The Minnesota Wild have been a consistent playoff contender, built via strong draft classes and timely trades. This summer would be no different, as they made minimal free agent signings. Instead, they focused on their current talent acquired through the draft and trades, while adding depth via a new addition.
The team may not be done making moves overall. They still have $14 million in cap space and need to decide on Marco Rossi. Rossi is a restricted free agent and has yet to sign a new contract. The front office is willing to trade their young star, but for the right price. Meanwhile, the team is still negotiating with Kirill Kaprizov, who is set to be a free agent in the summer of 2026. Still, the two sides seem far apart.
The team finished 2024-25 as the top wild card team, and this while having Kaprizov play just 41 games. They did not lose many major players. Frederick Gaudreau left, but he has been replaced. Meanwhile, Marc-Andre Fleury retired, but he was the backup goaltender. General manager Bill Guerin has built a solid roster, and one that is ready to legitimately compete now.
The Wild can contend now
According to the odds provided by FanDuel, at the time of writing, the Wild sit at -144 to make the playoffs, making them one of the top six teams in the Western Conference. Odds are just a predictive measure of the market. Still, this team has all the pieces needed to contend. One of the major pieces is Rossi. Getting a deal done for him is proving to be difficult, but Guerin seems set on making sure the roster continues to improve through this situation. He has noted that he will match any offer sheet given to their restricted free agent. Further, if there is going to be a trade, it needs to be to improve the team, meaning they should be bringing back a player who can provide 60-plus points.
Meanwhile, Joel Eriksson Ek and Mats Zuccarello both return to help the top six forwards. Zuccarello finished with 54 points in 2024-25, while Eriksson Ek finished with 29 in 46 games. Both Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov missed major time last year as well. If both of them can stay healthy, the team will be solid with their forward situation. Combined with the fact that Brock Faber is back on the blue line and Filip Gustavsson will be in goal again, the team is in a prime position.
The Wild add depth via Vladimir Tarasenko trade
While not the perfect move, the team did add solid middle-six depth in the offseason via a trade. The Wild acquired Vladimir Tarasenko from the Detroit Red Wings. The Russian winger is coming off a down season. In 2024-25 he found the back of the net just 11 times while adding 22 assists. His 33 points were well off from his career norms. Since 2013-14, when playing 50 or more games in a season, he has scored 50 or more points in eight of the nine years. In his career, he has averaged 65 points per 82 games of play.
The middle-six forward has also shown to be solid on the powerplay. That was an area that the Wild needed to improve this offseason. In 2024-25, they ranked 20th in the NHL on the powerplay, and the Russian should help improve that. What makes this the near-perfect move is two factors. To begin with, he should be an upgrade over Gaudreau. Next is the price they got him at. The Wild traded for Tarasenko for just future considerations. This keeps cap space open to work with Rossi or Kaprizov while not giving away current players, prospects, or draft picks. Still, while this was a value move, it was not the best one Guerin made this summer.
Minnesota got the perfect deal with Marcus Johansson
The move with the biggest value of this offseason was that of the Wild coming to terms on an extension with Marcus Johansson. The Swede returned to the Wild via a trade with the Washington Capitals during 2022-23. He has waned somewhat from the peak of his career. From 2011-12 through 2016-17, he regularly put up over 40 points per year. Since 2018-19, he has been a consistent 30-plus point producer. He is not a major goal-scoring threat, scoring 11 goals in each of the last two campaigns. Still, he moves the puck well, plays on the penalty kill, and is a veteran presence.
What makes this deal so amazing is the cost. The winger will be paid just $800,000 for the 2025-26 campaign. This is the cost of a fourth-line player who may see time in the AHL and put up 10 to 15 points, not a player who has played nearly 1,000 NHL games and consistently puts up 30 points. The value of this deal is amazing for the team. On the open market, he could have easily received over $2 million, but the team saved over $1 million that can be put to use elsewhere.
This is a team that can contend, but needs to keep making smart decisions. The Wild have shown prudence with negotiations with both Rossi and Kaprizov, while making solid transactions with Tarasenko and their perfect move of re-signing Johansson. It'll be interesting to see if Minnesota is one of the last eight teams standing in the Western Conference next spring.
