The Minnesota Wild are in a unique position this upcoming season. For the first time in a few years, the club has salary cap flexibility.
The reason for the tight-cap situation in Minnesota was the dual buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter in 2021. That dead cap space ($14,743,588 combined) significantly reduced the runway GM Bill Guerin had to maneuver.
Still, Guerin was able to put together a roster good enough to compete for a playoff spot this past season. The Wild landed the first wild card spot in the Western Conference after a better-than-expected season.
Now that the gauntlet of the dual buyouts is over, Guerin is in a more favorable position to improve the team this upcoming season. As Guerin told James Murphy of RG Media, the team is ready to move on to bigger things.
Murphy quoted Guerin in the August 13 piece, stating:
“Listen, I think we’ve been operating pretty effectively. …but yeah, it is pretty nice. It’s nice to have the flexibility; that’s it, but like I said, I think we’ve been operating pretty well without it, but it’s nice to just have more and be able to just get back in the game, so to speak.”
Given more cap flexibility, the Wild could become a significant player in free agency and the trade market. Of course, the club must first resolve the pending issues with RFA Marco Rossi and impending UFA Kirill Kaprizov.
But beyond those two dangling issues, the Wild have the ammo to pull off significant moves this upcoming trade deadline.
Guerin added:
“Free agency and, more so, trade deadline stuff were kind of frustrating to sit on the sidelines for that. Even though we got some stuff done, now we can get into bigger things because we’ll have more space.”
So, Wild fans will have plenty to look forward to this upcoming season. The Wild head into the season with roughly $9.5 million in cap space. That’s a nice chunk of change the club could use to upgrade as the season goes along.
Wild could be buyers at trade deadline
The Minnesota Wild could become big-time buyers at this year’s trade deadline. That situation depends on where the team is in the standings following the Olympic break. If the Wild are in the midst of the playoff race, there’s no question the club will be looking to upgrade.
Such upgrades could come in terms of depth scoring and help on the blue line. The addition of Vladimir Tarasenko could take the pressure off at the deadline. A resurgent season from the Russian forward could preclude the need for a big splash.
Then again, Guerin could be compelled to target a middle-six center to bolster the club’s depth down the middle.
Meanwhile, the blue line looks good. The addition of Jack Johnson on a PTO could be part of the team’s effort to build a deeper blue line. But more help could be needed by the time the trade deadline comes.
All told, the Wild will need to hit the ice before Bill Guerin is certain of what he’s got. But if last season was any indication, the Wild could be in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race all season long.