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The Minnesota Wild are one season away from really being able to improve a roster that missed the playoffs for the first time in five campaigns in 2024. General manager Bill Guerin and the front office are patiently waiting for the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter — which will cost them just over $14.6 million combined against the cap this season — to expire.
From 2025-26 to 2027-28, the two longtime Wild players will only cost $833,333 each, freeing up a ton of space for Guerin to add players externally. Right now, Minnesota only projects with $756, 410, per PuckPedia, which is obviously going to greatly restrict those efforts. Still, this is a competitive roster led by a true superstar in Kirill Kaprizov, a Calder Trophy finalist looking to get even better in Brock Faber, and solid goaltending which could get a boost from one of the best prospects in the NHL.
Not too much has changed on the roster from the one that failed to qualify for the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, though. The only real additions are Yakov Trenin to the bottom-six and the presumed introduction of top prospect Marat Khusnutdinov to a full time rule. Both players should help in Minnesota's efforts to return to the dance, but the Central Division is getting better and better, and this probably projects as a bubble team again in 2024-25.
That will be especially true if a couple of veterans who have made a huge difference in the past start to feel the effects of Father Time. Here are three such players who could see regression this season.
Mats Zuccarello is nearly 37
Mats Zuccarello has been rock solid for the Wild since signing a five-year contract with the club back in 2019. He re-upped that deal last September, and will hang around in Saint Paul for at least two more seasons. That's great news for Kaprizov, as the two have formed excellent chemistry throughout their time as linemates.
And the Norwegian put together another strong campaign in 2023-24, adding 63 points over 69 games. He managed 67 in 78 the year before that, and the best season of his career in 2021-22 when he broke out for 24 goals and 79 points. Still, he's going to be 37-years-old on September 1, and there's only so long he can keep up his seemingly ageless play.
Zuccarello saw his ice time drop by over a minute last year, and he also managed just 12 goals — the lowest total of his career in a full season. There were times during the campaign when the age started to show, although this is still an ultra-effective top-six player. Along with Kaprizov, there's no reason why he couldn't put together another strong offensive season.
Still, due to his advanced age, surprisingly low goal total and reduction of minutes, there's a decent chance that Zuccarello regresses in 2024-25.
Ryan Hartman should get pushed down Wild lineup
Ryan Hartman has spent a lot of his Wild career centering the top line along with Zuccarello and Kaprizov. He especially thrived in that role in 2021-22, when he played a full 82-game slate and smashed his career highs across the board with 34 goals and 65 points.
The 29-year-old managed 37 points in 59 games the year after, but in 2023-24 played 15 more games and only added an additional eight. His 21 goals and 45 points definitely wasn't bad, but it's a far cry from the player that amassed 20 more than that a few seasons ago. And there's a great chance Hartman gets pushed down the lineup this season.
Although he's a natural center, Hartman can also play the wing, which is where Daily Faceoff currently projects him on opening night. With Marco Rossi likely to assume the role of 1C, and Joel Eriksson Ek locked in on the second line, the South Carolina native could get bumped all the way to the bottom-six.
That will certainly hurt his offensive prospects, with exposure to weaker linemates and a significant decrease in ice time. He won't be playing 16:31 minutes per game this season, and there's a strong chance that Hartman regresses in a third-line role.
Ageless Marc-Andre Fleury has almost reached the end
Marc-Andre Fleury has had an unbelievable career. One of the most likeable goalies in NHL history won three Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and helped the Vegas Golden Knights march to the SCF in their inaugural season in 2017-18. Now at 39-years-old, Fleury has decided to play one more campaign with the Wild before hanging up the skates for good.
Flower is a legend of the game and a surefire Hall of Famer, winning the Vezina Trophy in 2021 and being only the third goaltender to surpass 500 wins. But that doesn't change the fact that his .895 save percentage was the worst of his entire career in 2023-24. His 2.98 goals-against average was decent but certainly not great; he hadn't had a worse one since 2016-17. He ended up winning his third championship that postseason regardless.
Fleury's declining numbers are expected for someone who is nearly 40, but he still managed to win 17 of his 40 starts last year. There's no guarantee he will play half of the Wild's games this season, as Filip Gustavsson remains on the roster (despite trade rumors), and Jesper Wallstedt is patiently waiting for his opportunity.
The Athletic's Scott Wheeler recently ranked Wallstedt as the best goaltending prospect in the NHL, along with the newest San Jose Shark, Yaroslav Askarov. The 21-year-old played three games and won two of them last season, one of the victories happening to be a shutout. There's no doubt that he's the goaltender of the future in Saint Paul.
But that presents a conundrum with all of Fleury, Gustavsson and Wallstedt set to compete for starts in 2024-25. Although everyone is hoping Fleury goes out strong, there's a serious chance that his numbers will decrease further in the final season of his incredible career.
