The NHL season is still a couple of months away from starting, but training camps are going to be here before we know it. The Minnesota Wild have a few new faces joining them this coming season, but overall, they have the same team as last season. They will be missing Jonas Brodin to start the season, but everyone else is expected to be healthy and ready to start the season on opening night.
It’s time to make some bold predictions for this upcoming season, and hopefully, these go better than last season’s. One of the three predictions made last season came true, which was Filip Gustavsson getting 30 wins, and he got 31. The other two weren’t fulfilled because of injuries and putting a bit too high expectations on a rookie. In this article, we’ll take a look at three bold predictions for this upcoming season, starting with health, and expand into some fan predictions.
Wild Stay Healthier Than Season Prior
This is hopefully not setting them up for an even worse injury-ridden season, but the Wild have to have a better season injury-wise than 2024-25. It seemed like every single game, they had someone out, and once someone returned to the lineup healthy, someone else dropped. At one point during the season, they were without Kirill Kaprizov, Jonas Brodin, and Jared Spurgeon.
This is going to be a bold prediction because the Wild have quite a few players who struggle to stay healthy; however, this isn’t about staying perfectly healthy. Everyone knows every team deals with injuries, and this prediction is about how the Wild will boldly stay healthier than last season.
They have to have Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, Brodin, Spurgeon, everybody as healthy as can be. If there are injuries, hopefully they’re minor and nothing that requires surgery or a lot of off-time. Obviously, most of this is out of the player and team’s hands, but they need to ensure they’re doing everything they can to stay uninjured.
Buium Earns Roster Spot
This one may be pretty bold, but Brock Faber found a spot in the lineup pretty quickly, and Zeev Buium could, too. It won’t be easy; he’ll have to up his game quite a bit, but he has the talent and the potential. He’s a strong, young player with quite a bit of skill on both sides of the puck. He wasn’t shy in his NHL debut, which was during the Wild’s postseason, just like Faber, and although he made some mistakes, he looked good.
What makes this a bold prediction isn’t just his being a young rookie, but also the players who are already on the roster or have a very good shot to be. Obviously, Spurgeon, Brodin, Faber, and Jake Middleton are locks on the roster. Zach Bogosian likely is as well, but then there’s Jack Johnson, who is expected to fill in while Brodin is out at the beginning of the season due to surgery recovery.
All of these names mean Buium has a lot to go up against, but it also gives him a chance to learn and adapt his game around some great players. Even if he doesn’t make the full-time roster this season, it’s likely he’ll get some playing time, and he will make the roster soon enough, but it would be pretty bold if he did so this season.
Johansson Gets 30 Goals
This may be the boldest of these predictions yet. Marcus Johansson is a solid third liner now, but he used to be able to put up 40+ points. Out of the past 15 seasons, he’s put up quite a few points, but never has he scored more than 24 goals in a season, let alone 30. The last two seasons, he’s had a sort of bounce back with 30+ points, but he only scored 11 goals in each.
To reach 30 goals, he’ll have to dig deep and get himself in position to score. He also missed 10 games last season, which took away from his scoring totals, so if he can be part of the first bold prediction and stay healthy, he could get close to this number. He’ll need to have some steady linemates as well, who can help set up some passes, like Marcus Foligno and Nico Sturm, or someone along those lines.
Since he’s never reached that number before, it’ll be pretty bold if he is able to make it happen. It would also be a huge bonus to the Wild’s offense if he can come through, and hopefully he does.
Fan’s Bold Predictions
After making my predictions, I reached out on X for Wild fans to give some of their bold predictions, and there were some great ones. Many fans thought alike, while some threw out some very bold ideas. The first idea that many seemed to agree on was the Wild making it past the first round. They have the team that could do it, but again, it all relies on them staying healthy, and if they do that, they have a good chance of making it past the first round of the postseason.
The next prediction was Eriksson Ek rebounds from his past struggles and has a minimum of 30 goals and 75 points. This is a great bold prediction because while he has hit 30 goals before, he’s never surpassed it, and he’s yet to hit 75 points. He’s a strong player, and it would be great to see this happen for him for how hard he works every season.
The next few were all about Filip Gustavsson and how he’ll be a Vezina Trophy candidate and have 40 wins. After seeing what he did last season, this isn’t a far stretch, at least the 40 wins part. He did wrack up 31 wins last season, and he’ll have a bit more playing time this coming season with Marc-André Fleury’s retiring. As far as the Vezina Trophy is concerned, it’s not that he isn’t worthy of it, but there’s a lot of competition, and sometimes players get overlooked. It’ll be interesting to see how strong he can play and possibly be the first Wild goaltender to win it.
Of course, it wouldn’t be Wild predictions without Kirill Kaprizov being mentioned, and several put his name in the mix. The first was that he would score 50 goals and also 50 assists for 100 points. This is completely possible for a player like Kaprizov, he’s already accumulated over 100 points in the past, but the 50-goal mark has eluded him. If he can stay healthy, he’ll attain it, especially if he can get the same start he had last season. One fan’s prediction wasn’t about the season, but they aren’t convinced Kaprizov will sign his extension, and while I understand the fear of that, the confidence of the Wild’s staff hasn’t wavered all season, and I’m not concerned yet. There’s still plenty of time.
The next few were about Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi. Boldy’s was that he’ll have 40 goals and 40 assists, which isn’t out of the question. He already surpassed the 40 assist mark, but hasn’t yet hit 40 goals. He can do it, and while it’s bold that he hits it this season, it’s not impossible. As for Rossi, one person predicted he would score at a minimum of 30 goals and 80 points total, while another said he’ll have 100 points and push Eriksson Ek to the third line after trading for a number one center. 80 points for Rossi is realistic, 100 may be a bit high, but he’s a strong player, and as for the number one center, he did play at that role last season, so it’s hard to imagine the Wild trying to trade for a number one center.
Fan’s Bold Predictions Continue
Staying on the trade path, a few fans put out bold trade predictions, and the first one up was about Rossi. They expect Rossi to be gone by this season’s trade deadline, and again, that’s not impossible. The Wild did shop him a bit this summer, as everyone knows, but they didn’t receive any offers they liked. Depending on how he performs this season, it’s not unlikely that he would be gone at the deadline.
Continuing with the trade predictions, the next one was that the Wild would acquire Tage Thompson before the deadline. As much as I like the idea of getting Thompson, the Wild would obviously have to give up a lot to get him, and that’s only if the Buffalo Sabres are willing to part ways, which seems highly unlikely, but it’s still a fun, very bold prediction. Someone else predicted that Spurgeon, Brodin, or Middleton would be traded, which again is quite bold.
Spurgeon seems somewhat unlikely given his injury issues and his age, but Brodin and Middleton could fit that bill. Brodin does have injury problems as well, but he’s younger and can heal quicker. All three are great defensemen who could be trade targets, but the Wild would also have to be willing to give them up. The same person who predicted the trade stuck with the defense as they also predicted that Faber would score 20 goals and 50 points. That’s a bit high for Faber, but it fits the bold definition, and it would be fun to see him at least get close to those numbers and possibly hit them.
The final trade prediction was that the Wild would trade for a backup goaltender because Jesper Wallstedt won’t be ready to join the team. This is a very bold take, but it’s not unlikely, maybe a tad early, but they can’t wait too long either. Good goaltending is hard to find, and the Wild were lucky enough to have a strong tandem until Fleury retired. Wallstedt is expected to be their number one eventually, but it’ll be interesting if he can live up to that expectation.
We’re down to the final few predictions and sticking with Wallstedt, one fan predicted he will outperform Gustavsson. This one is another pretty bold take. While Wallstedt is talented, he still has to be able to transition his game to the NHL, and that takes time. Gustavsson has taken a lot of strides forward and has an advantage over Wallstedt, but it’s not impossible he could eventually outperform Gustavsson, but unlikely this season. That leaves Ryan Hartman having a 20-goal season, which is possible. Maybe a bit bold after last season, but he’s done it twice before, and he’s not done yet. It’ll be interesting to see if he can bounce back after last season or if this will remain a bold prediction not reached.
Related: Q & A With Minnesota Wild Defenseman Jake Middleton
The final two predictions were that the Wild would fire John Hynes before mid-year, and while I understand the frustration, Hynes deserves more of a chance. He’s obviously made decisions not everyone was a fan of, particularly putting Rossi on the fourth line in the postseason, but he did it for a reason. He’s done well to connect with his players and, given more time, I think he can get the wins everyone wants, which segways into the last prediction and the boldest of them all: the Wild win the Stanley Cup.
That prediction, of course, is the boldest, while the Wild have a slim chance, like almost every team does, to win the Stanley Cup. Can they actually do it? They have the talent, although they may still be a piece short, and it’ll be interesting to see how they stack up against the rest, which is a perfect way to end the predictions.
There were a lot of great predictions that could actually be fulfilled with some difficulty, and there were some that are so bold it’ll be crazy to see them happen. Everyone will have to stay tuned and see how the Wild do this season, and hopefully, some of these predictions will come true.
