Q&A With Wild GM Bill Guerin: Rising Salary Cap Puts 'Even More Importance On Drafting'

The GM of the Minnesota Wild and the American men's Olympic hockey team ranks 91st among the 100 People of Power & Influence in hockey.

Bill Guerin, 55, is under pressure to get Team USA to gold for the first time since 1980. He also awarded the biggest contract in NHL history to Kirill Kaprizov in September.

This all comes after winning two Stanley Cup championships in an 18-season NHL playing career, a silver medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics and a gold medal at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. Guerin's playing accomplishments had him inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2013.

Ryan Kennedy spoke with Guerin ahead of The Hockey News' Money & Power 2026 hockey business annual, released in early January.

THE HOCKEY NEWS: When you're dealing with such an important player as Kirill Kaprizov, how does it impact how you approach a new contract extension? Because if you look at the potential UFA market, the McDavids and Eichels are already off the board, re-signing after Kaprizov did. What do you think about locking down somebody that clearly would have had interest from every other team in the NHL?

BILL GUERIN: That's it. When you have players like this, you really don't want to let them go. They're almost impossible to replace because, "where can you get somebody that does what they do?"

That's why I think you saw everybody jump to sign their guys. The cap went up, and for the first time ever, we know what the cap is going to be for the next three years. With Kirill, we wanted to keep him and just had to go through the process of doing it.

THN: Having that cap certainty, how does that change team-building? If you're keeping your guys, everybody else is probably keeping theirs. Does the draft become more important? Do we get more "hockey trades" instead of a player for a pick and a prospect? How does the rising cap change the job of a GM in the coming years?

BG: It doesn't seem like we're going to have these huge pools of UFAs, so it puts even more importance on drafting. You'll have to rely on that.

We thought, in Minnesota, coming out of our big cap crunch, that we would have a field day on Day 1 of free agency, and that didn't happen because there were no free agents. Everybody signed their guys. It was definitely a much different landscape than what we were used to and what we were expecting. But we all know now. You have to plan, you have to draft and, if you make a trade, you have to do the best you can.

THN: This just occurred to me, does this make offer sheets even more rare than before, or will teams try to find leverage where they can?

BG: You'll see teams finding leverage when they can; it might not just be as apparent as before. You always try to find an advantage somewhere, whether it's a trade or an offer sheet. Teams will at least have to look. Whether they can pull it off is another thing.

THN: I did want to ask you about the Parise-Suter buyouts. You knew at the time there would be short-term pain, and you are now out of the big pain. What did you learn in those years, navigating that dead cap space and putting out a team that could compete?

BG: I have a great staff in so many different ways. I felt so confident that we could operate in that situation, and you learn how to get the most for your money. We looked at where we could find value in players, and maybe, at certain times, you don't have to hit a home run. You can hit a single or a double and impact your team in a positive way.

THN: In terms of how you've drafted, does it help getting prospects who can come in and contribute on entry-level deals?

BG: Yes, and every team strives to have that. Those guys allow you to go out and get a free agent or pay other guys a little more while still having a huge impact on your team. Drafting is so critical for us. I don't know if I can stress that enough. You're not going to bat 1.000 – we're betting on kids – but it's just so, so important.

THN: Moving on to the Olympics, a lot of the players said before the season that they were concentrating on their NHL team because a good start would help them make a good impression for the Olympics. You didn't have that luxury because you had to think about building both the Wild and Team USA. How have you balanced those duties?

BG: Honestly, I have a lot of help. I have Tom Fitzgerald, Chris Drury, Bill Zito, Stan Bowman and Chris Kelleher helping me. That's the main thing: to have good people around you to do the legwork and help make decisions.

THN: How different is the roster is in your head now (late in 2025) versus back in the summer?

BG: It could be up to five guys. We just don't know. A big part is injuries. We have to keep a tight watch on that.

THN: Having played at multiple Olympics yourself, how excited are you for this year?

BG: Oh, I can't wait. The whole hockey world has been waiting for this for so long, not just USA and Canada. It's going to be awesome.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.