With Filip Gustavsson finally signed, the Minnesota Wild’s opening night roster is all but finalized, barring any unforeseen trades. While it should look fairly similar to most fans, there are some key differences when comparing it to last season’s opening night roster that could have some significant impacts on their ability to get off on the right foot.
Last season after a fairly successful preseason, the Wild opened their regular season campaign by falling flat on their face, losing four of their first five games and barely managing to scrape out an overtime win against the Vancouver Canucks who had an even rougher start. Some important upgrades are available this season to hopefully avoid a similar start.
Forwards Upgraded With Johansson and Maroon
It might feel like an eternity ago but less than a year has passed since the Wild opened their 2022-23 season missing Jordan Greenway and Jon Merrill to injury. That in turn forced a lineup that had Tyson Jost acting as a second-line winger and Sam Steel as a third-line center. Marco Rossi won his way into a fourth-line center position and was given a chance to prove himself, but he too struggled out of the gate. It was the recipe that created a disaster to start the season.
The Wild have since moved on from Greenway, Jost, and Steel and have instead brought in a familiar face in Marcus Johansson and some elite experience with Pat Maroon. That gives us the following forward group to open the 2023-24 season:
Kirill Kaprizov – Ryan Hartman – Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson – Joel Eriksson Ek – Matt Boldy
Freddy Gaudreau – Marco Rossi – Marcus Foligno
Brandon Duhaime – Connor Dewar – Pat Maroon
The top line remains the same for now, why would you change it when the production has been consistently one of the most impressive? After that things get a little bit choppy but in a familiar way. The trio of Johansson, Erikkson Ek, and Boldy was put together after the trade deadline last season and had some elite stretches where they were one of the most productive lines in the entire NHL.
Related: 4 Minnesota Wild Prospects You Could See in the NHL in 2023-24
There is a very good chance Rossi will slide back into the NHL, but this time on a line with Freddy Gaudreau and Marcus Foligno. He has had the time to improve, worked hard this offseason, and needs to show that he can drive play if there are any hopes of him still being a first-line center. Gaudreau can play anywhere and Foligno should be great at winning board battles and getting the puck from dirty areas. The fourth line is a wild card as Brandon Duhaime and Connor Dewar will both be trying to take another step, helped along by the legendary Maroon.
Defense Has One Key Alteration
There have been rumours about Matt Dumba leaving the Wild via every method possible for too many years, but now it has finally happened. While the defensive core is basically the same, it is strange to not see the Wild veteran in his normal spot beside his long-time partner Jonas Brodin. Instead, there is a new young face that Wild fans should be fairly familiar with already.
Jake Middleton – Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin – Brock Faber
Alex Goligoski – Calen Addison*
Jon Merrill
Brock Faber will undoubtedly slip right into Dumba’s old spot after the former captain of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers wowed everyone at the end of last season by stepping into the NHL and looking like he not only belonged but was a key piece of the team. He came to the Wild as half of the Kevin Fiala trade with the Los Angeles Kings and looks like he could become a major part of their defensive core for a very long time. Don’t expect a lot of offense from that second pairing, but they will be an elite shutdown line against anyone.
*Calen Addison remains unsigned as of writing this article but is expected to have a new contract shortly.
Same Goalies, Different Starter
Gustavsson’s contract was one of the biggest items on the Wild’s agenda this offseason after the recently acquired youngster had a massive breakout season. His new contract locks him up for three years at an average of $3.75 million per season. Not a bad number for someone that held second place in a bunch of major statistical categories, behind only the Vezina Trophy-winning Linus Ullmark.
Filip Gustavsson – Marc-Andre Fleury
The Wild went into last season knowing full well that Fleury was their starting goalie, and he played great, but being 14 years older than his backup meant he was obviously going to need some help over the course of the season. That gave Gustavsson a solid opportunity to show he could be more than a backup, which is exactly what he did. I don’t think he has fully claimed the role of starter from Fleury but is definitely the 1A in the tandem.
Another Season Means Another Opportunity
There are a lot of people that are pessimistic about the Wild’s chances to be a competitive team this season as they struggle to navigate the $14.7 million in dead cap from the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts, but their roster is better than last season. I don’t think it is realistic to hope for them to be at the top of the Central Division, but they are absolutely a playoff team, and once they are in you never know what can happen, especially with a roster looking as talented at this:
Kirill Kaprizov – Ryan Hartman – Mats Zuccarello
Marcus Johansson – Joel Eriksson Ek – Matt Boldy
Freddy Gaudreau – Marco Rossi – Marcus Foligno
Brandon Duhaime – Connor Dewar – Pat Maroon
Jake Middleton – Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin – Brock Faber
Alex Goligoski – Calen Addison
Jon Merrill
Filip Gustavsson – Marc-Andre Fleury
