Here is why I have this as my opening night roster:

1. I am almost 110% confident that Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi will be making the opening night roster out of training camp. Boldy proved his worth in Iowa in his short stint there, and will be a key cog for this team for years to come, he is ready. Now, even with Rossi missing time due to his COVID related heart condition, I feel incredibly confident that he will also make it out of camp and not need any time in Iowa either. His work ethic on and off the ice is very well documented, and he looked like the same top 10 draft pick we all saw him as in junior at the Olympic qualifier. He will come out at the prospect showcase with CHI and dominate there, and will prove himself even more at the big camp with the big boys and make it.
2. I think that Nico Sturm will get a chance right away to prove himself at camp and show if his flashes last season were a fallacy or the real deal, and slotting him with two hard-working line mates will be his opportunity to show us once and for all his real potential, which I think is more than just a 4th liner.
3. What to do with Victor Rask and Nick Bjugstad? Well, knowing that Bjugstad is a right shot compared to Rask who is left handed, one would think that due to the Wild's lack of right shots that Bjugstad would have the upper hand. I personally think otherwise, and feel that a transition to a less important defensive role for Rask will benefit him on the wing to see his full skill unleashed, whatever that may be. Nick Bjugstad will be the perfect injury replacement/depth forward for the Wild to have, and can slot in just about anywhere fortunately, but I think due to Guerin and Evason's draw to Rask, that Victor has the spot on the 4th line instead of Bjugstad.

Defensively, it is pretty straightforward fortunately, maybe Goligoski and Brodin could flip flop where they play, but I think these are the best fits for each pair. Talbot will be the starter right away, maybe Kahkonen can have a strong run where he gets some more games, but I think his time to show his potential as a starter is starting to run out.

Forward line combinations can easily change, but I feel that Ekker needs a shot to get some bigger minutes with some bigger guns, and that Rossi will fit a top 6 center role just as well as I think he can. If Greenway shows some more flashes on that 3rd line, then I could see him and Boldy being flipped around as well, but for now he needs to show more consistency to get his big shot, as I feel Boldy will step in and have immediate chemistry with Fiala to earn his spot there.

Let me know what you think!

can anyone in Minnesota explain the Parise and Suter Buy outs. you get this year cap space then the next 3 years the buy out is almost identical to their cap number, plus then your paying 2 mil for the next 4 years after.
To me the better idea would be to dump them both in the minors for 4 years or healthy scratch them or trade them 50% retained.

I would disagree on Rossi, but the rest looks pretty good. I think he will require time in Iowa. Italy’s Olympic team is a lot different than the NHL, and while I thought he looked pretty decent there, I didn’t see enough.

Hard to say and training camp can be revealing, but going off his performance against Italy (which is the only game I saw in entirety), I would say he’s not ready.

Dumb GM.

that’s what i think! no replacement level
player is out there for nhl min contract that would play better than those two could. should have eaten the cap hit dealt for 2 more years then bought them out, or let them play out their deal and sign smarter deals next time.

It's not a "dumb GM" thing. His justification is completely valid. You can disagree with the move or not, but you're not the one in charge. As long as he can justify why he does something, it is what it is.

Guerin was of the opinion that the culture and the atmosphere in the locker room would be better without those two in it. He didn't like the type of leadership they brought, and he wanted a change to a new style.

That tournament means nothing. He may not have been playing great competition, but he also didn't have any support from his own team. He's not a player who takes over games like Kaprizov was, or like a McDavid type player. He's very cerebral, very skilled, and he's far more effective at playing his game when others on his line are the same. He plays off his linemates, he's not a one man show. He'll have a chance to show that in camp and the pre-season, and he might get a few NHL games as well, like any normal prospect might. That will be what determines whether he makes it or not. Not any Olympic qualifier games.

I agree that the Olympic qualifier games have absolutely no bearing on his status with the Wild and nor should they, but it’s the only recent barometer I have on which to gauge his level of play. That’s where the majority of my opinion is coming from in that comment.

This is a case where I’d be happy to eat my words, but I only caught that game of the tournament, and I didn’t see enough to convince me he’s ready for the NHL. Even if that’s a terrible environment to go off of, and even if his style of play doesn’t standout in that setting, I still just didn’t see an NHL ready caliber player.

Training camp will be much more telling, but as of today with the info on hand and my judgement of it, I personally don’t see him starting opening night.