One big issue is the Wild have traded a lot of assets the last few years \u2014 Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, Liam Ohgren, Marat Khusnutdinov, their 2026 first- and second-round picks and their 2027 and 2028 second-round picks \u2014 so they\u2019ll have to decide how much more of the future they\u2019re willing to mortgage.<\/p>\n
Young assets include Jesper Wallstedt, Danila Yurov, Bobby Brink, Daemon Hunt, Charlie Stramel, Hunter Haight, Riley Heidt and Adam Benak and, of course, future first-round picks.<\/p>\n
The Wild do, at least, have more trade flexibility with a number of their core pieces than they have in eons.<\/p>\n
Ryan Hartman, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jared Spurgeon have 10-team no-trade clauses, and Marcus Foligno and Jake Middleton have 15-team no-trade clauses, although both have no-moves until July 1.<\/p>\n
Jonas Brodin, Nico Sturm and Yakov Trenin don\u2019t have trade protection, nor do the team\u2019s youngsters.<\/p>\n
Heading into the offseason, the Wild have $88.86 million of cap space committed to eight forwards, five defensemen and two goalies, giving them $15.358 million worth of space to add up to eight players internally (for instance, re-signing restricted free agents Brink and Hunt, any of their unrestricted free agents or youngsters such as Haight or Stramel potentially making next year\u2019s roster) or externally.<\/p>\n
It will be a busy offseason. Let\u2019s take a look at the to-do list.<\/p>\n UFAs \u2014 who stays, who goes?<\/p>\n There\u2019s an argument to re-sign most of the Wild\u2019s eight UFAs. The problem is, there\u2019s just under $16 million of cap space to spread around, and if you\u2019re talking about Guerin going shopping for a top-line center, that\u2019ll squeeze it even more. Let\u2019s go one by one:<\/p>\n Mats Zuccarello: The 38-year-old feels as if he still has some years left <\/a>playing hockey, and there\u2019s value in bringing him back. He\u2019s Kirill Kaprizov\u2019s right-hand man and a team leader. Guerin said there\u2019s \u201calways interest in Zuccy\u201d and they\u2019ll take care of this over the summer. It seems like if Zuccarello plays, it\u2019ll be here, and it\u2019ll just be a matter of the term. He\u2019s coming off a two-year deal with a $4.125 million average annual value. Would he take less, both in money and in role?<\/p>\n Marcus Johansson: He was a bargain at $800,000, and it\u2019ll be interesting to see what he says at Friday\u2019s exit interviews about his future. He was noncommittal about his future earlier this season, and last offseason, it sounded as if he was entertaining only a return to the Wild (despite the fact he could have made more elsewhere) or returning to his old Swedish Hockey League team, Farjestad. The 35-year-old did say when he hit the 1,000-game milestone<\/a> that he feels he has a lot of hockey left. The issue with bringing Johansson back is that the Wild must get better in the top six, but Johansson always ends up as the second-line left wing. The Wild said he\u2019d be a bottom-six winger last year when he signed \u2014 and that\u2019s where he started until it didn\u2019t work with Vladimir Tarasenko. Johansson is so trusted that his presence gives the Wild an easy way out rather than upgrading the top six.<\/p>\n Michael McCarron: He\u2019s big, wins faceoffs, can play up and down in the lineup<\/a>, and you can bet the Wild would love him back. But there was enough interest in him at the trade deadline that it cost the Wild a second-rounder. And with few good centers on the market, he may be able to get a $4 million or $5 million payday, which could be too steep.<\/p>\n Vladimir Tarasenko: Acquired for \u201cfuture considerations,\u201d Tarasenko was a good buy-low bargain, putting up 23 goals in a bounce-back season, mostly in a third-line role. His production dropped in the playoffs, with two goals in 11 games, but he wants to keep winning, feels Minnesota\u2019s a fit and was a good mentor for Yurov, so a reunion could be explored if the price is right.<\/p>\n Nick Foligno: What a story this was,<\/a> with the Foligno brothers reunited in Minnesota to chase the Stanley Cup. Nick, the former Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks captain, was an instant hit in the room (and with reporters hoping to fill their notebooks) and became a regular on the fourth line. He also scored two goals in Wednesday\u2019s Game 5 loss. Considering how much the Folignos enjoyed this, Nick likely has interest in returning. It\u2019s just a matter of the price. The Wild would likely want him back at a league-minimum deal and could be better-served giving prospects such as Stramel and Haight a look.<\/p>\n Zach Bogosian: Bogosian is 35 years old and had an inordinate number of ankle issues this season on both legs, but he\u2019d be a simple buy-low option if he wants to keep playing and would take a league-minimum deal. Guerin loves him, and his brother, Aaron, works in the front office<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jeff Petry: He was a good insurance policy but seems likely to move on, especially if Bogosian re-signs.<\/p>\n Robby Fabbri: Fabbri provided veteran depth and was a cheap waiver claim, but he played in just six games, none in the playoffs, so they\u2019ll probably part ways.<\/p>\n Extend Hughes<\/p>\n Hughes is eligible to sign an extension July 1, when he\u2019ll be a year away from unrestricted free agency. It\u2019s a top priority for the Wild.<\/p>\n Guerin took a calculated risk in acquiring Hughes without any promises that the 2024 Norris Trophy winner would sign an extension. There seemed to be good signs from the start, such as Hughes saying he\u2019d always remember how much Guerin gave up for him. The Wild hope that\u2019s the case when it comes to staying.<\/p>\n Every time we talked to Hughes during the season, he mentioned how much he enjoyed the team and staff. He talked about how good the Wild can be once he, Matt Boldy, Kaprizov and Brock Faber build chemistry, and it showed as Hughes was one of the team\u2019s best players in the playoffs.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll know more about how Hughes feels after exit interviews, but it didn\u2019t seem like all of his good feelings about the Wild were wiped with one series loss to the Presidents\u2019 Trophy winners.<\/p>\n \u201cThis one stings. Love the guys. Love the coaching staff. The whole organization,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cYeah, I mean this one really stings. I just felt like we had a really good team. You get through these guys, you never know. But if we had to lose, you want to lose to these guys. These guys are the best.\u201d<\/p>\n It wouldn\u2019t be a surprise for Hughes to sign a three-year extension this summer or next season, which would give him four years of his prime to chase the Cup with Minnesota \u2014 and align his contract\u2019s expiration with his brother Jack\u2019s in New Jersey.<\/p>\n Hughes shattered the Wild\u2019s regular-season and playoff record book, and the Wild mortgaged the future to get him, so they\u2019ll be motivated to give him a payday. Cale Makar is also extension eligible this summer, so either one could reset the market for the other. This will be spendy, but the 2027-28 cap is set to increase to an estimated $113.5 million.<\/p>\n Decide on the coaching staff<\/p>\n Hynes guided the Wild to their first second-round appearance in 11 years, their second consecutive postseason under his tenure and their seventh 100-point season in 25 years. He\u2019s almost certainly safe for now.<\/p>\n That said, he is entering the last year of his contract, which will ramp up the pressure if he isn\u2019t signed to an extension this offseason.<\/p>\n Our gut: He will be.<\/p>\n The rest of the staff could get a look. The penalty kill has now been a problem for several playoff runs. It showed promise as the league\u2019s best from the Olympic break on (and Hynes\u2019 U.S. PK was 18-for-18 at the Olympics), but still, this should be evaluated. Whether it\u2019s bringing in a veteran coach or a change in personnel, the Wild can\u2019t keep doing the same thing and expect different results.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t a coaching staff decision, but director of amateur scouting Judd Brackett has six weeks left on his contract and has yet to be promoted or extended. The Wild have amateur scouting meetings coming up, and Guerin presumably will address this delicate situation around that time, but as of now, Brackett and many scouts are unsigned past July 1.<\/p>\n Get a No. 1 center and\/or top-six forward<\/p>\n We all know how difficult it is to get top-six forwards, especially centers, and the trade market isn\u2019t quite clear yet. But the Wild will do everything they can to get one \u2026 within reason. (Like, they\u2019re not trading Faber or Boldy, and Kaprizov has a no-move clause in his new contract.) Whom should they make calls on?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Wild-cap-chart.jpg\")
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