Which recent departure will the Minnesota Wild miss most next season?

Recently, the Minnesota Wild have moved on from several key pieces from last year’s core. Mats Zuccarello signed with the L.A. Kings, Jake Middleton was traded to the Calgary Flames, Marcus Johansson has gone back to Sweden to finish out his career, and the Wild have indicated they won’t be re-signing Vladimir Tarasenko. 

All four players played a big role in last year’s team. Let’s rank the departures in terms of who the Wild will miss most next season.

1. Mats Zuccarello

Zuccarello is the obvious choice for number one on this list. Heading into his age 39 season, Zuccarello has proven to still be a top-six scorer in the NHL. Last season, Zuccarello scored 15 goals and 54 points in 59 games for the Wild. Zuccarello was third among Wild forwards last season in points per 60. Zuccarello was even better at 5-on-5, ranking second among Wild forwards in points per 60. 

Zuccarello’s chemistry with Kirill Kaprizov is well documented, and playing alongside Kaprizov certainly helped Zuccarello immensely. That said, Zuccarello’s departure creates plenty of questions about the Wild’s offense and opens a massive hole on the wing in the Wild’s top six. 

2. Marcus Johansson

Many (including myself) had counted out Marcus Johansson as a viable top-six wing for an NHL team after he failed to break 35 points in back-to-back seasons. However, in his age 35 season, Johansson proved his doubters wrong with 15 goals and 49 points in 75 games last year. Johansson wasn’t a power-play merchant either; he was third among Wild forwards in 5-on-5 points (40) and third in points per 60 at 5-on-5. As a line, Johansson, Matt Boldy, and Joel Eriksson Ek outperformed the Kaprizov, Hartman, and Zuccarello line in goals for, goals against, and goals for per 60 in a similar amount of ice time. 

Johansson will turn 36 just before the 2026-2027 season begins, so I understand the logic of not trying to bring him back. That, coupled with his interest in returning to Sweden, makes the departure quite logical. However, losing Johansson removes an offensive producer at 5-on-5 and opens up another hole in the Wild’s top six. The Wild will have to hope that recent addition Blake Coleman can replicate Johansson's offense.

3. Vladimir Tarasenko

You can add Vladimir Tarasenko to the list of older Wild forwards who had bounce-back campaigns last season. Tarasenko scored 23 goals and 47 points in 75 games for the Wild last season, good for 6th best among Wild forwards. Looking ahead to next season, Tarasenko is on the older side; he’ll be 35 in December. Also, Tarasenko's scoring last season was boosted by a career-high 15.5% shooting percentage. I have my doubts about Tarasenko’s ability to replicate his 2025-2026 numbers next season, largely due to that shooting percentage. The Wild also have some younger options that can fill his third-line role. 

I struggled to decide between Middleton and Tarasenko for the third spot. I went with Tarasenko because I am more confident in the Wild’s ability to replace what Jake Middleton provided. 

4. Jake Middleton

Jake Middleton has been a solid defenseman for the Wild for the past five seasons. Last year, Middleton was good when he played alongside Jared Spurgeon; the pair posted a 50.1% expected goals percentage. However, Middleton struggled when he wasn’t playing with Spurgeon. Middleton spent the majority of his non-Spurgeon minutes alongside Zach Bogosian. That pair had a 44.6% expected goals percentage.

A lot of listing Middleton last here comes down to my confidence in the Wild blue line. When healthy, Quinn Hughes, Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon, and Jonas Brodin are an elite top four. Middleton would have been a bottom-pairing guy for the Wild next season, and I think Olli Määttä will likely be a better fit than Middleton for that role. Sending Middleton to Calgary in exchange for Määttä and a middle-six winger like Blake Coleman was a no-brainer.

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