Blake Coleman has bigger shoes to fill than anyone expected for the Minnesota Wild

When the Minnesota Wild acquired Blake Coleman from the Calgary Flames in early July, the move was widely seen as a typical Bill Guerin addition. He brought in a two-time Stanley Cup champion who could add some physicality, penalty killing, and playoff experience to the middle six. But after a bit of a lackluster summer, Coleman's arrival could mean a lot more than originally expected. 

Coleman will have plenty of expectations on him

With the news around Quinn Hughes floating around, there are a lot of eyeballs on the Wild. If this is Hughes’ last season with the club, they need to make the most of it. Which is where Coleman will come into play. As of right now, it looks like he’s going to slot into the second-line left wing role alongside Ryan Hartman and Bobby Brink.

Coleman is certainly capable of handling the top-six role. The 34-year-old had 20 goals and 35 points with the Calgary Flames last season while recording more than 150 hits and playing an important role on the penalty kill. Head coach John Hynes also knows exactly what Coleman brings, having coached him when he first entered the NHL with the New Jersey Devils. Coleman should be one of the players Hynes relies on to bring a harder style to the Wild's forward group.

The leadership side of this could be just as important. Minnesota is trying to move from being a team that can make the playoffs into one that can actually make a deep run. Coleman has already been part of teams that know how to win in the postseason. His time with the Tampa Bay Lightning, particularly on their third line with Yanni Gourde and Barclay Goodrow, showed how valuable he can be when games become tight and physical.

That experience matters for a Wild team that has only won one playoff round in over a decade. Coleman’s experience killing penalties, protecting leads, and playing in important games could be just as valuable as what he does on the scoresheet. There will be relatively high expectations for Coleman as he prepares to join his new team. He needs to bring the forechecking, physical play, and penalty killing that have made him valuable throughout his career, while also helping replace some of the secondary scoring that they lost this summer.

Coleman doesn't need to be a top-line scoring winger. He just needs to become an important part of the Wild's identity. If Minnesota is going to compete in the Central Division, they need to rely on players that bring the same identity as Coleman. The Wild are going to be a high-tempo, physical team and Coleman is going to be a big part of that. 

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