Arrivals
As mentioned, it is the arrival of General Manager Bill Guerin that will have the biggest impact on the future of the Wild. Another new face is former Minnesota North Star Mike Modano who is serving as special advisor to the team.
On the ice, the biggest acquisition is former New York Ranger Mats Zuccarello. He just turned 32 and signed a five year deal that will take him to age 36. He had an abbreviated turn with the Dallas Stars in the regular season, but was a key contributor in the Stanley Cup playoffs with 11 points in 13 games.
Forward Ryan Hartman was also signed as a free agent to provide some toughness on the forward lines. Hartman had a strange 2018-19 season. He started the year in Nashville then was traded at the deadline to Philadelphia for Wayne Simmonds. The Flyers traded him to Dallas in June, but Dallas didn’t tender the RFA a qualifying offer, making him a free agent.
Zuccarello and Hartman were Fenton signings and Bill Guerin has yet to make any major roster moves.
Departures
All of the major departures came during the last season with the trades mentioned previously. There were some departures over the summer of players who contributed last season.
Forward Pontus Aberg did not receive a qualifying offer and he signed with Toronto. The same went for defensemen Matt Read, Nate Prosser and goalie Andrew Hammond. Prosser signed with the Flyers and Hammond with the Sabres while Read is a free agent.
Top questions facing the Wild
Will Zuccarello solve their offensive woes? There is little doubt that the Norwegian fireplug will be a fan favorite in Minnesota, but is he enough? Zach Parise rebounded with a 28 goal season, but only five players on the team had as many as 42 points and only three players scored over 20 goals. Sounds a lot like the Rangers, but the Blueshirts made some big moves this off-season to remedy that.
Are the Wild too old? In a word, yes. Their top two scorers were Parise and Eric Staal, both 34. In fact, all of the top six scorers on the team are 30 or older (Spurgeon turns 30 in November). Team captain Mikko Koivu is 35 years old and is coming off an injury ridden season that limited him to 48 games. Add Zuccarello to the mix and this is not the definition of a youth movement. And don’t forget that number one goalie Devan Dubnyk is 32.
Who will replace Zach Parise/Gary Suter? When the Wild signed Parise and Suter to their twin 13-year, $98 million deals in 2012 it was supposed to signal a new generation of Stanley Cup contention. Last season was the first year that they missed the playoffs since those signings, but they haven’t been able to get past the second round, losing in the first round four times.
Parise just turned 34 and Suter turns 35 in January and some of the younger Wild players will have to step up. Matt Dumba is the clear successor to Suter, but on the forward lines, there is no standout among centers Joel Eriksson Ek and Luke Kunin or wingers Ryan Donato, Kevin Fiala and Jordan Greenway.
When you can see them (and Mats Zuccarello)
Mats Zuccarello will make his return to Madison Square Garden on Monday, November 25 at 7pm. Hopefully, the Blueshirts will pay tribute to the diminutive forward who bled Rangers blue for nine years.
The Rangers conclude their season series on Thursday, February 13 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Gametime is 8pm EST.