2022-23 NHL team preview: Minnesota Wild

LAST SEASON

Boy, were the Minnesota Wild a fun team to watch last year. With superstar Kirill Kaprizov leading the way with his first 100-point season in the league, the Wild fought and clawed their way to a second-place finish in the Central Division. A sizzling 47 goals and 108 points came Kaprizov’s way and secondary scorers in Kevin Fiala, Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman all had strong seasons, too.

Minnesota was all in last year, trading for goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury at the deadline, but the wheels fell off the wagon come the playoffs. The Wild struggled against their first-round foe, the St. Louis Blues.

Fleury got the start in Game 1. While Minnesota got up with 2-1 series lead after three games, it lost Games 4 and 5.

With their season on the line, the Wild turned to Cam Talbot over Fleury for Game 6, but they just couldn’t get the job done, leading to a disappointing end to their season.

KEY ADDITIONS & DEPARTURES

Additions
Brock Faber, D
Sam Steel, C
Filip Gustavsson, G
Andrej Sustr, D
Nic Petan, C
Steven Fogarty, C

Departures
Kevin Fiala, RW (LA)
Jordie Benn, D (Tor)
Nicolas Deslauriers, LW (Phi)
Nick Bjugstad, C (Ari)
Dmitry Kulikov, D (Ana)

OFFENSE

Offensive production wasn’t an issue for the Wild last year. They scored 310 goals, the fifth most in the league, in thanks to the engine that is Kaprizov. Secondary scoring came by the way of the now-departed Fiala, who had 33 goals and 85 points. Minnesota still has a strong supporting cast of Zuccarello, Hartman, Joel Eriksson Ek, Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Boldy.

One of the most important pieces this year is Boldy. He made his NHL debut last season scoring 15 goals and 39 points in 47 games, and he could be a prime candidate to help replace some of the offense lost with Fiala heading to the Los Angeles Kings.

A key depth piece in Jordan Greenway, meanwhile, is expected to miss the start of the season, giving some young players even more of a chance to take bigger roles.

DEFENSE

The Wild were about as middle-of-the-road as you could be last year defensively. They allowed 253 goals, the 18th most in the league, and are largely bringing back the same group as last year. Jonas Brodin and Matt Dumba are expected to take the top pairing minutes, while Jacob Middleton and Jared Spurgeon will man the second pair.

Rookie Calen Addison is projected to slide in on the third pairing with the team having moved Dmitry Kulikov to the Ducks.

GOALTENDING

In net, the Wild brought back, Fleury signing him to a two-year, $3.5-million AAV deal. All the while, a truly disgruntled Cam Talbot got traded to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a cheaper backup in Filip Gustavsson. The 37-year-old Fleury is expected to take the reins of the starting role.

COACHING

Dean Evason returns to the Wild for his fourth year behind the bench. It’s hard to argue with the regular season results with Minnesota posting a .680 points percentage across three previous seasons. Come the playoffs, however, the Wild have gone just 6-11.

Success in the playoffs is important, and it’s just something the Wild haven’t been able to find in recent years.

ROOKIES

Marco Rossi’s long road to the NHL is set to see him play his first meaningful season in the bigs. Rossi appeared in 63 games last year for the AHL’s Iowa Wild, scoring 18 goals and 53 points, and now the 20-year-old is looking to make the roster.

Addison, 22, will also be counted on to crack the NHL roster. He played 15 NHL games last year, getting a taste of what it’s like, and has scored 58 points in 77 games with the AHL Wild over the last three seasons.

BURNING QUESTIONS

1. How far can Marc-Fleury carry them? At 37 years old, Fleury is on the back nine of his career, but we saw him maintain a solid save percentage throughout the regular season last year. He was better against teams in the West and was still able to play 56 games last year. He will be a key player for them this season.

2. Can Dean Evason coach them over the playoff bump? File this under “maybe too soon,” but you have to wonder if Evason can get the Wild where they need to be – in the second round of the playoffs. They’re nearly a lock to be a playoff team this year, but the post-season is where their struggles have come out.

3. Can Kirill Kaprizov score even more? Kaprizov put up points seemingly at will last year and joined the upper echelon of elite NHL scorers as a sophomore. The young Russian star will be looked to once again this season to continue providing offense. He was three goals short of a 50-goal season last year and two points shy of 110. Would it be feasible for him to hit the 120-point mark?

PREDICTION

Minnesota will once again have a solid regular season but might not have the horses to get over the hump and reach the second round of the playoffs after losing a key piece in Fiala over the summer. It will lead to some tough questions in the State of Hockey for a team enduring two more years of salary cap hell after this one thanks to the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts.

_____