Hockey Wilderness
A Minnesota Wild Blog that WON'T make you sick and kill you!
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Bill Guerin Gives A Quinn Hughes Contract Extension Update
Sure, the 2026 NHL Draft just happened and the Minnesota Wild were able to grab some cool prospects that might be something in a few years. But what is the most pressing thing in this organization and to fans is keeping one of their star players around. Quinn Hughes is eligible to sign a contra...
What Did the Wild Add In Their Smallest Draft Class Ever?
The Minnesota Wild entered the 2026 NHL Draft with five picks and left Buffalo with three players selected. Per Michael Russo of The Athletic, it is the smallest draft class in franchise history, consisting of two forwards and a goaltender. The Wild went into the draft without a first or second...
Patrik Laine Could Be the Finishing Piece In Minnesota
The Minnesota Wild should consider an offer to Patrik Laine, even after Laine rebuffed them in 2024, because his skill set matches a clear need: more high-end shot creation on the wing. Even in a team-first structure, Minnesota could use another player who can tilt a game with one release, and Laine...
Rasmus Andersson Would Balance Out the Wild's Blueline
The Minnesota Wild should consider signing free agent defenseman Rasmus Andersson because he addresses a major need. He’s a right-shot defenseman who can handle tough minutes, move the puck cleanly, and add some offense from the blue line. In a league where reliable right-shot defenders are always i...
A Young Center Could Help the Wild In Their Big-Game Hunting
Right now, it seems like the Minnesota Wild have their eyes on the prize of Dylan Larkin. Why wouldn't they? For one, he actually wants to come to Minnesota, and he's an established scoring center. His speed down the middle would give the Wild a new and needed element. It makes a ton of sense for th...
Bill Guerin's Mid-Term Grades
NHL Draft Day is here, and the die-hard hockey fans across Minnesota are watching with bated breath. Has nobody told them that they don’t pick until Day 2? No, dear reader, they are painfully aware that that pick is gone. But Wild fans don’t care which 18-year-old they might select with that p...
Mason Shaw Has "Nothing But Good Things to Say" About Minnesota
Mason Shaw is still an easy guy to root for. In a world where goals, assists, accomplishments, and championships tend to define players, a select few transcend those tangible markers of success to become an embodiment of the innate desire to participate in or witness something special; that thing th...
Wild Waiting For Their Turn After A Flurry of Moves
It turns out, the Brady Tkachuk trade was just an appetizer to kick off the week of the NHL Draft. We're not even 48 hours from the Draft, but Tuesday saw eight NHL players, four prospects, and seven picks change hands. That includes the fourth, ninth, and 16th overall picks for Friday night. W...
Kaprizov's Cap Hit Is Far From the Wild's Biggest Problem
The Minnesota Wild are urgently attempting to build on the momentum they gained by swinging the Quinn Hughes trade last season. Bill Guerin is big-game hunting, having made an aggressive offer for Brady Tkachuk, and presumably having another pending for Dylan Larkin. "We're in a window where we have...
Pavel Zacha Could Be the Wild's Plan B
The Minnesota Wild seem to be in on every conversation for the big-ticket items of this offseason. They made an offer for Brady Tkachuk; Minnesota is on Dylan Larkin’s approved trade list, etc. Still, they may not have enough assets to compete with other contenders for top talent. Therefore, they sh...
A Tryout With the Wild Launched Joel Ward's Improbable Career
It wouldn't be fair to categorize the Minnesota Wild's state at this year's NHL Draft as dormant. Still, they are without their first- and second-round picks, which puts them in an odd spot. History has shown that selecting high in any draft can be a pivotal step in quickly changing a team's p...
Are the Wild's Prospects Good Enough to Trade?
That's Wild We all know the Minnesota Wild and Bill Guerin are looking to make that big swing this summer. In addition to getting Quinn Hughes last season (and probably re-signing him this summer), they need to add some sort of top-six forward to the group. To do that, they need to trade. An...
The Wild Must End the Jacob Middleton Experiment
The Minnesota Wild entered the postseason hoping that stability on the blue line would help carry them deeper into the playoffs. Instead, one of the most persistent storylines became their continued reliance on Jacob Middleton – a decision that increasingly looks like an experiment that has run its...
Brady Tkachuk Validated the Minnesota Wild
If the walls in Winnipeg could talk, they’d tell you that Keith Tkachuk was persona non grata 500 miles north of St. Paul. He’s also probably not welcome in Minnesota’s capital city after the Ottawa Senators traded his son, Brady Tkachuk, to the Florida Panthers over the weekend. The trade reu...
Wild Could've Had Brady Tkachuk, But Missed Their Opportunity
Sunday night was supposed to be fairly quiet heading into what was bound to be an eventful week in the NHL, as the 2026 NHL Draft is next weekend. Fortunately for everyone wanting some drama heading into Monday, the Ottawa Senators traded captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers to reunite with...
What Are the Wild Weighing With A Zuccarello Extension?
Before the playoffs ended, Mats Zuccarello told The Athletic that he had “more years” left in him. He also reiterated he wanted to re-sign with the Minnesota Wild. GM Bill Guerin has said the Wild “always have interest in Zuccy.” The issue when considering Zuccarello’s possible extension is not lack...
In 1993, One Terrible Rumor Became Reality For Minnesota Hockey
If you’re looking for a place where rumours run rampant, look no further than June through September during the NHL offseason. It’s hard to believe what you hear during this stretch; it feels like no organization, staff member, player, or even jersey colour is safe. Change is inevitable in the NHL,...
Does Vegas’ Playoff Run Reframe the Wild’s Second-Round Loss?
John Tortorella is gone as soon as he came. The Vegas Golden Knights hired him with eight games left in the season, and he led them to a 28-8-1 record, including the playoffs. Vegas swept the Colorado Avalanche after the Avs eliminated the Wild in the second round before losing to the Carolina Hurri...
The Wild Need Their Own Taylor Hall
The Carolina Hurricanes' Stanley Cup run offers an alternate model for teams to build contenders. Rather than "tank for years and get a generational talent," the Hurricanes built a powerhouse team with just one top-10 pick in their past 10 drafts, which they used on non-franchise player Andrei Svech...
Wild Need a New AHL Head Coach
That's Wild Greg Cronin, coach of the AHL Iowa Wild, has been scooped up by the St. Louis Blues and hired as an assistant coach for the Wild's divisional rivals. So now, the Wild need to get a new bench boss for their farm team and there have not been any leads named. [The Athletic] Fr...
Free Agency May Not Be the Answer For the Wild This Summer
Now that the NHL season has come to a close, attention can turn fully to how the Minnesota Wild will tinker with their roster. Minnesota’s offseason will undoubtedly be interesting. We know they won’t be able to take any top-level prospects at the NHL Entry Draft, given that they won’t pick un...
How Aggressive Will the Wild Be This Summer?
That's Wild There are a number of NHL teams who could be more all-in this summer than expected. Over at The Athletic they did a practice of naming eight teams who could be hyper-aggressive this offseason to add as much talent as possible as they are under substantial pressure to finish next...
Michael McCarron’s Contract Is About More Than Stats
This week, the Minnesota Wild heeded social media's pleas and re-signed Michael McCarron to a six-year, $3.33 million contract. While the fun side of Wild Twitter is rejoicing over the return of Big Sexy, there are plenty of detractors who want to talk about why this contract is bad. This isn’...
McCarron's Contract Reflects His Value To A Championship Roster
Michael McCarron is a fourth-liner, 31 years old, and locked up through the 2031-32 season at $3.33 million per year, with a full no-movement clause attached – a classic Bill Guerin contract. When the Minnesota Wild announced McCarron's new contract Tuesday, the consensus formed fast: Guerin had ove...
Signing Anders Lee Would Solve A Longstanding Wild Issue
The Minnesota Wild’s need for a legitimate top-six center has been one of the organization’s most persistent issues. If the trade market fails to produce a solution, the team should strongly consider pivoting in free agency, specifically toward New York Islanders captain Anders Lee. While Lee...
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