Record - 53-22-7 (113 points), 2nd in the Central Division
Goals For: 310 (5th in the NHL), Goals Against: 253 (18th in the NHL)
Leading Goal Scorer - Kirill Kaprizov (47)
Leading Point Scorer - Kirill Kaprizov (108)
Since the NHL brought a team back to the State of Hockey, the Minnesota Wild have been unable to gift their fans with a deep playoff run. They've had some exciting teams over the years, have never had a group that really "wowed" you. They've made the playoffs a number of times, but have only made it further than the first round a handful of times. Just once have they reached as far as the Conference Finals. They've never played in a Stanley Cup Final. With the way they performed down the stretch of the 2022 season, it felt like this could have been their year. But once again, as it's happened in each of the team's last five playoff appearances, they were unable to defeat their first round opponent. With a major piece of the puzzle being moved elsewhere, it will be tough for the Wild to replicate their record breaking season.
The Wild were one of the best teams in the NHL when the new year came around. After losing to the Blues in the Winter Classic, the team would go 9-0-1 in the 10 games that lead into the All-Star break. They came out of the long rest a little slow going 6-10-1 over the next month. Then something clicked. The Wild closed the season out on a 19-2-3 run to secure home ice advantage in the first round against St. Louis. This was huge for them as they were one of the most dangerous home teams in all of hockey winning 31 games in Xcel Energy Center.
This Wild were led by one of the most explosive players in the NHL and the best player to have ever put on a Wild uniform. Kirill Kaprizov is a bonafide stud. He won the Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year honors in 2021, but he went to another universe last season. He scored a team record 47 goals and 108 points, finishing 5th in the league in both categories. He's an unbelievable skater who can do it all. He has skill, he has speed, he has size that he's not afraid to use, and he has an off the charts hockey IQ. He's such a special player and I'm so happy the great fans of Minnesota will be able to watch this guy every night for years to come. Kirill the Thrill is the real deal and that's not up for discussion.
When you have a generational talent like Kaprizov, they're usually able to make the guys around them better. Even if they don't play on a line with them, there is an effect that rubs off on the team. We saw several players reach new heights with their games last season. The biggest standout performer in my eyes was Ryan Hartman. He's always been known as a depth player with a physical edge, but this year he was put on a line with Kaprizov and erupted. He scored a career high 34 goals and 65 points playing with the Russian and solidified himself as the team's first line center. Veteran Mats Zuccarello also saw an nice uptick in production playing alongside Kirill where he too had a career high in points with 79. The rest of the lineup followed suit with the scoring. Kevin Fiala, Joel Eriksson Ek, Frederick Gaudreau, and Marcus Foligno all had career highs in goals and points. The scoring was there. The defense? Not so much, and it proved to be costly.
One of the other teams on a roll going into playoffs was the St. Louis Blues. This was a matchup I was really hoping to see later in playoffs, but with the bracket setup they ended up meeting in the first round. Both of these clubs were legitimate contenders, but what separated them the most was special teams. The Wild were abysmal on special teams last year. They ranked 18th on the powerplay and 25th on the penalty kill. The Blues on the other hand had the best special teams in the league. This factor would be the straw that broke the camel's back. The Blue scored 8 times on the man advantage during the six game series. The Wild had no answer for the unstoppable force that was the St. Louis powerplay and it cost them their season. Something else that played into the series loss was the lack of offense from players not name Kirill Kaprizov. The team scored 16 goals all series. Kirill the Thrill scored 7 of those goals. That's simply not good enough. After Minnesota took a 2-1 series lead the Blues torched them. They lost three straight games giving up 5 goals in each of the losses. One team was ready for the moment while the other was not.
It was a pretty quiet offseason for GM Bill Guerin as the Wild weren't really in a position to make any big signings. The team was in a bit of a salary cap bind and they weren't to keep their roster whole. Because of this, Guerin was left with no choice but to trade one of their top scorers in Kevin Fiala. The 25 year old was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the 19th pick in the 2022 draft and defensive prospect Brock Faber. Fiala immediately signed a seven-year deal upon being traded to the Kings for a price that the Wild would not have been able to afford. They had lost a huge asset, but gain two nice prospects that could help them in the future. Brock Faber was the 45th overall pick in the 2020 draft and has been playing at the University of Minnesota since. A calm, cool, and collected defenseman, Faber's strong skating ability and hockey sense allows him to be dependable on the backend. He was the captain of Team USA at the World Junior Championships and is now wearing the "C" for Gophers. This kid is a perfect fit for the Wild and I can see why Billy Guerin wanted him as a part of the Fiala trade. With the pick they received from LA, the Wild went with left winger Liam Ohgren from Sweden. I really liked this pick by Guerin. While Ohgren isn't great at any one thing, he's really good at just about everything. He's got a knack for scoring from anywhere on the ice and is able to create off the rush. I'm not too sure what the plan is for him, but I'm sure he'll get a look some time in the future. The final offseason move to call out was the Cam Talbot trade. After expressing his displeasure with the current goaltending situation, Guerin traded the 35 year old to Ottawa and got 24 year old netminder Filip Gustavsson in return. I feel like Minnesota could've gotten more for Talbot, but they did get a young goaltender to backup their aging starter.
With the departure of Fiala and no new difference makers being brought in , I think we see the Wild take a step back this year. I still believe they make playoffs, but 33 goals and 85 points is a lot of production to make up for. Who will be the guy or guys to do so? It could be Matt Boldy, who burst on to the scene in the latter half of last year, finishing top-10 in rookie scoring. It could also be Marco Rossi, an up and coming rookie prospect that has been highly talked about since being drafted. But can the Wild rely on a first and second year player to produce that many points right now? Along with the offense, will HC Dean Evason get the special teams straightened out or will they struggle in those situations once again? There's just too many major question marks with this team to make me think they can win another 50 games this year. They go as far as Kirill the Thrill takes them which is why he's one of my picks for MVP this year. As far as a first Stanley Cup coming to the State of Hockey goes, Wild fans will have to wait at least another year.
Comments