Minnesota Wild Team Preview: Chasing Long-Awaited Playoff Breakthrough

Minnesota Wild Can't Turn Kirill Kaprizov into Marian Gaborik 2.0

It would be a bad look if the Minnesota Wild let Kirill Kaprizov walk into free agency in the summer of 2026. Now, it is the players’ prerogative to do so. We saw that more so before the NHL salary cap was introduced in the 2004-05 season. Players used to walk to free agency, and teams did not get much compensation in return. But that has changed, especially over the last decade. NHL teams want to get value for their players if they know they ar…

NHL Rumors: It Doesn't Sound Like Kirill Kaprizov Has Given the Minnesota Wild a Number - NHL Rumors

Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts: The Podcast – The Only Thing Bigger Than Hischier Will Be Kaprizov’s Contract episode, on Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold’s prior comments about doing whatever it takes to get it done, and will Kaprizov just wait for more. ** NHLRumors.com transcription “Now, the short-term, that’s the bigger question right now. What happens in the interim? Now, one of the questions that’s been…

Minnesota Wild team preview: Chasing long-awaited playoff breakthrough

The Minnesota Wild have been consistent contenders over the past 13 seasons, reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs in all but two of them (2019 and 2024). Their eight appearances in the past decade are tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the most in the Western Conference during that span. Yet despite consistently reaching the post-season, they haven’t exactly been “serious contenders,” as general manager Bill Guerin himself put it in October of la…