TAMPA, Fla. — For four months, Bill Guerin has been talking about the need for a better start this season.
In 2023-24, the Minnesota Wild didn’t get their fourth win until Game 11 and made a coaching change after 19 games, when they had five wins and had lost seven in a row.
Two seasons ago, the Wild won four of their first nine games and five of their first 12.
This year’s training camp run by John Hynes and his staff was designed to push players to their limit. Many said it was the hardest camp they’d ever been a part of, although Kirill Kaprizov literally laughed out loud when he was told that.
“Tell them to go to Russia,” Kaprizov responded “In Russia, camp’s so (much) longer and more practices than one in day. Like in morning, before breakfast, have 30-minute practice, then running and jump, then go eat breakfast, then workout twice, then lunch, then you skating again for long time. And that’s for one and half months, and also couple preseason tournaments, too.”
So 18 days of NHL camp, with maximum 60- to 90-minute practices and three or four days off and only two to four exhibition games?
“This is nothing,” Kaprizov said.
Nevertheless, Hynes worked his team hard for a purpose: getting off to a fast start and simulating the stress of playing seven straight road games after two home games.
So far, so good. The Wild are 4-0-2 overall and 3-0-1 on the road following Tuesday’s 5-1 win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
The Wild felt they were better equipped to withstand injuries this season and, again, so far, so good.
They’ve gone 3-0-1 without Jared Spurgeon, 1-0-1 without Joel Eriksson Ek, 1-0 without Marcus Johansson and 2-0 without Ryan Hartman.
They’re only the second team in NHL history to go their first six games without facing a single deficit. They’ve allowed 1.83 goals per game, second-best in the NHL, buoyed by Filip Gustavsson’s seven goals against in five games (1.40 goals-against average and .952 save percentage). Their power play ranks fifth.
It’s early and there’s a long season ahead, but the Wild are feeling good heading into Thursday night’s game against the Lightning with Marc-Andre Fleury expected to get his second start.
That sets the stage for our first Wild mailbag of the season. Lots of good questions in there, including many on Kaprizov’s future.
Here’s part 1.
(Editor’s note: Some questions are edited for length and clarity.)
Latest you reported there had been no talks of a new contract with Marco Rossi’s camp. They have Eriksson Ek and Hartman locked up long term, Danila Yurov coming next year and Marat Khusnutdinov looking like he’s a much better player than he showed when he arrived late last season and could be the PK wiz and faceoff specialist they’ve needed. Marco looks like he could be the odd man out. Do you think he has a long-term role in the organization or do you think he’ll be traded this offseason? — Joseph S.
If I’m the Wild, I at least start the overtures with agent Ian Pulver because the longer they wait, the more expensive it gets.
It doesn’t even necessarily have to be a long-term offer. If they’re still not convinced they want to commit to Rossi long-term, perhaps a bridge deal similar to Cole Perfetti’s $3.25 million-per-year extension makes sense.
To Rossi’s credit, he’s not letting it affect his game. All he’s done is put together a three-game goal streak and five-game point streak heading into Thursday. But truthfully, I still don’t get the impression they’re ready to commit to him long-term. The problem is the longer the wait, the bigger the possibility there is that his price keeps growing to a number they’re even less likely to offer.
Yurov is the biggest X-factor here. Eriksson Ek is one top-six center and the team envisions Yurov as a top-six center, too, which makes you wonder where Rossi fits. He’s certainly not a prototypical third-line center. His skill would be wasted there.
Also, owner Craig Leipold said the Wild plan to spend on a couple of free agents next summer, and those must fit somewhere in the top six and on the power play. That further makes Rossi expendable.
So deep down, I still have my doubts. I think the world of Rossi. He has done everything this organization has asked of him the past few years, and I think that should count for something to a franchise that hasn’t drafted, developed and produced many top-six centermen in its 24 years. But I’m not sure it will.
From 1 to 10, how concerned are the Wild that Spurgeon may have to go on long-term injured reserve? — F. E.
He’s 34 coming off season-ending hip and back surgeries, so obviously there’s a concern that after his second game, he woke up in Winnipeg not feeling great.
But after he was examined, the plan is to let things calm down and then resume skating, so it appears doctors didn’t find a medical setback. Guerin said they believe this discomfort is part of the normal healing process, and Hynes said Spurgeon’s already skating back in Minnesota and could join the Wild in Pennsylvania or remain home until the team returns next week.
Do the Wild go out and find an immediate replacement for Spurgeon or do they wait? Who would even be available to fill that slot? I don’t believe Timothy Liljegren would be the guy? — Aj S.
I agree with your latter statement. Not that I’m an expert on the out-of-favor Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman, but I don’t get the impression the Wild have interest.
On your bigger point, it depends on whether Guerin feels the Wild can survive long-term without adding a right-shot defenseman. Left shot Declan Chisholm says he has gotten used to playing on the right side in Minnesota but that there are benefits and drawbacks. It’s easier to walk the line in the offensive zone, but in the neutral zone, his back is often to the play.
Personally, because I don’t feel David Spacek is ready, I think the Wild need a right-shot defenseman if the Spurgeon situation becomes a real problem. Who that is, I don’t know, and how much Guerin is willing to give up for that defenseman depends on whether he thinks they’d be a right-shot D away from being a legit contender.
Elliotte Friedman has wondered if at some point Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson could become available. The hard-hitting, trash-talking right-shot D (and world-class quote, which is all that matters in my book) has a year left at $4.55 million, so he’d cost a lot in assets. Guerin would probably only pay that if Spurgeon’s LTIR status is going to go beyond this season.
Why does the team continue to be so hesitant to use IR for players who “might” play? The most recent one being Johansson. You have someone on the roster ready to simply move up and play (Liam Ohgren) in that spot. We heard all offseason how they built depth in Iowa so they could call up a player based on the role needed. Iowa should have a capable fourth-line player that can step right in. Instead, they play with 11 and 7. — Tim J.
IR is seven days. Johansson missed one game. If they used IR after he got hurt on Oct. 12, he would have had to miss three.
IR also doesn’t create extra cap space, so the Wild didn’t have the cap space to recall anybody besides flipping Jesper Wallstedt for Daemon Hunt. They also easily defeated the St. Louis Blues in the 11/7 game, so I’m not sure what the issue is. Ohgren played that game and the Wild loaded up Kaprizov’s ice time (27:59, two awesome assists on goals by Rossi and Hartman).
It seemed iffy for the majority of last year, but do you think Matt Boldy now has an inside track at making the Team USA squad for the international tournament? And is Brock Faber a lock if healthy? — Steve A.
Guerin can only select 13 forwards, seven defensemen and three goalies for the 4 Nations. But I do think it has changed dramatically.
Boldy’s three-point opening night came hours before Guerin, the U.S. GM for the 4 Nations Face-off team and 2026 Olympics, held a 9 a.m. call with his USA Hockey staff, which includes coach Mike Sullivan, assistant coach Hynes, assistant GMs Bill Zito, Tom Fitzgerald and Chris Drury, director of player personnel Chris Kelleher and USA Hockey’s Pat Kelleher and John Vanbiesbrouck.
I know Boldy came up on the call and Guerin asked the staff to really start watching him, especially considering he led the 2024 World Championship in scoring. Boldy being a left shot who can play right wing helps, too.
And I do think Faber is a lock.
Why can’t the Wild GMs get out of their own way by not signing third- and fourth-line grinders to big-money contracts? Who would you rather have: Ben Jones or Travis Boyd at less than a million or a slower and vastly more expensive Yakov Trenin? — Aaron E.
I don’t disagree with you on $3.5 million per year for four years being steep. I don’t love the contract and think the money could have been wiser spent.
But I also think it’s too soon to judge Trenin. His game is starting to improve, and on Tuesday night, it was easy to see the value of having Marcus Foligno and Trenin as twin-tower wingers on a checking line with Hartman or Khusnutdinov. They were good defensively and physically, and the Panthers couldn’t achieve much against them, which shows what a line like that could mean in the playoffs (with the top six intact and the fourth line providing momentum).
Jonas Brodin must have seen it, too, because he presented Foligno with the “junkyard dog” hero of the game chain after the win.
Where you’d love to see Foligno and Trenin improve is on offense, where they have two assists and six shots combined. But, again, the postseason is where you’d hope they give you more than a Jones or Boyd type
If the Wild did not re-sign Foligno, Hartman and Jake Middleton and sign Trenin, who would be the “tough guys” on the team? — Bob P.
That’s probably much of the Wild’s rationale. Obviously, if they weren’t around, they’d have to go out and spend money on other big, tough players, because they don’t have them in Iowa.
Next year the Wild presumably move on from Johansson, Jon Merrill and Marc-Andre Fleury, freeing up an additional $6 million in cap space. Other than Brock Boeser, who would you guess the Wild will be targeting? — James P.
Has there ever been an NHL team with three Brocks on their roster? I’d venture to say no.
If Rossi is traded, I could see the Wild pursuing Brock Nelson or another center. Nelson has the same agent as Boeser, and Guerin has a tremendous relationship with Ben Hankinson. It’s hard to really guess how much money the Wild will have at their disposal because a lot depends on Kaprizov. If he’s extended, we can presume it’s for around $13 million. That’s Priority No. 1.
If Spurgeon’s future is in doubt, a big right-shot defenseman also would be a bigger priority than a center because of Yurov’s anticipated arrival.
Do you have any idea whether Zuccarello will continue working in hockey in North America after his career is over or return to Europe? — Robert G.
I’m not saying he won’t work in hockey, but I do hear he’s building his retirement home in Oslo, so I think his plan is to go back.
To make back-to-back games fairer, I’d like to see in the second game both teams having played the night before. — Eli N.
My experience covering that type of game is both teams are fatigued and it’s an unsightly product.
I do think for the most part teams in the second half of a back-to-back handle it and sometimes even have an advantage early because they’re still in game mode. I think the recent game in Winnipeg was a bit of an aberration as far as this goes. I’ve covered many back-to-backs and I’ve never seen guys like Kaprizov, Boldy and Zuccarello look like that. But because that Seattle game went haywire and Hynes had to load up their ice times, it was predictable.
What’s the ceiling for Daemon Hunt? His size and skating ability make him a better defender than Declan Chisholm. Is there enough upside for him to be a viable option for running the second power play? — Bill P.
Perhaps, but probably not here with Faber and Zeev Buium having strangleholds on those roles for the rest of time. I like Hunt a lot. He’s probably a No. 4 or 5 defenseman who can play the penalty kill.
Does Marat have top-six potential as a center? — Tom H.
Not sure I’m the guy to ask because I didn’t see Eriksson Ek as a top-six center. But, so far, I don’t see it. I think his ceiling is a third-line, two-way guy who needs size around him. He’s got great wheels and should be a special penalty killer who can win draws.
What happened to the Mike Modano relationship? Haven’t heard a peep about his role. — Kevin K.
He doesn’t have an official hockey ops role, but he’s more involved, attending meetings in advance of the trade deadline and free agency. He moved to Minnesota and is often to the left of Guerin in his box for home games.
With the five-year plan in mind, how did it make sense to try to trade Gustavsson? Wouldn’t you want two good controllable goalies on the roster? What is the value that Flower brings knowing he is retiring? — Daniel S.
I never loved the idea of trading Gustavsson. He’s played two full seasons. One was Vezina Trophy caliber. The other wasn’t good in an injury-plagued season. At 26 years old and with Wallstedt still unproven, I always felt at $3.75 million it made sense to give Gustavsson another shot and either start Wallstedt in the minors or let Fleury go.
I get Guerin’s soft spot for Fleury and his desire to have Fleury mentor Wallstedt. It’s a privilege to be around Fleury. But at 39, his game is not what it once was. Sometimes you have to make business decisions.
The moment Fleury was extended, though, you knew Guerin was entertaining trading Gustavsson. I bet there are a lot of GMs looking at Gustavsson’s start and second-guessing their decision not to bite. Similarly, I bet Guerin is thankful they didn’t bite. Wallstedt has gotten off to a rough start in Iowa (12 goals against in five periods heading into Wednesday’s game against Milwaukee). As long as Gustavsson stays hot, Wallstedt should stay in Iowa, get reps and figure this out.
If Gustavsson plays this year out well, would he and Wally be the tandem or would they look to move him with one year left on his deal? — Lucas B.
I get the whole “sell high” phenomenon, but with goalies often hitting their peak around Gustavsson’s age and his contract so reasonable compared to what top goalies are getting now, I wouldn’t trade him.
Where did the Wild do their preseason getaway this year? — Ben S.
They didn’t do one because of the seven-game road trip having two off days in South Florida and three off nights in Pittsburgh. They’re using those for bonding and scheduled a couple of team dinners.
When and how does a player get his paycheck? Every two weeks? Can the player negotiate the whole salary to be paid on Jan. 1? — Nic B.
Players get paid every two weeks during the regular season. You can negotiate a portion of that — sometimes a huge portion — to be paid as a signing bonus on July 1.
As a seasoned air traveler, are you completely unaffected by turbulence? It terrifies me. What aspects of the air-traveling experience have you not gotten used to, will never get used to and drive you crazy? — Erin W.
I will admit, I’m completely unaffected. I can sit through almost everything and write through almost everything. I’ve had a couple bad, bad experiences. Struck by lightning going from Buffalo to LaGuardia. Hitting wind shear going from Ronald Reagan to Raleigh, and the right wing almost hitting the ground. A decompression issue going from Minny to Vegas. A bird strike going from Denver to Dallas. But I’ve been lucky and haven’t had a serious issue in years.
I don’t know how I flew in the pre-CLEAR, TSA PreCheck, NEXUS and Global Entry day and age, because I’m very impatient about long lines. About the only thing that drives me batty are people that use the moving walkways like they’re an amusement park ride. They’re meant to walk on, not stand on.
(Photo of Marco Rossi and Filip Gustavsson: Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)
