Matt Boldy scored 29 goals last year, does he have a 40-goal season in him?
Matt Boldy scored 29 goals last year, does he have a 40-goal season in him?
ST. PAUL - Matt Boldy scored 29 goals last year and 31 one the year before. He has 75 goals in his first 203 NHL games in his career. He finished the season with three goals and nine points in the last six games.
The question becomes, could Boldy become a 40-goal scorer in his career with the Minnesota Wild?
Boldy, 23, has shown us he can score 30. His first season in the NHL, Boldy started the year in Iowa. After he was recalled he scored 15 goals in 47 games. That is an 82-game pace of 26 goals.
In his first full season Boldy recorded 31 goals, 32 assists, and 63 points in 81 games. He signed a seven-year contract extension in January of the 2022-23 season worth seven million a year.
In his first year of his contract, Boldy recorded 29 goals, 40 assists, and 69 points in 75 games. He started the year with only one goal in the first 12 games but once John Hynes took over as the head coach Boldy took off.
He recorded 28 goals, 33 assists, and 61 points under Hynes in 63 games. If you scale that to a 82-game season Boldy would have had 36 goals, 43 assists, and 79 points. He averaged 19:05 of ice time under Hynes and 17:58 under Dean Evason.
According to Evolving Hockey, Boldy is projected to finish the 2024-25 season with a higher GAR (Goals above replacement) than Kirill Kaprizov.
Boldy had a ixG (individual expected goals) total of 28.1 last year and scored 29. He is projected to have a 31.3 ixG for next year. Based on GAR, Boldy will score 32 goals next year and based on ixG Boldy will score 37 next year.
It is safe to say in a 75-82 game season next year, with the minutes he played under Hynes stretched to a full season, you should expect Boldy to finish the season with more than 30 goals.
Could he reach 40 next year? Or is 32-37 a better projection? Tell us here!
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