The Minnesota Wild had a lot of talk this offseason, but aside from Quinn Hughes’s contract and their pursuit of Dylan Larkin, a lot of conversation was based on the top six forward group.
The Wild lost 150 points of production from last year’s team when Mats Zuccarello, Vladimir Tarasenko and Marcus Johansson left last summer and the big concern was how they would replace those veterans. But while Maxim Shabanov has slid into the top six and the Wild’s superline of Matt Boldy, Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek has picked up the slack, the Wild’s bottom six hasn’t lived up to its billing.
Through the first 11 games, only five players – Kaprizov, Quinn Hughes, Boldy, and Eriksson Ek and Shabanov – have more than five points for the Wild this season. There’s also a chance that Danila Yurov, who has four goals and an assist to begin the year, could also be departing in a trade for Larkin, making the situation even worse.
It’s all validation that the Wild may have considered shuffling their bottom six last offseason and gives general manager Bill Guerin another thing he must figure out.
The Wild’s bottom six has been a massive disappointment
The bottom six forward group has gotten plenty of attention during Bill Guerin’s tenure and it included a lot of lucrative contracts. Yakov Trenin, Ryan Hartman, Marcus Foligno and Michael McCarron have cashed in with big deals in recent years, but outside of a few pop-ups, they haven’t gotten the consistent production they need from that group.
This year is no exception as Minnesota struggles to find offense outside of its top six forwards. McCarron has led the way with a goal and five points this season, but Bobby Brink, who signed a team-friendly deal to prove his worth last offseason, has been an offensive disappointment with five points and no goals through 11 games.
Blake Coleman, who was originally penned in for a second line role alongside Eriksson Ek and Boldy, has cooled off after an impressive start, scoring twice with three points over his first 11 games in Minnesota. Those numbers look even worse considering all three of his points came in the Wild’s first four games, leading to a seven-game pointless streak after Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the Calgary Flames.
Then there’s the case of Hartman. A player who has played on Minnesota’s top line at times, having him on the third line should add some scoring punch to the bottom of the lineup. But whether it’s saltiness from his name popping up in trade rumors or a precursor to another meltdown, he’s been one of the Wild’s worst players, logging a goal and an assist with a team-low minus-7 rating over the first 11 games.
Trenin also does not have a goal in 11 games and is making $3.5 million over each of the next two seasons. Nico Sturm, Reiger Lorenz and Tyler Pitlick have also stepped in due to injuries, but that trio has just two assists combined and highlights Minnesota’s glaring problem.
Wild must address their lack of secondary scoring soon
Part of the issue is the Wild’s health, which seems to be getting worse by the game. But even if they get Marcus and Nick Foligno back soon, they’re not offensive powerhouses. Marcus Foligno scored eight goals and had 13 points with a minus-12 rating in 56 games last year. Nick Foligno had just four goals and 15 points in 54 games between the Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks last season and with both players in their late 30s, it may be a matter of time until one or both are out of the lineup with another injury.
This could also be solved if someone could step up. Hartman could be the No. 1 candidate to bring some offense to the bottom six, but if he keeps playing as he has, he’s more likely to be a trade chip that the Wild would be selling for pennies on the dollar.
Brink’s name should also come up in this conversation, but if he can’t put more pucks in the net, it may be a good idea for the Wild to call up old friend Vladimir Tarasenko, who is still sitting as a free agent despite scoring 23 goals and recording 47 points last season. Of course, the Wild would also need cap space to do this and they have limited options with $2.2 million in current cap space, according to Puckpedia.
Unless the Red Wings finally decide to trade Dylan Larkin and the Wild can get a top-nine forward in return, this issue isn’t going away and Minnesota needs to find a way to get more production out of the bottom of their lineup.
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