Hockey Wilderness
A Minnesota Wild Blog that WON'T make you sick and kill you!
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Danila Yurov Is Demanding A Larger Role With His Aggressive Play
Danila Yurov looks like the kind of young forward who can force his way into a bigger role, and the case for him getting first- or second-line duty is stronger than it might have seemed a few months ago. The key is that he is not just surviving in the NHL; he’s producing and showing he can handle to...
Charlie Stramel Is Looking Like the Center the Wild Have Been Waiting For
The Minnesota Wild have spent years searching for the kind of center who can grow into a long-term answer down the middle. Charlie Stramel may already be that player. The 21st overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft has gone from intriguing first-round project to one of the organization’s most promising...
Mason Shaw's Return To the Wild Is A Full-Circle Moment
On April 1, 2023, Mason Shaw suffered the fourth ACL tear of his career 59 games into what had become his first full NHL season. It was another devastating setback for a player whose path to the NHL had already been sidetracked by the same injury. "I felt like I took a bullet to the knee," Shaw...
Wild Nearly Landed 2 Scoring Wingers — Here’s Why They Didn’t
The Minnesota Wild have not had the busiest offseason, or even one involving transactions you can feel good about going forward, but that's not for the lack of trying. General manager Bill Guerin has explored the free agent market, looking into a couple of wingers that could have certainly made a di...
The Wild's Patience With Dylan Larkin May Pay Off No Matter What
For the second straight summer, the Minnesota Wild’s offseason has felt like a disappointment. While the Wild promised "Christmas morning" a year ago, fans had to wait to open their gifts as Kirill Kaprizov signed a massive extension, and they traded for Quinn Hughes a few weeks before Christmas....
The Wild's Asset Pool Is Better Than You Think
There is no doubt that if Dylan Larkin had asked out of the Detroit Red Wings organization last summer, the Minnesota Wild would have had the ability to pull off a deal for the 30-goal-scoring center. Marco Rossi would have fit the bill as a young, proven center who could fill the Larkin void. A swe...
Steve Yzerman Was An Emperor With No Clothes
Steve Yzerman has spent the last months failing Red Wings fans. The rebuild in Detroit hasn’t been an abject failure, but it’s certainly not on track to deliver a championship-caliber roster -- even if the Red Wings force Dylan Larkin’s hand by denying his trade request. The Athletic’s a...
Wild's Pursuit of Dylan Larkin Is At A Standstill
Don't worry, the Minnesota Wild are still trying to get Dylan Larkin. While a trade has not happened yet and everything is extremely quiet around the potential sweepstakes to get an actual No. 1 center, that just means that negotiations are what they are and right now no one is really budging....
The Wild's Offseason Signals a Vote of Confidence in Bobby Brink
The Minnesota Wild’s offseason has been defined by moves that haven’t been made yet — re-signing Quinn Hughes and trading for a center. Still, that doesn’t mean the team hasn’t undergone an overhaul. Blake Coleman and Max Shabanov will join the lineup as Mats Zuccarello, Marcus Johansson and others...
Wild Sign First Prospect of Their 2026 NHL Draft Haul
The Minnesota Wild have signed their first of the three prospects that they selected in the 2026 NHL Draft. It wasn't a big haul or anything, but they got some value and clearly wanted to already lock up a piece. According to PuckPedia, the Wild have signed fifth-round pick goaltender Filip Ruz...
What Is the Sticking Point With the Quinn Hughes Extension?
The Minnesota Wild’s most critical task this summer isn’t chasing free agents or tinkering with the depth chart. It’s locking up star defenseman Quinn Hughes to a long-term contract extension. After trading significant assets to acquire him midseason, the franchise has too much invested, competitive...
Re-Signing Daemon Hunt Provides Crucial Blue Line Depth
The Minnesota Wild’s re-signing of defenseman Daemon Hunt to a one-year, $900,000 contract is a low-cost, high-upside move that bolsters their blue line depth and provides crucial insurance for a crowded defensive corps. After recording six assists and 43 blocked shots in 32 NHL games last sea...
The NHL Is Catching Up To Kirill Kaprizov's Salary
When Kirill Kaprizov signed his eight-year, $136 million mega-contract last September, the sticker shock hit everyone. The total value of the contract was the largest in NHL history, breaking the record set by Alex Ovechkin's 13-year deal in 2008. Kaprizov's $17 million AAV was the largest in the ca...
The Wild May Have Just Lost the Dylan Larkin Sweepstakes
That's Wild Dylan Larkin has reportedly added the Dallas Stars to his trade list. A list that previously only had the Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, and Vegas Golden Knights on it, now have a team that might actually make a trade work. But as we know -- since Detroit GM Steve Yzerman want...
The Case To Swap Joel Eriksson Ek For Dylan Larkin
Reading the insider tea leaves, it looks like the Minnesota Wild and Detroit Red Wings are at an impasse in the Dylan Larkin negotiations. The Wild want the star center; the star center wants to go to Minnesota. However, Detroit GM Steve Yzerman's wish list doesn't line up with the Wild's assets. Da...
Matt Boldy Has Become Indispensible To the Wild
Matt Boldy has evolved into one of the Minnesota Wild’s most indispensable players, and his name should be firmly off the trade block. As a drafted-and-developed, two-way forward with elite offensive instincts and growing leadership qualities, Boldy has become an offensive engine for the Wild....
Bill Guerin Explains The Wild's Roster Shakeup This o
The Minnesota Wild typically try to keep a status quo. They don't like to see too many unrestricted free agents leave St. Paul and even if they do, they typically don't think that highly of them in the first place. That concept got thrown out the window this summer. General manager Bill Guerin...
Bill Guerin Explains The Wild's Roster Shakeup This Offseason
The Minnesota Wild typically try to keep a status quo. They don't like to see too many unrestricted free agents leave St. Paul and even if they do, they typically don't think that highly of them in the first place. That concept got thrown out the window this summer. General manager Bill Guerin...
Chris Kreider Could Be the Wild's Vladimir Tarasenko 2.0
When looking at Bill Guerin's GM of the Year campaign, the Quinn Hughes trade stands as the No. 1 reason he landed the hardware. Retaining Kirill Kaprizov was another headline-grabber, and to a lesser extent, so was adding Michael McCarron and key depth pieces at the trade deadline. But a big p...
Calvin Pickard Gives the Wild Needed Goaltending Insurance
Of all the Minnesota Wild’s early-offseason moves, signing Calvin Pickard has gone a bit overlooked. It makes sense, given that Pickard is a veteran netminder who only played 16 NHL games last season. Still, the goaltender will likely appear in net for Minnesota, particularly early in the seas...
Wild Are Now Focusing On the Biggest Priority of the Offseason
That's Wild Now that NHL free agency is slowly winding down -- there are still a couple good players available but really only if you want to take a gamble on someone like Patrik Laine bouncing back or Anthony Mantha continuing to have good seasons -- the Minnesota Wild are turning their att...
Trading For Coleman and Maatta Gives the Wild More Bite
The Minnesota Wild just made a move that should get fans talking. By bringing in Blake Coleman and Olli Maatta from the Calgary Flames in exchange for Jacob Middleton, the Wild added a pair of battle-tested veterans who know exactly what it takes to win in the NHL. It’s the kind of trade that says M...
Nick Foligno Brings Stability To A Team With Postseason Ambitions
The Minnesota Wild re-signed Nick Foligno, giving them exactly the kind of veteran presence contenders lean on in the spring. Foligno will play on a one-year, $900,000 deal, returning for his 20th NHL season after the Wild acquired him from the Chicago Blackhawks last March. The move signals they va...
Wild Are Trying to Pull Off Another Blockbuster Trade
The Minnesota Wild need to swing at something big this offseason to make it worth it. So far, all they've done is tinkered around the edges -- they haven't even re-signed Quinn Hughes to the extension that he more than deserves. The business Bill Guerin has done so far has largely been just shufflin...
It's Okay To Mourn the Wild's Losses In Free Agency
Free agency exposes the different ways that fans enjoy hockey each year. It’s something we also see at the trade deadline. Some fans watch the sport through the lens of stats. What matters is points, plus-minus, slot shots, penalty minutes. Some are so stringent that they prefer the numbers to any s...
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