With the NHL season now less than a week away, we continue our look at what each team has done this summer and what to watch for in the year to come. Next up is a look at the Minnesota Wild.
Last Season: 45-26-11 record (101 points), third in the Central Division (lost to Winnipeg in the first round of the playoffs)
Remaining Cap Space: $1.77MM per CapFriendly
Key Additions: D Matt Bartkowski (free agent, Calgary), F J.T. Brown (free agent, Anaheim), F Eric Fehr (free agent, San Jose), F Matt Hendricks (free agent, Winnipeg), F Matt Read (free agent, Philadelphia), D Greg Pateryn (free agent, Dallas)
Key Subtractions: F Matt Cullen (free agent, Pittsburgh), F Tyler Ennis (buyout, Toronto), D Kyle Quincey (free agent, HIFK, SM-liiga), F Daniel Winnik (free agent, PTO with Boston)
[Related: Wild Depth Chart From Roster Resource]
Player To Watch: F Eric Staal – Two years ago, Staal’s decision to join Minnesota largely flew under the radar. His first season in Minnesota was stronger than most expected with 65 points but his follow up was even more surprising; last year, he led the team in scoring with 42 goals and 76 points.
What does he have in store for an encore? His camp along with new GM Paul Fenton have agreed to put off discussions regarding a possible extension until sometime during the season so it’s clear that Fenton wants to see if this jump in production is at least somewhat sustainable or if he’s going to revert to his level of production towards the end of his time in Carolina.
From the perspective of the Wild, the 33-year-old is a key cog of their attack and they will be counting on him to provide a lot of offense, even if a dip in production is likely. Around the league, however, eyes will be on Staal to see if he shows that he could still be a top-six producer for a little while yet. If he plays well again this season, he’ll be one of the top centers eligible to hit the open market if no in-season extension is reached. Given the demand for quality pivots, a strong showing would put him in line for a nice raise on his current $3.5MM deal.
Key Storyline: When Fenton was brought in to replace Chuck Fletcher as GM, it was expected that he’d quickly put his stamp on a team that, for the most part, has stayed together over the last few years. Instead, the new manager locked up the core restricted free agents and didn’t do much to the roster outside of adding some more grit in depth roles.
When will that change? How quickly will Fenton look to make a move to change up the core if the team comes out of the gate slowly? Minnesota has been viewed as an underachiever over the last couple of years which played a role in Fletcher’s ouster so it’s reasonable to expect that Fenton’s directive is to not be quite as patient.
Their limited cap space may be a factor if they want to make a move early on but Minnesota will be worth watching as they are a team that appears to be a candidate to make a notable in-season trade that shakes up their core group.
Overall Outlook: While Nashville and Winnipeg are the early favorites for the top spots in the Central, the final guaranteed playoff spot appears to be up for grabs. St. Louis has made some improvements but the rest of the division (the Wild included) stayed fairly quiet over the summer. Accordingly, Minnesota should contend for that final division spot and if they don’t land it, they will be in the mix for a Wild Card spot.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.