The Minnesota Wild have just one year left before their cap space opens up. Until then, they’re facing pressure to remain competitive, and they’re the latest focus in the NHL Hot Seat Radar series.
We point out someone on the ‘hot seat’ who faces considerable pressure to achieve above-average results or deal with the consequences. We’re also picking a person in every file on the ‘cold seat’ as an individual highly secure in their relationship with their team.
Wild’s Hot Seat: Bill Guerin, GM
Guerin has admittedly been on the hot seat for quite some time. Since he took over the GM job in August 2019, Minnesota’s made the Western Conference quarterfinal three of five seasons but has not made it past the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
This past season, they fell out of the playoff picture altogether. Needless to say, this has not been a Wild team that’s given its devoted fan base what they deserve with improved results. And this coming season could be another exercise in disappointment.
Indeed, compared to other teams in the improved Central Division, the Wild have not taken many competitive steps forward. Some may point to the acquisition of forward Yakov Trenin as a sign Minnesota is trying to improve, but let’s not kid ourselves – this is essentially the same team that failed to make the post-season last year.
Sure, there could be internal improvement from youngsters including Marco Rossi, Brock Faber and Kirill Kaprizov (more on him below), but on paper, the Wild’s depth chart does not match up well against their divisional opponents.
#mnwild hope that Yakov Trenin and Jakub Lauko will help bring the team their identity back. But does that even matter?
My dive into the numbers of what made previous Wild teams so good. ⤵️@TheHockeyNews https://t.co/jQb1kt8Q76
— Dylan Loucks (@DylanLoucks4) July 3, 2024
Buying out the contracts of former stars Zach Parise and Ryan Suter was the right thing to do in some regards, but the dead cap total of $14.74 million is a continued albatross the Wild have a tough time getting out from under.
Suter and Parise’s combined buyout cap hit drops to $1.66 million in the three seasons following the 2024-25 campaign, but for this coming year, Minnesota is too hamstrung to be a top-level team.
It could prove to be another difficult season for the Wild, and Guerin has to be held accountable for that fact. We’re not suggesting the Wild will fire Guerin anytime soon, especially if he can get the team to improve and then make smart moves next off-season when they have more cap space. That said, some GMs don’t get five years to make their mark on a team, and the pressure is clearly on him to get this squad to a higher level.
Related: NHL Prospect Pool Overview 2024-25: The Minnesota Wild Have NHL-Ready Talent
Wild’s Cold Seat: Kirill Kaprizov, LW
As Minnesota’s highest-paid player with a cap hit of $9 million, the 27-year-old Kaprizov is constantly under the microscope, but that doesn’t mean he’s on the hot seat.
Indeed, with 46 goals and 96 points in 75 games, Kaprizov had another excellent season last year. As the franchise’s top performer, there’s no circumstance in which Kaprizov will be traded. The Russian sniper represents the future and the present of the team, and Guerin must do a better job of surrounding Kaprizov with high-end talent to help ease the burden on him.
That said, Kaprizov is living up to his responsibilities. He’s the focal point of the opposition’s defense every game, and yet he finds a way to be more than a point-per-game player.
He’ll be entering the fifth season of his NHL career this coming season, and a career-high 50 goals is not at all out of the question for him. Any success the Wild will have in 2024-25 will be in large part because of Kaprizov, and unless something shocking happens, he should be in a Minnesota jersey for the last two seasons of his contract and potentially long after that.
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News Summary:
- NHL Hot Seat Radar: Can Bill Guerin Keep the Minnesota Wild Competitive?
- Check all news and articles from the latest NHL updates.