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Bill Guerin Unveils Minnesota Wild Offseason Plan
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- Bill Guerin Unveils Minnesota Wild Offseason Plan
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The 2024-25 Minnesota Wild season is over, after losing in round one of what president of hockey operations Bill Guerin dubbed "a competitive series" during his and John Hynes' exit interview press conference with Wild media on Tuesday.
Competitive or not, Guerin and his front office enter the 2025 NHL offseason searching for answers, after yet another first round exit out of the annual postseason tournament. So, where do they hope to find said answers?
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Well, everything the Minnesota Wild do this offseason will stem from a sudden increase in salary cap space, now that Zach Parise and Ryan Suter 's buyout penalties have finally (mostly) fallen off the books .
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Bill Guerin confident Kirill Kaprizov extension will get done
But how high should our expectations be for this offseason? Over the weekend, Michael Russo (The Athletic) projected Minnesota to have approximately $17-18 million in additional cap space to play with, over the next few months. That, after they extend Kirill Kaprizov, something Bill Guerin is confident will get done.
Guerin reiterates he's very confident they'll extend Kaprizov this summer
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) May 6, 2025
Until it is signed, sealed and delivered, Billy did make it clear that Kaprizov's new deal is the organization's top priority. Kirill actually met with media on Monday and he too seemed optimistic that the two sides will find middle ground this summer.
Kirill Kaprizov will be 29 years old next season and his injury history is far from perfect. Nonetheless, he is by far the most talented player to ever skate for the Minnesota Wild and they have no plans of letting him go, no matter what that takes, which is expected to be six years, at about $15 million per season.
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Kaprizov still has one year left on his current deal . The Russian winger ranks 4th in franchise history in goals (185), 11th in assists (201) and 5th in points (386). In 41 games last season, the former fifth round pick totaled 25 goals and 56 total points, but missed most of the second half due to a lower-body injury.
Minnesota Wild plan to add centerman, possibly a winger too
Of course, Kaprizov's extension is far from the only thing on Bill Guerin's offseason to-do list. Right behind him is the need to add a top-6 centerman, and possibly a high-end winger too, if the opportunity were to present itself. Defensemen? Nope, the Wild's president off hockey operations says they are all set on the blue line.
Guerin says they're in the market for centers this offseason. Wouldn't be opposed to a scoring winger. Defense is set
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) May 6, 2025
When asked about 23-year-old Marco Rossi , and why he was pushed down to the fourth line for the NHL Playoffs, Guerin played dumb and made it seem like the lines were so stacked up top that Rossi couldn't squeeze into anything higher than the fourth line, which he felt played well.
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According to Russo, that's not the way Rossi's camp feels. Whether he's willing to admit it or not, the fact that the Wild are looking to add specifically at center this summer proves that Marco probably isn't in their long-term plans.
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If he were, center would not be anywhere near the top of their priority list, being they already roster Rossi and Joel Eriksson Ek . Much like the longtime MN Wild beat writer, it seems pretty clear to me that the end of Marco Rossi's time in St. Paul has come.
