Just a month ago, the Minnesota Wild looked like they were turning a corner. After swinging a bold trade for Quinn Hughes, they rattled off a string of dominant wins - dismantling the Bruins, blanking the Capitals, and exposing the Oilers’ shaky goaltending.
It wasn’t just a hot streak; it looked like a statement. For a moment, the Wild seemed like they could go toe-to-toe with the Western Conference heavyweights.
But then came a humbling 5-1 loss to the Avalanche, and since then, the wheels have started to come off. The Hughes trade, thrilling as it was, couldn’t fix everything.
It was a high-stakes move by GM Bill Guerin, an attempt to patch over a flawed roster with a superstar’s shine. But now, with the team sliding and the losses piling up, the cracks in the foundation are hard to ignore.
Since that Avalanche game, Minnesota has dropped games to teams they simply should beat - and not just once or twice. The Jets routed them 6-2.
They gave up five to a Devils team that’s well outside the playoff picture. They lost in overtime to the Islanders, needed extra time against the Kraken, and dropped back-to-back games to the Kings - one in a shootout, one in regulation.
Even the Sharks, one of the league’s bottom-feeders, managed to take them down in a shootout.
These aren’t just losses - they’re red flags. Winnipeg has one of the worst records in the West.
New Jersey’s goal differential is deep in the red. Seattle, still trying to find consistency in just their third full season, has a negative goal differential.
These are games Minnesota needs to win if they’re going to be taken seriously in a tight Western Conference race.
Instead, they’re falling back into old habits - and worse, old excuses. After the blowout loss to Winnipeg, veteran forward Mats Zuccarello pointed to puck luck.
“All top, top corners, bouncing off the wall, and that,” he said. “It’s really hard to lose like that, but you just have to brush it away.”
Zuccarello’s been around long enough to know better. This wasn’t about bad bounces.
The Wild played undisciplined, disjointed hockey, and left rookie goaltender Jesper Wallstedt hung out to dry. Head coach John Hynes’ decision to keep Wallstedt in through a rough second period didn’t help matters - and could shake the young netminder’s confidence at a time when he needs to build it.
Injuries haven’t helped either. Joel Eriksson Ek and Jonas Brodin are both sidelined, and while those are significant losses, this roster shouldn’t collapse without a middle-six center and a second-pair defenseman.
But Eriksson Ek’s absence has highlighted a deeper issue: Minnesota’s lack of center depth. They don’t have a true No. 1 center, and that’s a problem for any team with postseason aspirations - let alone one trying to make a serious run.
And then there’s the cost of the Hughes trade. To land the star defenseman, the Wild gave up Marco Rossi, Zeev Buium, and Liam Ohgren - three prospects with the potential to be long-term cornerstones.
Rossi, in particular, was a major piece, and his departure leaves a gaping hole down the middle. The Wild also used a chunk of their once-elite prospect pool to acquire David Jiricek, who’s now struggling to find his footing in Iowa and has fallen behind David Spacek in the organizational depth chart.
That’s the gamble with a trade like this. Contenders often move prospects for proven talent - that’s part of the playbook when you believe your window is open.
But those same contenders also rely on their farm systems to provide depth when injuries hit. Right now, the Wild can’t do that.
They don’t have another Eriksson Ek or Brodin waiting in the wings. And without that internal pipeline, they’re exposed.
The Hughes trade wasn’t just about making the playoffs. Minnesota’s been there.
This was about elevating the franchise - about becoming a real contender in a conference stacked with elite teams. It was a swing for the fences, and one that made sense given the circumstances.
Hughes is in his prime right now, and the Wild just locked up Kirill Kaprizov to a massive $136 million extension. The time to win is now.
But that urgency comes with risk. Hughes is only under contract for one more season.
If he walks, the Wild don’t just lose a star defenseman - they lose him and three first-round talents, and their upcoming first-round pick. That’s a steep price for a team that’s currently sitting outside the playoff picture and struggling to beat bottom-tier competition.
This is the danger of building a team like a Jenga tower - pulling from the base to stack higher. Eventually, things start to wobble.
And if Hughes doesn’t re-sign? If Kaprizov grows tired of carrying the load for a team stuck in neutral?
The Wild could find themselves right back where they started: a middling team in a hockey-mad market, selling hope and blaming bad bounces.
There’s still time to turn it around. But the margin for error is shrinking fast.