With less than a month until training camp begins, the Minnesota Wild are still waiting. They’re waiting for Quinn Hughes to sign a contract extension. They’re also waiting for the Detroit Red Wings to get it together long enough for a Dylan Larkin trade to materialize. They’re even waiting for John Hynes to sign an extension – although that sounds like a formality heading into training camp.
Long story short, the exciting offseason that Wild fans envisioned hasn’t materialized and it’s leaving some fans searching for optimism as next season arrives. But if a potential breakout for Danila Yurov or Bobby Brink isn’t doing the trick, perhaps looking across the Mississippi River and seeing what the Minnesota Timberwolves shows that a few moves – no matter how long it takes – could make a big difference.
The Wild and Timberwolves took very different paths this offseason
The Wild and Timberwolves entered the offseason in a similar spot. Both teams were good enough to advance in the playoffs but they also needed something to push them over the top. The Wild needed a No. 1 center at the top of their lineup to add playmaking ability and depth and the Wolves needed a legitimate threat, likely a point guard, to facilitate the offense and take pressure off Anthony Edwards.
That’s where the two offseasons went their separate ways. The Wild locked in on Larkin as their lone trade target but a high asking price by Steve Yzerman and his following reassignment has put that on hold. Most of their other free agent ideas, including Anders Lee before he signed with the Utah Mammoth, also fell through and Minnesota has a roster with plenty of star power (Kirill Kaprizov, Hughes, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber), but questionable fits elsewhere on the roster.
Meanwhile, the Wolves dove in head first. They acquired LaMelo Ball in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets to fill their biggest need and re-signed top reserve Ayo Dosunmu to keep him in the fold. The Wolves were even considered by LeBron James as a potential destination in his free agent tour at one point and the final big move came on Wednesday night when Jonathan Kuminga agreed to a two-year deal to fill their remaining hole at power forward.
There isn’t a lot of crossover between Wild and Timberwolves fans due to them playing at the same time of the year and the NBA’s complicated salary cap rules compared to the NHL. But it’s hard for Wild fans to not feel the fireworks going off in Minneapolis as Wolves fans gear up for the season.
WIth that, the Wild’s offseason is at a crossroads. But it’s not too late to turn it around.
The Wild’s quiet offseason could be setting up their next big move
The Wild’s need of a top center is still there and there’s no guarantee that Larkin will be headed to Minnesota anytime soon. But there are other moves the Wild could make in the build to next season and the excitement may be more of a crescendo before they reach next year’s playoffs.
The first step would be to re-sign Hughes. New Jersey Devils fans have taken every opportunity to manifest a trade to unite Hughes with his brothers, Jack and Luke, but after taking a victory lap after winning a gold medal in February, Hughes’s contract talks could mimic the Wild’s timeline with Kaprizov a year ago, leading to a deal that should be signed around training camp – especially after Cale Makar agreed to his contract extension with an AAV of $20.4 million on Friday.
From there, the Wild simply let the season begin. It’s fair to point out Minnesota with a 3-6-3 record during the month of October. But things picked up from there with an 11-1-2 record in November and Hughes’s arrival in a blockbuster trade in December.
By that time, the Red Wings may finally be ready to wash their hands of Larkin’s trade request. But the Wild could also see players step up including Brink, Yurov and fellow free agent acquisition Maxim Shabanov. If any of those players show chemistry with Kaprizov, it would be an encouraging development and could at least set up Bill Guerin for his next big swing either when Detroit is settled with a new GM or if another star player becomes available ahead of the trade deadline.
In a lot of ways, the Wild’s offseason mantra has been “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” While it would have been great to shoot off fireworks on July 1 like the Wolves did, the Wild are waiting for the right opportunity, knowing they may have to thread the needle with two big contracts and knowing that a better chance to improve the team could fall out of the sky.
Such an approach could be optimistic. But it’s something that Wild fans should keep in mind if they feel like their offseason has been underwhelming compared to their basketball counterparts.
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