Minnesota Wild Season Preview

The Wild had a great regular season but with Bruce Boudreau coaching with his limited playoff success, they were bounced out in the first round by the Blues. The team may have gotten a bit
worse over the off season as they had to trade players to get cap space to allow the signings of their young stars. The Wild may not have the same regular season success as last year but they should still make the playoffs as a wildcard team.

Arrivals/Departures

Arrivals: Tyler Ennis, Marcus Foligno, Kyle Quincey, Ryan Murphy, Landon Ferraro, Cal O'Reilly, Kyle Rau, Niklas Svedberg
Departures: Martin Hanzal, Marco Scandella, Jason Pominville, Erik Haula, Darcy Kuemper, Jordan Schroeder, Christian Folin, Ryan White, Tyler Graovac, Nate Prosser, Zac Dalpe, Alex Tuch



Forwards:

Mikael Granlund broke out last season after a disappointing four NHL seasons, doubling his goal total from the year before as well as putting up 69 points. Zach Parise struggled last year and is no longer the 70-plus point producer he once was but he can still be a very good top-six forward. Mikko Koivu has been a solid two-way contributor for years in Minnesota and as the captain he should continue in this role. Charlie Coyle has also turned into a scoring threat on the top six as he finished with a career high 56 points playing with an edge to his game. Nino Niederreiter has also started to live up to the hype that surrounded him when he was drafted as he crushed his career high in points putting up 25 goals and 57 points. Eric Staal rejuvenated his career in his first year with the Wild as he returned to form after some down years. Those will be the top six forwards, the only question surrounding the group is who will play where, as many of them can play all three forward positions. Jason Zucker had the best year of his career in 2016-17 as he finished near the top of the league in plus minus while contributing offensively too. Tyler Ennis was part of the Wild's big trade over the summer; after two injury-riddled seasons, Ennis will look to get back to the form he showed three seasons ago. The Wild's top prospect in the organization is Joel Eriksson Ek and since Erik Haula left via the expansion draft he should replace him as a third-line scoring threat at center. Chris Stewart is a great fourth-line forward as he plays with an edge and can score goals. Marcus Foligno will be the other fourth-line winger alongside Stewart and he also plays physical giving the Wild two very good fourth-line wingers. The fourth-line center spot is open to whoever steps up and takes it; most likely Landon Ferraro but Cal O'Reilly will also compete for the spot.



Defenceman:

Ryan Suter is still one of the best defencemen in the NHL as he shuts down opposing team's best players while putting up points. Suter also finished with a very impressive +34 considering he plays almost every shift vs the other team's top players. Jared Spurgeon will likely be Suter's partner on defence as he too put up a very impressive plus minus with +33. Jonas Brodin will be the staple of the second pair as his game is focused primarily on stopping the other team rather than contributing on offence. Mathew Dumba is the Wild's best up-and-coming defenceman and at only 23 years old, he already plays big minutes and produces points; with Scandella gone his numbers should improve some more. Veteran Kyle Quincey will play on the bottom pair to provide some leadership and to help mentor whatever young defencemen will join him. Ryan Murphy, Mike Reilly and Gustav Olofsson will all compete for the final spot on the defence capping off a very deep and strong defence.



Goaltending:

Devan Dubnyk has turned his career around since joining the Wild after some down years with the Oilers and multiple teams, turning into one of the league's most reliable goalies. If Dubnyk can continue his play, he could single handily propel the Wild to the playoffs. The backup situation could be bad as Alex Stalock's last tenure in the NHL did not go well with the Sharks.

Projected Lineup:

Zach Parise	Mikko Koivu	Charlie Coyle
Mikael Granlund	Eric Staal	Nino Niederreiter
Jason Zucker	Joel Eriksson Ek	Tyler Ennis
Marcus Foligno	Landon Ferraro	Chris Stewart
Kurtis Gabriel	Cal O'Reilly	Christoph Bertschy

Ryan Suter	Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin	Mathew Dumba
Kyle Quincey	Ryan Murphy
Mike Reilly	Gustav Olofsson

Devan Dubnyk

Alex Stalock

Niklas Svedberg

Top 10 Players:

10. Jared Spurgeon

9. Jonas Brodin

8. Nino Niederreiter

7. Eric Staal

6. Charlie Coyle

5. Devan Dubnyk



4. Zach Parise

3. Mikko Koivu

2. Mikael Granlund

1. Ryan Suter

Projected Finish: 99 Points (4th in Central)
Last Year: 106 Points (2nd in Central)

Photo credit for Tyler Ennis goes to https://www.thestar.com/. Zach Parise and Ryan Suter goes to http://www.foxsports.com/. Devan Dubnyk goes to http://www.nbcsports.com/nhl.