Speculation: Will the Wild make the playoffs this upcoming season?

[keppel146]

Pretty self explanatory. Do the Wild stay healthy, existing players take another “step”, will new players help upgrade the bottom 6?

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[MuckOG]

I think they will make the playoffs, but won't advance past the 1st round.

 

[57special]

If their goaltending is average, then yes. I am not optimistic about Gus and MAF.

 

[Digitalbooya]

They need to make the playoffs. It will not be good to go into Kaprizov negotiations in the summer having just missed the playoffs for the second straight year.

 

[57special]

They need to make the playoffs. It will not be good to go into Kaprizov negotiations in the summer having just missed the playoffs for the second straight year.

On the one hand, having another lottery pick would be cool. One the other, having no Kap would not.

I wonder if even another one and done would keep him here.

 

[Sweetnut]

Does anyone really expect them to make it, handcuffed with that cap penalty and infested with long term contracts on injury prone, aging core players?
With 50 yo MAF, 40 yo Zuke, Foligno who can't stay healthy to save his life, and the likes of Freddy, MoJo, Merrill etc?

Let the young ones play in leading roles to set them up for next season instead of trotting out Hartman & Zuke on the first line.

 

[Webster]

You have the minors for learning, not the NHL.

I think Kaprizov has a say on who he wants to play with, and it's working pretty well. Kap & Zucc with a total of 7 points against Chicago who also had most of their final lineup on the ice...

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

On the one hand, having another lottery pick would be cool. One the other, having no Kap would not.

I wonder if even another one and done would keep him here.

You could probably say that even winning the Cup this year might not keep him here. After all, he'll have his Cup now, and then can go live wherever he might want regardless of their Cup certainty.

If he stays, it'll be because he generally likes it here (hockey and non-hockey reasons) and it's the avenue where he can maximize his earnings, as long as Guerin doesn't give in to trading him before UFA.

 

[Digitalbooya]

You have the minors for learning, not the NHL.

I think Kaprizov has a say on who he wants to play with, and it's working pretty well. Kap & Zucc with a total of 7 points against Chicago who also had most of their final lineup on the ice...

It’s important to keep things that work and tinker with those that do not or are currently not working. That means if Kap and Zucc are doing great then keep them together. If they are doing just okay, we could try different situations (swapping centers, swapping Boldy with Zucc, etc). Pretty fluid situation and I suspect Hynes will do just fine with making changes.

 

[Webster]

It’s important to keep things that work and tinker with those that do not or are currently not working. That means if Kap and Zucc are doing great then keep them together. If they are doing just okay, we could try different situations (swapping centers, swapping Boldy with Zucc, etc). Pretty fluid situation and I suspect Hynes will do just fine with making changes.

Of course, I'll be surprised if Kap and Zucc are still on the same line in March next year. But I'm not sure they'll split them up again unless Kaprizov agrees, they'll probably not piss him off when he can re-sign in less than a year. You heard Leipold said they'll pay and do whatever it takes to keep him.

 

[Saga of the Elk]

Sure, there's a scenario where the team stays largely healthy, Boldy or JEE has a career shooting year, and Wallstedt comes in and delivers a Vezina worthy season. It's a balanced team that doesn't give up a lot, and they have an elite weapon.

However, the team's expected goals-for was actually lower than actual last season, meaning a portion of their offense was luck (e.g. Foligno's 18% shooting). They were still below league average for even-strength goals. Plus, one-line teams are not generally playoff teams.

Every other central team has to get much worse, in other words. I don't see it. Probably looking at picking 8th or 9th in 2025, but signing Marner and Rantanen to matching $96 million deals.

 

[f7ben]

I actually think they make the playoffs this year.

1. Gus and MAF regress to the mean.
2. Injuries while present will not be as devastating as last year.
3. Kap is healthy to start the year
4. Rossi , Faber , Chisholm , Boldy take the next steps to the upside in their progression
5. Penalty kill improves because it can’t get worse than last year and it’s under the magnifying lense now
6. This is MN and we love drafting #19-23