Minnesota Wild fans may need to brace for a familiar name every time the trade board heats up: Matt Boldy.
The reason is simple. The Wild are chasing a major upgrade this offseason, and that kind of move does not come cheap. Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings is the big name in the mix, but the asking price is high enough that a report surfaced saying general manager Steve Yzerman wanted Boldy in return.
That sent plenty of Wild fans into a frenzy, and it makes sense. Boldy is not some throw-in or a movable veteran.
He’s 25, he’s improved in each of his five seasons with Minnesota, and he just put together the best year of his career with 42 goals and 85 points in 76 games. Bill Guerin has even floated the idea that Boldy could one day become a 50/50 player, which says plenty about how much upside the organization still sees in him.
And then there’s the contract, which is exactly why other teams keep circling. The Wild signed Boldy to a seven-year, $49 million deal before the 2023-24 season, a contract that should keep him in Minnesota through the 2029-30 campaign per Puckpedia. With the salary cap climbing, that deal looks even better now - and, from another team’s point of view, even more tempting.
That’s where the trade chatter gets tricky for the Wild. Boldy checks a lot of boxes for a team trying to land a star.
He’s a two-way power forward who can work the dirty areas and score there too, and if Minnesota were to move Larkin out of the picture, Detroit would need someone who can help replace the offense of a six-time 30-goal scorer. Larkin’s $8.7 AAV over the next five years lines up closely with Boldy’s cost, which only adds to the appeal.
The market is also getting more expensive around the league. Leo Carlsson’s five-year, $90 million offer sheet with the Philadelphia Flyers pushed the conversation even further, even though the Anaheim Ducks matched it on Thursday.
Carlsson had never posted a 30-goal season and finished last year with 29 goals and 67 points in 70 games, yet that deal still placed him ahead of Kirill Kaprizov as the NHL’s highest-paid player at $18 million per season. In that kind of environment, any player with a friendlier contract becomes a target.
So yes, Larkin might not be the last time Boldy’s name comes up. If the Wild can’t get a deal done using pieces like Charlie Stramel, Danila Yurov and first-round picks, they could simply wait for the next superstar to become available. ESPN’s Erik Johnson believes that could put Minnesota in the mix if Auston Matthews or Connor McDavid ever become available, but the first ask in those conversations would still be Boldy.
None of that means the Wild should move him. It does mean the reaction to his name surfacing in the Larkin talks may have been a little over the top. Boldy’s value is exactly why he keeps showing up in these conversations, and exactly why Minnesota is smart to have him on the roster.
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