ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild have eight pending unrestricted free agents this offseason. They have not talked to any of those players’ agents yet, president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin told The Athletic.

After the Wild dissect the end of this season, they’ll begin to formulate their offseason plan and which players they may be willing to re-sign.

Five of those free agents talked with reporters Friday. (The others, Zach Bogosian, Jeff Petry and Robby Fabbri, weren’t requested.)

Here’s what we heard on them…

Michael McCarron

The center was highly sought after at the trade deadline, when the Wild traded a second-rounder for him, and will on July 1 if he reaches free agency. He wants to return, but this is his first chance at a huge payday, too.

“You have a GM and coach who wanted me to come in here and help the team, and when someone gives up what they gave up to get me, I think it shows how much they wanted me,” McCarron said. “So try to return the favor.

“At the same token, I think I’m at a point in my career where I haven’t really taken that next step financially, or had security, I’d say. I guess that’s what I’m looking for.”

Nick Foligno

Foligno said getting to play with younger brother Marcus was “a thrill of a lifetime for our family,” with the two chasing a Stanley Cup together after he got acquired from Chicago at the trade deadline.

“I still think we had moments, even as months went on, of just, ‘This is really cool. We’re really doing this,’” Foligno said.

And the 38-year-old would be open to keeping the dream alive and re-signing. He’s going to take time to talk with his family about continuing to play but said he’s “invested” in this group.

“I would love to come back,” Foligno said. “It’s a team that I genuinely feel is on the verge of becoming something great. It’s just a matter of making sure that I’m ready to do what’s necessary to help this team be successful.”

The key for Foligno is determining whether he wants to commit to the grind of playing another year.

“I’ve got to figure it out,” he said. “Like, if you ask me, I’d love to go right now and play. But I think as time wears on and reality hits, I’ve got to be — as you get older, I think the biggest thing is your family and the commitment you have to make to be at your craft 100 percent, right? I owe it to them. I owe it to myself. I owe it to the team I want to play for that I’m all in.”

Mats Zuccarello

Zuccarello, 38, reaffirmed what he told The Athletic this past week — that he’d like to continue to play, and that he’d prefer to do so with the Wild.

“It’s hard for me to say what they want and whatever is going to happen,” Zuccarello said. “But no, it’s going to be hard to see yourself leaving here, for sure. Like I told you guys, I’ve had my family and my girls are growing up here. It feels like home. But it’s not always up to yourself. You know how it is. But I’m sure we’ll figure that out when it comes.”

His sidekick, Kirill Kaprizov, hopes he returns.

“I always tell him he doesn’t look like he’s almost 40,” Kaprizov said. “Look at him on the ice and off the ice. He doesn’t look like he’s done. He can keep playing because he’s always in good shape, and he plays really good, and just — I don’t feel like he can be done in next one or two years. I don’t see it.”

Vladimir Tarasenko

Tarasenko, who scored 23 goals in a big-bounce back year, was effusive in his praise for the Wild and for the people in Minnesota for how they treated and welcomed him and his family. Acquired for future considerations from the Detroit Red Wings in June, the 34-year-old hopes to extend his career here.

“Absolutely, would love to return,” Tarasenko said. “We are — me and my family — are very thankful for Minnesota people, and organization make the transition smooth as possible.”

The on-ice fit for Tarasenko was great, in terms of him being able to play the right side. He was also a mentor to a fellow Russian, Danila Yurov. The money would have to be right for Minnesota, though, as it’s hard to imagine the Wild matching the $4.75 million average annual value he had on his last deal.

Marcus Johansson

Johansson was an $800,000 bargain this season, scoring 49 points. Last summer, hoping to reach the 1,000-game milestone, Johansson returned to Minnesota on a league-minimum deal. He was willing to play here or return to his old Swedish League team, Farjestad.

This time, his ask would probably come up to return, though.

“I feel like I played well for most of the year and stayed fairly healthy as well,” Johansson said, “I definitely still feel like I have a lot more hockey in me.”

Other notes from exit-interview day…

Middleton on tough playoffs

Jake Middleton, who has three years left on his deal at a $4.375 million AAV, was maligned throughout the playoffs, especially for the tying and winning goals in Wednesday’s 4-3 overtime loss in the deciding Game 5.

On Brett Kulak’s OT goal, he probably shouldn’t have chased Martin Necas, who had a full head of steam coming off the Colorado Avalanche bench on a line change after Kulak intercepted Kaprizov’s pass on a two-on-one.

On the tying goal by Nathan MacKinnon, he said the Wild’s system defending a five-on-six is to stay tight to the net and leave the shooter to the goalie.

“That’s a hell of a shot, too, right?” Middleton said. “The open net he had for Team Canada (in the Olympics), same kind of spot. Just crazy to see which one he scores and which one he didn’t.”

Middleton was on the ice for 13 goals against in the series. Jared Spurgeon, 11.

“I watch my shifts every game, I go back and watch them,” Middleton said. “There’s obviously times that you make a poor decision and it goes in the net. I don’t think that was the case for the majority of the playoffs, but yeah, it definitely felt like any time a puck went in the net, I was on the ice.

“It was a s—ty feeling. You look back, it’s not — how do I say it? If I was making mistakes and I wasn’t playing my balls off, I would feel a lot worse sitting up here talking to you guys. But I do think it was just a situation where they just went in, you know?”

McCarron regrets miss

There were probably a million plays from Game 5 that the Wild would like back.

But McCarron has spent a lot of time thinking about not being able to convert on a two-on-one with Matt Boldy early in overtime. The pass was out in front of him, and McCarron fanned on it.

“Kind of stings,” McCarron said. “I’ve thought about that a lot the last 48 hours. Their D played it pretty good, rushed (Boldy) into a quick pass. It was a little in front of me. I just knew if I tried to get it off with a one-timer, it was probably a goal. Looking back, I probably should have caught it on my backhand, took my time. In that split second, you get it off, that’s in the net.

“Coulda, shoulda, woulda.”

Spurgeon on future

Spurgeon said he felt good physically coming out of his 16th NHL season. And with Spurgeon, 36, entering the final year of his contract (at $7.575 million AAV), it’s natural to wonder about his future.

Would Spurgeon, who told The Athletic in March he can’t see himself playing anywhere else, be open to extending?

“I haven’t thought about it at all,” Spurgeon said. “Honestly, you go through the year, and you’re just focused on the end goal. I have one year left in the contract and just right now focused on going through the summer training, getting back, but that really hasn’t crossed my mind.”