With training camp only a couple of weeks away, the Minnesota Wild still have some business to sort out in their lineup. They’ve moved on from Mats Zuccarello, Vladimir Tarasenko and Marcus Johansson, and that exit door took 150 points of production with it from last season’s roster.
On paper, that’s a hefty hit for a team with Stanley Cup ambitions. But the Wild also may have had a good reason to make those changes, and it’s easy to see why they took a swing on Blake Coleman, Bobby Brink and Maxim Shabanov as possible answers.
The departure of those three veterans was not exactly a soft landing. Zuccarello remained the most reliable scorer of the group, piling up 15 goals and 54 points in 59 games while continuing to mesh with Kirill Kaprizov on the top line.
Johansson turned a minimum-salary opportunity into a top-six role, finishing with 15 goals and 49 points in 75 games. Tarasenko, meanwhile, delivered 23 goals and 47 points in a middle-six spot after the Wild picked him up for future considerations from the Detroit Red Wings.
Still, each case came with enough baggage to make moving on make sense.
Zuccarello, who turned 39 this month, has been a steady point producer - he’s had at least 50 points in each of the past five seasons - but age and availability are becoming part of the equation. He has missed 10 or more games in five of the past six seasons.
Even with the deal price set at one year and $1 million, plus a $5 million bonus if he played in 10 games, the Wild decided it was better to let the Los Angeles Kings take that chance and get younger at the position. There’s also the possibility that moving on helps cut down on the “East-West” style that has sometimes crept into Minnesota’s offense, which is better when it attacks downhill.
Johansson’s Minnesota run was a little more volatile. He was inexpensive, but there was a reason for that.
After posting 11 goals and 34 points for the Wild during the 2024-25 season, he showed the same boom-or-bust pattern that has followed him for much of his career. With a spot on the Swedish Olympic roster in play, he came out hot, scoring 12 goals and 32 points in his first 38 games.
Then the production dipped hard: just three goals and 17 points over his final 37 games.
Tarasenko brought a similar roller-coaster feel. He was added for future considerations and gave Minnesota useful middle-six scoring, but the quiet stretches were impossible to ignore.
He managed only two goals and 10 points in his first 22 games before finishing with 20 goals and 34 points over his final 49. Even after that finish, the Wild didn’t see enough reason to bring him back, and he remains unsigned as a free agent.
That’s the tradeoff here: individually, letting those three walk makes sense. Collectively, taking 150 points out of the lineup is a different kind of challenge. Minnesota’s hope is that the new group can soften the blow.
Coleman looks like the safest bet to slide into a bigger role, likely taking Johansson’s spot on the second line. He’s a two-time Stanley Cup champion, the Dallas Stars had interest in him this offseason, and he brings a track record the Wild can trust. Coleman has topped 30 points in each of the past eight seasons and has played 80 or more games in three of the past five years.
Brink is the bigger question mark, but also one of the more intriguing options. He has improved in each of his first three seasons, and he put up 12 goals and 41 points with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2024-25. Asking him to become a top-line winger would be a lot, but he could also settle into Tarasenko’s middle-six spot if he stays consistent.
Shabanov may offer the most upside of the three. His stint with the New York Islanders last year wasn’t especially eye-catching - five goals and 18 points in 44 games - but his KHL production with Traktor Chelyabinsk was hard to miss. He scored 23 goals and finished with 67 points in 2024-25.
None of these moves comes with a guarantee. Coleman brings stability, while Brink and Shabanov bring youth and upside. And if they do benefit from skating alongside Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, the Wild may find a way to chip away at that 150-point hole faster than it looks right now.
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