The Minnesota Wild are closing out a road-heavy stretch with a little more breathing room than they had a week ago. After getting pushed around early against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, they found their footing against the Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks. There’s still one game left on this trip before they head home briefly and then hit the road again, but the bigger picture right now is simple: the Wild have steadied themselves in a few key areas.
Special teams were the first thing to wobble. Early in the season, Minnesota’s power play and penalty kill were humming, and it looked like that edge might carry.
Then the wheels came off against Edmonton, where the Wild couldn’t generate much on one end and couldn’t keep the puck out of their net on the other. That slump carried over into the Flames game, but the response came quickly.
They’ve started to get some traction again, and while there are still details to clean up, the important part is that the correction happened before the issue snowballed. At least for now, they’ve stopped the slide.
The injury picture has also shifted in the Wild’s favor. Minnesota has only played 13 games in this 84-game season, and already the lineup has been hit hard: Zach Bogosian, Olli Määttä, Jared Spurgeon, Maxim Shabanov, Nico Sturm, and both Foligno brothers have all been out at different points. Filip Gustavsson is still working back from offseason hip surgery, and Brock Faber remains sidelined after the skull fracture he suffered in the preseason.
Even with all that turnover, the Wild have kept plugging holes, and their young players have become a real part of the story. Daemon Hunt was lost on waivers and was recently picked up by the Nashville Predators, but other younger additions have stepped in and made their presence felt.
Rieger Lorenz has impressed, Tyler Pitlick has stood out, and Matt Kiersted plus David Špaček were asked to handle a tough stretch with several veteran defensemen unavailable. They answered, helped the Wild win games, and showed how valuable those call-ups can be when injuries hit.
Minnesota’s immediate schedule gives them a chance to keep building on that rebound. The Wild visit the Utah Mammoth on Tues.
Oct. 27 at 8:00 PM at Delta Center, then return home to face the New York Islanders on Thurs. Oct. 29 at 7:00 PM at Grand Casino Arena.
They finish the week against the Washington Capitals on Sun. Nov. 1 at 2:30 PM at Capital One Arena, one of the final times the Wild play Ovechkin.
For now, the Wild are healthier, their special teams are trending back in the right direction, and the young players have proven they can hold the line when called upon. That’s a useful place to be with another road swing looming.
In Other News...
Quinn Hughes Just Put Wild Fans On Contract Watch
Quinn Hughes has quickly become a name worth tracking around Minnesota, and not just because of what he has done on the ice this season. The pending free agent said he has enjoyed his time with the Wild and pointed to the strength of the roster as part of what has made the fit feel so natural, which is exactly the kind of remark that tends to get fans looking ahead as much as they are looking at the standings.
The only catch is that Hughes is still taking his time with the next step, even as he plays through the final year of his current contract. He has been productive this season and clearly sounds comfortable in Minnesota, but for now the extension question remains open, leaving the Wild in that familiar spot where a good player and a good situation create optimism without quite delivering certainty. [Read more 🡒]
Red Wings Are Holding Firm In Dylan Larkin Trade Talks
The Wild have been linked as a possible landing spot for Dylan Larkin, but the talks are still very much in the early, messy stage that usually comes with a player of his caliber. Detroit is looking for young center help in return, which puts Minnesota in the conversation because of the type of prospects it can offer, but the Red Wings are not operating from any kind of urgency and are keeping the market open with interest coming from multiple teams.
For Minnesota, that means the fit is clear enough to keep watching, but the price remains the obstacle. Salary cap issues are part of the equation, and Detroit is believed to want more than a single prospect to move a centerpiece like Larkin, so any serious package would have to be built with extra value beyond the kind of player the Wild would most naturally put on the table. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Offseason Pressure Just Got Tied To Two Star Names
The Connor Hellebuyck trade to New Jersey has already started to ripple beyond the Devils, with analysts Michael Russo and EJ Hradek using it as a lens for what could come next around the league. For the Wild, the conversation has quickly turned into more than a one-off transaction story, because it touches the kind of player movement and contract planning that can reshape a roster in a hurry.
Minnesotas interest in Dylan Larkin is now part of that discussion, while Quinn Hughes remains unsigned and adds another layer to the offseason uncertainty. The broader point, as Russo and Hradek framed it, is that future trade value and draft-pick considerations can change fast when teams start dealing from different timelines, and the Wild are right in the middle of that kind of pressure. [Read more 🡒]