Jesper Wallstedt didn\u2019t need to make Christmas plans. He already knew where he was going.<\/p>\n
The past couple years, Wallstedt said, Marcus Johansson has hosted the Wild\u2019s Swedes over his house for the holiday. It provides a place for the likes of Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek and Filip Gustavsson to connect and have their traditional fare.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not surprising, as Johansson, his wife Amelia, and their two daughters, Mila and Elize, have really found a home in the Twin Cities. It\u2019s a big reason why Johansson signed a one-year, $800K deal last summer to stay.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was my No. 1 option,\u201d Johansson said. \u201cFor myself and my family, my kids, this is where we wanted to be. It\u2019s not about the money. It\u2019s not about anything else. I wanted to play here. I want to be somewhere where I know my family likes it and kids like their schools. To me, it was a no-brainer.\u201d<\/p>\n
What could be a more intriguing question is whether the Wild and Johansson are a match for another contract, as the veteran winger is due to be a UFA next summer but eligible for an extension any time after Jan. 1.<\/p>\n
Johansson, whose 11 goals in 37 games equal his totals each of the past two years with the Wild and whose 28 points are six fewer than he had last season in 72 games, has had a terrific year and looks like he has more hockey left in the tank. An extension could make sense after recently trading forwards Marco Rossi and Liam \u00d6hgren.<\/p>\n
Marcus Johansson = hockey guy pic.twitter.com\/f7zq1bx0an<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n However, Johansson isn\u2019t the only veteran the Wild will have to decide on. There\u2019s a chance Minnesota could look at extending Mats Zuccarello and Zach Bogosian as well.<\/p>\n Zuccarello, 38, has to decide if he wants to continue playing beyond this year \u2014 though he and buddy Kirill Kaprizov still have that special chemistry, as we were reminded of with Zuccarello\u2019s setup of Kaprizov\u2019s go-ahead goal Saturday in Winnipeg. Bogosian, 35, has resurrected his career here after falling into a seventh defenseman\/healthy scratch role with the Tampa Bay Lightning a few years ago.<\/p>\n We believe the Wild would have some level of interest in bringing the three back, at the right contract. But even still, GM and president of hockey operations Bill Guerin might show some patience.<\/p>\n There\u2019s so much up in the air with the Wild potentially making moves in advance of the March 6 trade deadline. The blockbuster for Quinn Hughes wasn\u2019t the end of Guerin\u2019s shopping, especially if the group looks like a contender. He\u2019d want to add without deleting, so it could be a case where they could wait to see what the roster looks like later this season or early summer.<\/p>\n Zuccarello said before the season he was undecided as to whether to play beyond this season, but if he wants to come back, it\u2019s hard to imagine Guerin won\u2019t find a contract for him.<\/p>\n Zuccarello, who forced overtime Saturday night with the tying goal with 20 seconds left in regulation, showed how important he was to the team when the Wild went 12 consecutive games (10-0-2) without losing in regulation after having to wait for his season debut a month into the season following core muscle surgery.<\/p>\n He has scored three goals and 13 assists in 19 games and ranks fourth in franchise history with 245 assists and seventh with 351 points.<\/p>\n FOUND A WAY pic.twitter.com\/zpr9pipunx<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) December 28, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Originally acquired to provide depth a couple years ago when Calen Addison was moved, Bogosian has been a reliable third-pair defender and penalty killer while finishing up a two-year deal ($1.25 million AAV). He\u2019s also been a big part of the culture of the dressing room; a reason Zeev Buium picked 24 as his Vancouver Canucks number was his respect for Bogosian.<\/p>\n Bogosian has felt great since early-season surgery to repair a broken ankle. He\u2019s always been a gifted skater, and the 6-foot-3, 231-pounder still moves really well. The Cup champion also provides something important on a relatively smaller blue line: size and sandpaper.<\/p>\n Now, the one issue in re-signing Bogosian is what it means for prospect David Jiricek. The Wild gave up a boatload in November 2024 for the 2022 No. 6 pick, and while Jiricek hasn\u2019t been able to stick yet at the NHL level, they might not want to bury him either (and there\u2019d be no room with Bogosian, Jake Middleton, Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, Brock Faber and Hughes all on the roster).<\/p>\n Stick with goalie rotation?<\/p>\n Since Nov. 9, the Wild have had a pretty strict goalie rotation, with Gustavsson and Wallstedt alternating games. There have been two instances in which Gustavsson had consecutive games, though it was mostly opponent-related.<\/p>\n Could the Wild continue with this plan in the second half?<\/p>\n \u201cEverything is short-term in our world,\u201d coach John Hynes said. \u201cI think both players are playing really well. It doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s always going to be a strict rotation. Maybe it\u2019s a guy playing a couple games in a row, or it\u2019s one guy plays, the other guy does. It\u2019s all determined on performance. If performance stays high we can continue doing what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Would Hynes rather a goalie grab the net and be a true No. 1 down the stretch?<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d rather have the situation where two guys are playing really well,\u201d Hynes said. \u201cThey\u2019re focused. Being around the league long enough, sometimes there are times, yes, you can ride a hot goaltender and sometimes it is out of necessity. Maybe the other guy is hurt, maybe the other guy is really hot, maybe somebody is not playing as well. But for long-term over 82 games, if you can play both goaltenders regularly and both guys give you a chance to win every single night, that\u2019s a great recipe for the team and the individual goalies.\u201d<\/p>\n Brackett on Yurov<\/p>\n When Carson Lambos made his NHL debut in Columbus on Dec. 18, that meant 100 percent of Judd Brackett\u2019s first-round picks since 2020 who have turned professional had played in at least one game for the Wild.<\/p>\n With three of those first-round picks \u2014 Rossi, \u00d6hgren and Buium \u2014 traded in the Hughes deal, Brackett is really excited about the growth of Danila Yurov, who has five points in his past six games and recently had a three-point performance against the Washington Capitals.<\/p>\n Yurov\u2019s impact is one reason why the Wild felt comfortable trading Rossi.<\/p>\n \u201cI think, even if you think back to the rookie tournament, he comes over, eyes wide open and it\u2019s his first time living in North America,\u201d said Brackett, the Wild\u2019s director of amateur scouting. \u201cThere\u2019s a culture change, there\u2019s language, there\u2019s expectations. It\u2019s a lot to digest. And I think he has just continued to play smart hockey, detailed hockey.<\/p>\n \u201cDo I think there\u2019s more offense to come? I do. I think that\u2019ll come with surroundings and comfort, but he\u2019s shown that he\u2019s smart enough. He\u2019s shown that he can play at pace. He\u2019s incredibly responsible already at this age, which is usually what you\u2019re working on with a young player. And even the other night (against Washington), what was he, 10 of 11 on draws?<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think the runway is tremendous for him. He\u2019s a guy who doesn\u2019t cheat for offense, that you love seeing him jump in on the hit on Zuccarello (in Seattle). This guy, he\u2019s a hockey player. He gets it and he knows the work that goes into it, so I just see a guy who\u2019s going to spend his offseason getting better and better and coming back each year to build on what he started with.\u201d<\/p>\n Hughes further puts Wild on map<\/p>\n It\u2019s the holiday season and the Wild are on the road until Jan. 10, so tickets weren\u2019t likely to be sold this time of year.<\/p>\n But it is striking that the Wild have sold out all six home games since the Hughes trade, considering they sold out three of their first 16 games at Grand Casino Arena.<\/p>\n Blockbusters like the Hughes trade don\u2019t happen often in the NHL and Wild fans are clearly energized by a team that is 6-1-1 since the trade (5-1-1 with Hughes in the lineup).<\/p>\n What\u2019s also cool is that usually Minnesota is flyover country in the NHL. So it was neat seeing Matt Boldy featured in the NHL\u2019s \u201cWork From Home\u201d ad spot earlier this season with Connor Bedard, Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Sidney Crosby and Travis Sanheim. And now, in the league\u2019s latest spot, \u201cAI Can\u2019t NHL,\u201d we get to see Hughes\u2019 acting chops alongside Jake Oettinger, Cale Makar and Charlie McAvoy.<\/p>\n The timing of the commercial\u2019s release was perfect, too, as it came after the Dec. 12 trade. Editors were able to scramble and sub out Hughes highlights in a Wild uniform instead of the original Canucks sweater.<\/p>\n Hughes is starting to fit in with the Wild, as evidenced by his three-assist game in Saturday\u2019s overtime win. Just like Guerin envisioned, the winner was a Kaprizov-to-Hughes-to-Boldy beauty.<\/p>\n 97 43 12 comin\u2019 through pic.twitter.com\/zEBFvomAVx<\/a><\/p>\n