ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Wild face a crucial offseason, with the ability to fully participate in free agency after two years of significant salary restrictions.
Without a playoff series win in the NHL in the last 10 years, the urgency to build a deeper roster around a promising young core is high, putting pressure on general manager Bill Guerin this summer and into next season.
I’m more excited than anything. It’s been a couple of long years, dealing with this and, honestly, just hearing about it. I want high expectations. I’m not doing this job to sit in a corner or anything like that. These are important jobs. There are a lot of people out there who love the Minnesota Wild, and I’m trying to give them something. We all are.
Bill Guerin
The first point to address is clear: an extension for Kirill Kaprizov. The star left wing has one year remaining on his current contract.
I am very confident that we will reach an agreement with Kirill. I think he really loves this market and this team. I think he feels that we are going in the right direction.
Bill Guerin
Kaprizov, who has 386 points in 319 regular season games and 21 points in 25 playoff games with the Wild, said the same thing over the weekend.
I love everything here. Everything should be fine.
Kirill Kaprizov
The Wild barely made the playoffs, in part because Kaprizov missed half the season due to a lower-body injury that required surgery. With five goals and four assists in the six-game series against the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round, Kaprizov made it clear that he was fully recovered.
He just wants to win, and I think this was a promising sign that our team can do it. We can get there. We’re very close.
Marcus Foligno
Guerin made the bold decision four years ago to buy out the contracts of franchise cornerstones Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. The fresh start for team chemistry came at a cost, particularly over the last two seasons, with the buy-out charges accounting for around 17% of their salary cap. Those hits will be drastically reduced for 2025-26 and beyond until they disappear. Parise has retired and Suter just finished his season with the St. Louis Blues.
I like to be aggressive. I don’t want to sit on my hands. I’m a little tired of doing that. Since I walked through the door, my goal has been to build a championship-caliber team for this market, and that’s what I want to do. I don’t want to sign any stupid contracts or anything like that, but I want to make this team better than it is today.
Bill Guerin
