NHL
With July 1st creeping ever closer, it seems as though every team in the NHL has their players under a microscope. The Minnesota Wild are no exception.
The Wild have already re-signed Minnesota native Kyle Rau to a two-year, two-way contract.
Also re-signed was 25-year-old Ryan Murphy, with a similar one-year contract.
Though the pair spent the majority of their time playing on the Wild’s AHL affiliate team, they both seem like they could make significant contributions in the future.
Minnesota has put in offers to Jason Zucker, Matt Dumba, and Nick Seeler. Each of them had a very successful season playing with the Wild. Only time will tell if they decide to continue on in the state of hockey.
Changing Direction
Moving into the 2018-2019 season, the Wild have already hired a new general manager, Paul Fenton. Along with that new addition came assistant coach Dean Evason and assistant general manager Tom Kurvers. Owner Craig Leopold has stated that this is not a rebuilding season. But having not made it past the second round of the playoffs for the last five consecutive years, perhaps he should reconsider.
The devoted hockey fans of Minnesota had their former team, the North Stars, ripped away from them in 1993. They they had to wait a full seven years until a franchise was brought back to their state. Everyone agrees that it’s about time the state of hockey had a Stanley Cup. It’s something the Wild should keep in mind when signing on new players to the team.
Potential Prospects
The majority of everyone’s focus has been on John Tavares, but that’s to be excepted. With an impressive 272 goals in 669 career games, it’s easy to see what an asset he would be to any team.
But looking beyond the scope of simple statistics, at the end of the day each team has a certain dynamic. As an outsider, it’s difficult to speculate who the Wild will find to be best suited for their roster.
For the sake of pure speculation, a couple of free agents that stand out are:
Dylan DeMelo
A 25 year old, right-handed defenseman would be a wonderful addition to just about any team, especially when they finish out the season with 19 assists in 66 games.
James van Riemsdyk
Like Tavres, van Riemsdyk is sort of an obvious choice. Having scored 36 goals and 54 points in his last season, it would seem that there would be virtually no downsides if the Wild decided to add him to the mix.
Jaroslav Halak
The Wild are not necessarily in need of a new goaltender, but if they decided to sign one, Halak should definitely be a contender.
Conclusion
“I think you could’ve anticipated some changes were gonna come…,” said Wild forward Zach Parise. “…It’s tough to comment on as a player, you never know what’s gonna happen. You know everything they’re gonna do is to try to put their best team on the ice and all we can do is play.”
The reality is only the Wild know what they’re planning to do with their team. The rest of us have to sit back and wait to hear about it.
