Minnesota Wild
Western Conference - Central division
Predicted Finish: 7th
PHYSICALITY TO BE THE MINNESOTA CALLING CARD?
Even before the summer of 2024, the Wild were a hard team to play against.
Head coach John Hynes seems to prefer a physical style of play, which was part of his portfolio while behind the bench of the Nashville Predators. Previously, his New Jersey Devils were more of a finesse roster. In Minnesota, Hynes can count on the likes of defensemen Jake Middleton and Zach Bogosian to provide some snarl from the back end. Up front, Marcus Foligno, Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman can aggravate, agitate and also impose themselves physically. Furthermore, the two main additions to the roster are both hard-nosed, physical forwards: Yakov Trenin, added as a UFA, and trade acquisition Jakub Lauko from Boston.
The Wild may not be the toughest team in the NHL, but opponents will be wary of them in '24-25.
Yakov Trenin
Forecasts
Centers
2024-25
Last 3 Seasons
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | J. Eriksson Ek, 27 | 75 | 29 | 38 | 67 | 0.89 | 77 / 0.83 | 78 / 0.78 | 77 / 0.64 | |
| 43 | M. Rossi, 23 | 82 | 26 | 31 | 57 | 0.70 | 82 / 0.49 | 19 / 0.05 | 2 / 0.00 | $ |
| 76 | R. Hartman, 30 | 77 | 18 | 20 | 38 | 0.49 | 74 / 0.61 | 59 / 0.63 | 82 / 0.79 | |
| 194 | F. Gaudreau, 31 | 76 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 0.32 | 67 / 0.22 | 82 / 0.46 | 76 / 0.58 | + |
| 139 | T. Boyd, 31 | 24 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 0.29 | 16 / 0.50 | 82 / 0.41 | 74 / 0.47 | + $ |
Wingers
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | K. Kaprizov, 27 | 82 | 51 | 42 | 93 | 1.13 | 75 / 1.28 | 67 / 1.12 | 81 / 1.33 | K |
| 20 | M. Boldy, 23 | 80 | 36 | 42 | 78 | 0.98 | 75 / 0.92 | 81 / 0.78 | 47 / 0.83 | |
| 81 | M. Zuccarello, 37 | 73 | 15 | 37 | 52 | 0.71 | 69 / 0.91 | 78 / 0.86 | 70 / 1.13 | + |
| 149 | M. Johansson, 34 | 74 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 0.46 | 78 / 0.38 | 80 / 0.58 | 69 / 0.42 | $ |
| 96 | M. Khusnutdinov, 22 | 70 | 8 | 21 | 29 | 0.41 | 16 / 0.25 | KHL | KHL | $ |
| 206 | M. Foligno, 33 | 69 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 0.30 | 55 / 0.40 | 65 / 0.32 | 74 / 0.57 | + |
| 208 | Y. Trenin, 27 | 78 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 0.26 | 76 / 0.22 | 77 / 0.31 | 80 / 0.30 | |
| 230 | L. Ohgren, 20 | 51 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 0.31 | 4 / 0.50 | Swe2 | Swe Jr. |
Defensemen
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | G | A | PTS | PPG | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | B. Faber, 22 | 82 | 9 | 36 | 45 | 0.55 | 82 / 0.57 | 2 / 0.00 | Big10 | |
| 61 | D. Chisholm, 24 | 75 | 5 | 26 | 31 | 0.41 | 31 / 0.29 | AHL | 2 / 0.00 | $ |
| 72 | J. Brodin, 31 | 72 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 0.39 | 62 / 0.44 | 60 / 0.23 | 73 / 0.41 | + |
| 89 | J. Spurgeon, 34 | 66 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 0.36 | 16 / 0.31 | 79 / 0.43 | 65 / 0.62 | + |
| 104 | J. Middleton, 28 | 81 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 0.27 | 80 / 0.31 | 79 / 0.19 | 66 / 0.21 | |
| 191 | Z. Bogosian, 34 | 67 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 0.15 | 65 / 0.22 | 46 / 0.11 | 48 / 0.17 |
Goaltenders
| Rank | Name, Age | GP | W | SO | GAA | Sv% | 23-24 | 22-23 | 21-22 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | F. Gustavsson, 26 | 46 | 22 | 2 | 2.84 | 0.905 | 45 / 20 | 39 / 22 | AHL | |
| 60 | M. Fleury, 39 | 29 | 12 | 1 | 2.94 | 0.901 | 40 / 17 | 46 / 24 | 56 / 28 | $ |
Depth Chart
Left Wing |
Center |
Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
| K. Kaprizov 5 | J. Eriksson Ek 1 | M. Boldy (LW) 1 |
| M. Johansson (RW) | M. Rossi 1 | M. Zuccarello |
| Y. Trenin (C) | R. Hartman (RW) | M. Foligno (RW) |
| J. Lauko (RW) | M. Khusnutdinov (C) 2 | F. Gaudreau (RW) |
| L. Ohgren (RW) 1 | C. Bankier* 3 | G. Clarke* |
| L. Toporowski* | H. Haight* 2 | S. Walker 7 |
| M. Milne* 3 | R. Johnson (RW) | P. Novak* 5 |
| J. Clark* 7 | D. Shore (C) | A. Raska* |
Defense |
Goaltender |
Notable Departures |
|---|---|---|
| B. Faber | F. Gustavsson | A. Beckman (T-NJ) |
| J. Brodin 1 | M. Fleury | A. Goligoski (UFA) |
|
C J. Spurgeon |
J. Wallstedt* 1 | J. Khaira (UFA) |
| J. Middleton | T. Grosenick | V. Lettieri (T-Bos) |
| Z. Bogosian | S. Hlavaj* | J. Lucchini (FA-Nas) |
| D. Kulikov 1 | C. Wutzke* 5 | D. Mermis (FA-Tor) |
| D. Chisholm | N. Petan (FA-Europe) | |
| J. Merrill | M. Shaw (FA-Wpg) | |
| D. Hunt* 3 | ||
| J. Peart* 2 | ||
| C. Lambos* 1 |
Forecasts: *: Rookie; 
: injury concern; 
: contract year (UFA in 2025);
: Must-draft player Last 3 season stats: GP and PPG for skaters, GP and W for goalies; Rank is based on PPG or Ws compared to players in the same position. Age as of October 10, 2024.
Depth Chart: (Secondary Position); *: Rookie; 
: Team captain; Orange denotes off-season acquisition via free agency or trade; 1 to 9: Organizational draft pick with round selected.
Lines: Projected lines, pairs and units are for the majority of the season, not neccesarily opening night; 2023-24 Power Play TOI and G-A-PTS in parenthesis
Projected Lines/Pairs
Power Play Units
| Forwards | Defense |
|---|---|
| K. Kaprizov - J. Eriksson Ek - M. Boldy | J. Middleton - B. Faber |
| M. Johansson - M. Rossi - M. Zuccarello | J. Brodin - J. Spurgeon |
| Y. Trenin - M. Khusnutdinov - M. Foligno | D. Chisholm - Z. Bogosian |
| J. Lauko - R. Hartman - F. Gaudreau |
| First Unit | Second Unit |
|---|---|
| M. Zuccarello (4:03, 5-28-33) | J. Spurgeon (2:59, 0-3-3) |
| J. Eriksson Ek (3:53, 12-9-21) | M. Johansson (1:55, 1-5-6) |
| K. Kaprizov (4:10, 19-22-41) | R. Hartman (1:52, 5-5-10) |
| M. Boldy (3:57, 10-15-25) | D. Chisholm (1:49, 2-3-5) |
| B. Faber (2:36, 3-13-16) | M. Rossi (2:05, 2-4-6) |