Hockey Wilderness
A Minnesota Wild Blog that WON'T make you sick and kill you!
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Can Max Shabanov Can Follow Jonathan Marchessault's Footsteps?
The Minnesota Wild are about a month from training camp opening. Time is running out for teams to make any sort of impact offseason deals, and free agents are more or less picked over. With every day that passes, the Wild are sending the signal that they're confident opening the season with Maksim S...
The Wild’s Defense Poised For Another Top 5 Finish
The Minnesota Twins’ defense enters the 2026-27 season with a combination of continuity and blockbuster additions that should keep them among the NHL’s elite defensive units, provided they stay healthy. The Wild finished last season ranked 5th among all NHL clubs in team defense, allowing only 2.63...
Does Quinn Hughes Owe The Wild A Contract Extension?
We're in the middle of August and Quinn Hughes is still heading into the final year of his contract and is set to hit unrestricted free agency next summer. The Minnesota Wild are still chipping away to try to get a deal with one of the two best defensemen in the world, but we're getting small little...
David Perron Is A Perfect PTO Target For the Wild
For over a decade, David Perron was everything you wanted in a complementary second-line winger. Perron's profile leaned more toward playmaking, but he was a threat to pot 20 goals in any given year. His right-shot made him an ideal option to set up for one-timers on the power play. He was rarely sp...
Has Brock Faber Reached His Ceiling?
When the Minnesota Wild acquired Brock Faber in 2022, they knew they were getting a high-value defensive prospect. Yet, even the most optimistic of scouts didn’t envision the second-round pick becoming a foundational piece of the franchise. The blueliner’s profile has risen with each passing y...
Do the Wild Have Any Future Hall-of-Famers?
That's Wild It's the middle of August, what else is there to do? The Athletic looked at active NHL players and put them in a big tiered list for how much of a lock they are for the Hockey Hall of Fame. Spoiler alert: The Minnesota Wild had none in the "can retire now and get in" tier, but th...
The Wild’s Early Schedule Adds Pressure To A Roster In Transition
Much of the offseason discussion has centered on the roster: Filip Gustavsson’s hip surgery, Quinn Hughes’ extension and who ultimately centers Kirill Kaprizov. But a demanding opening schedule adds another layer to those decisions. The demands of an opening month that offers little room for adjustm...
NHL Insider Drops Update on Quinn Hughes Extension With the Wild
That's Wild Elliotte Friedman popped his out from the cottage in the middle of the summer and decided to give a little update on a couple of major points around the NHL. One of those was the potential Quinn Hughes contract extension with the Wild, since it once seemed so simple and easy and...
What Have the Wild Players Been Up To In the Off-Season?
This is the worst part of the hockey off-season. Free agency has died down, and training camp is too far away for most players to be back in town. At least there are plenty of hockey players who stick around, since summering in the State of Hockey is beneficial, even for those without childhood ties...
Who Should Take Zuccarello's Spot On the Wild's Top Power Play Unit?
One word separates a good penalty kill from a bad one: pressure. For that reason, escaping pressure is a definitive requirement for any good power play. Despite the nickname “man-advantage unit,” NHL power plays don’t dominate with numbers; instead, they dominate with time. If numbers we...
Wild Voted As Likely To Win the Stanley Cup Next Season
That's Wild The Athletic did a big fan survey of over 20,000 participants to get a big consensus over the league and some of its issues. Or, some other normal questions. The most interesting thing is that in the question of who will win the Stanley Cup next season, the Minnesota Wild finishe...
Are Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar In A Staring Contest?
Quinn Hughes has become one of the biggest contract storylines in hockey, and the timing of his next deal may have as much to do with Cale Makar as it does with the Minnesota Wild. Hughes is eligible for an extension, the Wild want to keep him, and league chatter suggests both sides are still workin...
What Happens In A Quinn Hughes Worst-Case Scenario?
It's August, the Minnesota Wild haven't signed Quinn Hughes, and despite his best efforts, Bill Guerin stoked the hot stove with appearances on Tuesday. The Wild GM tried to keep speculation on lockdown in an interview with Judd's Hockey Show, saying, "I'm not gonna get too far into [the negot...
Bill Guerin Gives Big Update on Quinn Hughes Contract Talks
While the Minnesota Wild had a couple of things on their to-do list, it certainly feels like extending defenseman Quinn Hughes was the most important and most realistic of them. While it certainly would never be easy, it felt like there was mutual interest to get something done to keep him in Minnes...
Putting Danila Yurov On the Top Line Answers Minnesota's Biggest Questions
Kirill Kaprizov is the only lock for the team’s top unit after long-time partner Mats Zuccarello signed with the Los Angeles Kings in free agency. Minnesota has also failed to secure a top-line center to play with Kaprizov, which may create an opportunity for Danila Yurov. Zuccarello’s departu...
Wild Make Several Key Additions To Their Front Office
The Minnesota Wild should not be done making additions to their roster this offseason. While they are hopefully doing more plans to do some transactions before training camp begins next month, the Wild did make some additions to their front office, though. Announced by the team on Monday, the W...
The Wild Aren't Setting Up Michael McCarron For Success
The Minnesota Wild have proven twice over that they're Michael McCarron believers. Bill Guerin swung big for the 6-foot-6 center at the trade deadline, flipping a second-rounder for him. Then, they doubled down on him with a six-year contract after he delivered a strong playoff performance. That pos...
The Wild Are Signaling A More Role-Driven Approach To Offense
The Minnesota Wild enter the 2026-27 season facing a familiar but urgent challenge: replacing a significant portion of their offensive production after key free-agent departures. For a team that already operated with thin scoring margins, losing proven contributors puts added pressure on new acquisi...
The Wild Should Let Arthur Kaliyev Compete For the Mats Zuccarello Role
NHL teams have always been down on Arthur Kaliyev, relative to his talent. Despite being as talented as many members of his cohort in USA Development Program's 2019 Draft crop -- the one that included Jack Hughes, Matt Boldy, Cole Caufield, and Trevor Zegras -- 27 teams passed on him before the Los...
The Wild Should Gamble On Michael Bunting
The Minnesota Wild have spent the last few seasons searching for consistent secondary scoring to support their top-end talent. While players like Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy drive the offense, the lack of reliable production from the middle six has often left the Wild too easy to contain in playo...
Nick Foligno Isn't Here For A Farewell Tour
After the Colorado Avalanche eliminated the Minnesota Wild in the second round, Nick Foligno waited for a feeling that would tell him he was finished. “I kept waiting for the moment of like, ‘I’m done. This is it,’” he told The Athletic this week. “And it never really came. … I was more pissed...
Maple Leafs Steal Two More Scouts From the Wild
That's Wild The Toronto Maple Leafs already took Judd Brackett away from the Minnesota Wild to make him an assistant general manager and the main evaluator of talent over there, but they're not done their ransacking. They took two more scouts from the Wild as they continue to change their ho...
Should the Wild Prioritize Extending Jesper Wallstedt?
As a restricted free agent next summer, Jesper Wallstedt has been eligible for an extension since July 1. The Minnesota Wild, understandably, have had other matters to attend to. Signing Quinn Hughes to an extension is a much more pressing and immediate matter, and their pursuit of a top center like...
Danila Yurov's Big Shot Remains Intact For Now
With the calendar about to flip into August, it's mildly surprising that Danila Yurov remains a member of the Minnesota Wild. The reasons have little to do with Yurov, of course. He had his ups and downs in his rookie season, but it was a solid campaign. It's simply that for a team that continues to...
Carson Lambos Is Running Out Of Time To Break In With the Wild
Earlier this month, Carson Lambos signed a one-year two-way contract extension with the Minnesota Wild. Lambos is one of Minnesota’s most interesting first-round picks. The Wild took him in the first round of the 2021 draft, but he has yet to break into the NHL and mostly has played in Iowa. Ho...
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