Suter confident he'll be healthy to start next season for Wild

Ryan Suter said he believes he'll be ready for the start of next season after the Minnesota Wild defenseman sustained a foot injury during the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.

Suter left a 3-0 loss in Game 3 against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Place in Edmonton on Thursday with 6:51 remaining in the third period after blocking a shot with his right foot. He missed Game 4, a 5-4 overtime loss Friday that ended Minnesota's season in the best-of-5 series.

Suter previously had surgery on his right ankle to repair a broken talus, causing him to miss the final five games of the 2017-18 season and the Wild's five-game Western Conference First Round loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

"I'm confident that it's not anything near that," Suter said Sunday. "I'm walking on it. We had an MRI up there (in Edmonton, the Western Conference hub city). It was just pretty irritated so you couldn't really see much. I'm confident that I'll be fine."

The 35-year-old defenseman said missing Game 4 was precautionary. Had the Wild forced Game 5 he "sure would have tried" to play.

Minnesota (35-27-7, .558 points percentage) was the No. 10 seed in the West and won Game 1 of its qualifier series before losing three straight. The Wild have a 12.5 percent chance to win the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft during the Second Phase of the NHL Draft Lottery, which will be held Monday (6 p.m. ET; NHLN, NBCSN, SN, TVAS).

"All of a sudden it was just done," captain Mikko Koivu said. "… I guess you didn't really know what to think. It just happened so fast, and what we put up (with) for the last two months or so, and then just finally the puck goes in the net (11 seconds into overtime) and the season is done."

Koivu can become an unrestricted free agent. The 36-year-old forward has played his entire 15-season NHL career with the Wild and has been captain since 2009. He said negotiations on a new contract have not begun and he believes neither party will rush into any decision.

"Of course it has a big impact on my future what they want to do," said Koivu, who is the Wild leader in games (1,028) and points (709). "I don't think it's just that you don't want to play or you do want to play; I think it's about the whole picture. I think if it's just about playing games, I think you want to play and enjoy the game. But I think there's just the whole package that you have to think about, especially now. I've mentioned the COVID now and how it's going to go from here. When are they going to be able to start the season? Are we going to be able to play at our rinks with fans? I think it's all that that I'm trying to think and stay patient with and then make my decision from there."

Goalie Devan Dubnyk said his intention is to reclaim the No. 1 role next season. Alex Stalock emerged as the starter toward the end of the regular season and played the four games in the Cup Qualifier.

Dubnyk was 12-15-2 with a 3.35 goals-against average and an .890 save percentage in 30 games. The 34-year-old has one season left on a six-year contract he signed July 4, 2015.

"I've always tried to approach it like I want to be starting games and put in there because I'm the best option to be in there and I'm giving the guys a chance to win," Dubnyk said. "Obviously this year played out a little bit different than it has in the past. But I'm going to come in next year and mentally be ready to get back to playing and being that best option. That's obviously not saying anything about any other goalies here, just fully expecting and being competitive and being ready to get back to being the guy again."

Suter said he is confident the Wild can be a Stanley Cup contender next season, with a mix of veterans that includes forwards Eric Staal and Zach Parise, and maturing young players, including by forward Kevin Fiala, a 24-year-old who led Minnesota with three goals during the postseason and with 54 points (23 goals, 31 assists) in 64 games during the regular season.

The Wild also will add highly touted forward Video: MIN@SJS: Suter hammers slap shot home off the draw, who signed a two-year, entry-level contract July 13. The 23-year-old is expected to make his NHL debut next season after leading the Kontinental Hockey League in goals the past two seasons.

"I think our team is closer than everyone thinks," Suter said. "I think we're not a flashy team, I think we're more of a team that you have to play as a team to win. And I think we're very close. The last third of the season, I think that's the team you can expect moving forward. It's an exciting team, it's an offensive-minded team, and I don't think we're far off to be honest with you."