5 Burning Questions Facing Minnesota Wild In 2023-24

Welcome to this three-part series looking at five questions facing the Wild, five predictions for 2023-24 and five major takeaways from the offseason

The Minnesota Wild will enter the next two seasons with about $14.75 million in cap charges from the Zach Parise-Ryan Suter buyouts, as if the roughly $12.75 million in dead cap last season wasn't difficult enough. 

So the most burning question at hand should be: How far can the Wild go with their financial limitations?

The Wild saw all of Matt Dumba, Sam Steel and Ryan Reaves, as well as trade deadline additions John Klingberg, Gustav Nyquist and Oskar Sundqvist, depart to free agency. And their only offseason addition has been the acquisition of Pat Maroon, who came from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a seventh-round pick in July. 

The Wild will rely on goaltending, depth, familiarity and youngsters like Marco Rossi, Brock Faber and Calen Addison this season, so time will tell.

With this in mind, what are five questions surrounding the Wild?

Rossi looked ready a year ago when he notched six points in three preseason games with the Wild and made the team out of training camp. But he wasn't quite ready and found himself in AHL Iowa last November, a demotion that came as a result of recording one point in 19 NHL games. 

Rossi regained his confidence and game in Iowa, scoring 16 goals and 51 points in 53 games. That's a 22-goal and 69-point pace over a full 72-game AHL season. He proved to be a difference-maker in all situations, and then Iowa head coach Tim Army called Rossi's play "outstanding."

"He's come down to Iowa and done everything we've asked," Iowa Wild GM and Wild director of hockey operations Mike Murray told me in an exclusive interview in March. "He's done just what we've wanted to see from an on-ice perspective."

Rossi, who has spent a majority of the offseason here training, told me in March he was "ready" for whenever his next opportunity with the Wild would be. Well, that time is now. Rossi is expected to make the team again this upcoming season and will have an opportunity to prove himself. 

At some point this season, he will likely find himself centering one of the top lines in an elevated role on the center-starved Wild. It would be huge for the Wild if he becomes an impact player this season given their lack of center depth and financial limitations.

The Wild signed Gustavsson to a three-year contract extension worth $3.75 million annually in late July after a breakout season in his first year in Minnesota, which also avoided salary arbitration. The acquisition of the Swede is one of Bill Guerin's best trades since becoming Wild general manager in 2019.

Gustavsson finished the season with a 22-8-7 record and three shutouts in 37 starts. The Wild didn't have a bonafide starter last season with Fleury (45 starts) and Gustavsson (37 starts) splitting the job, but will that change this season?

Gustavsson's numbers were at the top of the league last season: his .931 save percentage ranked second behind only Boston's Linus Ullmark and his 24.54 goals saved above expected ranked seventh, according to Evolving-Hockey. Despite this, his $3.75 million AAV is the 29th highest in the league — making his contract a bargain. 

The 25-year-old has shown he's capable of being a No. 1 starter, but he will need to prove it again in the 2023-24 season, where he will likely see his starts significantly increase. The question is not only how many starts will he get, but whether he can solidify his position as the starter.

The Wild saw Marcus Foligno and Ryan Hartman set career highs in 2021-22. Foligno scored 23 goals and 42 points, while Hartman notched 34 goals and 65 points on the top line with Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. Both of them, who are valuable for their own reasons, proved they had more offense than what they showed in the past.

But both regressed and dealt with injuries during the 2022-23 campaign. Foligno found himself sidelined on several occasions last season and finished the year with seven goals and 21 points. Meanwhile Hartman, who scored 15 goals and 37 points, missed 23 games last season. He missed all of November and didn't return to action until Dec. 18 after injuring his shoulder in a fight on Oct. 30.

The Wild need them both to be healthy and have a productive rebound in 2023-24, which is especially true given the Wild are cap strapped. Both Foligno and Hartman will be extra motivated though since they're entering the final year of their contracts. 

Marcus Johansson is thriving in his second stint in Minnesota after the Wild acquired him in late February from the Washington Capitals for a third-round pick in 2024. His blend of speed and skill instantly gave the Wild a boost and helped jumpstart Matt Boldy, who scored 23 points in 20 games following Johansson's arrival.

Johansson scored six goals and 18 points in 20 games after his arrival and potted two playoff goals. The soon-to-be 33-year-old held an on-ice 57.10 percent expected goals rate in all situations in Minnesota, according to Natural Stat Trick. 

The Wild awarded the veteran winger with a two-year contract extension in early May. Now the Wild need him to pick up this season right where he left off last season and continue to be an asset in the top six amid their tight financial situation.

Calen Addison's season proved to be a mixed bag and one of the most controversial on the Wild. On one hand, Addison, who is still without a contract as of Aug. 25, proved to be an asset at the blue line on the power play and showcased his offensive potential.

There's a reason he led the entire rookie class with 18 power play points despite playing only 62 games and finished third behind Owen Power (35) and Jake Sanderson (32) with 29 overall points among rookie defenders. 

On the other hand, the Wild wanted to see more defensively from the 23-year-old. Addison played just six of the final 21 games of the season and found himself routinely scratched and further down the depth chart after the Wild acquired John Klingberg from the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline.

The Wild need Addison on the power play, but they also need him to be responsible in his own end. So this upcoming season will be a test of how he responds to what transpired last season, especially with his spot less in question after the departures of Matt Dumba and Klingberg.

Required Reading

• Wild Milestones To Watch During 2023-24 season

• Guerin's Four-Year Anniversary As Wild GM: What Are His Best Moves?

• Heading Into Year Five Of Bill Guerin's Tenure As Wild GM: Culture Change And Prospect Pool Among the Best