Competitive or not, Guerin and his front office enter the 2025 NHL offseason searching for answers, after yet another first round exit out of the annual postseason tournament. So, where do they hope to find said answers?

Well, everything the Minnesota Wild do this offseason will stem from a sudden increase in salary cap space, now that Zach Parise and Ryan Suter’s buyout penalties have finally (mostly) fallen off the books.

Bill Guerin confident Kirill Kaprizov extension will get done

But how high should our expectations be for this offseason? Over the weekend, Michael Russo (The Athletic) projected Minnesota to have approximately $17-18 million in additional cap space to play with, over the next few months. That, after they extend Kirill Kaprizov, something Bill Guerin is confident will get done.

Guerin reiterates he’s very confident they’ll extend Kaprizov this summer

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) May 6, 2025

Until it is signed, sealed and delivered, Billy did make it clear that Kaprizov’s new deal is the organization’s top priority. Kirill actually met with media on Monday and he too seemed optimistic that the two sides will find middle ground this summer.

Kirill Kaprizov will be 29 years old next season and his injury history is far from perfect. Nonetheless, he is by far the most talented player to ever skate for the Minnesota Wild and they have no plans of letting him go, no matter what that takes, which is expected to be six years, at about $15 million per season.

Related: Marc-Andre Fleury Not Done Playing Hockey Just Yet… and What About MN Wild EBUG Duties?

Kaprizov still has one year left on his current deal. The Russian winger ranks 4th in franchise history in goals (185), 11th in assists (201) and 5th in points (386). In 41 games last season, the former fifth round pick totaled 25 goals and 56 total points, but missed most of the second half due to a lower-body injury.

Minnesota Wild plan to add centerman, possibly a winger too

Of course, Kaprizov’s extension is far from the only thing on Bill Guerin’s offseason to-do list. Right behind him is the need to add a top-6 centerman, and possibly a high-end winger too, if the opportunity were to present itself. Defensemen? Nope, the Wild’s president off hockey operations says they are all set on the blue line.

Guerin says they’re in the market for centers this offseason. Wouldn’t be opposed to a scoring winger. Defense is set

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) May 6, 2025

When asked about 23-year-old Marco Rossi, and why he was pushed down to the fourth line for the NHL Playoffs, Guerin played dumb and made it seem like the lines were so stacked up top that Rossi couldn’t squeeze into anything higher than the fourth line, which he felt played well.

According to Russo, that’s not the way Rossi’s camp feels. Whether he’s willing to admit it or not, the fact that the Wild are looking to add specifically at center this summer proves that Marco probably isn’t in their long-term plans.

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If he were, center would not be anywhere near the top of their priority list, being they already roster Rossi and Joel Eriksson Ek. Much like the longtime MN Wild beat writer, it seems pretty clear to me that the end of Marco Rossi’s time in St. Paul has come.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t have plans. President of hockey operations Bill Guerin is reportedly shopping Marco Rossi, if the price is right, and would like to find a trade partner for Filip Gustavsson, if possible too. And the Wild aren’t walking into this summer’s free agency arcade without any quarters in their pocket.

According to PuckPedia.com, the Minnesota Wild will have just over $6 million to spend this offseason, but that’s before they re-sign, extend and move around money that is already on roster.

Minnesota Wild targeting bargain bin aging wingers in free agency

When their pocketbooks are settled, the Wild will likely have to shop for aging, past their prime scorers. According to Michael Russo (The Athletic), Guerin is looking for a ‘top-6’ winger… if that’s what you want to call them.

Thanks to Minnesota’s cap limitations, they will be stuck shopping in the clearance aisle for guys who used to be worthy of top-6 duties, specifically naming Vladimir Tarasenko (32) and David Perron (36) as the type of washed up veteran winger the Wild “will likely be in the market for”.

If the Wild can add a top-six forward this offseason, it’ll keep Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy from feeling like the scoring load is always on them. The problem is the Wild still have one year of $14.7 million in dead cap money plus at least $425,000 in bonus overage for Marco Rossi (another $212,500 if he makes the all-rookie team June 27), so the lack of cap space means the Wild will likely be in the market for a winger like David Perron or Vladimir Tarasenko on a one- or two-year deal.

Michael Russo on the Minnesota Wild targeting Vladimir Tarasenko and David Perron in free agency (The Athletic)

Of course, the Minnesota Wild should be focused on getting younger and faster, as they prepare for when the Parise and Suter penalties fall of before the 2025-26 season. They have a few young, elite prospects like Danila Yurov, Riley Heidt and Liam Ohgren, who will all be close to contributing by then.

Related: Minnesota Wild Nervous that Kirill Kaprizov Will Leave

Their biggest problem is that they are old, slow and stuck with a roster full of veterans that are fat and happy with no-trade clauses in their contracts, thanks to feeble attempts by Guerin to build a win-now roster without any money. Nonetheless, he appears on the verge of doubling down on those aging veterans, at least for one more year.

Should the Minnesota Wild sign Vladimir Tarasenko?

Vladimir Tarasenko, who will play in game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals Monday night, started this season in Ottawa, before being traded to Florida at the deadline. He has mostly been on their third line this postseason, averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time.

The 32-year-old Russian used to be one of the better scorers in the NHL, but since going for 34 goals and a career high 82 points in 2021-22 (his final full season in St. Louis), he’s dropped off substantially.

Tarasenko potted just 18 goals (50 points) total between St. Louis and New York in 2022-23 and of 23 goals (55 points) this regular season between Ottawa and Florida. He still has some pop left offensively, but he’s a problem for your team on defense.

Vladimir Tarasenko’s first goal of the Eastern Conference Final is a massive one! @FlaPanthers | #TimeToHunt | #StanleyCup

pic.twitter.com/5lScLHbibG

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) June 2, 2024

He’s expected to cost anywhere between $4.5 and $6 million per year, likely toward the higher end, if he is going to sign on a one-year contract. A signing like this would be a massive gamble for Guerin, unless he can somehow get a discount without adding on more years. Yes, he is Russian, but Kirill Kaprizov cares more about winning games than he does playing with his countrymen.

Should the Minnesota Wild sign David Perron?

Meanwhile, Perron is the extreme (but cheaper) version of the veteran wing that Guerin will be in the market for. He was never a prolific point producer, but at 36 years old, he’s shown an incredible consistency, posting 46 or more points in every season since 2016-17, but never more than 66.

That run includes four straight seasons of 56-60 point production between 2019-2023. Perron’s projected salary in 2024-25 is around $2.5 million for next season.

DAVID PERRON TIES IT WITH SECONDS REMAINING. SEASON STILL ALIVE. UNBELIEVABLE. #LGRW
pic.twitter.com/s9KyteF1yv

— Barstool Detroit (@BSMotorCity) April 17, 2024

Related: Minnesota Wild Rebranding to North Stars Colors? Not So Fast…

Russo urges Guerin to force Marcus Johansson off of the Wild’s top-6, in favor of someone who can produce and a higher and more consistent rate. Obviously, there is an effort to improve on the power play, which is certainly needed.

Unfortunately… I’m not sure either Vladimir Tarasenko or David Perron are the best answer to solving that problem, along with the others that plague this roster.

Marcus Johansson may be a reasonable cost at $2 million, but the Wild need to stop force-feeding him in a top-six role. He’s an aggravating player because he brings so much speed and skill, but he goes MIA way too often to produce consistently on the second line.

Michael Russo on the Minnesota Wild needing to replace Marcus Johansson in the top-6 (The Athletic)

I know that the Minnesota Wild are in a holding pattern, right now, as they wait for these excessive cap penalties to fall off, but you can’t help but notice that Bill Guerin has built the same type of veteran “clubhouse” atmosphere at Xcel Energy Center that he was once hired to blow up.

The only difference is that he signed, elevated and promoted the leaders of the current clubhouse. But outside of Kirill Kaprizov, I have a lot of doubts about whether or not this organization is that much better off, as we look to the future, than it was prior to Billy G’s arrival.

In case you haven’t been paying attention this year the Minnesota Wild are nearing a major turning point in their franchise. The team is middling right around .500 and is in need of an overhaul. But what would that look like? Scoop contributor Jake Jensen laid out one scenario of what a rebuild could look like. Each part below corresponds to a chapter in the above audio so you can listen and follow along as things unfold!

Part 1: Core or non-core

The first part of the process was to separate out the current Wild roster into players that fit into Jake’s long term plans and those who didn’t. Jake wasted no time in making some surprise decisions, putting Zach Parise, Ryan Suter and Devan Dubnyk on his list of non-core players. The full break down is:

Core

• Joel Eriksson Ek
• Kevin Fiala
• Marcus Foligno
• Ryan Hartman
• Luke Kunin
• Eric Staal
• Mats Zuccarello
• Jonas Brodin
• Matt Dumba
• Carson Soucy
• Jared Spurgeon
• Kril Kaprizov
• Kappo Kahkonen

Non-Core

• Ryan Donato
• Jordan Greenway
• Mikko Koivu
• Zach Parise
• Victor Rask
• Jason Zucker
• Brad Hunt
• Greg Pateryn
• Nick Seeler
• Ryan Suter
• Devan Dubnyk
• Alex Stalock

Part 2: Moving on from the Non-Core

The next step was to figure out what to do with those players who didn’t fit into Jake’s core going forward. This gets to be a little more tricky because trades just take so much time, especially with prospects and draft picks. So for this part we simply decided as to who got traded or claimed on waivers and here is what we ended up with:

• Ryan Donato – Trade
• Jordan Greenway – Trade
• Mikko Koivu – Leave as Free Agent
• Zach Parise – Eat Salary and Trade
• Victor Rask – Trade
• Jason Zucker – Trade
• Brad Hunt – Trade
• Greg Pateryn – Trade
• Nick Seeler – Trade
• Ryan Suter – Eat Salary and Trade
• Devan Dubnyk – Stay
• Alex Stalock – Trade

Part 3: Add Free Agents

The Wild now have some money to spend in addition to their core that Scoop GM Jake Jensen has already put together. By setting the Salary Cap at $82 million and factoring in salary the Wild will be paying in the Parise and Suter trades we have a full break down of where the Wild are at and what they have available to spend on free agents (NOTE: 2020 Salary Cap figure is an estimate and some player salaries are approximations and not actual figures):

Using the list of impending unrestricted free agents Jake added some players into his core (including a few familiar faces) Here are the free agents that were added to Jake’s roster:

AND SO! Adding those players to the roster leaves us with this:

Part 4: Finishing Touches and Line Combos

Now that the roster is finished the remaining question is what do the lines look like? Jake is an expect on this so it didn’t take long to get things put together. Presenting the 2020-21 Minnesota Wild Line Combinations!

Offense (LW-C-RW)
Kril Kaprizov – Eric Staal – Mikael Granlund
Kevin Fiala – Alex Galchenyuk – Luke Kunin
Marcus Foligno – Joel Eriksson Ek – Mats Zuccarello
Chris Kreider – J-G Pageau – Ryan Hartman

Defense
Jonas Brodin – Matt Dumba
Jared Spurgeon – Marco Scandella
Carson Soucy – Justin Braun

Goalies
Kappo Kahkonen
Devan Dubnyk
Hunter Miska

So there you have it. Jake Jensen’s 2020-21 Minnesota Wild! Maybe not necessarily what Bill Guerin will actually do, but if Gersson Rosas can blow up a roster in as little as 36 hours, Bill Guerin should be able to make plenty of moves in the coming weeks.