Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin could pull off an unprecedented achievement in 2026 – leading the Wild to a Stanley Cup win, and putting together a U.S. team that wins an OIympic gold medal in the same calendar year. Can Guerin's two teams thrive in two ultimate high-pressure challenges?
With the 2026 Winter Olympics now here, Team USA GM Bill Guerin could pull off an unprecedented feat – winning gold at the Games, and then winning a Stanley Cup with his Minnesota Wild team in the same calendar year.
That may sound like a tall task – and it is –, but when you look at the teams Guerin has assembled, the possibility of thriving in two different high-pressure situations is something that’s clearly not out of the question for his teams.
To be sure, Guerin has put together an American team that this writer believes should be the co-favorite to win Olympic gold. The Canadian team is indeed going to give the U.S. a run for its money, but let’s not forget that, at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, the team that Guerin created came within one overtime goal of winning that best-on-best tournament.
At the Olympics, Guerin has an embarrassment of riches to draw upon, and few will be surprised if the Americans beat all their opponents and win gold for the first time since the “Miracle on Ice” team that won it all in 1980.
The U.S. has won two silver medals since then, but in both instances – in 2002, and again in 2010 – they lost the gold medal game to Team Canada. So Guerin’s task is clear – outlast the Canadians, and you have as good a chance at winning gold as any other country.
Meanwhile, Minnesota struggled coming out of the gate, posting a 3-6-3 record through the end of October. But since then, the Wild have gone 31-8-7, and they now sit in second place in the highly competitive Central Division, just five standings points back of the first-place Colorado Avalanche.
Given the Avs’ incredible start to the season, the Wild catching up to them is an amazing accomplishment. But Wild players all know they aren’t done yet, and nothing less than a deep post-season run is going to justify Guerin’s investment in them.
That brings us to another fact that will put Guerin in the spotlight – he’s going to be the belle of the ball at the NHL’s March 6 trade deadline. If he so chooses, Guerin could get a massive trade package for dynamic young goaltender Jesper Wallstedt.
However, you’d better believe Guerin isn’t just going to be a notable seller at the deadline. The reality is that the Wild have approximately $8.8-million in salary cap space – a total that rises to $14.5 million if Guerin waits until the deadline to use it. That means he can not only get a king’s ransom for Wallstedt, but he can also acquire at least one veteran needle-mover to load up for a deep post-season run.
Let’s say Guerin runs the table and wins Olympic gold and a Cup – at that point, you basically have to drive him up to the front door of the Hockey Hall of Fame and welcome him in, right? Current Team Canada and St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong has already won a Cup and two gold medals, making enshrinement in the Hall of Fame a guarantee for him.
But Armstrong didn’t achieve that in the same season, and that’s what makes Guerin’s potential accomplishment so special. In one calendar year, he has the chance to make Americans giddy with glee, and he has the chance to do the same for long-suffering Minnesotans who haven’t seen the Wild make it out of the first round since 2014-15, let alone win a Cup.
Guerin has two Cups he earned as a player, but being the architect of two championship teams in the same 12-month span would be an incredible feat – and one that may never be accomplished again. Fans of America and the Wild are hoping Guerin has come up with the right rosters to win it all, and nobody should be betting against him.
There’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity ahead for Guerin and his teams. If he does pull off an Olympic gold performance and a Cup win, he’s going to be regarded as one of the best GMs of all time.
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