The hockey capital of America isn’t getting many positives from its beloved sport to start the 2022-2023 NHL campaign. The Minnesota Wild, after a historic regular season last year, have dropped their first three competitions and allowed a total of 20 goals against in the opening week.
The Wild have heard more boos than cheers from the Xcel Energy Center crowd after their underwhelming home-opener against the New York Rangers on Oct. 11 where they fell 7-3. In the four days that followed, Minnesota lost 7-6 to the Los Angeles Kings and 6-3 to the Colorado Avalanche. With so much parity in the modern league, each night should be a winnable competition –– but for Minnesota, it has been less about the opponent and more about the Wild beating themselves.
The squad has the luxury of time on their side with 79 more games on the schedule to prove themselves, but their recent poor performance is causing questions about the legitimacy of the Wild after losing some key players in the off-season.
Kevin Fiala, who spent the last four seasons in St. Paul, was dealt to the Kings in June to free up salary cap space. The left wing subsequently signed a seven-year, $55.125 million contract in the City of Angels. While wearing the Wild jersey, Fiala was a foundational piece of the team’s offensive force and ranked second in points with 85 (33 goals, 52 assists) before his departure.
Minnesota also lost power on the blue line, dumping defenseman Dmitry Kulikov in Anaheim due to similar cap-restrictions. It’s the reality of the shed and rebuild model that NHL groups have to go through every five years or so –– and it usually hurts before it helps.
Veteran Marc-Andre Fleury has claimed the crease after extending his contract two years, which is not a smart move by Minnesota. They received Filip Gustavsson from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Cam Talbot (and his expensive asking price) in July which made their backend weaker. Fleury has undoubtedly been an all-star, but he’s entering his 20th professional season at 37 years old and simply is not the top-tier competitor he used to be.
The team still boasts young talent like Kirill Kaprizov, who broke the franchise record for goals and points last year with 47 and 108, respectively. He’s coming into only his third season in the NHL after the Wild drafted him in the fifth round in 2015 and will be a big piece of their future. Massachusetts native and Boston College alum Matt Boldy is also a brightspot. The 21-year-old is tied for most points on the team thus far and collected 15 goals in his rookie campaign last season.
While there’s no need to completely sound the alarms in October, the Minnesota losses haven’t been pretty. It’s a lack of attention to detail and desperation for the puck in all three zones that have left the Wild so behind the eight ball. Head coach Dean Evason, a Jack Adams Trophy finalist in 2020-2021, is at the helm for his third season as head coach and will have to find a way to fill the holes in his roster.
Cultivating depth in the lineup will be an integral part to the Wild building a team identity around all four lines. It’s the growing pains of a team who is missing its past leaders and learning how to create new ones.