The Minnesota Wild’s season is over after their latest 1st-round exit in the NHL Playoffs. As a Minnesota sports fan, it’s difficult to even picture a team claiming victory in a first round playoff series or game. It’s now been six years and five playoff appearances since the Wild have won a series in the playoffs (’14-’15 vs Blues – 7 games).
Still, the future is bright for a Minnesota team that’s desperately needed an elite playmaker and goal scorer to go along with an always well-built supporting cast. Now, they have it in Kirill Kaprizov. They also have Kevin Fiala, who might be the most skilled Wild forward not named Kirill, since Marion Gaborik.
But, their biggest point of roster consternation this season came from former team savior, Zach Parise, who was benched at the end of the year and for the first three games of the playoffs. He returned in game four, only because of an injury to Marcus Johansson, and finished the series as one of the Wild’s best looking forwards.
Decision time…
But now it’s decision time for Bill Guerin and Zach Parise, who still has four years on his deal, a no-move clause and a contract nobody wants… except Billy G, apparently.