for last fall, given the way the cap is going up, and the good news is Minnesota has the cap room to make that happen.
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14.5-15/8 seems like a good deal for both sides. Know some will cite some injury/durability issues recently, but he’s just coming into his prime and minimal risk on his long term decline at the back part of the deal
Price is only going to go up for the stars with how the cba is going to revenue split
 

Russo weighs in on The Athletic with a short blurb on Free Agency for the Wild:

Minnesota Wild: C+​

The Wild had hoped to sign Brock Nelson in free agency, but he re-signed in Colorado. They wanted to sign Brock Boeser, but when it became clear he had other options, they pivoted to Vladimir Tarasenko on a one-year bet that his career can be reinvigorated. Nico Sturm should help their penalty-kill and faceoff needs, but this was not the July 1 “Christmas” fans expected after four years of buyout shackles limiting their every move. — Michael Russo
 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Russo weighs in on The Athletic with a short blurb on Free Agency for the Wild:

Minnesota Wild: C+​

The Wild had hoped to sign Brock Nelson in free agency, but he re-signed in Colorado. They wanted to sign Brock Boeser, but when it became clear he had other options, they pivoted to Vladimir Tarasenko on a one-year bet that his career can be reinvigorated. Nico Sturm should help their penalty-kill and faceoff needs, but this was not the July 1 “Christmas” fans expected after four years of buyout shackles limiting their every move. — Michael Russo
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Seems fair. Didn’t do anything exciting but also nothing I’d define as dumb like overpaying guys. Have to make the moves you’re able and this many years as a Peri contender makes it tough to accumulate assets when you’re hamstrung by 2 bad decisions
 

upnorthkid said:
Seems fair. Didn’t do anything exciting but also nothing I’d define as dumb like overpaying guys. Have to make the moves you’re able and this many years as a Peri contender makes it tough to accumulate assets when you’re hamstrung by 2 bad decisions
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Nice, I was just gonna get into that. I hate inertia based moves as much as anyone.. Focus on team chemistry and team skill improvement. Don't sign up for a winners' curse just to satisfy "optics."

You helped the team. Focus on what you can control. Then use patience. Keep looking for opportunity. Find lists of guys that will fit, that you would trade for, in case they don't fit in their new place.
 

Wow. This would be a pretty big number, but with the cap going up, if they can get a talent like KK97 to commit long term to a team like Minnesota, they probably need to do it as soon as they can. Draisaitl is at $14M/year. I'm not sure you can go to $15M for KK97?

 

Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Wow. This would be a pretty big number, but with the cap going up, if they can get a talent like KK97 to commit long term to a team like Minnesota, they probably need to do it as soon as they can. Draisaitl is at $14M/year. I'm not sure you can go to $15M for KK97?

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If the Wild get him for anything less than 14.5, I will be surprised and it will be a steal given where contracts are going to go in the next 2-3 years
 

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