{"id":473992,"date":"2025-09-14T08:00:51","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T12:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=473992"},"modified":"2025-09-07T10:32:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T14:32:42","slug":"puck-drop-preview-2025-26-minnesota-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/09\/14\/puck-drop-preview-2025-26-minnesota-wild\/","title":{"rendered":"Puck Drop Preview 2025-26: Minnesota Wild"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last Word on Hockey\u2019s Puck Drop Previews<\/a> are back for the 2025-26 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team\u2019s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We\u2019ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we\u2019re previewing the 2025-26 Minnesota Wild<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 2025-26 Minnesota Wild<\/h2>\n

A 2024-25 Season Recap<\/h3>\n

The Wild finished with 95 points (44\u201337\u20131), sneaking into the postseason on the very last day. They pushed the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> in the first round but bowed out in six games<\/a>, extending a franchise-wide frustration: no series wins since 2015. They were literally a Gustav Nyquist<\/a> offside call away from flipping Game 5, but history doesn\u2019t hand out banners for \u201calmosts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirill Kaprizov<\/a> carried the offence again, while Matt Boldy<\/a> delivered his best playoff performance yet. Marco Rossi<\/a> built on his rookie year with a 60-point season, though his role shrank during the playoffs. On the back end, Brock Faber<\/a> continued to emerge as a cornerstone, while Jonas Brodin<\/a> remained one of the league\u2019s best shutdown defencemen when healthy. Special teams were a mixed bag \u2014 the power play ranked top-10, but the penalty kill lagged. Goaltending was serviceable at times, though Filip Gustavsson<\/a> couldn\u2019t quite stabilize things as consistently as the team needed.<\/p>\n

It was another season of being \u201cclose but not close enough,\u201d and patience in Minnesota is starting to feel like a non-renewable resource.<\/p>\n

2025 Offseason<\/h3>\n

Minnesota\u2019s summer was more about internal resolutions than splashy overhauls. The headliner was Marco Rossi finally signing a three-year, $15 million deal after a brief stalemate. It\u2019s a compromise contract that allows Rossi to bet on himself while giving the Wild stability at centre.<\/p>\n

Externally, Bill Guerin<\/a> opted for marginal upgrades. Vladimir Tarasenko<\/a> was acquired<\/a> with hopes of a late-career rebound, and Nico Sturm<\/a> was added to bolster faceoffs and penalty killing. Departures like Gustav Nyquist and Freddy Gaudreau keep those moves mostly lateral, while the subtraction of Declan Chisholm<\/a> was meant to make room for top prospect Zeev Buium.<\/p>\n

The biggest question looms off the ice: Kirill Kaprizov\u2019s contract future<\/a>. The star winger is approaching the point where Minnesota needs to prove it can contend \u2014 or risk facing uncomfortable decisions. For now, though, Guerin has a more flexible cap sheet than in years past, with the Parise-Suter buyouts finally behind them and $4.4 million still available. Whether that flexibility is used in-season remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

Lineup Projections<\/h3>\n

Forwards<\/h4>\n
\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
LW<\/th>\nC<\/th>\nRW<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Kirill Kaprizov<\/td>\nJoel Eriksson Ek<\/a><\/td>\nMats Zuccarello<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Matt Boldy<\/td>\nMarco Rossi<\/td>\nVladimir Tarasenko<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Marcus Foligno<\/a><\/td>\nDanila Yurov<\/td>\nRyan Hartman<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Liam Ohgren<\/a><\/td>\nNico Sturm<\/td>\nYakov Trenin<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Extras:<\/strong> Marcus Johansson<\/a>,<\/td>\nNicolas Aube-Kubel<\/a><\/td>\nVinnie Hinostroza<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Top Six<\/h4>\n

The top line reunites Kaprizov with Eriksson Ek and Zuccarello, a trio that carried stretches of play last season with defensive stability and offensive flair. Boldy slides to the left to play with Rossi and Tarasenko, creating a trio that could swing Minnesota\u2019s fortunes. If Tarasenko finds even shades of his St. Louis form, this becomes a second line with legitimate punch.<\/p>\n

Bottom Six<\/h4>\n

The third line mixes grit and upside, with Foligno\u2019s physical presence supporting Yurov in his rookie season. Hartman\u2019s versatility helps balance things out. The fourth line brings energy, size, and defensive reliability, with Sturm and Trenin anchoring while Ohgren pushes to prove he belongs full-time. It\u2019s a deeper group than in past seasons, though questions about finishing ability remain.<\/p>\n

Defence<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
LD<\/th>\nRD<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Jake Middleton<\/td>\nBrock Faber<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Zeev Buium<\/td>\nJared Spurgeon<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jonas Brodin<\/td>\nDavid Jiricek<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Extras:<\/strong> Zach Bogosian<\/a><\/td>\nCarson Lambos<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Top Four<\/h4>\n

Brock Faber is the engine on the right side, already a leader and possible future captain. He pairs with Middleton, whose steady game frees Faber to activate offensively. The second pair might be the most fascinating: prized rookie Buium skating alongside veteran captain Jared Spurgeon. It\u2019s a classic youth-veteran pairing designed to speed up Buium\u2019s development while leaning on Spurgeon\u2019s structure.<\/p>\n

Bottom Pair<\/h4>\n

Brodin and Jiricek could form a third pairing with as much upside as some teams\u2019 second pairs \u2014 assuming health cooperates. Brodin is still one of the NHL\u2019s premier shutdown defenders, while Jiricek has the pedigree and tools to become a long-term partner in the top four. Depth veterans Bogosian and Johnson are on hand for insurance, though the Wild clearly want the kids to run with these roles.<\/p>\n

Goalies<\/h4>\n

Starter<\/strong>: Filip Gustavsson
\nBackup:<\/strong> Jesper Wallstedt<\/a><\/p>\n

The net remains Gustavsson\u2019s, but the future is now with Wallstedt pushing for NHL time. Expect more of a tandem approach, with Wallstedt seeing consistent starts in back-to-backs and busy stretches. If Gustavsson rediscovers his 2022-23 form, Minnesota\u2019s ceiling rises considerably. If not, the torch could pass to Wallstedt sooner than expected.<\/p>\n

Players to Watch<\/h3>\n

Marco Rossi<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fresh off signing his three-year extension, Rossi enters camp as a locked-in top-six centre. He followed a 40-point rookie year with 60 points in 2024-25, showing steady growth. How he handles tougher matchups and bigger minutes will go a long way toward stabilizing Minnesota\u2019s forward group.<\/p>\n

Zeev Buium<\/strong><\/p>\n

The crown jewel of the prospect pipeline, Buium is expected to step straight into the top four. His skating and poise with the puck give the Wild a dimension they\u2019ve lacked. If he adapts quickly, Minnesota\u2019s defence goes from steady to dynamic.<\/p>\n

Prediction for the 2025-26 Minnesota Wild<\/h3>\n

The Wild are balanced on the edge of promise and pressure. They have one of the league\u2019s best players in Kaprizov, a deepening young core in Rossi, Boldy, Faber, Buium, and Yurov, and a goaltending tandem that could stabilize at last. The return of Brodin and Spurgeon gives them defensive structure, and there\u2019s more lineup depth than in recent years.<\/p>\n

But the challenges remain stark: winning a playoff round for the first time in a decade, and convincing Kaprizov that this is the place to do it long-term. A daunting Western Conference doesn\u2019t make that task easier.<\/p>\n

Expect Minnesota to be in the thick of the playoff race, likely falling somewhere between 95 and 100 points. They have the roster to end their first-round curse \u2014 but until they actually do it, skepticism will linger. This season will define not just where the Wild stand, but where they\u2019re going.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Jeff Curry- Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Word on Hockey\u2019s Puck Drop Previews are back for the 2025-26 season! As the regular season approaches, Last Word will preview each team\u2019s current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming year. We\u2019ll also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we\u2019re previewing the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5399,"featured_media":456868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30,4547,4548,4524],"tags":[3175,5035,2393,4240,6012,5708,7916],"class_list":["post-473992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wild","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","tag-bill-guerin","tag-brock-faber","tag-kirill-kaprizov","tag-marco-rossi","tag-minnesota-wild-predictions","tag-puck-drop-preview","tag-zeev-buium"],"modified_by":"Andrew Willis","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5399"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473992"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473992\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":474004,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473992\/revisions\/474004"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}