4 Big Questions for the Minnesota Wild in 2020-21
There’s Four Big Questions facing the Minnesota Wild in 2020-21.
With the 2020-21 NHL Season now within reach, we are flying through our Season Previews and today it is the turn of the Minnesota Wild.
It is fair to say that the Wild are a bit like an old sports car that runs fine but it is just missing that little bit of oomph, it takes you only so far but never quite far enough, and it is more reliable rather than a thrill ride.
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
That is the Minnesota Wild right now.
After years of being just good enough to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs but not good enough to make it past the First Round, General Manager Bill Guerin was brought in to blow this thing up and make the Wild a more exciting team that could compete to a high-level on a consistent basis.
He has only been in the job for around a year and it has been a bit of a slow process so far, but Rome wasn’t built in a day as they say, and this is going to be a long rebuild on the fly for the Wild who are trying to get younger and better while still being competitive.
Granted, they will benefit from being probably the fourth best team in the West Division, so there is a path to the postseason for this team as it is currently constituted.
So, on that note, let’s delve into the Four Big Questions facing the Minnesota Wild in the 2020-21 NHL Season…
4. Will Matt Dumba get traded at any point in 2020-21?
There is no doubt that Matt Dumba is a legit high-end defenseman in the National Hockey League, and he, along with Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin and Ryan Suter give the Minnesota Wild one of the strongest and most dynamic top-four groups in the NHL.
However, there is a major caveat at play here.
As good as Dumba is, and he’s very good, the Wild have $30,980,128 wrapped up in their blueline for the 2020-21 season and most of that is committed to their top-four.
Plus with the dreaded 2021 NHL Expansion Draft looming, there are some hard decisions to be made for all 31 NHL franchises, well 30 because the Vegas Golden Knights aren’t taking part, and Minnesota is no different.
With Spurgeon, who was recently announced as the team’s new captain, Brodin and Suter all under contract for at least the next five seasons, Dumba would probably have to be left unprotected and there is no way that the Seattle Kraken wouldn’t take a 26-year-old defenseman about to hit his peak.
Therefore, it is feasible that General Manager Bill Guerin will look to trade Dumba at the NHL Trade Deadline in order to avoid losing a very, very good player for nothing. Would losing Dumba hurt? Of course it would.
After all, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft was a 50-point scorer as recently as two years ago, and he’s a player who can play in all situations and log big, big minutes.
But, it isn’t really a choice between losing a player for nothing or getting back valuable assets for him, especially for a team like the Minnesota Wild who are trying to rebuild on the fly and draft picks and prospects would help that greatly, even if it meant losing a genuine stud in Matt Dumba.
3. Is Kirill Kaprizov a contender for the Calder Trophy?
There is a hell of a lot of excitement when it comes to Kirill Kaprizov’s impending arrival in the National Hockey League, and we at Puck Prose can’t wait to watch the talent explode onto the scene, as we mapped out here.
This has been a long time coming for Wild fans who have been craving a high-end game-changer, and Kaprizov certainly seems to fit that bill. He has that rare ability to be able to fill a whole building with excitement and sheer anticipation at what he’s going to do next, and that is something else that has been missing in Minnesota for quite some time.
Kaprizov is, in many ways, the spark this middling franchise needs and, if Training Camp is anything to go by, he is ready to light up the NHL and give Wild fans something to be excited about.
So, is the highly-skilled and hugely-talented winger a contender for the Calder Trophy?
On first glance, you have to say yes. Of course, New York Rangers forward Alexis Lafreniere, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, will be the favorite while the No. 2 overall pick, Quinton Byfield, could also win the honor if he has a strong rookie year with the LA Kings.
Then you have to consider the two Russian goalies in New York, Igor Shesterkin of the Rangers and Ilya Sorokin of the Islanders, while Montreal Canadiens defenseman Alexander Romanov is entering the 2020-21 season with a lot of buzz too.
Oh my pic.twitter.com/Ym4L7muOGR
— The Athletic Minnesota (@TheAthleticMIN) January 9, 2021
Don’t forget the likes of Buffalo Sabres forward Dylan Cozens, who had a strong 2021 World Junior Championship for Team Canada with 16 points (8 G, 8 A), as did Trevor Zegras who led the entire tournament in points with 18 (7 G, 11 A) for Team USA and he could light it up for the Anaheim Ducks this year.
However, Kaprizov looks to be something special and his combination of speed, skill, high IQ, a long reach and a real hunger to just hustle should ensure that he’s a success in his rookie year, and he does boast the upside needed to really cause some damage. I mean, just look at the clip above.
So, while there is plenty of competition for the Calder Trophy in 2020-21, don’t be surprised if Kirill Kaprizov emerges as a finalist, especially if he morphs into an offensive juggernaut and leads this Minnesota team to the postseason.
2. Will the goaltending be good enough in 2020-21?
Let’s face it, goaltending has been a problem in Minnesota for a while now and it culminated in a horror season for Devan Dubnyk in 2019-20, with the veteran stinking out the place with a 3.35 Goals Against Average and a .890 Percentage.
Dubnyk is now with the San Jose Sharks, however, and it is up to offseason addition Cam Talbot and veteran Alex Stalock to steady the goaltending ship in Minnesota. Can they though?
Talbot, who signed a three-year, $11 million deal in Free Agency, is younger than Dubnyk and is also a slight upgrade, while he’s coming off a nice bounce-back season where he put up a .919 Save Percentage and a 2.63 Goals Against Average with two shutouts in 22 starts for the Calgary Flames and finished 35th in goals saved above expected.
However, Talbot is not a high-end NHL starter and he’s been more miss than he has been a hit over the last few years, while Stalock hardly gives you any confidence as a backup given his body of work, although he was okay in 2019-20 with a .910 SV% and a 2.67 GAA.
While the Wild only really need to worry about the St. Louis Blues, the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights in the West – the Ducks, the Coyotes, the Kings and the Sharks are all rebuilding and are still a way off – poor goaltending can sink any team and there are legit question marks over whether a less than inspiring tandem of Cam Talbot and Alex Stalock can get the job done for the Minnesota Wild in 2020-21.
Only time will tell.
1. Will we see Marco Rossi in 2020-21?
The Minnesota Wild were dealt a big blow this week when it was announced that prospect forward Marco Rossi will be out indefinitely with a lower-body injury.
No further detail has been given and there is no timescale on a potential return for the No. 9 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, and it does leave the Wild in a bit of a twist.
NEWS: #mnwild forward Marco Rossi is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury.
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 10, 2021
After all, Rossi entered the Draft with a lot of hype and GM Bill Guerin took him that high knowing that he has the intangibles and the upside needed to morph into a No.1 center for the Wild one day.
Given that he was considered NHL-ready, it wouldn’t have been surprising to see Rossi nail down a top-six role early and perhaps even cement himself as Minnesota’s new No. 1 center as early as this season.
It is up for grabs with offseason addition Marcus Johansson expected to start the 2020-21 season as the top-line pivot, although it now looks as though that job could be handed to veteran forward Nick Bonino, who is more of a depth scorer than a top-line forward at this stage of his career.
Therefore, being without a legit stud in Marco Rossi for an unspecified amount of time is a huge blow, and it doesn’t help that the Wild are as light down the middle as they are.
Next. Shane Doan back with the Coyotes. dark
It is too early to speculate when Rossi might be back but, if he can get back out on the ice at some point in 2020-21, then that could well act as a saving grace for the Minnesota Wild and be the spark they need to claw their way into the postseason once again.