The Minnesota Wild will officially enter free agency on Wednesday morning. But with the start of the new league year less than 24 hours away, Minnesota has a crisis brewing when it comes to their talent at the wing position.
Marcus Johansson was Minnesota’s first notable departure when he opted to return to Sweden earlier this month. Vladimir Tarasenko may already be gone amid the possibility of tampering. But the Wild may have a mass exodus on their hands after The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that Mats Zuccarello is officially going to market when free agency opens on Wednesday morning.
While the pursuit of Dylan Larkin remains the Wild’s top storyline, the rest of the team seems to be falling apart around it and it could set up an interesting start to free agency and a flurry of activity when the chaos begins.
Mats Zuccarello testing the market leaves the Wild in a full-blown emergency at wing
The Wild needed to make changes to its roster after coming up short in the playoffs. While they advanced past the first round for the first time since 2015, Minnesota’s depth became an issue and it led general manager Bill Guerin to an important offseason.
While Guerin mentioned that no player was untouchable, there’s still some surprise with three wingers potentially leaving in free agency. Johansson, Tarasenko and Zuccarello combined for 150 points between them last season and while the Wild were able to retain Bobby Brink on a one-year, $2.75 million deal according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo, his four points only puts a small dent into that void.
The biggest piece of the puzzle may be in place if the Wild can acquire Larkin. After Brink’s deal, the Wild have $6.6 million in cap space according to Puckpedia and currently do not have enough to add Larkin’s $8.7 million cap hit to the mix. The chances of a blockbuster trade are slim if it involves only the Wild and Larkin’s current team, the Detroit Red Wings. But it could increase if they involve a third team to sweeten the pot and potentially take on assets that could clear more cap space to add Larkin and have money left over to solve their wing problem.
Even then, it may be a difficult process. The Wild got lucky last year by signing Johansson to a veteran minimum deal and adding Tarasenko for cash considerations. But Minnesota will have to replicate those finds to fill out the rest of their roster.
Anders Lee could be a possibility after he informed the New York Islanders that he will test the market on Tuesday and former Wild nemesis Patrick Kane could be another option as he could be signed to a 35-plus contract with incentives. And even Zuccarello could be in play, although the Wild have hinted that they would like to get away from the east-west style that the 39-year-old plays with this summer.
If anything, it creates another glaring need in an offseason with plenty of moving parts. But the Wild will need to put everything together at the wing position if they want to contend again next season.
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