Offseason Review: Minnesota Wild

Now that the dust has settled on a wild NHL offseason, let's take a look at how each team did in regards to drafting and free-agent signings. Today, we'll look at the Minnesota Wild.

The biggest task the Wild have this offseason has yet to be dealt with. The team's top player and Calder Trophy winner, Kirill Kaprizov, has yet to be signed to a new contract. The Wild's future currently hangs on the head of this one young player, who looks to be a star in the making in the NHL. However, as of right now, the only team that has managed to agree to terms with him is CSKA Moscow of the KHL, who have signed the 24-year old to a tentative one-year agreement with an NHL out clause. Wild GM Bill Guerin is apparently unfazed by this potential outcome and is confident the team will be able to sign Kaprizov before the start of training camp. However, the uncertainty surrounding Kaprisov has made it difficult for the Wild to get in on the free-agent market. They need money set aside for the star rookie. With that said, let's see how the Wild's offseason has played out so far.

Free Agency:

The other biggest free agent the Wild needed to lock up was Kevin Fiala, who was signed to a one-year deal just a few days ago. They also managed to sign Joel Eriksson Ek for eight years and Nick Bjugstad to a one-year deal. With them locked up, the focus can turn solely toward Kaprizov. However, the Wild did some other free agent work when the market first opened. They signed forward Frederick Gaudreau to a two-year contract, along with defenceman Dimitri Kulikov. They also signed Dmen Jon Merrill and Alex Goligoski for one year. 

All other signings were on two-way deals, with players including Andrew Hammond, Kyle Rau, Jon Lizotte, Dominic Turgeon, Kevin Czuczman, and Will Bitten getting one-year contracts. Mason Shaw, Brandon Duhaime, Joe Hicketts, Dakota Mermis, and Joseph Cramarossa were signed to two-year deals. The Wild are also reportedly in on the Jack Eichel sweepstakes, although their main priority will still be signing Kaprizov.

Grade: C; Keeping Fiala and Eriksson Ek was essential for the Wild to remain competitive, but their main priority this summer was locking up Kaprizov, which still hasn't been dealt with. Any other signing the team made only means so much with their star player's return being in question.

Draft:

The Wild managed to land an extra pick in this year's first-round, which was included in the return from Pittsburgh in exchange for Jason Zucker. The Wild felt comfortable enough with their two first-rounders that they used one to trade up in the draft, sacrificing a third-round pick in the exchange with Edmonton that allowed Minnesota to jump from 22nd to 20th overall. With that pick, the Wild selected goaltender Jesper Wallstedt. Wallstedt was projected to go in the top 10 this year, thought to be the best goaltender available in this draft, and one of the best to come out of Sweden in many years. However, Wallstedt fell all the way to 20th, watching fellow goaltending prospect Sebastian Cossa get picked ahead of him at 15th. The Wild saw this and couldn't pass up the opportunity to add a potentially elite-level starter to their pipeline, and traded accordingly. Wallstedt is an extremely athletic goaltender who skates smoothly and plays with confidence. There isn't much flash to his game, but like current Wild netminder Cam Talbot, Wallstedt's game is all about positioning, which means he doesn't have to do much flailing in the crease to make stops. He's extremely focused and doesn't get rattled after allowing a goal. All he needs is some development time but his skillset currently makes him a strong probability to be an NHL starter in a few years' time.  

With their other first-rounder, 26th overall, the Wild picked defenceman Carson Lambos. Lambos is a creative and shifty offensive defenceman who plays like a future powerplay quarterback. He's constantly looking for ways to jump into the rush and create chances for himself, he has a strong shot from the blueline, and his inventiveness with his passing keeps defenders on their toes. Like many players with his skillset, the defensive side of his game still needs some work, but his point-scoring will make up for it for the time being. 

At 54th overall, the Wild picked up another defenceman in Jack Peart. Peart lacks size at only 5'11", but still plays more of a defensive role than Lambos does. He closes in on attackers quickly and is extremely aware of where his teammates are on the ice. Peart will use deception and quick skating to either make a clean first pass out of the Dzone, or skate it out himself. In the third round, 86th overall, Minnesota selected Caedan Bankier. A centreman standing 6'2", Bankier is a prototypical two-way player. He makes good contributions at both ends of the ice, and always has a play in mind long before he's pressured to make one. While not exactly filling the scoresheet, he did have 11 goals and 23 points in 22 games in the WHL last season.

Grade: C+; The trade to pick up Wallstedt added some much-needed excitement to the draft for Minnesota fans, and he looks to be the team's future starter down the road. Lambos may see the NHL sooner, and will likely jump up the Wild's pipeline in short order. The rest of their picks weren't flashy, but they show good potential and will help the Wild's AHL team, the Iowa Wild, play competitive hockey of their own as these players wait for their call up to the NHL.

Overall grade: B-; The draft brought some much-needed hope for the future in Minnesota as Wild fans perpetually wait for news on the team's progress in signing Kirill Kaprizov. Until that gets done, their offseason is not complete, and can not be declared a true success. That said, they kept the rest of their young core around, and have set themselves up for the future, which is nothing to scoff at.

What do you think of the Wild's work this offseason?

Photo credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports