- The Wild’s decision to elect salary arbitration for winger Kevin Fiala earlier this week raised some eyebrows as it’s a move that’s rarely made. Michael Russo of The Athletic posits (subscription link) that the team wants to ensure Fiala is at training camp at the start which wasn’t the case two years ago when talks dragged out longer than either side would have liked. While a deal will be done within the next two weeks – his hearing is August 17th – there is certainly some risk that Minnesota is taking as Fiala could simply elect for a two-year award to take him to UFA eligibility in 2023, a move that certainly would hurt his trade value as well if it gets to that point.
Wild Rumors
Marco Rossi To Play In Olympic Qualifiers
Last year was tough for many prospects, but perhaps none quite as much as Marco Rossi. Dealing with complications from COVID-19, Rossi was not only held off the ice but told he couldn’t even train, allowed on only short walks. His account of the situation is absolutely harrowing, as he told Michael Russo of The Athletic that “every time before I went to sleep, I was so scared that I won’t wake up anymore.” For a 19-year-old kid who was selected ninth overall and could have potentially made the jump immediately to the NHL, it was devastating.
Now, after a long recovery period, Rossi is ready to return to action. Russo and colleague Scott Wheeler both report that the young forward will take part in the Olympic qualifiers later this month, suiting up for Austria. The games take place between August 26-29, while the training camp will open on August 16 and include two exhibition matches.
It’s a huge deal for Rossi to get back on the ice in a game situation before Minnesota Wild training camp later this year. After posting 120 points in his draft year with the Ottawa 67’s, there were many who believed he could potentially step directly into the NHL for the 2020-21 season. A polished, two-way center, his upside for the Wild seemed limitless, even if there were still some concerns about his durability. Rossi stands just 5’9″ and will still have to show he can handle the grind of a professional season in North America.
Still, it’s incredible to hear that Rossi is back. Expectations may have to be lowered after missing an entire year—a crucial development one at that—but just getting him on the ice and playing is enough for excitement to build in Minnesota. Already signed to his entry-level contract, the first year slid forward, meaning he’s signed through 2023-24. It can actually slide again, depending on where he spends this season.
Wild Elect Salary Arbitration For Kevin Fiala
Minnesota and winger Kevin Fiala will be heading to salary arbitration after all. While he wasn’t among the players to file for a hearing yesterday, the Wild announced (Twitter link) that they have elected to take Fiala to a hearing.
The 25-year-old is coming off a strong season that saw him notch 20 goals and 20 assists in 50 games, good for second on the team in scoring behind fellow RFA winger Kirill Kaprizov. It was a strong follow up to his first full season with Minnesota in 2019-20 where he had 23 goals and 31 helpers in 64 games which has certainly bolstered Fiala’s value heading into these contract talks. He was qualified at $3.5MM but stands to earn considerably more on his next contract.
There are a handful of different rules in place for club-elected versus player-elected arbitration. The first is that no matter what the ruling is, Minnesota can’t walk away. As Fiala was filed on, he gets to determine the term of the contract. That’s certainly notable as he’s two years away from UFA eligibility and as a result of this decision from the Wild, he could simply opt to go to a hearing and elect the two-year term that would take him to the open market in 2023. Not that it would happen here but Minnesota cannot offer less than Fiala’s salary from last season; teams that are filed on can go slightly lower.
Fiala will now be added to the list of players that will have an arbitration hearing scheduled from August 11th through the 26th.
Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Brennan Menell
July 31: The Leafs have signed Menell to a one-year, two-way contract, per CapFriendly. It pays $750,000 at the NHL level and $400,000 at the AHL level.
July 28: The Toronto Maple Leafs have sent a conditional seventh-round pick to the Minnesota Wild for the rights to Brennan Menell, who spent last season in the KHL. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that if Menell plays 30 games for the Maple Leafs in 2021-22, the Wild will receive the 2022 seventh-round pick.
Menell, 24, is an unsigned restricted free agent that the Maple Leafs will have to convince to return to North America. He scored 38 points in 47 games during his year in Minsk, continuing a history of elite production outside of the NHL. The right-handed defenseman led all AHL defensemen with 47 assists in 57 games during the 2019-20 season, resulting in a First All-Star Team selection.
Earlier this offseason, Michael Russo of The Athletic reported that the Wild were trying to sign Menell, but if they’ve traded him now perhaps those negotiations didn’t go anywhere. The Maple Leafs face the same challenge, especially given how much success he found in the KHL. There’s no guarantee of playing time in Toronto, though the team has been looking for an answer to their top powerplay. If they believe Menell could perhaps fill that role, it’s quite an incentive to return to North America.
Minnesota Wild Sign Jon Merrill
The Minnesota Wild have filled one of their last defensive spots, agreeing to terms with Jon Merrill on a one-year, $850K contract.
Merrill, 29, split this season between the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens, joining the latter at the deadline only to end up on a deep playoff run. The 6’3″ defenseman has played 405 regular season games in the NHL, but always seems to be at the bottom of a depth chart. His career-high of 15 points was set in 2018-19 with the Vegas Golden Knights, but he actually averaged more ice time this season at 18:15.
In Minnesota, he becomes the sixth defenseman on a one-way contract, sliding in behind newcomers Alex Goligoski and Dmitry Kulikov. Though it seemed likely that prospect Calen Addison would receive a chance to crack the NHL lineup, the team now at least has an option if the 21-year-old is not quite ready. The fact that Merrill and Goligoski have experience on both the left and right side will be a bonus for the Wild, who can mix and match the bottom pairing this season.
There’s a connection in the Wild front office for Merrill, as Ray Shero now acts as a senior advisor. Shero was the general manager in New Jersey in the early part of Merrill’s career and when the Golden Knights plucked him through the expansion draft. The two are together again, though now it’s GM Bill Guerin and head coach Dean Evason that Merrill will have to impress to keep his place in the everyday lineup.
Minnesota Wild Sign Kevin Czuczman
The Minnesota Wild have added another AHL defenseman to the mix, signing Kevin Czuczman to a one-year, two-way contract. The contract will carry an NHL salary of $750K and pay Czuczman $200K at the minor league level.
Though he has just 15 career NHL games, Czuczman will help solidify the blueline for the Iowa Wild, bringing experience and defensive ability to the minor league club. Undrafted out of Lake Superior State, he has spent the last four seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, even serving as an alternate captain. In more than 400 AHL contests, Czuczman has recorded 124 points but incredibly has made it to the playoffs just twice, never winning a round. For an Iowa team that made it to the postseason for the first time in 2019 and obviously hope to get back, he’ll hope to change that record.
Minnesota actually doesn’t have an extremely long depth chart on defense. The team has just five defensemen signed to one-way contracts for 2021-22 and now eight more on two-way deals. Two of those, Daemon Hunt and Ryan O’Rourke, would normally be ineligible for the AHL due to their age, though the latter could be allowed under the one-time exemption after suiting up 33 times last year. Either way, at this moment there aren’t a lot of names who could be called upon as injury insurance for the NHL team, meaning Czuczman may actually see a little bit of action this year.
Dmitry Kulikov Signs With Minnesota Wild
The Minnesota Wild have added some defensive depth, signing Dmitry Kulikov to a two-year contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of $2.25MM.
Kulikov, 30, continues to secure healthy contracts despite a sharp offensive decline and a lack of any playoff success. The 6’1″ left-handed defenseman has registered just 36 points–four this year–in his last 265 NHL games. He brings some physicality and decent defensive awareness, but is really just a depth option at this point. Over his 12-year career, which includes 725 regular season games, Kulikov has only 27 postseason appearances and the only playoffs where his team even got out of the first round was when he played just a single game.
There are plenty of examples throughout NHL history of players that had no postseason success until they did, but this is a bit of an odd signing for a team that already has so much money tied up on defense. The Wild are also paying Alex Goligoski $5MM for the 2021-22 season, meaning the top-four combine for more than $24.5MM. The team has $20MM in cap space left, but a huge chunk of that (likely more than half) will be given out to Kirill Kaprizov and Kevin Fiala. If the team wants to make any other significant additions, the room is dwindling.
Still, Kulikov basically replaces the outgoing Carson Soucy, who was set to earn $2.75MM but was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft. The veteran defenseman will not likely be asked to log anywhere close to 20 minutes a night but instead provides some depth in case of an injury in the top-four.
Minnesota Wild Sign Frederick Gaudreau
The Minnesota Wild announced today that they’ve signed free agent center Frederick Gaudreau. It’s a two-year contract for the former Pittsburgh Penguin, paying him $1.2MM per season.
After years in Nashville without making much of an impact, Gaudreau broke out in Pittsburgh – as much as he could in 19 games. Gaudreau recorded 10 points, was strong at the face-off dot, and played 13:04 per game, far more than in year prior. Even in a limited sample size, it was enough to impress many around the league, including the Wild it seems.
Gaudreau, 28, works hard and is especially skilled at winning puck battles and stripping the puck from the opposition. He also showed this season that his offensive ability is more than it might have seemed. The Wild gave Gaudreau a nice raise from his previous minimal deals, but could still get nice value out of a player who showed this past season that he has a lot to offer.
Minnesota Wild Sign Alex Goligoski
Veteran defenseman Alex Goligoski is going home – and being well-compensated to do so. The Grand Rapids, Minnesota native, who turns 36 on Friday, has signed a one-year, $5MM contract with the Minnesota Wild. Goligoski will replace the experience, leadership, and stable presence of Ryan Suter on the left side of the Wild blue line.
There might not be a more natural fit in free agency than Goligoski heading to his hometown team to take over as a veteran leader in place of Suter. Even at his age, Goligoski continued to play massive minutes, provide stout defense, and contribute about 30 points a year over the last few years with the Arizona Coyotes. He has showed no signs of slowing down and there is no reason to believe that he won’t keep producing, especially joining a deeper and more talented roster in Minnesota.
The contract is a bit strange, but not unreasonable. Goligoski had a $5.475MM AAV on his contract in Arizona, making the value of his one-year pact very similar. However, Goligoski was eligible for performance bonuses, which could have helped the club keep his cap hit lower. Goligoski also could have negotiated another year or two of term give his consistency, which also may have resulted in a lower AAV, but opted for just the one year. Goligoski is still more affordable than what what Suter was scheduled to make, but it does no favors for the Wild’s salary cap situation.
Minnesota Wild Re-Sign Dakota Mermis
The Minnesota Wild have signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Dakota Mermis to a new two-year, two-way contract, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. The deal will carry an NHL average annual value of $750K, while giving Mermis a nice minor league guarantee. He’ll earn an AHL salary of $300K in 2021-22 and $325K in 2022-23, but has guarantees of $350K and $375K in the two seasons.
Mermis, 27, played just three games with the Wild this season, spending most of the year on the taxi squad instead. After clearing waivers just as the season started, he was quickly sent to the taxi squad and ended up spending just five days on the NHL roster between January 12 and May 13. Still, a well-liked depth defenseman that can come in and out of the lineup whenever necessary is something that every team in the league needs, and that’s the role he can continue to serve in Minnesota.
Undrafted, Mermis has played in 23 NHL games over the last four seasons and could end up spending more time in Iowa than Minnesota over the next couple of years. In fact, he could be a big part of the leadership group for the AHL franchise, given his history as captain of the Tucson Roadrunners and alternate captain of the Binghamton Devils.