Minnesota Wild To Target These 3 Centers In Free Agency

The Minnesota Wild suffered another disappointing first round defeat and will have to recover in the offseason. They will be plagued with lots of cap being eaten up by past buyouts and will have to find value in the players they bring in. They have a few decent options in free agency that we will look at.

Ryan O'Reilly

It's difficult to say where Ryan O'Reilly will sign in the offseason. He is in the final year of his deal and will definitely be getting a pay cut. He's won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues, has lots of playoff experience, and is currently headed to the second round with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Known as one of the best two-way players in the game, O'Reilly would be able to help out at both ends of the ice. This season has been an outlier for him, especially when he was with the Blues. The former Selke Trophy winner really turned things around in Toronto with 11 points in 13 games. With O'Reilly and Joel Eriksson-Ek down the middle, the team would be very tough to play against in their own end.

Max Domi

Max Domi had himself a prove-it season in which he showed that he can be an effective top-6 center, even a top line center. Although it was with the Chicago Blackhawks and the opportunity was there, you can also look at it like there was very little help surrounding him and he led the team in scoring before he was traded at the deadline. He will be looking for a longer deal than one year and won't be too expensive to sign.

J.T. Compher

There's a possibility that J.T. Compher seeks out a different team in free agency as the cap space is going to be tight in Colorado. He has proven with a big role these past two seasons that he is cut out to be a top-6 center in the NHL. With all the injuries and lack of center depth on the Avalanche this season, Compher logged over 20 minutes a night all season and put up 52 points. He will also come at value and is a good age to even sign long-term.