NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Minnesota Wild.
The Minnesota Wild have been right on the edge of contention.
They’ve qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 11 of the previous 13 seasons. In their past eight appearances, they’ve lost in the opening round.
To Wild general manager Bill Guerin, this season is the time to take a step.
“I like high expectations. I want high expectations,” Guerin said. “I’m not doing this job to kind of sit in the corner or anything. These are big jobs. These are important jobs. There are a lot of people out there that love the Minnesota Wild and I’m trying to deliver something to them. We all are. We’re trying to deliver that to them.”
Guerin, without salary cap constraints, signaled an active offseason after Minnesota (45-30-7) was the first wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference and lost in six games to the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round.
“I like to be aggressive,” he said. “I don’t want to sit on my hands at all. I’m kind of tired of doing that.”
The market didn’t work that way. Many big-name free agents elected to sign new contracts with their current teams, leaving the Wild to make smaller additions that still addressed key needs.
Vladimir Tarasenko and Nico Sturm should give forward depth and Stanley Cup experience.
Tarasenko, 33, was acquired in a trade from the Detroit Red Wings on June 30 after winning championships with the St. Louis Blues in 2019 and the Florida Panthers in 2024.
Sturm, who played his first 111 NHL games for the Wild from 2019-22, signed a two-year contract on July 1. The 30-year-old has won the Stanley Cup twice (Colorado Avalanche, 2022; Florida, 2025) since being traded from Minnesota to Colorado on March 15, 2022.
“Our team is better than it was a couple days ago, I feel,” Guerin said July 1. “I said it after last year and the year before and the year before, today is a big day for a lot of teams, us included. Now, it’s an ongoing process. … When the season starts, it doesn’t matter who signs who on July 1. You have to play the games. We’ll see.”
Even if the Wild stand pat, there will be a notable difference from much of last season.
Kirill Kaprizov missed 40 of 43 games from Dec. 27-April 6 with a lower-body injury. He returned April 9, when fellow first-line forward Joel Eriksson Ek also came back from missing 21 games with a lower-body injury.
“Usually, when you have that, things tend to fall apart, but they didn’t and we made the playoffs, which is great,” Guerin said.