The Minnesota Wild didn’t have much confidence entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs, considering how they ended the season. It didn’t help that the Wild had to face the Vegas Golden Knights, who beat them all three times during the regular season and had won 10 of 11 games over the past four seasons. However, optimism started to reign supreme when the Wild began the series by grabbing a 2-1 lead.
It wasn’t that the Wild didn’t know they could compete with the top teams. Minnesota started the season with a 16-4-4 record over the first two months, which put them ahead of the top teams in the Central Division. Once they entered December, they’d have just one more winning month in the next four: an 8-6-0 record in January.
Kirill Kaprizov’s injury was a massive reason Minnesota struggled over the final five months. It could’ve been much uglier if Kaprizov hadn’t returned, as it took him coming back in April and leading the team to a 4-2-1 record for them even to make the postseason. It came down to the crunch, as the Calgary Flames nearly passed them in the regular season’s final days.
The Golden Knights struggled to start the series thanks to some no-shows from their top players. They turned it around in the final four games to kickstart their comeback, and the Wild never had an answer. Minnesota has a bit of an excuse for its limited roster, considering its wonky salary cap situation, but it was clear in this series that they didn’t have the depth to beat the Golden Knights or make a deep run.
The Wild or their fans may not have been confident in their matchup against the Golden Knights. However, there are still some people to blame for the loss.
Bill Guerin’s trade deadline was an issue for the Wild
The Wild’s demise began with Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek’s injuries. They don’t have the salary cap flexibility to make many moves, and that gets even more challenging when they have injured players. Bill Guerin could’ve taken a chance on them not returning until the playoffs to upgrade the roster with long-term injured reserve cap money. However, there was always a risk that they’d get healthy too quickly and put the front office in a bind. Guerin was up front about those struggles before the trade deadline.
“We have to wait until closer to the deadline to actually see how much (salary cap) space we have at that time, and then kind of where our injuries are, when guys are going to be able to come back, if they’re going to be able to come back,” Guerin said. “So, it’s really just a matter of being patient.”
The Wild eventually added two players at the deadline, with a combined cap hit of approximately $4 million. Gustav Nyquist looked like a fine addition for the price of a second-round pick, but he recorded seven points in 22 regular season games and then went pointless in six postseason games. They also added Justin Brazeau from the Boston Bruins, who had just two points in 19 regular season games and two points in six playoff games.
It isn’t entirely Guerin’s fault, as he had no way of knowing those additions would perform so poorly. The mistake he made was poorly evaluating the issues with his roster. The Wild could’ve used more speed to contend with the Golden Knights, and trading Marat Khusnutdinov for Brazeau was an error. Khusnutdinov was never utilized correctly in Minnesota, and he showed his true worth by outperforming Brazeau over the season’s final two months.
Depth scoring became an issue when Golden Knights started scoring
Kaprizov and Matt Boldy were stars in this series for the Wild. It was no surprise that Kaprizov had a big playoffs, as he had been doing it all year for Minnesota. Kaprizov had points in the first five games, but Vegas held him in check with just two points in the final three games, all losses. When the Golden Knights found an answer for Kaprizov, the Wild had no one step up and help their superstar.
It’s hard to know if Eriksson Ek was fully healthy, but his three assists in the six games stand out as an issue. He had a down year all season, but they needed him to contribute more. Mats Zuccarello, recording only three points in six games after a solid 54-point campaign, also stands out. Last but not least, Marco Rossi had a breakout season with 60 points in 82 games, but had three points in the series and just one goal over the final three games.
Minnesota fans have been begging for some help for Kaprizov. With around $12 million coming off the books from the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts, this summer will be crucial for Guerin to fix the team’s flaws.
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