Projecting the Minnesota Wild's Opening Night Roster

The season begins tonight! After a long wait, players are finally lacing up their skates and strapping on the pads for some NHL action. In the case of the Minnesota Wild, their games don't start until Friday, so they'll have some extra time to tinker with their roster setup. One of the biggest pieces in that setup, Kirill Kaprizov, nearly went unsigned this summer, but GM Bill Guerin managed to eventually find a deal both he and the player could live with. However, Kaprizov's ask that the Wild find more depth at centre was not met with as much success. The team's centremen, and in fact the majority of their forward group, are the same as last year's. That's not necessarily a bad thing, the Wild finished third in the Western Divison last season, but their star player identified a need on their roster, and the team was not able to accommodate it. With that said, there are only a few new additions to the Wild, but let's see what their lineup is looking like, starting at forward:

Kirill Kaprizov - Joel Eriksson Ek - Mats Zuccarello

Jordan Greenway - Ryan Hartman - Marcus Foligno

Brandon Duhaime - Frederick Gaudreau - Kevin Fiala

Rem Pitlick - Nico Sturm - Nick Bjugstad

Victor Rask

Adam Beckman

Matt Boldy

The newest guy on the block is Brandon Duhaime, who won out as the last piece of the roster after Matt Boldy went down with an ankle injury that could take 6 months to recover from. It's a shame because he was having a good camp also, but Duhaime absolutely earned his spot. You have to wonder how long Fiala will stay on that third line. He's shown he can score at a high rate on this team, and it'll be up to the top wingers to hold their spots down with consistent production to keep him away from the top 6. The other new addition, Rem Pitlick (who is on his second go-round in Minnesota) had a bit of a down game to wrap up pre-season. Initially slotted in on the third line, he'll likely drop to the 4 LW spot once the regular season begins. It would be wrong not to mention Adam Beckman, who also had a stellar camp. Expect him to be the first forward call-up this season.

On defence, some big changes have occurred after the departure of some long-standing Wild players:

Alex Goligoski - Jared Spurgeon

Jonas Brodin - Matt Dumba

Dmitri Kulikov - Jon Merrill

Jordie Benn

Cale Addison

The Wild's blueline is 50% brand new, and that says a lot about what Ryan Suter's departure meant to management. This was a major re-tooling, and for the most part, they did alright. Goligoski has been a solid defender his entire career, be it with the Pens, Stars, or Coyotes. At 36 years old it becomes a question of how long he'll be able to play as a 1 LD, but for now, he's a good veteran with a steady track record, and alongside Jared Spurgeon he should have another strong season. Dmitri Kulikov has shown flashes of being a 2nd-pairing player but wasn't as solid during his time in Edmonton as he was with New Jersey. Playing lower minutes on the third pair should be a good spot for him. The same could be said for Jon Merrill, although he had a good camp, likely outplaying Jordie Benn for the final spot, despite Benn playing there for most of the pre-season. He'll instead slot in as the 7th D.

In net, nothing new to report, but that's a good thing for Wild fans:

Cam Talbot

Kaapo Kahkonen

Andrew Hammond

Last season saw a return to form for Cam Talbot, who had struggled to find his game for a few seasons while bouncing around Alberta. He'll be the main guy again this year. That allows rookie Kahkonen to further develop as a backup before being thrown into the starter's net, but make no mistake, all indications are that he will be a starter in the future. Filling in as the third-string is Andrew Hammond, and while he's never returned to the same level of play as his breakout season in Ottawa, he has consistently shown that he can win his team a few games if used sparingly.

What do you think of the Wild's roster heading into opening night, and what would you change?

Photo credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports