Free-agent focus: Minnesota Wild

F Declan Chisholm – Minnesota acquired Chisholm on waivers from the Winnipeg Jets last season, and he quietly had a productive season for the Wild in 2024-25. He reached a career-high in scoring with two goals and 12 points in 66 contests, averaging just shy of 17 minutes of ice time per game. Furthermore, even though he started many of his shifts in the defensive zone, Chisholm finished the season with a quality 50.4% CorsiFor% at even strength, and a 91.5% on-ice save percentage at even strength. Chisholm would make for a reliable depth option to retain on a saturated defensive core.

Other RFAs: F Graeme Clarke, F Adam Raska, F Michael Milne, F Luke Toporowski, D Ryan O’Rourke

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Gustav Nyquist – The second iteration of the Nyquist experiment in Minnesota didn’t go as well as the first time. The last time the Wild acquired Nyquist at the 2022-23 season, he scored one goal and five points in three regular season contests, with another five assists in six playoff games. This time around, the Halmstad, Sweden native scored two goals and seven points in 22 games after a trade from the Nashville Predators, and went scoreless in the Wild’s opening-round matchup against the Vegas Golden Knights. There will be better options available to Minnesota on the free agent market to address their secondary scoring needs.

F Justin Brazeau – Like Nyquist, the Wild acquired Brazeau at this year’s trade deadline from the Boston Bruins. He was tasked with giving Minnesota more grit and defensive prowess in their bottom-six for their playoff push, and that’s exactly what he gave them. His ice time was cut by more than four and a half minutes when he was moved to the Wild, and his scoring followed. Still, Brazeau managed nearly two hits a game for Minnesota, and added 22 more in six postseason contests.

D Jon Merrill – Merrill is unlikely to sign another contract with the Wild. Unfortunately, he doesn’t do all that much aside from eat limited minutes. He managed a quality 91.4% on-ice save percentage at even strength in 70 games, but that was only good for fifth on the team among blue liners, meaning the Wild can easily replace his value internally.

Other UFAs: F Travis Boyd, F Devin Shore, F Tyler Madden, D Cameron Crotty, G Troy Grosenick, G Dylan Ferguson

Projected Cap Space

The time has finally come for Minnesota to forget about the buyout burden from Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. After paying the pair of former-veterans nearly $15MM last season, the Wild’s payment drops down to $1.7MM for the 2025-26 season, giving them nearly $16MM in salary cap flexibility with few roster spots to fill. Minnesota have already placed a priority on signing superstar Kirill Kaprizov to a long-term extension this summer, so they’ll have to game out any free agent additions with that extension in mind.

Contract info courtesy of PuckPedia.

Photo courtesy of Nick Wosika-Imagn Images