With the regular season now upon us, the bulk of the heavy lifting has been done from a roster perspective. Most unrestricted free agents have found new homes, the arbitration period has come and gone, and the trade market has cooled. Accordingly, it’s a good time to take a look at what each team has accomplished this offseason. Next up is a look at Minnesota.
The Wild recovered nicely after missing the playoffs in 2023-24, making it back to the postseason in 2024-25 despite again being ravaged by injuries. The forward progress was met with a quick elimination by the Golden Knights in the first round, but increased cap space and the continued progression of their recent high-end draft picks mean more opportunities for growth in Minnesota in 2025-26.
Draft
2-52: D Theodor Hallquisth, Orebro U20 (Sweden U20)
4-102: F Adam Benak, Youngstown (USHL)
4-121: F Lirim Amidovski, North Bay (OHL)
4-123: F Carter Klippenstein, Brandon (WHL)
5-141: D Justin Kipkie, Victoria (WHL)
Minnesota made the most out of perhaps the lowest draft stock in the league this season. They were missing capital at the top and bottom of the class, but still landed a haul that should offer up unique upside. Second-round defender Hallquisth is an exciting leader of the bunch, offering up a mean and gritty style that makes him a fantastic shutdown option. But it will be hard not to get excited over 5-foot-7 playmaker Benak, who has long stood as the face of Czechia’s international youth teams. Benak is a cool, calm, and collected play-driver who slid in the draft because of his frame, but showed he can play well above it at training camp.
The trio behind Minnesota’s top picks will each offer solid depth. Amidovski was a fundamental piece in North Bay’s offense last season, offering quick reactions and minimal mistakes in all three zones. Klippenstein was a main play-driver for Brandon all year long, though his lanky frame and awkward skating didn’t result in as many goals as one may expect. Perhaps the most interesting of the bunch is defender Kipkie, whom the Arizona Coyotes previously drafted in the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft. He didn’t sign with Arizona (or Utah) despite staying on a steady course of improvement with the Victoria Royals. Minnesota could prove a beneficiary of Kipkie’s decision to re-enter the draft. He was a core piece of the Royals’ last season and is set for a top-four role at Arizona State University this season.
Trade Acquisitions
F Vladimir Tarasenko (from Red Wings)
The Wild shifted around draft capital ahead of draft weekend, but otherwise stayed relatively quiet on the trade market. Their only splash was the acquisition of Russian scorer Tarasenko, with nothing more than future considerations headed back to the Detroit Red Wings. It could prove a lucrative swap for Minnesota right out of the gates. Tarasenko – once a routine 30-goal scorer – managed 11 goals and 33 points in 80 games with the Red Wings last season. He’s three seasons removed from his last 30-goal campaign, but has quickly clicked with Minnesota’s other top Russians, like Kirill Kaprizov and Danila Yurov. That bond has earned Tarasenko a top-six role throughout training camp. Whether he offers a surge back to scoring or merely Cup-winning precedent, reeling in a high-usage, veteran winger for no cost will be a nice plus on Minnesota’s summer.
UFA Signings
F Nico Sturm (two-years, $4MM)
G Cal Petersen (one-year, $775K)*
D Matt Kiersted (two-years, $1.6MM)*
F Nicolas Aube-Kubel (one-year, $775K)*
D Ben Gleason (one-year, $800K)*
F Tyler Pitlick (two-years, $1.5MM)*
* denotes two-way contract
Quieter than their presence on the trade market was Minnesota’s presence on the free agent market. Their early-summer transactions did very little to make a significant impact. Their only one-way contract was awarded to former Wild centerman Sturm, who won a Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers after a Trade Deadline move from the San Jose Sharks last season. His season was relatively quiet overall, though, marked by just 14 points in 70 games, including the postseason. It was Sturm’s second Cup win, after also supporting the Colorado Avalanche in their 2022 championship. Sturm has been a career bottom-six center. He has 92 points and 86 penalty minutes in 331 career games – and 36 points and 25 penalty minutes in 111 prior games with the Minnesota Wild.
RFA Re-Signings
F Michael Milne (one-year, $775K)*
F Marco Rossi (three-year, $15MM)
G Chase Wutzke (three-year, $2.9MM)*
Minnesota’s summer was headlined by its contract negotiations with top young center Marco Rossi. After what seemed like an endless stream of rumors – which included trade rumors and speculation around his playoff usage – the two sides compromised on a well-paying, bridge contract. The $5MM yearly price tag could quickly look like a bargain for Rossi, who had a career year with 24 goals and 60 points last season. He has played in every single Wild game dating back to the start of 2023-24, and looked well capable of supporting top-line minutes in the absence of Joel Eriksson Ek last season. Rossi is a young, former top-10 pick who appears on the cusp of a breakout. He’ll have three years to vindicate that standing, and could earn a major payday and lineup role on the other side.
Departures
F Devin Shore (signed with Sparta, Czechia)
F Frederick Gaudreau (traded to Seattle)
F Brendan Gaunce (traded to Columbus)
D Declan Chisholm (traded to Washington)
F Adam Raska (signed with Sparta, Czechia)
D Ryan O’Rourke (signed with Laval, AHL)
F Graeme Clarke (signed with Capitals)
F Luke Toporowski (signed with Hershey, AHL)
D Cameron Crotty (signed with Senators)
D Chase Priskie (signed with Sibir, KHL)
F Gustav Nyquist (signed with Jets)
D Jon Merrill (unsigned)
F Justin Brazeau (signed with Penguins)
G Marc-Andre Fleury (retired)
F Travis Boyd (signed with Maple Leafs)
G Troy Grosenick (unsigned)
F Tyler Madden (unsigned)
There’s no question the Wild lost some depth this summer. Still, despite the quantity, they didn’t lose much quality. Nyquist and Brazeau, who were acquired at the 2024-25 trade deadline, combined for three goals and nine points in 41 games down the stretch, providing little value.
Chisholm, who was traded to the Capitals before the start of free agency, is coming off a two-goal, 12-point campaign and proved to be a solid contributor, albeit in limited action. Despite the solid campaign, Minnesota boasts one of the best defensive cores in the league, supplemented by a full year of David Jiricek and Zeev Buium for the 2025-26 season. Furthermore, the team is expecting Jonas Brodin to return in the relatively near future.
Lastly, the most notable departure this past offseason was Gaudreau. Finishing fifth on the team in scoring with 19 goals and 37 points in 82 games, Gaudreau was a key middle-six center for the Wild last year. Regardless, like their other departures, the Wild have the internal depth to sustain such a loss, and a few up-and-coming prospects that could fill in.
Key Extensions
F Kirill Kaprizov (eight-year, $136MM)
G Filip Gustavsson (five-year, $34MM)
The Wild tidied up two important pieces of business on the eve of the 2025-26 season. They started with a record-breaking extension for superstar winger Kaprizov. The deal will carry a $17MM cap hit each season – an incredible burden, but a seemingly fitting one for a player as do-it-all as Kaprizov is. He’s the true motor of Minnesota’s offense when he’s at full health. He pops up in seemingly every play and creates waves of top-tier scoring chances all on his own. Kaprizov has only crossed the 100-point mark once – but he managed three-straight 40-goal seasons from 2021 to 2024, and was on pace for 50 goals and 112 points before injury cut last season in half. He’ll have one more year to prove he can be a top-tier superstar before he embarks on a long-term contract that seems sure to end with Kaprizov enshrined by the Wild.
Backstopping Kaprizov’s flashy offense for the last three seasons has been steady play from Gustavsson. He has been impressive since arriving in Minnesota, kicking off his tenure with the team with a .931 save percentage in 39 games of the 2022-23 season, good for second-best in the league. That momentum helped him win over the starter’s crease in 2023-24, and after a shaky first year, he made good on the role with a .914 Sv% in 58 games last season. Both his games played and save percentage ranked sixth in the league. Minnesota acknowledges those performances with a nicely-paying extension, though the five-year term brings up tough questions about how the team plans to deploy top goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt.
Salary Cap Outlook
According to PuckPedia, the Wild open the 2025-26 campaign with approximately $3.545MM in cap space. This provides ample space for them to strengthen their fourth line during the trade deadline season, for a roster that has minimal gaps when healthy. Furthermore, General Manager Bill Guerin has done an excellent job locking in Minnesota’s core, with Tarasenko and Zuccarello being the only two pending unrestricted free agents of significance. Impressively, assuming no new contracts are signed, and the upper ceiling of the salary cap hits $104MM, the Wild will enter next offseason with approximately $17.156 in salary cap space even after factoring in Kaprizov’s mammoth extension.
Key Questions
How Far Will This Team Get In The Postseason? Since the 2012-13 season, Minnesota has only missed the postseason twice. Still, despite being a consistent playoff team, they haven’t reached a Western Conference Final since the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs and have yet to see a Stanley Cup Final in their 26-year history. Their top player, Kaprizov, typically does his part in the postseason when healthy, though a few bad performances from other key contributors usually prove costly. As mentioned, Guerin has done a stellar job locking in the team’s core. Regardless, that will only mean something if the Wild can be more competitive when the hockey matters most.
Is It Time To Trade For A Top-Line Center? Outside of Kaprizov’s extension, Rossi’s contract situation played a large role in Minnesota’s offseason. He performed well last season, scoring 24 goals and 60 points in 80 games, though his disappearance in the postseason had many clamoring for his ouster. The Wild signed Rossi to a three-year, $15MM contract, walking him into his last year of restricted free agency after the 2027-28 season. If Rossi falters again, the team has an in-house candidate to take over as the center of the first line in Eriksson Ek, although his playstyle is better suited for the second forward unit. Given their projected cap space for next season, the Wild may be better served using Rossi and one of their first-round selections from the three upcoming NHL Drafts to pursue a notable center addition on the trade market to put next to Kaprizov and Matt Boldy.
Photo courtesy of Brett Holmes-Imagn Images.