The Minnesota Wild may have just opened the door to one of the more intriguing names on the market.
On Monday, the qualifying offer deadline delivered a handful of surprises around the NHL, and Bobby Brink’s name was the one that stood out most. Minnesota chose not to tender him a qualifying offer, putting the 24-year-old forward on track for free agency even after paying a significant price to land him in the first place.
That’s a jarring turn. The Wild acquired Brink straight up from Philadelphia in a deal for David Jiricek, only to now let Brink reach free agency. Jiricek had been drafted high in what is quickly becoming a terrible 2022 NHL Draft, and Minnesota’s decision leaves Brink available to all 31 other teams if the Wild can’t get a new deal done before July 1st.
The expectation is that Brink will still wind up with an extension, but nothing is guaranteed yet. Everyone assumed he would get a qualifying offer, and that didn’t happen.
Brink’s 2025-26 season was his best as a pro analytically, even if the box score didn’t fully catch up. He finished with 30 points in 68 games, a step down from the 41 points he posted the year before. He’s an undersized forward with grit, and he brings value on both sides of the puck while his offensive game continues to grow.
At 24 years old, with his 25th birthday coming on July 8th, Brink still looks like a player with room to develop at the NHL level.
He’s also going to be chasing a raise from the $3.4 million he was expected to receive on his qualifying offer. That price point may be more than some clubs want to pay for a player who has never scored more than 15 goals in a season, but Brink’s appeal goes beyond the raw scoring totals.
Minnesota appeared to be setting him up for a larger role, especially with veterans leaving for free agency. Instead, Brink is now one of the more unexpected names sitting out there as the market opens, and if the Wild don’t close the deal quickly, the rest of the league gets a shot.
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