- Bill Guerin says the Wild cannot be complacent after last season’s second-round exit
- Minnesota lost Zuccarello, Johansson and Tarasenko, then traded for Blake Coleman and Olli Maatta
- Read below for the full Wild outlook, including the goalie mess behind Filip Gustavsson’s hip surgery
Bill Guerin is not letting the Minnesota Wild get comfortable.
Minnesota’s general manager spoke about where his team sits heading into 2026-27, and he told NHL.com’s Wes Crosby that last spring buys nobody anything.
“We had a good year last year. We made a big step. We are a very good team. But the thing we can’t do is just be complacent and be satisfied with what we did last year. We have to look forward and see how we can do better.”
The Wild went 46-24-12, third in the Central and third in the West. They knocked off Dallas in six games for their first playoff series win since 2015, then got run out in five by Colorado in the second round.
Their last trip to a Western Conference Final came in 2003.
So Guerin gutted the supporting cast. Mats Zuccarello signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Kings on July 1, Marcus Johansson left for Farjestad in Sweden, and Vladimir Tarasenko is still unsigned. Those three combined for 53 of the Wild’s 268 goals last season.
Blake Coleman is the answer, or at least the start of one. Minnesota shipped Jake Middleton and three draft picks to Calgary on July 2 for Coleman and defenseman Olli Maatta, and the Wild put him in a new sweater this week:
Coleman talked about what a contender means to him after four straight springs on the couch in Calgary.
“While we loved being in Calgary, it’s been really hard and disappointing to not be in the playoffs the last handful of years. I’ve been fortunate to go on some Cup runs and get a taste of what it feels like to be at the top of the mountain. So I’m really excited about that.”
The top of the roster is why any of this matters. Kirill Kaprizov led the team with 89 points in 78 games and added 15 more in 11 playoff games, and Matt Boldy posted career highs of 42 goals and 85 points.
Quinn Hughes piled up 53 points in 48 games after December’s trade from Vancouver. His extension talks with Guerin are still open.
Then there is the crease. Filip Gustavsson had offseason hip surgery and his availability for the start of the season is in doubt after he went 28-15-6 with a .904 save percentage and faded badly down the stretch.
Jesper Wallstedt is the one who took the net in April. The rookie went 18-9-6 with a 2.61 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage in 35 games, then started 10 of Minnesota’s 11 playoff games. Calvin Pickard signed a one-year, $1 million deal on July 1 to back him up.
Guerin pushed back on the idea that another signing is the only route to a better team.
“A lot of times, getting better doesn’t mean you just go out and get different players. We have to continue to make strides as a team and continue to get better in all areas of our game. That doesn’t always just mean signing different guys or going after the sexy free agent.”
Camp opens next month with the same star power up top and a much thinner second wave behind it.
