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The Minnesota Wild have cooled off since the start of the 2024-25 season. At one point, though, the Wild were certainly among the class of the NHL. Kirill Kaprizov had a case for the Hart Trophy as league MVP. And Minnesota looked the part of a Stanley Cup contender thanks to impressive goaltending from Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury.
Unfortunately, injuries have hindered Minnesota's performances on the ice. The Wild are still a good team that can keep up with the other contenders in the West. However, with Kaprizov out after undergoing surgery, they aren't as dynamic. Their recent results have shown this, as well. Despite a recent three-game win streak, Minnesota has won just four of its last 10 games.
It's a surprising performance overall from a Minnesota team many wrote off to begin the year. The Wild had holes needing to be plugged, but they had little recourse to actually make a move. In fact, the Wild dumped their limited cap space into one player — Yakov Trenin — when NHL Free Agency opened.
To some extent, the Wild are not supposed to be good this year. As a result, they are sort of playing with house money. So long as they don't miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs, they are certain to overperform expectations in 2024-25.
Minnesota has cap space after placing Kaprizov on long-term injured reserve. As things stand, they have north of $14 million in available cap space for moves to be made at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. What they decide to do with this cap space certainly remains to be seen. In any event, they have the ammo necessary to make a move.
This is good for Minnesota given that they have a rather glaring roster flaw to address. The Kirill Kaprizov injury has exposed a major weakness on the Wild's roster. If they do not address this, it could spell disaster in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Wild need to add a top-six forward
The Wild certainly have a skilled group of forwards in their lineup. Even without Kaprizov, this is a group that can score goals and win games. Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi, and Mats Zuccarello have formed an effective trio that can carry the load to some extent while Kaprizov recovers.
However, “to some extent” is the operative phrase in that sentence. Boldy, Rossi, and Zuccarello are not superstars in this league. Boldy and Rossi could eventually become that sort of player down the line. As things stand, they are not on the level of Kaprizov. As a result, they cannot carry the workload Kaprizov routinely does.
To be fair, few players in the NHL can do what he does. This is not a knock on any of the Wild's top-six contingent. But the fact of the matter is they need some reinforcement at the top of the lineup. Minnesota must add a top-six forward at the NHL Trade Deadline.
Adding a long-term option in the top-six during the season is certainly difficult. However, it isn't impossible. The New York Rangers traded for J.T. Miller in a deal with the Vancouver Canucks a few days ago. While this is a unique situation, the point is that the Wild can add some top-six cover if they find the right deal.
One option that stands out is Vancouver Canucks winger Brock Boeser. Boeser is a Minnesota native who nearly joined the Wild during the 2022-23 campaign. However, Minnesota's cap constraints prevented a move from coming to fruition. With their $14 million in deadline cap space, perhaps the Wild revisit a deal for Boeser.
However they go about adding a top-six forward is up to them. What matters is that they add some insurance at the top of the lineup and give themselves added scoring depth. This will certainly benefit them when the puck drops on the Stanley Cup Playoffs in April.
