The Minnesota Wild fell short of their goal of winning the Stanley Cup this year, but that's not without effort. The team was aggressive at the trade deadline, bringing in three forwards to add to their roster for the latter portion of the season. After the team's second-round elimination at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche, the Wild got to work on their offseason agenda.
Their first move was to retain one of their trade deadline acquisitions, Michael McCarron, on a six-year, $20 million contract. McCarron was expected to generate interest in free agency, but the Wild opted to retain him on what could be seen as an expensive contract for his role and production. That left questions regarding if one of their other trade deadline acquisitions would return next season. One of them being Nick Foligno.
The Athletic's Aaron Portzline spoke with Foligno, who said he hasn't made a decision on his plans for next season.
Former #CBJ Nick Foligno, most recently w #mnwild, hasn’t yet settled on his plans for next season, he said.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) June 16, 2026
Foligno, 38, is a pending UFA, but has already begun offseason workouts and will see what develops on and after July 1.
Nick Foligno still undecided on plans for next season, return to Wild
Acquiring Foligno was the feel-good story of the NHL trade deadline, as it allowed Nick to join his younger brother Marcus. This was the first time that the Foligno brothers played on the same team in the NHL.
Marcus spoke with The Athletic's Joe Smith back in May and said that while he'd like Nick to return to Minnesota for another season, it all comes down to how he feels during offseason workouts.
“It’s up to Nick, his energy level and what he has left in the tank,” Marcus told The Athletic. “I do believe, and we’ve talked about it — if there’s a chance to come back for one more year, it’d be a no-brainer to come back to Minnesota and try to do this thing to win the Cup. That’s the big thing. We had so much fun together.
“He loves the guys in the room. Nick showed he’s a great role piece for this team and can do some damage when it matters the most. He likes the makeup of the team. He wants to win the Cup. We all do. But it all comes down to walking into that first workout and saying, ‘Let’s do this,’ or ‘I’m done.’”
Foligno has now started offseason workouts, and hasn't yet come to a decision whether he'll play or not, based on Portzline's reporting.
Foligno was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks for future considerations. The goal for the Wild was that Foligno, McCarron, and Bobby Brink would fill out the depth on their forward group. In 17 regular season games for Minnesota, Foligno scored one goal and recorded three assists. In the playoffs, Foligno's best game was in Game 5 against the Avalanche, where he scored two goals. Unfortunately, the Wild blew a 3-0 lead and lost in overtime to the Avalanche.
The Wild have a bunch of items on their priority list this offseason. Quinn Hughes' contract extension is at the top of that list, while the team has to make decisions on whether to retain the likes of Mats Zuccarello and Vladimir Tarasenko. But for Foligno, it sounds like he will be the one who is making a decision on whether he'll play next season. From there, we'll see if he and the Wild can finalize a contract.
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