Salary Cap Deep Dive: Minnesota Wild
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2023-24 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Minnesota Wild
Current Cap Hit: $81,856,921 (under the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Brock Faber (two years, $925K)
F Marco Rossi (two years, $863K)
Potential Bonuses
Rossi: $850K
Rossi was viewed as a long-term option down the middle when they drafted him ninth overall in 2020 but it hasn’t happened just yet. His post-draft season saw him battle through a life-threatening heart scare while his first two seasons in Minnesota’s system have been spent primarily in the minors. He averaged close to a point per game in Iowa so the skills are certainly there. If he can translate that to the NHL (he struggled in that regard last season), he could be a fixture in their lineup for a long time and as we’ve seen, productive centers can get paid quickly.
Faber joined the Wild late in the season and made an early mark, skating as a regular for them in the playoffs. He should have a leg up on a roster spot for this year. However, unless he sees a fair bit of power play time, it seems unlikely that Faber will be in a spot to command a long-term extension and bypass a bridge deal altogether.
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
F Connor Dewar ($800K, RFA)
F Brandon Duhaime ($1.1MM, UFA)
G Marc-Andre Fleury ($3.5MM, UFA)
D Alex Goligoski ($2MM, UFA)
F Marcus Foligno ($3.1MM, UFA)
F Ryan Hartman ($1.7MM, UFA)
F Pat Maroon ($800K, UFA)*
F Mats Zuccarello ($6MM, UFA)
*-Tampa Bay is retaining an additional $200K on Maroon’s contract
Zuccarello is a rare example of a player becoming more productive the older he gets. After seeing his output dip at the end of his tenure with the Rangers and hover near that level in his first two years with Minnesota, the 36-year-old has had his two best offensive showings over the past two seasons. Yes, some of that is attributable to the player lining up on his opposite wing but it would be hard to walk away from entirely who produces that much in the hopes that someone cheaper could produce as much as that same winger. Independently, a player with Zuccarello’s recent production could make a case for a raise but with his age, that could be tough. At this point, a one-year deal worth around $5MM could work for both sides with the AAV dropping on a two-year agreement.
Foligno looked to have turned the corner in 2021-22, posting a career year offensively but came up well short of that last season. If he stays around the 25-30-point mark, he could command a deal similar in size to this one but as teams look to make their bottom six cheaper, he could also feel the squeeze a little bit. Hartman wasn’t quite able to put the same numbers as his breakout 2021-22 campaign either but produced at better than a 50-point pace which is still a fantastic return on his current contract. That’s second-line production and a second-line middleman can command more than $5MM per season on the open market.
Duhaime is a capable fourth liner who plays with plenty of physicality and chips in a bit offensively but the market for those players is starting to flat-line. A small raise isn’t impossible – especially if he can crack the double-digit mark in goals but the AAV should still start with a one. Maroon comes over from the Lightning to help fill the void created by the departure of Ryan Reaves to Toronto. He fits on the fourth line but his market value shouldn’t be much higher than his current deal. As for Dewar, the 24-year-old spent plenty of time on the fourth line as well but plays center and kills penalties, giving him a bit more earnings upside. A small bump on the 18 points he had last season could give him a shot at coming close to doubling this contract, especially with arbitration eligibility.
Goligoski’s homecoming has been up and down, to say the least. His first season (2021-22) saw him play an important role and when he signed this deal, it looked like a team-friendly one. However, he struggled to crack the lineup last season and didn’t play well when he was in. Now, it’s a deal they’d almost certainly like to move if they could but with his struggles and trade protection, that will be easier said than done and another contract is far from a guarantee.
Fleury’s first full season with Minnesota was decent. He’s no longer a top starter but his numbers were better than the NHL average and getting that performance for the cost of a good backup is fine. He turns 39 in November so it’s possible he’s entering his final NHL campaign.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Marcus Johansson ($2MM, UFA)
D Jon Merrill ($1.2MM, UFA)
D Jacob Middleton ($2.45MM, UFA)
The first time Minnesota acquired Johansson, things didn’t go very well. He battled injuries and struggled when he was in the lineup. When GM Bill Guerin brought him back at the trade deadline, it was a different story as he averaged nearly a point per game down the stretch. That’s unsustainable for him but at this price point, they don’t need that level of production. If he can hover around the 30-35-point mark, they’ll do well with this contract.
Middleton isn’t going to light up the scoresheet but he’s a capable stay-at-home defender who’s best suited for a fourth or fifth role on the depth chart. That’s basically where he stands with the Wild and if he wants to push himself into a higher salary tier, his production will need to come around. Otherwise, his market value in 2025 might be around the $3.5MM range. Merrill is a capable depth piece that gives Minnesota some value when he’s a regular in the lineup but is overpaid when he’s in the reserve role. If they need to open up some cap space, waiving and assigning him to the minors and calling up a cheaper defender would give them a few hundred thousand to work with.
Signed Through 2025-26
G Filip Gustavsson ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Kirill Kaprizov ($9MM, UFA)
Minnesota wanted a max-term deal for Kaprizov when his entry-level deal was up back in 2021 but the winger wasn’t particularly interested in one so they settled on this one instead, an agreement that bought a little more team control but positioned him to land a significant max-term contract in 2029 if he wants one at that point. His numbers dipped a bit last season but he still played at a 92-point pace on the heels of a 105-point showing the year before. A continuation of that level of production coupled with a projected jump in the salary cap between now and then should give Kaprizov a serious chance at pushing for a contract that would break the current record for a winger ($11.643MM).
A year ago, the thought of Gustavsson having this contract would have been shocking. After all, he failed to establish himself as even a regular backup in Ottawa. However, he was second in the league in GAA and SV% last season, albeit in just 37 starts. As a result, this deal is somewhat of a compromise by paying him at the top end for a platoon option which is reflective of the role he might still have this season. If he becomes a true number one, however, this will be a steal quickly.
Summer Synopsis: Minnesota Wild
In 10 out of the last 11 years, the Stanley Cup playoffs have featured the Minnesota Wild. Unfortunately for the Wild, the playoffs have not featured them for very long, as the team has been unable to appear in the Western Conference Finals since the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Still dealing with the financial ramifications of buying out both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise, Minnesota has had little cap space to work with, but General Manager Bill Guerin has done some solid work doing the best with what he has. After the 2024-25 season, the team will be off the hook for most of the financial penalty caused by the buyouts, and they are hoping to tread water with this team until then.
However, with the team continuing to age, especially the defensive core, it may prove to be a bit difficult for the Wild to become one of the top teams in the Western Conference. The team did well in retaining some key players this summer but mostly nibbled around the edges in terms of the free agent and trade markets.
Draft
1-21: F Charlie Stramel, Wisconsin (NCAA)
2-53: F Rasmus Kumpulainen, Pelicans (U20 SM-Sarja)
2-64: F Riley Heidt, Prince George (WHL)
5-149: D Aaron Pionk, Waterloo (USHL)
6-181: D Kalem Parker, Victoria (WHL)
7-213: F James Clark, Green Bay (USHL)
In their first-round selection in Stramel, the Wild have found a player with a similar frame to Marcus Foligno, with a higher ceiling. Stramel is a solid player in the tight areas of the game, proving an ability to battle and score goals in front of the net. In his first season playing for the University of Wisconsin last year, Stramel played in 33 games, scoring seven goals and five assists. There are some concerns about Stramel, however; as many scouts have noted that his early growth spurt may have caused him to look more talented than he actually was at the time, noting that his development pace has slowed in recent years.
The team’s second-round pick, Kumpulainen, appears to be a bit of a reach. In last year’s U18 World Juniors Championships, he was a big part of Team Finland, scoring five points in five games, and playing in nearly all situations for the team. However, although he is incredibly competitive, meaning he could certainly will his way to the NHL level, his raw talent doesn’t strike much confidence in his development. It will be very difficult for the Minnesota development coaches to grow his skating ability to a professional standard, and that may prove too difficult to overcome.
Trade Acquisitions
F Pat Maroon (from Tampa Bay)
F Maxim Cajkovic (from Tampa Bay)
Acquired in the same trade from the Tampa Bay Lightning back in July, the move to acquire Maroon is likely to replace the void left in the absence of Ryan Reaves. After being acquired from the New York Rangers in late November, Reaves provided a lot of energy and fire into the Wild lineup and became a solid leader for the club. Much like Reaves, Maroon should slot into the bottom six of the Minnesota forward group, and provide the same leadership and physical presence as he did with the Lightning.
A throw-in player for the most part, Cajkovic has split the past two seasons between the AHL and the ECHL. A third-round pick for Tampa Bay back in the 2019 NHL Draft, Cajkovic spent the majority of last season with the Orlando Solar Bears, scoring 10 goals and 17 assists in 41 games. There is a chance that he could earn a spot on the Iowa Wild’s roster next year, but his most likely landing spot will be with the Iowa Heartlanders of the ECHL.
Key UFA Signings
F Vinni Lettieri (two years, $1.55MM)*
F Jacob Lucchini (one year, $775K)*
* denotes two-way contract
This summer, most of Minnesota’s available cap space was reinvested back into the team, locking in players such as Brandon Duhaime and Filip Gustavsson, as well as seeing a big contract extension kick in for forward Matt Boldy. Keeping that in mind, it was no surprise to see the Wild only make a pair of two-way signings.
Both Lettieri and Luccini will spend the majority of next season in the AHL, and assuming the health of the Wild this year, may not see NHL minutes at all.
Key Departures
D Matt Dumba (Arizona, one year, $3.9MM)
D John Klingberg (Toronto, one year, $4.15MM)
F Gustav Nyquist (Nashville, two years, $6.37MM)
F Ryan Reaves (Toronto, three years, $4.05MM)
F Sam Steel (Dallas, one year, $800K)
F Oskar Sundqvist (St.Louis, one year, $775K)
Fortunately for Minnesota, most of this group were trade deadline acquisitions, meaning they did survive for much of last season without much of this group. However, it is a lot of NHL talent to see walk away from your team over a summer. Due to the $14MM of dead cap on their books for the next two seasons, there was just no possible reality in which the Wild could retain most of this group. Because Minnesota did lose so much talent and failed to replace them in any meaningful way, it is tough to say the Wild got better this offseason.
Dumba and Reaves will make up the largest holes for the team to fill in terms of leadership. Dumba had spent the last decade making up a significant part of Minnesota’s defensive core, and although his offensive numbers took a significant dip along the way, his presence will surely be missed by the Wild.
Salary Cap Outlook
Over the next seasons, given their financial circumstances due to the Parise and Suter buyouts, the Wild will merely have to try and survive in a competitive Western Conference. In a top-heavy Central Division, there is a pathway for them to clinch a playoff spot as a third seed, but they are simply not improving enough to be considered a legitimate playoff threat.
Going into this year, the Wild have a touch over $1.6MM available to them in cap space, and much like they did last year, should spend a good chunk of that at next year’s deadline. They will have a bit of breathing room next summer, as the cap is expected to increase by a more favorable margin for them, but with Foligno and Mats Zuccarello scheduled to hit the unrestricted free agent market next offseason, there may be another repeat of some notable players walking out of the door.
Key Question
What Is This Team Missing? To put it into perspective, last year, the Wild had a 40-goal scorer star in Kirill Kaprizov, a formidable defensive unit (especially post-trade deadline), and a goalie with a SV% above .930. On the other hand, the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the Vegas Golden Knights, only had one of those things during the regular season. Yet, once again, the Wild were simply outmatched in the first round of the playoffs, losing in six games to the Dallas Stars. Because the organization has put together some solid teams and continues to lose early in the playoffs, it has become difficult to point the finger at any individual part of the lineup.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Brad Maxwell Passes Away
Longtime Minnesota North Stars defenseman Brad Maxwell passed away Sunday after a battle with lung cancer, the Minnesota Wild said today. He was 66 years old.
Born in 1957 in Brandon, Manitoba, Maxwell played his junior hockey for the WCHL’s New Westminster Bruins before going seventh overall to the North Stars in the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft. As a rookie the following season, he was arguably the best player on a team that managed just 18 wins, recording 47 points in 75 games while hitting 100 penalty minutes, a mark the physical playmaker would hit six more times in his career. He would go on to become a premier defender for parts of nine seasons in Minnesota, spending some later career stops with the New York Rangers, Quebec Nordiques, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Vancouver Canucks.
In his 613-game career spanning from 1977 to 1987, Maxwell spent years quarterbacking the North Stars’ power play and finished with 98 career goals, 270 assists and 368 points. He would add a -83 rating and 1,292 penalty minutes. His final entire season as a North Star, 1983-84, was his best. It was the only season of his career that earned him All-Star consideration, recording career-highs across the board with 19 goals, 54 assists and 73 points in 78 games.
Maxwell would become a mainstay in the Minnesota community after retiring, starting a business and making the state his post-hockey home. He would go on to become the Minnesota NHL Alumni Association president and was responsible for bringing the alumni contingent that represented the North Stars against the Chicago Blackhawks at the contest preceding the 2016 Stadium Series game in Minneapolis between the Wild and Chicago.
We at Pro Hockey Rumors extend our condolences to his family, friends and the Minnesota hockey community.
Current Projections For Addison's Contract Would Eliminate Remaining Cap Space
- Ian Mendes and Shayna Goldman of The Athletic assess (subscription link) the remaining restricted free agents around the NHL including Wild blueliner Calen Addison. Last month, it was reported that the team hopes Addison would either take his qualifying offer worth $787.5K or sign for close to it. However, the contract various projection models place his value closer to twice that value. Minnesota has around $1.6MM in cap space at the moment per CapFriendly but also needs to keep some money for in-season movement. Signing Addison for what the models value him at – which could be what his camp is seeking – would certainly limit their in-season flexibility.
August Free Agency Update: Central Division
As even most mid-tier free agents are now off the market, it’s a good time to look at how each team has fared on the free agent market this offseason. We’re publishing a list of one-way signings (i.e., likelier to start the season on the NHL roster) by team, per division, to keep you updated on NHL player movement since the new league year began on July 1.
Asterisked players denote a restricted free agent. Double-asterisked players denote the contract starts in the 2024-25 season. Next up is the Central Division. You can check out the list of Atlantic Division signings here and the list of Metropolitan Division signings here.
Arizona Coyotes
F Jason Zucker (one year, $5.3MM cap hit)
D Mathew Dumba (one year, $3.9MM cap hit)
F Alexander Kerfoot (two years, $3.5MM cap hit)
*F Matias Maccelli (three years, $3.425MM cap hit)
F Nick Bjugstad (two years, $2.1MM cap hit)
*F Jack McBain (two years, $1.599MM cap hit)
D Troy Stecher (one year, $1.1MM cap hit)
Chicago Blackhawks
*F Philipp Kurashev (two years, $2.25MM cap hit)
F Ryan Donato (two years, $2MM cap hit)
Colorado Avalanche
*F Ross Colton (four years, $4MM cap hit)
*D Bowen Byram (two years, $3.85MM cap hit)
F Miles Wood (six years, $2.5MM cap hit)
F Jonathan Drouin (one year, $825K cap hit)
F Andrew Cogliano (one year, 35+ contract, $825K cap hit)
D Jack Johnson (one year, 35+ contract, $775K cap hit)
*F Ben Meyers (one year, $775K cap hit)
Dallas Stars
F Matt Duchene (one year, $3MM cap hit)
F Craig Smith (one year, $1MM cap hit)
*F Ty Dellandrea (one year, $900K cap hit)
F Sam Steel (one year, $850K cap hit)
D Joel Hanley (two years, $787.5K cap hit)
D Gavin Bayreuther (one year, $775K cap hit)
Minnesota Wild
*G Filip Gustavsson (three years, $3.75MM cap hit)
*F Brandon Duhaime (one year, $1.1MM cap hit)
Nashville Predators
F Ryan O’Reilly (four years, $4.5MM cap hit)
F Gustav Nyquist (two years, $3.185MM cap hit)
D Luke Schenn (three years, $2.75MM cap hit)
*F Cody Glass (two years, $2.5MM cap hit)
*D Alexandre Carrier (one year, $2.5MM cap hit)
F Denis Gurianov (one year, $850K cap hit)
St. Louis Blues
*F Alexey Toropchenko (two years, $1.25MM cap hit)
F Mackenzie MacEachern (two years, $775K cap hit)
F Oskar Sundqvist (one year, $775K cap hit)
Winnipeg Jets
*F Gabriel Vilardi (two years, $3.438MM cap hit)
F Vladislav Namestnikov (two years, $2MM cap hit)
G Laurent Brossoit (one year, $1.75MM cap hit)
*D Dylan Samberg (two years, $1.4MM cap hit)
*F Morgan Barron (two years, $1.35MM cap hit)
*F Rasmus Kupari (two years, $1MM cap hit)
G Collin Delia (one year, $775K cap hit)
F Jeffrey Viel (one year, $775K cap hit)
Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Update On This Year’s August 15 Free Agents
Most NHL free agent business is dealt with in the early summer months. There is one important date later each year, however. August 15 marks the date when NHL teams lose their exclusive signing rights to most college-drafted players if they’ve graduated (or completed without graduating) college and are not yet signed to an entry-level contract.
Earlier this month, we published a list of players slated to hit the UFA market yesterday if not signed to an ELC within the coming days. However, the guidelines the NHL uses to determine a college graduate are some of the most complex sets of rules relating to contractual obligations in pro sports. That means it’s often impossible to glean a full list of players whose rights have expired (or not expired) until after the August 15 deadline has passed.
This year was no different, as CapFriendly issued multiple updates today on their X account regarding the list of August 15 free agents they’d made public earlier in the month. Three players who were slated to expire actually remained on their team’s reserve list: Calgary Flames 2018 fourth-round pick F Demetrios Koumontzis, Ottawa Senators 2018 seventh-round pick F Jakov Novak, and Senators 2018 second-round pick D Jonny Tychonick.
On the flip side, 12 players they expected to remain on teams’ reserve lists hit the free-agent market yesterday. With that in mind, we have a revised, accurate list of players who became unrestricted free agents yesterday. Asterisked players were not originally expected to come off their team’s reserve list.
Anaheim Ducks
*F Trevor Janicke (2019 fifth round, 132nd overall)
Arizona Coyotes
F John Farinacci (2019 third round, 76th overall)
*F Anthony Romano (2019 sixth round, 176th overall)
Boston Bruins
*D Dustyn McFaul (2018 sixth round, 181st overall)
Calgary Flames
*F Joshua Nodler (2019 fifth round, 150th overall)
Carolina Hurricanes
F Kevin Wall (2019 sixth round, 181st overall)
Chicago Blackhawks
F Jake Wise (2018 third round, 69th overall)
Colorado Avalanche
*F Matt Stienburg (2019 third round, 63rd overall)
Columbus Blue Jackets
D Robbie Stucker (2017 seventh round, 210th overall)
Detroit Red Wings
F Robert Mastrosimone (2019 second round, 54th overall)
*F Ethan Phillips (2019 fourth round, 97th overall)
Edmonton Oilers
F Skyler Brind’Amour (2017 sixth round, 177th overall)
Minnesota Wild
*D Marshall Warren (2019 sixth round, 166th overall)
New Jersey Devils
*D Case McCarthy (2019 fourth round, 118th overall)
*F Patrick Moynihan (2019 sixth round, 158th overall)
New York Islanders
D Christian Krygier (2018 seventh round, 196th overall)
F Jacob Pivonka (2018 fourth round, 103rd overall)
New York Rangers
*F Eric Ciccolini (2019 seventh round, 205th overall)
*F Riley Hughes (2018 seventh round, 216th overall)
Ottawa Senators
*F Luke Loheit (2018 seventh round, 194th overall)
Philadelphia Flyers
F Jay O’Brien (2018 first round, 19th overall)
San Jose Sharks
D Arvid Henrikson (2016 seventh round, 187th overall) Originally drafted by the Montreal Canadiens
Toronto Maple Leafs
D Ryan O’Connell (2017 seventh round, 203rd overall)
Winnipeg Jets
G Jared Moe (2018 sixth round, 184th overall)
Of the list above, Krygier and Pivonka are remaining in the Islanders organization on confirmed AHL contracts for 2023-24, although they remain eligible to sign with another NHL team should one come calling. All others are either returning to school for 2023-24, have contracts signed in other leagues, or are not signed for next season.
Notably, this is the official confirmation that the Flyers’ exclusive signing rights of O’Brien have lapsed. As compensation for not signing a first-round pick to their entry-level contract, the Flyers will receive a compensatory second-round pick from the league in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Wild Open To Playing Yurov At Center Down The Road
- Minnesota is open to trying to turn prospect Danila Yurov into a center down the road, relays NHL.com’s Jessi Pierce. The 19-year-old was a first-round pick (22nd overall) by the Wild last year and is set to remain with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL next season before coming to North America. Generally speaking, teams often allow center prospects to develop on the wing to start so it might take some time before Minnesota determines whether this is an experiment worth pursuing. However, finding and developing an impact young middleman has proven to be a challenge in recent years so if Yurov could be up to the task down the road, he’d help fill a big organizational void.
Jesper Wallstedt Named Best Goalie Prospect By NHL Network
- NHL Network released their yearly list of the league’s Top 50 Prospects, with 2023-drafted players taking the first four spots on the list. To no one’s surprise, Chicago Blackhawks projected first-line center Connor Bedard tops the list as a projected generational talent, but a fair amount would argue recency bias was quite strong in this year’s list. New Jersey Devils 2021 draft pick Luke Hughes was ranked as the top defenseman at number five on their list, while Minnesota Wild netminder Jesper Wallstedt was ranked as the top netminder at #21.
Iowa Wild Sign Joel Teasdale
A now-former veteran of the AHL’s Laval Rocket, forward Joel Teasdale is in a confirmed minor-league contract with the Iowa Wild. Teasdale had spent the past four seasons on the Rocket, also suiting up for the Montreal Canadiens for a few games last season.
Lessening Suter, Parise Buyouts Will Free Up Cap Space For Kaprizov Extension
The most obvious of these is the Boston Bruins. As we mentioned last week, the team is not shy about looking to replace the roles of David Krejčí and Patrice Bergeron by any means possible. Lindholm, who finished second in Selke Trophy voting in 2022 and posted positive relative Corsi for percentages in the first four of his five seasons in Calgary, is easily the closest stylistic replacement for Bergeron available in terms of his two-way acumen. However, as McKenzie and Goldman rightly note, the likelihood of the Bruins being unable to pony up the assets needed to win a bidding war for Lindholm is high, given the rather ghoulish state of their prospect pool and draft pick stash. McKenzie and Goldman also mentioned the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Vancouver Canucks as teams with a need for center help and assets available to spend.
- The Minnesota Wild’s offseason hasn’t been dominated by the moves they’ve made, but rather the moves they can’t make because of $14.75MM in dead cap allocated to the buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. With their combined cap hits set to decrease to just $1.67MM ahead of the 2025-26 season, Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic examined what options the additional cap space might open up for the Wild in two seasons. They note the biggest use of that cap space will undoubtedly be an extension for star winger Kirill Kaprizov, who will be entering the final season of his five-year, $45MM contract and will require a hefty extension to avoid him becoming a free agent.