NHL: Minnesota Wild – Balance 2024–2025
Minnesota finished the regular season with a record of 45‐30‐7, totaling 97 points. The team finished 4th in the Central Division and 7th in the West Conference, winning a playoff spot. But as too often in recent years, the Wild failed to cross the first round, eliminated in six games by Vegas. Another elimination, for a team that stagnates despite some regularity. Only 4 rounds won since 2001 despite 14 participations.
Key data
- Average age of employment: 28.5 years
- Cap space available (2025–2026) : 9.41 M$
- NHL 2024–2025 ranking: 7th West
Recent movements (since 01/03/2025)
Notable arrivals:
– 30/06: Vladimir Tarasenko (F) 
Significant departures:
– No major departure
Future of franchise
Minnesota – Future draft contracts and picks
The heart of the Wild project today rests on an identified offensive core: Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi. A talented, productive and globally young trio. The objective is clear: to build on this base and capitalize on the collective coherence achieved in recent seasons.
On the contractual front, a major shift is taking place: the massive buy-backs of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter's contracts, which have been on the payroll since 2021, will fall drastically as soon as next season. The relief will be clear: nearly 16 M$ penalties will be eliminated by 2026, freeing up a real margin to adjust the workforce.
The management has already set the first milestones: Jared Spurgeon regained his defensive leadership role after a season tainted by injuries, while Brock Faber established himself as a pillar of the future, rewarded with a long-term extension. The defence therefore seems well oriented.
In attack, the top priority will be to extend Kirill Kaprizov. His contract ended in 2026, and the Front Office publicly affirmed its willingness to keep him at all costs. A long-term signature will strongly condition the future of franchise.
Around these frameworks, young people are beginning to find their place, without meeting all expectations. Rossi remains irregular, Khusnutdinov shows good promises, but the whole still lacks consistency and depth in the lower lines. The freed space cap could allow us to get an offensive reinforcement capable of solidifying the top 6, provided that we aim to be fair.
The basics are there, the framework is laid. It remains to be overcome in order to hope to get out of this cycle of sterile stability.
An in-between to be clarified
Minnesota has been moving forward for several seasons... but without cutting. The team earns enough to remain competitive, but not enough to claim the status of true contender. The wage situation will become healthy again within a year, the executives are installed, but the project seems frozen in a sort of in-between: too structured to revive everything, not armed enough to target the summits.
The stakes of 2025–26 will therefore be decisive. If the current dynamics continue, the steering will have to choose between a real accelerator or a deep readjustment. The balance is fragile, and time will not play forever in their favor.
Key statistic: 25th league attack
With an average of 2.74 goals scored per game, Minnesota ranks in the second half of the league at the offensive level. This figure is not catastrophic, but it illustrates a recurring limit in the game of the Wild: a correct offensive production, without being threatening. The team is able to stand up to any opponent, but regularly lacks edge to rock tight matches.
To take a course, Minnesota will need to increase its ability to score in key moments, especially in series where the intensity rises by one step. A more varied attack, better distributed, is essential to claim something other than elimination in the first round.
Player to follow : Brock Faber (D)
Season oven for Brock Faber = 🔜
Hard to believe hes only 22 years old. #NHLYoungStarsWeek pic.twitter.com/bXwTi9IkSz
— NHL (@NHL) July 15, 2025
NHL on X
At only 22, Brock Faber became one of the defensive pillars of the Wild. After a full first season in NHL, he confirmed all his potential: solid in his area, mature in his playbooks, and able to play for huge minutes without weakening. Its calm, lateral mobility and its sense of anticipation already make it a defender of confidence in all situations.
Minnesota extended it for eight seasons, a structuring contract that installed it as the centrepiece of the defence future of the franchise. In the long term, he is destined to become Jared Spurgeon's natural successor, both on the ice and in leadership.
The 2025–26 season will be an opportunity to take an additional course: Faber will now have to assume broader responsibilities, assert himself as a real top-pair in all circumstances, and contribute more to recovery. Its development is strategic: the more it progresses, the more the Wild can stabilize its game behind... and release its attack ahead.
Objective 2025–2026
Probable Lines Minnesota 2025-2026
Minnesota finally wants to move beyond the "frustrated good student" stage. The objective is clear: to cross a playoff tour and consolidate the defensive gains around Kaprizov. The opening of cap space offers a rare opportunity: it is up to them to turn it into real tangible progress.
Tomorrow, Montreal direction: a reconstruction under way, carried by a promising youth but still in search of consistency.
Photo credit: wallpapersafari.com | kmurray93
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