ST. PAUL, Minn. — Marcus Foligno figures he’ll have many conversations about his brother Nick’s future around the campfire at their neighboring Sudbury, Ontario, cabins in the coming weeks.
They lived out their dream together of being teammates with the Minnesota Wild this season after Nick got acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks at the March trade deadline. They were able to chase the Stanley Cup together, albeit falling short in the second round against the Colorado Avalanche.
Marcus believes Nick has plenty more to give and will come back — and that it will be for a reunion in Minnesota, if so. But he won’t know that for sure until Nick shows up at their first summer workout session.
“It’s up to Nick, his energy level and what he has left in the tank,” Marcus told The Athletic. “I do believe, and we’ve talked about it — if there’s a chance to come back for one more year, it’d be a no-brainer to come back to Minnesota and try to do this thing to win the Cup. That’s the big thing. We had so much fun together.
“He loves the guys in the room. Nick showed he’s a great role piece for this team and can do some damage when it matters the most. He likes the makeup of the team. He wants to win the Cup. We all do. But it all comes down to walking into that first workout and saying, ‘Let’s do this,’ or ‘I’m done.’”
Nick said on Friday that he’d love to come back and play. But as time goes on and reality hits him, he wants to be sure he’s 100 percent committed.
“I owe it to (my family), I owe it to myself, I owe it to the team I want to play for that I’m all in,” Nick said.
One of eight pending unrestricted free agents for the Wild, Nick was a good fit after the trade, becoming a fixture in the bottom six and on the penalty kill and a respected voice in the room. Nick and Marcus were often linemates, including when Nick scored two goals in Game 5 against the Avalanche.
Nick would have to take a big cut on last year’s cap hit of $4.5 million, and Marcus said his brother understands that and would be willing.
“Once you get up there in age, you make pretty good coin in your career,” Marcus said. “To run it back one more year and try to win, finances might be a little bit less. He understands that.”
Nick joked, “Well, I’m looking for a little less than Kirill (Kaprizov) — like $16 million, and then I think we’ll make it work.”
“Nah, you know what, listen — I got to live out a dream with Marcus, and not just Marcus, with these guys,” he added. “I really enjoyed this group. Take away the fact I finally got to play with my little brother and experience that, which was a thrill of a lifetime for our family, for us. I still think we had moments, even as months went on, of just, ‘This is really cool. We’re really doing this.’ And then to play in the playoffs, the high stakes, and seeing him out there and how he played and performed and doing that together, it was special.
“So, yeah, is it something I would love for it to continue? Yeah. I’m invested in this group. But we’ll see where it goes. I’ve got to talk to my family. I’ve got to figure out what’s next. I’m a little longer in the tooth, not in the hair, but in the tooth. So, we’ll see where it goes.”
Both brothers said the experience of playing together was better than they had envisioned. Nick got to spend more time with his nieces, Marcus’ three daughters. Nick lived in a hotel, but the brothers were inseparable around the rink and on the road, where Marcus said it felt like their childhood. Nick’s family also made three trips from Columbus to visit, including for the brothers’ favorite moment, Game 4 of the Dallas Stars series.
Marcus Foligno celebrates his game-tying goal against Dallas on April 25. The Wild’s 3-2 playoff victory marked the first time Marcus and Nick Foligno’s father saw his sons play together on the same NHL team. (Nick Wosika / Imagn Images)
Around 30 family members and friends were at that game, and Marcus scored the tying goal. The whole clan congregated in the Wild dressing room afterward to soak it in.
“The magnitude of the game, all their smiling faces, makes it sweeter, right?” Marcus said. “Excited to do that in front of them. My dad’s first game with us together. It was a great script.”
Wild president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin knew it’d make for a great story when he acquired Nick from Chicago for “future considerations,” but the decision wasn’t sentimental. Guerin felt Nick would help the group on the ice, and he did, albeit in a small sample size.
Over the course of Foligno’s 17 regular-season games, the Wild had a 66 percent expected goals rate, according to Evolving-Hockey, and Foligno also had good two-way numbers below the surface. Minnesota didn’t convert on a lot of those chances, and Foligno scored just once, but he also played the penalty kill, won faceoffs and provided versatility, playing center and wing.
There are a lot of puzzle pieces the Wild have to fit into their roster, and they’re going to make an aggressive pitch to pending free agent Michael McCarron, who was great after getting acquired at the deadline. Minnesota has interest in bringing Mats Zuccarello back, too, Guerin said. Will Marcus Johansson return on another bargain deal? There are only so many spots available, and the Wild are looking to acquire big pieces this summer, too.
Nick Foligno thinks it could well be a Cup-contending mix.
“I think so,” Foligno said. “I’ve been around a long time, and I think it gets thrown around a lot, but I’ve genuinely seen a lot of great teams. I’ve seen a lot of bad teams. And I think this team is on the verge of understanding what it takes to win, and I think that’s the biggest thing I’ll take away. Through your failures, you’re trying to learn as much as you can, and I think through this one, it should be how consistent you have to be to win and how important that is. Maybe it’s not the prettiest. Maybe it’s not the sexiest. But it’s effective.
“If you look at Colorado and what they were able to do against us, it wasn’t the prettiest at times, but it was effective, and they stuck with their game plan. They stuck with who they are, and I think if we can get to that mindset and this group can get to that mindset and the core that they have, the hunger that they have to win, I don’t see why we won’t be a team that’s in the Stanley Cup Final and vying for that down the road, because the skill’s too great. The want is too great. I think they’re surrounded by a great staff and an organization that’s building it to win.”
For Marcus, it’s hard to imagine an NHL without his brother. He said he plays hockey because of Nick and “always wanted to be like him, do everything like him.” Marcus tries to balance pushing Nick to keep playing while knowing his older brother has to do what’s best for him and his family. But he thinks there’s more in the tank.
“I have no doubt in my mind,” Marcus said. “If he didn’t feel like his game was there, that’s a different story. But Nick is a great player. He’s got more to give, and it’s his want to win a Cup eventually or to be in a position one more time to see it through.
“If we both would vote, it’s one more year in Minny.”