Next summer, the Wild will have $8.3M in cap space including Hertl's extension at $7.5M and the salary cap ceiling increasing to $82.5M. They will have some major decisions to make regarding players like Fiala, Greenway and Dumba. They will also have to replace Goligoski in the top 4 unless he resigns on a really team friendly deal. He will be 37 next year, so maybe the smartest thing would be to move on from him anyways. Zucarello is interesting as well. Next summer, his NMC changes to a M-NTC that includes him selecting a 10 team no-trade list. He is due a $3M signing bonus on the first day of free agency, but after that his salary in ''only'' $4.5M for that season, and the year after he is due a signing bonus of $2M with his salary only being $3M. Zuccarello is a very popular guy, and I am sure Wild fans would be sad to see him go, but I think if there is a possibility to move him so that you can keep both Fiala and Greenway, you do it. His contract is actually not as untradeable as many think. If the Wild have him on the books for when the signing bonus is due at the start of next free agency, he will ''only'' be due $9.5M in actual dollars while his AAV over the remainder of his contract is $12M combined. For teams with a lot of cap space, that might be interesting. I would assume that his M-NTC would include all Canadian teams, as that usually is what players include on those types of clauses. The three remaining ones would likely be Arizona, Buffalo and Detroit. This could very well change if one of these teams drastically becomes better and an interesting destination. I look at a team like Anaheim as a possible suitor for Zuccarello. They will most likely trade both Rakell and Manson at the TDL, which means that the only big contract they have to sign next summer will be Lindholm. Their projected cap hit next season is only $37M which is close to being $25M under the floor. The Ducks would definitely be able to fit Zuccarello on their roster if the Wild gave them something as a sweetener to take him.
Rossi is someone that likely makes the team next year. He will most likely get the chance to start the season as the WIld's 3C. Hertl and Eriksson Ek will take pressure off him playing the heavier minutes, so he should be able to find his way in the NHL pretty quickly I imagine. Another detail which I think is worth mentioning is that I don't think Minnesota will burn a year on his contract this up coming season. He will likely get a few games to get a taste of the NHL, but not enough to burn a year off his deal. It will be crucial as he potentially could be a player with big impact during the years when the Parise/Suter buyouts will be expensive.
Next summer the Wild have to address the following things:
- Is it possible to move Zuccarello?
- What to do with Dumba?
- Resigning Fiala.
- Resigning Greenway.
- Sign a top four LD.
- Solve backup situation.
If the Wild can move Zuccarello, I really think they should, even if it costs a good prospect/pick. That would free up $6M in cap space which would increase their cap flexibility to $14.3M. I also think they should try to move Dumba if Addison impresses and is ready for a top four role. He could be partnered with one of the best defensive defenseman in the league in Brodin. The Wild would likely get some nice assets back for Dumba as he is a right shot, top four defenseman, something that is very attractive for many teams around the league. I am looking at a team like Washington that likely will want to replace Schultz, or Carolina if the Deangelo experiment doesn't work. Dallas could also be a suitor if Klingberg prices himself out there, and even Toronto if Rielly does the same. if the Wild manage to move both Zuccarelo and Dumba, they will be left with $20.3M in cap space.
Fiala's cap hit would likely come in at around $6M, just like Zuccarello is on now. I am not going to speculate too much into how many years the deal will be, but it will definitely cover them for those 3 years when the Parise/Suter buyouts become really costly. If the Wild can't move Zuccarello, then Fiala most likely is gone, which again would mean that Minnesota would gain valuable assets.
I am not sure what a potential Greenway contract would look like, but I think something around the $3.5M range. The contract would also cover the Wild for those 3 years when the buyout money spikes.
The Wild would in this situation be left with $10.8M to sign a top four LD, sign a backup, sign two fourth liners, a third pair RD and three depth players. The depth players are easy. one defenseman and two forwards for league minimum would combined cost $2.25M. The two fourth liners which could be Sturm and Bjugstad would likely come in at a combined cost of $2M. The third pairing RD could cost anywhere from league minimum to $1.25M in my opinion. If you add all this up the Wild would be left with $5.3M to find a top four LD and a backup. I would imagine that the wild try to resign Kähkönen as him and Wallstedt are their future in this position. I could see them giving him up to $2.3M for maybe three years which would leave them with pretty much exactly $3M to find that defenseman. I don't think Lambos will be ready yet, so I could se them spending that on someone from free agency or someone they acquired via a trade.
The Wild's potential lineup in 2022-2023 could be:
{Let me know what you think. Should Minnesota go after Hertl?}
If that's what it costs for Hertl and Kaprizov, hell, yeah.
I'm biased as Khus was my pick for SJ last year in the 1st round and Beckman is a really underrated prospect. The 1st might be lower first round but its a super deep draft.
McDavid, Connor
250 000 $)
BallPuckFellow10, OldNYIfan et yikes a aimé ceci.
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