Minnesota Wild a Top Dark Horse Cup Candidate?

The Minnesota Wild have had a relatively quiet offseason. July 1 came and went without a major addition or Kirill Kaprizov contract extension. Most believe the Wild will still get their superstar locked up at some point this offseason, but it’s been two weeks since he became eligible, and here we still are.

When president of hockey operations Bill Guerin will spend the Wild’s additional cap space, sans the Parise/Suter buyout penalties, is still a mystery. As are his plans for young centerman, Marco Rossi, who Billy claims he’d love to keep.

Actions speak louder than words, however, and there’s a reason Rossi has been on the trade block for years and why the Wild relegated him to the 3rd line during the 2024-25 NHL Playoffs. You don’t do that to a 23-year-old top 10 pick who you like and believe in.

For the most part though, we think we know what the 2025-26 Minnesota Wild will look like, even as major questions remain on the roster, both now and into the future. But if you’re worried about Bill Guerin’s sense of direction, those who have the their pulse on the NHL do not share those concerns.

Over the weekend, dozens of hockey writers over at The Athletic completed a poll trying to predict how the 2025-26 NHL season will turn out. The poll included about 10 questions ranging from who will win the Stanley Cup and which will lose it, to more abstract projections like “surprise playoff team” and “first coach fired”, etc.

NHL writers at The Athletic like MN Wild as Stanley Cup Dark Horse

Despite their underwhelming offseason and unanswered questions the Minnesota Wild did not show up in any of The Athletic’s negative survey results, like “first coach fired”, “fewest points” or “biggest disappointment”.

In fact, our favorite hockey team came out with the second most votes for “dark horse Stanley Cup contender”, finishing behind only the Winnipeg Jets, who received nearly 1/3 of the votes. To be included in this category, teams needed Cup odds between +2,000 and +6,000 at BetMGM.

I picked the Minnesota Wild here. They looked like one of the better teams in the West before the injuries last season, and gave the Golden Knights a good run in the first round despite just getting guys back into the lineup. With several key players in contract years, I feel like this could be the best Wild team we’ve seen in some time.

Jesse Granger – The Athletic

This poll tells us a couple of things. First, if the Minnesota Wild can stay healthy, they currently have a pretty good team. And that is before they spend their current $10 million in available cap space. But what the above poll results tell me, No. 1, is that those around the game of hockey hold Bill Guerin in extremely high regard.

Hockey people love Bill Guerin.

Locally, there are a lot of questions surrounding how Minnesota’s president of hockey operations navigated the Wild’s time in Parise/Suter cap purgatory, most notably, the numerous no-trade clauses he gave out to veterans he likes, including Ryan Hartman, Marcus Johansson, Marcus Foligno, among others.

Many also question why Kirill Kaprizov isn’t under a new long-term contract yet, not to mention the mystery surrounding why Guerin dislikes Marco Rossi so much, even as the 23-year-old‘s development continues to grow exponentially.

Related: Minnesota Wild Threatening to Leave St. Paul? Mayor Concerned…

But around the world of professional hockey, people trust Bill Guerin way more than most casual Minnesota Wild fans understand. That’s why he was picked to lead USA Hockey, even during a time when Billy’s his personal life and demeanor behind the scenes as a GM was under major scrutiny.

The above table shows that hockey writers at The Athletic believe Guerin will lead the Minnesota Wild out of this sort of fog they have been in for years… maybe even decades. Let’s hope they are correct.