Inside look at Minnesota Wild

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the Minnesota Wild.

The Minnesota Wild are aiming for a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after failing to qualify for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

"I think we certainly have the players in place that there's no reason we can't make the playoffs," general manager Bill Guerin said. "We need to get off to a better start. We have the players that have the capability to produce offensively. But we need to be ready to go at the drop of the puck, game No. 1."

Minnesota (39-34-9) finished sixth in the Central Division last season after struggling early; they fired coach Dean Evason on Nov. 27 following a seven-game skid (0-5-2) that had them at 5-10-4 through 19 games. He was replaced by John Hynes, who began with a four-game winning streak and guided the Wild back into the Stanley Cup Playoff race, but they finished 11 points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild card from the Western Conference.

"You look back on the past season, Kirill [Kaprizov] had six goals when we made the coaching change. Matt Boldy had one," Guerin said of the forwards, who finished with 46 and 29 goals, respectively. "John came in and really reignited a lot of pieces. And I have no doubt that will continue now that he'll have a full camp and [he’s] starting the year.”

The Wild head toward training camp with largely the same roster. They added forward Yakov Trenin (6-foot-2, 201 pounds) via free agency, signing the 27-year-old to a four-year contract July 1. Trenin had 17 points (12 goals, five assists) and an NHL career-high 207 hits in 76 games with the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche last season, and one goal in 10 playoff games for the Avalanche.

"When you think particularly at our team, our 9-12 forwards, we felt we had to have more of an identity -- more speed, bigger, stronger, faster,” Hynes said. “Guys that can play with an edge, guys that can tilt the ice, guys that bring energy to your team with the way that they play. That's certainly something that he brings, so we're excited to have him, as well."

Minnesota also added forward Jakub Lauko (6-1, 193), who was traded from the Boston Bruins on June 29 with a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft for forward Vinni Lettieri and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft. Lauko, 24, had 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 60 games with the Bruins last season and one goal in five playoff games.

The Wild also signed a couple of their existing players to new contracts. Defenseman Jake Middleton, 28, signed a four-year contract July 3, and defenseman Brock Faber, 21, signed an eight-year deal July 29. Each contract will begin next season.

Faber played all 82 games last season and had 47 points (eight goals, 39 assists). Among NHL rookies, he was first in average ice time per game (24:58), tied with Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks for second in assists and tied with Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils for second in points, behind Bedard (61). He had the most points by a rookie defenseman in Wild history and the second-most in their history among rookies overall, behind Kaprizov (51 in 2020-21).

Faber finished second to Bedard in voting for the Calder Trophy, awarded to the NHL rookie of the year.

"It's extremely important to identify who you think is going to be a part of your foundation going forward," Guerin said. "It's a no-brainer that Brock is going to be one of those guys, and we wanted to lock him up. This is about winning. This is about giving us the best chance to win the Stanley Cup and locking up good young players with mature games [who are] dedicated to the team, [who] think about the team first. That's what's important. And we feel we have somebody here that does that."

Guerin also likes the fact that captain Jared Spurgeon, who was limited to 16 games last season because of injuries, will be returning to boost the defenseman corps.

The GM said that if the Wild can return to their identity, they can get back to the playoffs.

"I still feel that we have guys that can score. … We need to get harder, grittier, and we need guys to have bounce-back years, no question,” Guerin said. “But I think they have it in them.”