Wild Notes: Zuccarello, Brodin, Eriksson Ek
Although veteran forward Mats Zuccarello is 38 years old and his contract is expiring, he is not looking to conclude his NHL career. Zuccarello indicated to The Athletic’s Joe Smith that he would like to play next season and beyond, saying “I feel like I have some more years left in me. But it’s up to contracts and everything like that. It’s not up to me always. So let’s just take this series, hopefully (the) next one, and see how far we go here before we start thinking about that.”
Zuccarello, 38, could play in his 1,000th NHL game if he ends up returning for next season. He hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down on the ice. In 2025-26, he scored 15 goals and 54 points in 59 regular-season games. He’s managed two goals and nine points in seven playoff contests. Zuccarello has played the best hockey of his career since superstar forward Kirill Kaprizov arrived in Minnesota, regularly flirting with point-per-game levels of production. He made $4.125MM on his last contract and he’s earned every right to stay at that level – if not exceed it – on his next deal.
Other notes from the State of Hockey:
- Injured Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin will not travel with the team to Colorado for their must-win game five against the Avalanche, Michael Russo of The Athletic reported today. Brodin, 32, suffered a lower-body injury in game five of the team’s first round series against the Dallas Stars. He has not played since. His regular role as Minnesota’s second-pair left-shot defenseman has been taken up by 23-year-old Daemon Hunt, and while Hunt has some admirable qualities to his game, he is a clear downgrade from the 915-game NHL veteran.
- The Wild will also be without injured center Joel Eriksson Ek for game five against the Avalanche, meaning the Wild will need to fight to keep their season alive without their best overall center. Eriksson Ek suffered a lower-body injury and has not played since the series against the Stars. The 29-year-old shutdown pivot scored 51 points in the regular season and five points in six games against Dallas. Eriksson Ek’s qualities as a matchup center would be hugely valuable for the Wild as they try to shut down Nathan MacKinnon and the rest of the Avalanche’s firepower. They’ll have to try to extend their season without him as Eriksson Ek remains injured.
NHL Announces General Manager Of The Year Finalists
The Wild’s Bill Guerin, the Avalanche’s Chris MacFarland, and the Ducks’ Pat Verbeek are the three finalists for this year’s Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, the league announced today.
The award is presented annually “to the general manager who best excelled at his role during the regular season.” It is voted on by the League’s general managers and, per the league, “a panel of NHL executives and print and broadcast media” after the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs concludes.
This is the first time all three names have surfaced as finalists for the award. Of the three, Guerin is the longest-tenured lead executive. He was hired in 2019 to lead the Wild, and has guided the team to the playoffs in five of his seven campaigns in charge of the team. His Wild went 46-24-12 this season, good for third place in the Western Conference.
Guerin pulled off what most would likely consider this past season’s boldest transaction, putting together a package of players, prospects, and draft picks strong enough to land Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. The move gave the Wild one of the game’s best players and arguably the game’s top defenseman.
He also secured the signature of franchise face Kirill Kaprizov on a massive contract extension, ensuring his team’s centerpiece player would not be departing in free agency. Kaprizov’s signing and the trade for Hughes represent two of the most consequential transactions in franchise history.
While Minnesota were pushed to the brink of elimination by the Avalanche last night, their loss should not diminish what Guerin accomplished this season – and that’s not even including his work constructing America’s roster for the Winter Olympics in Italy, work that resulted in a gold medal. He’s built the Wild into one of the NHL’s strongest teams, and his status as a finalist is a reflection of the strength of his body of work in 2025-26.
Verbeek, who like Guerin is a former longtime NHLer, has been running the Ducks’ hockey operations since February 2022. As GM in Anaheim, Verbeek has engineered a youth movement that is the envy of the NHL, securing high-end young pieces such as Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, and Beckett Sennecke.
But Verbeek hasn’t just stockpiled young talent. It’s his work to supplement his burgeoning young core with strong veteran contributors that has likely landed him as a finalist – and what has helped propel Anaheim to the second round of the playoffs.
Many rebuilding teams end up playing as many young players as possible, and the quality of the team overall suffers. The Ducks have taken a different approach, fusing a high number of young players with significant investments in veteran leaders. The result has been strong player development outcomes across the board, and the elevation of the Ducks into a winning, playoff-caliber team.
Verbeek signed Mikael Granlund and Alex Killorn as free agents, and landed Chris Kreider, Jacob Trouba, and most recently John Carlson via trade. Those additions, combined with the offseason hire of three-time Stanley Cup champion head coach Joel Quenneville, have supercharged the Ducks’ rebuild and pushed them back to contention at a quick pace.
Of the three finalists, MacFarland has been GM for the shortest period of time, though his tenure in Colorado overall actually stretches back more than a decade. Joe Sakic’s longtime assistant GM took the reins in 2022, and has since helped turn the Avalanche into a Presidents’ Trophy winner.
MacFarland’s bold decision to move on from star forward Mikko Rantanen, who was inching closer to unrestricted free agency, appears to have paid off. His direct replacement Martin Necas had an 100-point season and is now signed through 2033-34. MacFarland was also able to retain veteran pivot Brock Nelson, who ended up a Selke Trophy finalist in his first full campaign in Denver.
MacFarland has been able to find diamonds in the rough, such as Sam Malinski and Parker Kelly to support a contending team with fewer available draft picks thanks to trades designed to secure veteran talent.
The work of MacFarland and his staff has Colorado in a position to potentially win its second Stanley Cup of the 2020s, and that’s why he’s a finalist for GM of the year.
Photos courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images
Oskar Olausson Expected To Sign In Sweden
Wild pending restricted free agent forward Oskar Olausson is in the final stages of negotiations with Swedish Hockey League club Frölunda HC, Mattias Persson and Johan Svensson of Expressen report.
It’s a return home for the once highly-touted prospect, who spent most of this season in the Wild organization. Selected late in the first round (28th overall) by the Avalanche in 2021, he was traded to the Sharks for depth winger Daniil Gushchin last offseason before Minnesota acquired him less than three weeks into the season for defender Kyle Masters.
In a historically difficult environment to produce in AHL Iowa, he was limited to 12 goals and 29 points in 63 outings. That’s emblematic of what’s been a rocky developmental road for Olausson, whose NHL resume consists of just four appearances with Colorado in various recalls from 2022 to 2025.
The sniper’s AHL production never really popped, either. He looked like he maybe had some NHL potential left in the tank in 2023-24, when he put up 11 goals and 20 points in 39 games amid an injury-plagued season, but his points per game rate fell again after that brief surge. His underwhelming scoring line this season actually stands as a career high.
Provided Minnesota issues Olausson a qualifying offer, they’ll retain his NHL rights until 2030 if he indeed heads to Sweden. A breakout there could always preface a return to North America – he is still just 23 years old. It’s unclear how long Olausson plans to sign for with Frölunda.
Bogosian Back Tonight, Eriksson Ek Out Again
There is a mixture of good and bad news for the Wild as they head into the third game of their series against Colorado tonight. Michael Russo of The Athletic relays (Twitter link) that defenseman Zach Bogosian will indeed return from the lower-body injury that kept him out of Tuesday’s game. Meanwhile, after missing practice Friday due to illness, winger Mats Zuccarello took part in today’s morning skate and will be good to go for this game as well. However, the news isn’t as positive for center Joel Eriksson Ek. He didn’t skate today and has been ruled out for tonight’s contest, meaning that Minnesota will be trying to get back into the series without their top center once again.
Bogosian Could Return Saturday, Eriksson Ek Less Certain
There’s a rare three-day break in the Colorado-Minnesota series and with the Wild down a couple of games and a trio of veterans, they’re probably quite content to have the extra time. Head coach John Hynes told reporters today including Joe Smith of The Athletic (Twitter link) that they’re optimistic that defenseman Zach Bogosian will be able to return on Saturday from the lower-body injury that caused him to miss Tuesday’s contest. The news isn’t quite as good for Joel Eriksson Ek, however. Hynes relayed that the center has yet to skate since sustaining a lower-body injury of his own. However, it appears they’d be willing to put him in the lineup without a practice if he’s cleared to resume skating which hasn’t happened yet. Minnesota could certainly use Eriksson Ek back as they look to get back into the series.
Lower-Body Injury For Bogosian
- Prior to tonight’s game against Colorado, the Wild announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Zach Bogosian is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury. He was dealing with a lower-body issue down the stretch in the regular season but it’s unclear if this is a recurrence of that or something different. The 35-year-old had six points in 41 games during the season and had been averaging just over 13 minutes per night in the playoffs. Jeff Petry took Bogosian’s place in the lineup.
Wild To Start Filip Gustavsson In Game 2
The Minnesota Wild are making a change in their crease: the team plans to start Filip Gustavsson tonight for the second game of their series against the Colorado Avalanche. Gustavsson replaces Jesper Wallstedt, who surrendered eight goals in the team’s 9-6 loss to Colorado in game one.
Head coach John Hynes told the media, including The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Joe Smith, that there were a “multitude of reasons” factoring into the decision. He said that while both goalies are “excellent,” he views game two as “a good opportunity to get [Gustavsson] in the net.” Hynes characterized Gustavsson has “hungry” to get back on the ice.
Hynes made a point to emphasize that this move is not an indictment of Wallstedt’s performance in the playoffs. The 23-year-old posted a .916 save percentage in 35 games in the regular season, and has a .903 save percentage in seven playoff games.
Gustavsson, 27, is the veteran (relatively speaking) in the Wild crease. He’s been the team’s No. 1 goalie for a few seasons now, having developed into the role first as part of a tandem with Marc-Andre Fleury.
In the 2025-26 regular season, he posted a .904 save percentage in 50 games. Last season, he had a .914 save percentage in 58 games, landing him in sixth place in Vezina Trophy voting and even earning him down-ballot Hart Trophy votes.
Unlike Wallstedt, Gustavsson brings prior experience in the NHL playoffs. He’s made a total of 11 starts in the postseason, and while he’s only collected four wins, he does have a solid .917 save percentage in those contests.
The Wild will need to find a way to keep the puck out of the net to tie the series against Colorado, but injuries suffered by Jonas Brodin and Joel Eriksson Ek, neither of whom traveled with the team, makes that task a more difficult one.
Jonas Brodin out, Joel Eriksson Ek Questionable For Game 1 Vs. Avalanche
Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin will not be able to play in game one against the Colorado Avalanche tonight, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic. Additionally, center Joel Eriksson Ek is questionable with a lower-body injury. Eriksson Ek is questionable after he was shaken up in game six against the Dallas Stars, due to the fact that he lost his balance and hit the boards with some force. Brodin missed game six with a lower-body injury.
The fact that Minnesota will be without Brodin is already a significant loss for them, but the potential loss of Eriksson Ek could be even more significant. Colorado boasts center depth that is the envy of the league. Few teams have the kind of talent down the middle to be able to play a center like Nazem Kadri, who nearly led the Calgary Flames in scoring despite being traded mid-season, as a No. 3 pivot. The Wild are likely to count on Eriksson Ek’s highly-regarded defensive ability heavily in their efforts to shut down Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and others, so his health will be a key storyline to track as this series gets going.
Klippenstein Commits To Providence College
- Wild prospect Carter Klippenstein will be leaving the WHL next season to make the jump to the NCAA. Providence College announced on its Instagram page that the 19-year-old has committed to playing for them next season. A fifth-round pick last summer, Klippenstein was limited to just 38 games this season due to injury. Still, he was fairly productive, tallying 11 goals and 17 assists in those outings. With the transfer of leagues, Klippenstein’s signing timeline will be extended, giving Minnesota a couple of extra years to determine if they want to sign him. Had he stayed in junior, they’d have had to make that call just over a year from now.
Wild’s Jonas Brodin Out Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury
The Minnesota Wild will be forced to make a change on defense ahead of a potentially-decisive Game 6. Top-four defender Jonas Brodin will be forced to miss the outing due to a day-to-day, lower-body injury sustained in Game 5 per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. The injury occurred when Brodin blocked a shot from Stars winger Mikko Rantanen. He left the game with two minutes left in the second period and did not return.
Brodin has averaged 19:41 in ice time through five games this series. He has had a quiet postseason, with just one assist, four penalty minutes, and 14 shot blocks in five games. Brodin has still shined as a defensive impact, on the ice for four goals-for and two goals-against at even-strength.
His role has quelled significantly after averaging nearly 23 minutes of ice time through the 2024-25 season. That step down the depth chart is largely thanks to Minnesota’s newly-christened top pair of Quinn Hughes and Brock Faber, who are two of only four players averaging more than 30 minutes of ice time in the postseason. Both defenders have five points in as many games in these playoffs. Their presence, alongside Wild captain Jared Spurgeon, should help the Wild mitigate Brodin’s hole at even-strength and on the penalty-kill.
Jacob Middleton will move up to a second-pair role next to Spurgeon. Middleton recorded 16 points and a plus-two in 75 regular season games and has since notched one point and a plus-three in the postseason. He led all Wild defensemen with 87 hits through the regular season, underlining the physical and defense-first presence Middleton brings to the lineup.
Jeff Petry will come down from the press box in Brodin’s absence, playing in his first postseason game since 2021. Petry joined the Wild just ahead of the Trade Deadline and has scored one assist and a minus-five in nine games since. He has lost some spark in the sunset years of his career but has a career-long stat line of 13 points and a minus-two in 48 postseason games. He should offer a puck-moving boost to the third-pair.
Even with replacements at the ready, Minnesota will still need Hughes, Faber, and Spurgeon to step up if they want to seal the first round on Thursday. If they do, they could buy enough time for Brodin to recover from his injury before the start of the second round.