Four players on the Minnesota Wild earned votes for one of the five major awards last season: Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy for the Selke, Jared Spurgeon for the Norris and Kirill Kaprizov for the Hart. There were a total 55 combined votes handed out between the four with Eriksson Ek receiving 48 of them.
Eriksson Ek received four second-place, 10 third-place, eight fourth-place and 26 fifth-place votes, while Boldy had a fifth-place vote. Spurgeon collected two fourth-place votes and three fifth-place votes. Kaprizov earned a third-place vote.
With training camp less than two weeks away, it's time to look ahead to the upcoming 2023-24 season. We've already made some predictions, looked at milestones to watch and examined what the burning questions are surrounding the Wild. So it's time to figure out which players have the best chance of contending for an award.
Selke Trophy: Joel Eriksson Ek
When it comes to the Selke Trophy, an award for the best defensive forward, it's historically been given to a two-way, penalty-killing top-six center.
Well, Eriksson Ek, who finished ninth in Selke voting last season, fits that mold to a tee. The 26-year-old also finished fourth in the Selke race in 2020-21 and seventh in 2021-22. Eriksson Ek continues to be a two-way force for the Wild, and his offensive production has been on the rise, which definitely helps his case moving forward.
The Swede notched a career-high 61 points last season after 30 in 2020-21 and 49 in 2021-22. It wouldn't be surprising to see him surpass that number in 2023-24 with a full year of Marcus Johansson and Matt Boldy alongside him on the second line.
Eriksson Ek, an agitating physical forechecker, is one of the Wild's most depended on penalty killers and defensive forwards. He often absorbs tough assignments with ease and is relied upon defensively in key situations. Eriksson Ek's 3.8 defensive goals above replacement ranked tied for 28th among NHL forwards who played at least 750 minutes last season, according to Evolving Hockey.
Eriksson Ek played 161 minutes on the penalty kill last year, second to Freddy Gaudreau at 172 among Wild forwards. Eriksson Ek ranked 20th among centers league wide when it came to penalty kill usage, but some above him don't play in the top-six and produce like him offensively. Eriksson Ek is the epitome of an all-situations player as he also played a pivotal role on the power play as the Wild's third-most used player last season.
Looking ahead to 2023-24, the award is up for grabs with Patrice Bergeron now retired. The longtime Bruin won the Selke the past two seasons and six in the past 12 years. There will still be plenty of competition for Eriksson Ek, but he has a shot to be a finalist with his dependable two-way game.
Vezina Trophy: Filip Gustavsson
Gustavsson didn't receive a Vezina vote last season, but he should have, and there's a case to be made that he should have at least finished top five in voting. Gustavsson's numbers and success in 2022-23 is well documented by now. Yet it still seems as though the hockey world hasn't quite given him the recognition he deserves.
Gustavsson, who finished 22-9-7, held the second best save percentage in the league at .931 behind Boston's Linus Ullmark, who won the Vezina. Not only that, but Gustavsson saved 30.4 goals above average (third) and 24.54 goals above expected (seventh) and owned a .921 playoff save percentage. He made a statement in his playoff debut with 51 saves and a .962 save percentage in the Wild's 3-2 Game 1 win.
What made his season more impressive is the fact that he didn't have much of a track record, yet didn't allow a higher workload to hinder him. Instead, he embraced his starts over doubling from 16 in 2021-22 with the Ottawa Senators to 37 in Minnesota by producing some of the best numbers in the league.
So why didn't he earn a vote and why would that change in 2023-24? The answer almost certainly comes down to workload.
Not only did Gustavsson's 37 starts — which ranked 27th league wide — lower his chances, but it was eight fewer starts than his goalie partner Marc-Andre Fleury. That likely played a role in him not garnering any votes because the award has historically gone to a goalie who is a bonafide No. 1 on his team.
However, that could change this season with Gustavsson likely passing Fleury in starts, which therefore could increase his odds at getting attention come voting time if he picks up where he left off.
Hart Trophy: Kirill Kaprizov
There's no player more valuable to the Wild than Kaprizov. The 26-year-old superstar left winger has completely changed the organization's future since the day he arrived on the NHL scene in January 2021. Kaprizov, who has proven to be effective on both ends of the ice, enters Year 4 with three strong seasons (114-120-234 in 203 games) and a Calder Trophy under his belt.
As far as the Hart race goes, Kaprizov finished 15th in his rookie year, seventh in 2021-22 and 17th last season. Kaprizov scored 47 goals (tied fifth) and 108 points (fifth) in 2021-22 when he finished seventh in the race. He reached the 40-goal plateau again last year, but he ended the season with only 75 points due to an injury-riddled 67-game season.
Kaprizov is bound to be a strong contender for the Hart at some point when you consider what he's accomplished despite him not having as much talent around him as other stars in the league. If Kaprizov remains healthy this season and he can build off what he did in 2021-22, he's got a real shot to finish in the top five.
Calder Trophy: Marco Rossi, Brock Faber
One of the major storylines heading into the season is the Wild's two rookies: Faber who is coming off a strong late season stint with the Wild and Rossi who regained his confidence with the Iowa Wild after being sent down to the AHL last November.
Faber already looks like a seasoned top-four defenseman, and Rossi scored 16 goals and 51 points in 53 games for second in Iowa scoring last season.
Both appear poised to be difference-makers in 2023-24, but it would take a massive statement for either to get get significant consideration and beat out the others in this star-studded rookie class. After all, the odds are stacked against them with the likes of Connor Bedard (CHI), Adam Fantilli (CBJ), Logan Cooley (ARI) and Matthew Knies (TOR) in this year's rookie class, to name a few.
With that said, both Rossi and Faber have the potential to rack up some top-5 votes. Faber is expected to slot in alongside Jonas Brodin on the second pair, and Rossi should get a look in the top-six at some point — so opportunity shouldn't be an issue for either of them.
All Data Via Evolving-Hockey, Natural Stat Trick, NHL.com and Hockey-Reference
