Wild’s Mats Zuccarello decision could come back to haunt them

The NHL offseason is at a bit of a standstill when it comes to big moves. For the Minnesota Wild, they have yet to make that splash that fans across the league expected. The Wild have yet to land that top line center that they declared they needed. Despite being linked to Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings, that is currently at a standstill now that general manager Steve Yzerman has stepped down from his role.

The Wild did make an addition in the form of Blake Coleman, who easily slots in as a first or second line winger. But the team had multiple subtractions, most notably Mats Zuccarello. Instead of re-signing Zuccarello, the Wild let him hit free agency, where he signed a one-year, incentives-heavy deal with the Los Angeles Kings. It was a risky move for the Wild, and they are getting their fair share of criticism for it.

The Athletic's Dom Luszczyszyn ranked every NHL teams in terms of beign the most improved of the offseason. For the Wild, they are in the middle of the pack, ranking 18th on his list. While Luszczyszyn praised the trade for Coleman, he doesn't see how the current roster could replace Zuccarello's production.

The Athletic critical of Wild's decision to let Mats Zuccarello leave in free agency

"Blake Coleman still has a helluva two-way game that adds a lot of playoff-worthy bite to Minnesota’s top six. But with the loss of Mats Zuccarello, I am very worried about the lack of offensive weaponry outside Minnesota’s big three up front," writes Luszczyszyn. "Maxim Shabanov also doesn’t do nearly enough to make up for the loss of the other two wingers."

The Wild may have felt it was in their best interest to move on from Zuccarello, but that was always a risky decision. Sure, there may have been criticism of his play on the power play, where he mostly targeted teammate Kirill Kaprizov instead of spreading the puck around. But if the playoffs showed anything, it's that when they were without Zuccarello for Games 2 through 4 in their first-round matchup against the Dallas Stars, their offense struggled. In three games, Zuccarello scored one goal and dished out four assists.

With Zuccarello gone, the Wild will have to bank on Maxim Shabanov to step up in his place. Shabanov is coming off of his first pro season with the New York Islanders, where in 44 games, he scored five goals and recorded 13 assists. With just 44 games to his credit, that's a lot of pressure the Wild are placing on him to fill the void not only left by Zuccarello, but also Vladimir Tarasenko, who is still a free agent.

For those curious, here is what NHL.com has the Wild's projected lines entering next season:

Look, it's evident that the Wild are waiting on some sort of resolution to the Larkin mess in Detroit. First, the Red Wings have to hire a new head of hockey operations. From there, that will lead to discussions with Larkin to see if he wants to stay now that Yzerman isn't in charge anymore or if he'd still like to be traded. In the case of the latter, he may have to expand his trade list. Let's not forget, the Wild put in offers for Larkin, but Yzerman didn't deem they were sufficient enough to okay a trade.

For now, the decision to move on from Zuccarello does look like a gamble. We'll see if more moves ultimately transpire, especially to bring an end to the lack of news in Minnesota.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow