What should the Wild address this offseason between the draft and free agency?

 

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)