The Minnesota Wild are headed into 2026-27 with real momentum and a fresh batch of pressure points.
They open the season Oct. 1 in Nashville and come home two days later for the Boston Bruins. Last year gave them plenty to feel good about: a 46-24-12 record, a trip to the second round for the first time in more than a decade, and the sense that this group has moved from promising to dangerous. But the offseason also left a few big pieces unresolved, and those questions could shape everything that comes next.
The biggest one starts in goal. Jesper Wallstedt is now positioned to take the heaviest share of the workload after a strong playoff run, when he posted a 2.77 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage in 10 postseason games.
That performance pushed him to the top of the depth chart, with Filip Gustavsson sliding behind him late in the year. Now Gustavsson’s offseason hip surgery has complicated the picture even more, since he will miss the beginning of the season.
For now, the crease belongs to Wallstedt. Calvin Pickard is expected to back him up until Gustavsson is healthy again, giving Minnesota a temporary but workable setup.
Still, the Wild need Wallstedt to show that his rookie season wasn’t a flash. He’s 23, he has the tools, and the chance is right there in front of him.
Another storyline hanging over the team is Quinn Hughes and his contract situation. As of this week, there still isn’t an extension in place.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said he would start to worry if a deal isn’t done by opening night, and his current guess is a three-year contract worth $18 million per season. If that happens, Hughes would become the highest-paid player in Wild history, topping Kirill Kaprizov’s $17 million per season.
If it doesn’t happen, Hughes enters a contract year with his brothers waiting in New Jersey, and the whole hockey world will be watching. The Wild need this resolved, because until it is, the noise around his future isn’t going anywhere.
Up front, Minnesota has already moved on from Mats Zuccarello after seven years with the club. He left on a one-year, $1 million deal with the Los Angeles Kings at the start of free agency.
With the market mostly picked over and camp still a month away, the early read is that Maksim Shabanov will open in Zuccarello’s old spot. That’s a different world for him, especially with Kirill Kaprizov next to him.
Blake Coleman, brought in from the Calgary Flames, adds another new layer to the forward group, along with 35-goal seasons and championship experience from his time with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Neither player is being asked to be Zuccarello, but the Wild do need enough of that production and that role replaced.
Kaprizov and Matt Boldy sit at the center of the offense, and the question here is less about upside than about whether they can keep producing at the same level. Kaprizov scored 45 goals and finished with 89 points in 78 games last season, then signed an eight-year, $136 million extension last September that begins this season.
The deal, worth $17 million per year, was built on the idea that he can keep delivering 45-plus goals, and at 28 and healthy, he should be in position to do exactly that. Boldy was right there too, finishing with 42 goals and 85 points before adding seven goals and 13 points in 11 playoff games.
He’s on a $7 million-per-year deal through 2030, and the real question is whether he can push from very good into elite territory.
Depth is the final issue, and maybe the quietest one with the biggest potential impact. With Zuccarello, Marcus Johansson and Vladimir Tarasenko all gone in free agency, Minnesota has less proven scoring behind Kaprizov and Boldy.
The top of the lineup still looks strong, but the lower end of the roster now has more room and more responsibility. That opens the door for younger, less established forwards to show what they can do.
The same goes on defense, where Quinn Hughes, Brock Faber and Jonas Brodin give the Wild strong anchors while the rest of the group competes for larger roles. Minnesota has a little over $1 million in projected cap space, so any midseason addition would have to be handled carefully.
The depth chart is thinner than the top line, and this season will tell the Wild which players can really hold those spots.
In Other News...
Wild May Have Created A Bigger Contract Problem Than Expected
Kirill Kaprizovs extension reset the market in a way Minnesota probably expected to celebrate, not live with. The wingers eight-year, $136 million deal with a $17 million average annual value set a new NHL salary benchmark, and it immediately helped push top-end contract talks into a different tier around the league.
Now the ripple effect is landing back on the Wild, who are trying to navigate an extension for Quinn Hughes while that new price structure keeps climbing. Recent deals for Leo Carlsson and Macklin Celebrini have only added to the pressure, and Hughess camp is reportedly looking at a number that could go past $18 million per season, turning what should be a straightforward star-player negotiation into a far trickier market check. [Read more 🡒]
Former Wild Starter Is Suddenly A Goaltending Gamble
Cam Talbot is still sitting in free agency in mid-August, which is a surprising turn for a veteran goalie who was once a steady hand in the crease for Minnesota and elsewhere. After a tough 2025-26 run with the Detroit Red Wings, where his numbers sagged in 34 games, the market has treated him more like a question mark than a proven option.
For teams looking to stabilize their goaltending picture, though, Talbot still carries the appeal of a possible bounce-back candidate. He has been a two-time All-Star since 2021-22 and had reached at least a .900 save percentage in five of six seasons before last year, so the track record is still there even if the most recent one was uneven. [Read more 🡒]