The Minnesota Wild will learn the bulk of their 2026-27 schedule on Thursday, but they already know they’ll open the campaign on Oct. 1 with a trip to visit the Nashville Predators. Wild fans may expect their team to ring in the new year with a win over a Predators team that missed the playoffs with 86 points a year ago, but it could be a trap game based on what has happened this offseason.
The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn believes the Predators will be a much better team, listing them No. 1 on his list of most improved teams this offseason. While the additions of Mavrik Borque, Ross Colton, Jack Drury, Nils Hoglander and Alexander Kerfoot haven’t generated big headlines, they also added a plus-27 rating according to Luszczyszyn’s research.
“While no one Nashville added moves the needle in a considerable way, the five players they did add are substantial improvements over who they’ll replace,” Luszczyszyn wrote. “Nashville had some of the league’s worst forward depth over the summer; the Predators have addressed that admirably.
“A bunch of third-line additions isn’t that meaningful in a vacuum. Replacing a bunch of fourth liners and sub-replacement level players with those guys is. Nashville’s forward group started the summer in the bottom five – it’s a lot closer to average now.”
The Wild could run into a trap game in Nashville on opening night
The Predators had an active summer replacing general manager Barry Trotz with Chris MacFarland. The former Colorado Avalanche GM went to work immediately and the focus was improving the bottom six depth, most notably acquiring Bourque and defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin from the Dallas Stars in exchange for draft picks.
Hoglander and Drury also came in trades while MacFarland also locked in Drury to a five-year contract extension and it should lead to an improvement behind a top six that still features Steven Stamkos, Ryan O’Reilly, Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault.
With more scoring depth, the Predators could be a tougher team to play and that could be bad news for the WIld to open the year. Minnesota has made its own notable moves but most of them have been a bet on addition by subtraction as Marcus Johansson left for Sweden and Mats Zuccarello was thrown out the door in hopes of a more aggressive attack.
Like the Predators, the Wild are hoping that additions Blake Coleman and Maxim Shabanov and an increased role for Bobby Brink will make up for the 150 points that will leave when Vladimir Tarasenko signs elsewhere. But unless they pull off a trade for Dylan Larkin, this could be a lineup that could still be feeling things out as they go to Nashville.
The good news is that one game in October shouldn’t have a massive impact on the Wild’s outlook. But it also comes against a team that has improved and looking to remove the bad taste from its mouth to open the year. That makes it a solid litmus test for the Wild and perhaps an important data point as they look to take the next step in a crowded Central Division.
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