Bill Guerin came out of the draft weekend with a shiny new title - NHL General Manager of the Year - and now comes the harder part: making that honor mean something.
The Wild president of hockey operations has a long offseason to-do list, and it starts at the top. He needs to sign superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes to a new contract, swing a trade for a first-line center and bring in multiple wingers to make up for the production that’s walking out the door.
That’s the job. The problem is, one day into free agency, it’s tough to say the Wild are any better.
Minnesota is trying to thread a very thin needle here. Guerin has to build depth around high-end talent that eats up a massive chunk of the salary cap, all while reshaping the roster and getting younger without taking a real step back in scoring. That’s not a small ask, especially for a team that knows it’s in win-now championship mode.
And the holes are real. The Wild appear set to lose three of their top nine forwards in Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Johansson and Vladimir Tarasenko.
Together, that group scored 53 of Minnesota’s 268 goals last season, which comes out to 20 percent. They also piled up 21 percent of the team’s points.
That’s a lot of offense to replace, and it leaves Guerin with a roster that has star power up top but plenty of uncertainty underneath it. The mission is simple to say and tough to execute: make the team better. Right now, that part is looking complicated.
In Other News...
Bill Guerin May Be Chasing More Than A Depth Move
The Wild have been shopping for help, especially on the wing, but the conversation around their deadline plans appears to be getting bigger than a routine depth add. With limited cap space and several roster moves already made, Minnesota has been trying to find a way to improve without boxing itself in, and that has kept Bill Guerin active in talks as he looks for the right fit.
Michael Russo of The Athletic reported that the Wild have also been linked to discussions with New Jersey about Jack Hughes, a name that immediately changes the scale of the conversation. Hughes brings the kind of pedigree that can alter a lineup, which is why even a speculative connection is enough to make Minnesotas search feel less like fine-tuning and more like a swing for something far more significant. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Suddenly Tied To A Franchise Shaping Move Fans Feared Missing
The Wilds offseason radar has a new, potentially franchise-altering item on it, even if the conversation is still in its earliest stage. Around the league, teams are already positioning themselves for roster changes, with Winnipeg weighing ways to get younger and add defensive depth and Nashville facing the kind of contract crunch that can force a busy summer.
For Minnesota, the intrigue comes from the possibility of being linked to a player who would instantly change the look of the blue line and the broader direction of the roster. Nothing is close to a finish line yet, and the real work still has to begin, but even the fact that the Wild are in the mix for a move of that magnitude is enough to make this one worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Just Made Their Center Chase A Lot More Interesting
The Wilds latest roster shuffle brought in two veterans from Calgary, Blake Coleman and Olli Maatta, and added former KHL player Maxim Shabanov, a set of moves that fits the teams broader push to keep improving around the edges. Bill Guerin has made it clear Minnesota is still willing to stay active if a bigger upgrade comes into view, which is why the center market continues to loom over everything else the front office does.
One name still hanging out there is Detroit captain Dylan Larkin, even if the path to any deal is anything but simple. The Red Wings are not showing much interest in Minnesotas current offers, and the sense around the league is that any serious conversation would ask a lot back, which leaves the Wild in a familiar spot: interested, flexible and waiting to see whether the right opportunity ever actually opens. [Read more 🡒]