MN Wild Running Low on Cap Space and Options
Nobody expected the Minnesota Wild to go into free agency on Wednesday with guns blazing, despite their recent swing and miss on trading for Dylan Larkin.
Unfortunately for president of hockey operations, Bill Guerin, he doesn’t have enough cap space for a significant UFA signing, either. So while other teams were wheeling and dealing Wednesday afternoon, at the opening bell of free agency, Guerin watched from the sidelines.
Trocheck, Anders Lee find new homes (not in Minnesota)
Billy’s favorite 2026 trade deadline target Vincent Trocheck finally found a new home in Utah. Not long after, Anders Lee landed with the Mammoth too. The decision wasn’t easy on the Edina native, but ultimately the Wild fell short (again), which is becoming a theme since landing Quinn Hughes before the trade deadline.
Anders Lee signed a three-year deal worth $5.4 million in Utah https://t.co/r38Hr1oCrB
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) July 1, 2026
Anders Lee agonized over his decision to not sign with the #mnwild. They gave him a presentation earlier today. When he made his decision to go to Utah, agent Neil Sheehy says he told Anders, "I'll call Billy," and Anders said, "No, I'll call Billy."
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) July 1, 2026
While he patiently waits for that next big move, Guerin finally turned his focus to rounding out the edges of Minnesota’s 2026-27 roster. Earlier in the day, the Wild agreed to terms with veterans Nick Foligno ($900K) and Zach Bogosian ($1.25M).
MN Wild sign new goalie
A bit later, the depth signings continued. The most consequential came at goaltender, since the MN Wild will be without Filip Gustavsson for the first 1-3 months of the season.
To fill that early-season void, Minnesota has signed 34-year-old veteran Calvin Pickard, who’s played in 191 NHL games during his 11-year NHL career, 157 of which he started in net.
We have signed goaltender Calvin Pickard to a one-year, $1M contract for the 2026-27 season
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) July 1, 2026
Full details » https://t.co/57pVPyLoPP pic.twitter.com/hOuXLsQKwp
For the past three seasons, Pickard has been in Edmonton, where he started 64 of the Oilers’ 246 regular season games while there. In 2025-26, the former second round draft pick (2010) started 13 games and appeared in 16.
Over the course of his career, Pickard’s been decent (2.96 GAA, .901 save %). But his final year in Edmonton, that was not the case. Last season, the Canadian saved just 87% of the shots he faced, while allowing 3.68 goals against per game.
Two-Way contracts
From there, Guerin filled out some more depth, inking 29-year-old center Dylan Gambrell, 27-year-old winger Jagger Joshua, 29-year-old C/W Justin Kirkland and 27-year-old C/W, Mason Shaw to two-way contracts for next season.
We have signed forwards Dylan Gambrell, Jagger Joshua, Justin Kirkland, Mason Shaw to two-way contracts.
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) July 1, 2026
Full details » https://t.co/tGBrbgYYxY pic.twitter.com/AYjTOD5lB8
Dylan Gambrell is interesting. He has 233 NHL games under his breezers (17 goals, 23 assists), but hasn’t played in the league since 2022-23. However, in his first and only season with the organization, Gambrell produced 10 goals and 36 points in 35 games last year down in Iowa.
Minnesota Wild bleeding talent and money
Between Mason Shaw (82 GP), Justin Kirkland (50 GP) and Jagger Joshua (0 GP), the rest of the players signed to two-way contracts by the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday combined for 22 total points in the NHL.
We still have a long time between now and puck drops for game one of the 2026-27 season. But at this point, the Minnesota Wild are still down three top-six forwards. And that’s a problem because they have less than $4 million to spend, according to PuckPedia.com.
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