ST. PAUL, Minn. — While much of the NHL handed out massive contracts on the opening day of free agency, the Minnesota Wild took a much quieter approach.

Outside of signing goaltender Calvin Pickard to back up Jesper Wallstedt and adding several organizational depth pieces, Minnesota watched three veteran forwards depart without making a splash to replace them.

It's a strategy that has left some fans wondering what comes next, but General Manager Bill Guerin made it clear the Wild never intended to spend simply for the sake of spending.

"It's tough," Guerin said. "It's hard to sit by, and I don't want to say we're not involved. But again, I'm really confident in our team. We're a good team already. I just want to make sure we're doing the right things and not just jumping and taking away all our flexibility and handcuffing ourselves. I still think we're in a good spot. I still like the players we have on our team. We're still very good."

Guerin said Minnesota was active throughout the day and involved in numerous conversations, but ultimately chose not to force a move that didn't fit the organization's long-term plans.

"We've been involved in a lot of different things," Guerin said. "Some didn't work out. Some we backed out of. Some we don't know yet. I can't get into specifics. It's a crazy day. We're doing our thing. It feels a lot like last year. But we have to stay patient. We have to try to get the players we want — not just push the panic button because we didn't do something today."

Still, the Wild have significant production to replace heading into next season.

With Mats Zuccarello signing with the Los Angeles Kings, Marcus Johansson returning to Sweden and Vladimir Tarasenko remaining unsigned, Minnesota has lost 54 goals and 150 points from last year's roster.

Guerin, however, isn't focused on replacing those numbers on paper.

"That was last year," Guerin said. "I get your point. But that was last year. There's no guarantee that was going to happen again next year. There are other players in the league. There are players still available. I don't necessarily look at it like that, because you don't know what's going to happen this year."

Instead, Guerin believes the Wild can continue improving without simply recreating last season's roster.

"We're looking at something a little bit different," Guerin said. "When I mean in the big picture, it's about the team. And sometimes, you go in a different direction. You don't always keep rolling back the same team. We made a step last year, and we really felt we can get better."

"It doesn't mean you go out and get different players. We can get better players, I guess. But we have to continue to make strides as a team and continue to get better. We took a step last year, a big step as a group and we'll continue to get better. And that doesn't always just mean signing different guys or going after sexy free agents."

Whether that patience ultimately pays off remains to be seen.

The Wild still have holes in their top-nine forward group and have yet to replace much of the offensive production lost in free agency.

At the same time, July 1 also marked the first day star defenseman Quinn Hughes became eligible to sign a contract extension with Minnesota, making the organization's long-term salary cap flexibility as important as ever.

But there has been nothing on that front so far.

"Quinn and I have talked a number of times," Guerin said on the discussions. "When the dust settles here, now we can really focus and give our undivided attention to Quinn's situation."

I'm sure Hughes is excited with how day one of free agency went. Especially watching Zuccarello, who had 19 power-play points with Hughes on the team in 47 games, sign with the Kings.

But for now, Guerin is betting that restraint, not reaction, will ultimately leave the Wild in a better position both this season and well beyond it.

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