ST. PAUL, Minn - In October before the 2024-25 season, Minnesota Wild owner said July 1st would be Christmas. With a lot of fireworks. It will be the first time the Wild will enter free agency without the huge buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.
A day before free agency, the Wild have acquired forward Vladimir Tarasenko from the Detroit Red Wings for future considerations.
"Next July 1 is going to be like Christmas. We're going to have money available. We're going to have the resources available to do what we need to do to get back to Wild hockey. And we're looking forward to that," Wild owner Craig Leipold said in October. "We look at who could be available next year. You're going to ask me, who are those players? I won't tell you. But we know who they are, and we don't know whether they'll end up signing with their current teams or they become UFAS. But we've got a list, and if they're available, we're going to go after them.
"We feel like we're going to be able to get one or two really good players to add on to this team. Obviously, you guys know that we've been developing players so well, and we're excited about our new guys. Next year we think we'll have a couple new players join us. So we think the years after that are going to be a very long window that we're going to be competitive."
It seems like the players the Wild had originally identified as potential fits will not be there on July 1. So they have pivoted to different plans. Like acquiring Tarasenko who has one year left on his contract.
Tarasenko, 33, recorded 11 goals and 33 points during the 2024-25 season with the Red Wings and is set to be the Wild's second line winger for the 2025-26 season.
The veteran forward is making $4.75 million for the upcoming season and has recorded 304 goals, 358 assists, and 662 points in 831 career NHL games.
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