This summer has been quiet for the Minnesota Wild. While there has been some sporadic news, there hasn’t been any overarching drama like in past seasons. That could be a very good thing, though. Let’s take a look back at past seasons to find out why.
No longer a superstar?
In 2021, there was the big “will he, won’t he” surrounding Kirill Kaprizov’s contract extension, which only ended the night before training camp began. Fans spent months picking apart everything they could find to find out if Kaprizov was coming back, including tracking his “likes” on social media to sway opinions one way or the other.
Russia trip went wrong
The summer of 2022 was even greater. It included the Kevin Fiala mega-trade that saw the Wild get Brock Faber and a draft pick that they eventually used for Liam Ohgren. That would have been enough, and fans could have spent the rest of the summer waiting for the season to start. Only, Kaprizov was stuck in Russia and the Wild were incredibly tight-lipped about sharing information. He landed back in Minnesota in early August, but not after nearly a month of worry.
Unfortunate contracts?
In the 2023 offseason, the Wild extended the contracts of many veteran players. The Wild extended the contracts of Freddy Gaudreau, Marcus Foligno, Mats Zuccarello and Marcus Johansson for multiple years. And at the time, all of those contracts made at least a little sense. Minnesota had signed Johansson that year, and he had lit Matt Boldy on fire. The other three were just coming off their career years. However, hindsight is always a good thing.
What about this off-season?
The biggest story was Brock Faber’s contract extension. It’s great and well-deserved for the young man, but it wasn’t really a secret. Fans knew it was coming and even knew what price range it would be in. Other than that, it was all minor news.
Why is this good?
With all of that in mind, it doesn’t seem that important how chaotic the offseason is. However, all of those seasons until this year ended with a playoff run. Even though those ended in the first round, it was at least a battle until the end.
2024 was different. There was a point near the end of the season where it was mathematically impossible for the Wild to make the playoffs, but they still had to go out and play a few more games, knowing they had effectively failed.
After that, the players did two different things that were valuable in their own way. The first was rest and recovery. As always, some players were dealing with injuries and needed surgery or treatment. They were able to start the healing process a month early, so hopefully they can come to training camp fully healed.
The remaining players flew to Europe to compete in the IIHF Men’s World Championship. This gave them a unique opportunity to play with different players and under different head coaches. It was a good way to work on improving their skills or trying something new and allowed them to maintain their conditioning for another month.
Season 2024, here they come
In a best-case scenario, the Wild are particularly motivated to start the year with a bang. After their losing streak last October that ended with the firing of Dean Evason and missing the playoffs, it seems like they’ll give 110% from the start. Although some have a roster that seems lacking, their hunger to win could help them overcome this in the end.
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