The Minnesota Wild still have room to grow, and Bill Guerin is almost certain to be busy when the trade deadline arrives. A center like Dylan Larkin remains the kind of upgrade that could push this roster into a different tier. But even without that move, Minnesota has already played its way into the conversation.
The Wild sit atop the Western Conference with 20 points in 14 games, and the standings alone don’t tell the whole story. What’s happening in Minnesota feels deeper than a nice start. The foundation is real.
A big part of that is the decision to put Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Matt Boldy together. Since that trio was locked in, Minnesota has been a force at 5-on-5.
Over the last 10 games, the Wild have scored 22 goals at even strength and given up only 12. That kind of run can’t just be waved away as a lucky stretch.
The numbers back up the eye test. Minnesota owns 62.8% of the expected goal share over those 10 games, which lines up with its 64.7% share of actual goals. That’s dominance, plain and simple.
The top line has been the engine. Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, and Boldy have outscored opponents 10-0 at 5-on-5, and they’ve controlled 72.6% of expected goals in those situations.
Eventually they’ll concede one, but the bigger point is how thoroughly they’ve tilted the ice. Quinn Hughes has also been a major piece on the blue line, ranking fifth among the 183 defensemen with 100-plus 5-on-5 minutes in expected goal share at 64.0%.
What makes Minnesota tougher to dismiss is that it hasn’t been living on one line alone. Even with a wave of injuries hitting the bottom six, the Wild are nearly even in scoring when the top line is off the ice, with 17 goals for and 18 against.
The underlying numbers suggest there’s more there too, with the bottom nine carrying a combined 52.6% expected-goals share. Minnesota is also break-even in goals and positive in minutes without Hughes on the ice.
The depth pieces have started to show up on the ice as well. Danila Yurov, Maxim Shabanov, and Yakov Trenin have formed a strong all-Russian line, while Bobby Brink and Blake Coleman have begun to show signs of life with Michael McCarron centering them in recent games.
That matters a lot for a team whose forward depth was the biggest question hanging over it this summer. October is giving Minnesota some answers there, and the defense has been steady, too. Olli Määttä has given the group a stabilizing presence.
In some ways, the blue line has held up even better than expected. Brock Faber hasn’t played a minute this season and there’s no return date in sight.
Määttä and Jared Spurgeon have also missed games, which has forced the Wild to lean on their depth. Still, Hughes’s elite play at the top of the lineup, along with help from David Spacek and Matt Kiersted, has helped the team absorb the hits.
The special teams have held their own as well, with Minnesota sitting in the top half of the league in both power-play and penalty-kill percentage. Jesper Wallstedt has looked even better than he did during his breakout rookie season and playoff run.
Put it all together, and the Wild are starting to look like a complete team.
In Other News...
Kirill Kaprizov Has The Wild Looking Dangerous Again
Kirill Kaprizov kept the Wild rolling with another big night, helping Minnesota beat the Utah Mammoth 3-1 and extend its win streak to three games. Joel Eriksson Ek and Maxim Shabanov also found the net, while Jesper Wallstedt turned aside 26 shots to help settle things down after Logan Cooley got Utah on the board.
For a team that has been looking more dangerous by the night, this trip offered another useful sign that the attack is starting to click in different ways. Minnesota has been getting production from more than one line, and the combination of timely scoring and steadier goaltending has the Wild in a much better spot as they head home. [Read more 🡒]
Quinn Hughes Just Put A Huge Wild Decision In Focus
Quinn Hughes has fit in well since arriving from Vancouver in December, giving the Wild another proven defenseman as they continue to sort out the bigger picture around their blue line. Even so, the contract clock keeps ticking, and Minnesota general manager Bill Guerin made it clear this week that there has not been any fresh extension chatter with Hughes or his agent.
For now, Guerin says his attention is on the teams performance and the standing business of the season, with the contract question to be handled later. That leaves the Wild in a familiar spot with a productive player heading toward a major decision point, and it is one that could become a lot more pressing once the calendar turns toward July. [Read more 🡒]
Wild May Have To Sacrifice A Top Prospect For Center Help
The Wild are still looking to reshape their roster after the Quinn Hughes acquisition, and the search has apparently led them back into the trade market for a true top center. According to reports, Minnesota has been willing to include Danila Yurov in packages as it tries to pry away a bigger name, a sign that the cost of upgrading the middle of the ice may be more than the club hoped to pay.
Seattles Shane Wright and Nashvilles Nicolas Hague have also come up in the wider trade chatter as both teams sort through their own roster changes. For Minnesota, the question is whether it can keep chasing the kind of center help it wants without further draining the prospect pool, or whether the asking price keeps climbing as the market settles in. [Read more 🡒]