Training camp is creeping up fast, and with the Minnesota Wild mostly standing pat after free agency, the roster picture is fairly clear for now. That makes the next question an obvious one: which players are most likely to slip backward in 2026-27?
There are always a few names on every roster that feel the pull of regression, even when the team wants the opposite. For the Wild, that conversation starts with a veteran captain whose production has already begun to fade.
Jared Spurgeon remains a steady leader, but his offense has been trending the wrong way. He’s also one of the club’s older players, with only Nick Foligno older on the roster by a couple of years. Spurgeon’s career has been shaped by health issues, and his smaller frame has left him exposed to plenty of heavy contact over the years.
Those injuries have helped explain the uneven point totals, but age is now part of the equation too. At 36, he dropped 10 points last season even while appearing in 13 more games.
A further dip would not be a shock. He’s never been a high-end scoring defenseman, but during his best years he outperformed expectations and gave the Wild solid offense from the back end.
The encouraging part, if there is one, is that his hits and blocked shots have not fallen off along with the points. They’ve actually increased over the last few seasons.
If that part of his game holds, the Wild can live with the offensive decline. The concern is that his defensive impact could start to slide as well.
Spurgeon is entering the final season of his contract, so this will be worth watching closely.
Filip Gustavsson brings a different kind of concern. The Wild goalie had hip surgery in the offseason, and it’s still unclear whether he will miss the start of the season as was originally expected. Either way, once he gets back on the ice, some regression seems likely at first.
That’s just the reality after surgery. Goaltenders especially can need time to settle back in, and the adjustment period can be messy. The bigger issue is how long that dip lasts and whether Gustavsson can push through it.
Since arriving with Minnesota in 2022-23, he has not finished a season under .500, though he came close in 2023-24 with a 20-18-4 record. So even if there’s a step back from his previous numbers, it may not be dramatic. Still, there isn’t much margin for error, and the Wild will need him to keep any downturn from becoming a bigger problem.
Yakov Trenin is in a different spot altogether. His first year with the Wild was quiet, but he answered back last season with a massive jump in physical play. He piled up 413 hits, nearly 200 more than the year before, and that kind of number is hard to repeat.
Could he do it again? Sure.
But the odds of some regression are real, especially after he dealt with an injury in the postseason, even though he returned fairly quickly. A workload like that takes a toll, and staying healthy while throwing that many hits is no small ask.
Even so, a drop in hits wouldn’t automatically be a bad thing if Trenin keeps bringing the same overall game. He looked quicker in his skating and sharper mentally last season, and that helped the Wild. If regression comes, the hope is that it’s only a small step back and not a full retreat.
Best case for Minnesota, none of these players slide. Realistically, at least one of them probably will, and maybe more. That’s part of the watchlist as the season approaches: who breaks out, who backs up, and whether the Wild can still get where they want to go.
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Dylan Larkins trade request in Detroit has only fueled the wider speculation about what kind of player could shake loose, even though no direct link has been made to Minnesota. For now, the Wild are still in the stage of possibilities rather than confirmed moves, but Guerins reputation suggests the story could still take another turn before the roster is set. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Patience Gets Tested As Dylan Larkin Rumors Heat Up
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But interest has not been the same thing as progress. Larkin asked for a trade in June and still remains in Detroit, where the front office situation has slowed the conversation while the Red Wings search for a new general manager. For the Wild, the hurdles are familiar ones in any big-name pursuit: finding the right compensation, making the salary cap work and waiting out a process that still seems far from resolution. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Camp Opens With A Big Opening Night Question In Net
The Wilds 2026-27 training camp opens Sept. 17 at TRIA Rink with plenty of bodies and one obvious place for the competition to start taking shape. Minnesota announced a 48-player roster that includes forwards, defensemen and goaltenders, and the preseason arrives quickly with four games beginning Sept. 19.
In net, the early workload looks especially important because Filip Gustavsson is expected to start the season on injured reserve. That leaves Jesper Wallstedt and Calvin Pickard as the primary goalies available for camp, putting a little extra weight on every practice rep and exhibition look as the Wild sort out their opening-night plan. [Read more 🡒]