Since my last
post and writing this article, it was confirmed by the Wild that Mikko Koivu’s
time with the Wild are done and he will not be re-signed to another contract.
.
Bill Guerin has
a lot to deal with in his first full offseason as General Manager. In the
twelve months that Guerin has been in the role, he’s already made some
changes—i.e. firing Bruce Boudreau and trading Jason Zucker to the Penguins.
The Wild have
two big needs that Guerin needs to address this offseason. The first is the
fact the Wild have not had a true first line center in quite some time (or for
as long as the team has been in existence).
It’s been confirmed the Wild are moving on from Mikko Koivu, with the
additions of Nick Bjugstad and Marcus Johansson (who is going to be tried at
center this coming season, even though he’s listed as a left wing). There are
questions about Nick Bjugstad going to be healthy for the upcoming season, as
he’s coming off of back surgery. With both Koivu and Staal both gone from the
Wild, there is a big hole at center. Joel Eriksson-Ek and Luke Kunin have both
spent time at center for the Wild. Nico Strum is another name being tossed
around to be in at center (he’s split time this past season between Iowa and
Minnesota). Alex Galchenyuk has also spent time at center, but he’s a free
agent and whether or not he’s going to re-sign with the Wild remains to be
seen. Galchenyuk is also coming off one of the worst seasons of his career
(2018-19 when he was with Arizona before he was traded to Pittsburgh as part of
the Phil Kessel deal). What Guerin does
regarding this need will be interesting in both the upcoming draft and free agency
that will taking place in October.
The second big
need the Wild need to address is goaltending. It’s no secret that Devan Dubnyk is
coming off a pretty rough 2019-20 season that saw him missing a month due to a
medical emergency with his wife, missing some time in January due to the
medical situation with his wife, and eventually losing the starting goalie role
to Alex Stalock. In the 30 games he was in last season, he went 12-15-2 with a
3.35 GAA and .890 SV%. He didn’t start any of the games in the qualifying round
against Vancouver when play resumed in August. He is entering the final year of
his 6 year, $21 million contract that he signed after the 2014-15 season. That
was the season where he won the Masterton Trophy and was a finalist for the Vezina
trophy. Guerin made the following statement during his season wrap up:
“I
was disappointed in the goaltending this year…Al (Stalock) had a tremendous
year and Devan (Dubnyk) had an off year and it needs to be better. That’s just
the way it is. If I told you anything different, I’d be lying to you. It was
not a strong point for us.” (Judd Zuglad, Skor North, 8/10/2020)
How the goaltending situation is going to be addressed is going to be interesting. Does Guerin stick with the Dubnyk-Stalock tandom in this up-coming season, hoping Dubnyk can rebound off of a bad year? How does Kaapo Kahkonen fit into the goalie equation? Kahkonen is coming off of a season with the Iowa Wild having won 25 games (7 of those being shutouts) with a 2.07 GAA and a .927 SV%--which was good enough for him to be named the AHL Goalie of the Year.
There are some
big goalie names who are going to be free agents come October—Braden Holtby (Capitals),
Thomas Greiss (Islanders), Anton Khudobin (Stars, and who was with the Wild),
and Cam Talbot (Flames), just to name a few. Along with the upcoming draft,
Guerin has to seriously look at the options out there. Could Dubnyk be traded?
That is a possibility, along with possibly the Wild buying out the final year
of his contract.
It is going to
be an interesting off-season for Guerin and from the looks of it, Wild owner Craig
Leopold is giving Guerin the go-ahead to make the moves Guerin thinks is
necessary to get the Wild to eventually become a contender.
Upcoming Dates:
NHL Draft:
Round 1 will take place on October 6, Rounds 2-7 will take place on October 7.
Free Agency:
NHL Free Agency will open at 12 PM ET on October 9.
Tentative Start
of the 2020-21 season: December 2020
Sources:
Michael Russo,
The Athletic. https://theathletic.com/2019645/2020/08/24/examining-the-wilds-options-what-to-do-about-a-complicated-goalie-situation/
(8/24/2020)
Judd Zulgad,
Skor North, https://www.skornorth.com/2020/08/pulling-no-punches-wild-gm-bill-guerin-makes-it-clear-that-goaltending-changes-are-on-the-way/
(8/10/2020)
