Why Minnesota Wild Aren't Contenders Anymore

The Minnesota Wild had a great season last year, but a major reason for that is the cause of the division they played in. Minnesota will be back in the Central Division this season, and will be fighting for a playoff spot with the likes of Chicago, St.Louis, Nashville, Dallas, and Winnipeg. Because of this, the Wild may struggle to make the playoffs this season.

Key moves made in the Offseason:

Bought out Zach Parise + Ryan Suter.
lost Carson Soucy to Seattle Kraken in Expansion Draft.
lost Marcus Johansson, Ian Cole to Free Agency.
signed Alex Goligoski, Dmitry Kulikov, Jordie Benn, Jon Merrill in Free Agency.
Re-signed Joel Eriksson to a long term deal.
Locked up Kirill Kaprizov to a 5 yr deal.
Re-signed Kevin Fiala for 1yr

Offseason Review:

Coming into this offseason, it was no secret that the Minnesota Wild need to create cap room in order to sign some of their key RFAs like Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Kevin Fiala. To nobody's surprise, the Wild bought out Zach Parise's contract, but shockingly, they also bought out the contract of his Ryan Suter. The departure of Parise and Suter, that marks the start of a new chapter in Minnesota, as the Wild through a youth movement.

The Defense not only lost Ryan Suter, but they also lost two other key defensemen in Carson Soucy and Ian Cole; To fill the voids on defense, they signed Alex Goligoski, Dmitry Kulikov, Jordie Benn, Jon Merrill in Free Agency. In my opinion, the defense is much worse this year than it was last year.

Kirill Kaprizov was in the center of attention most of this offseason due to his contract negotiations with the Wild; at first, it seemed like the two sides were at a stalemate, but the two sides ultimately agreed on a 5 yr deal worth 9 million annually.

Joel Eriksson Ek was an underrated signing for the Wild; they were able to lock him up for 8 years at 5.25 million per season. Eriksson Ek has been one of the more underrated players in the league, and this contract will look like a steal in a few years. Kevin Fiala will be back for at least 1 more year, and this might be his make or break year to score a big contract.

Overall, the Wild had a decent offseason, but the team doesn't seem as good as it did last year unless some of their young players like Marco Rossi and Matthew Boldy take a jump in their development.

In order for the Wild to be contenders, they need to beef up their defense:

Minnesota Wild trade Jordie Benn, 4th round pick '22 to the Buffalo Sabres for Colin Miller. Buffalo Sabres retain 50% of Colin Miller's contract.

The Wild add a veteran defenseman in Colin Miller to help boast the depth on the blueline.

The Wild also needs to add a 2nd line center.

Minnesota Wild acquire Dylan Strome from the Chicago Blackhawks for Victor Rask, 2nd round pick '23. If Strome scores 20+ goals, the Blackhawks get a 2025 2nd round pick.

The Wild get Dylan Strome to center the 2nd line to play alongside Kevin Fiala; this allows Marco Rossi to develop in the minors for a year.

This is how the Minnesota Wild Lineup looks like after the trade:

K.Kaprizov-J.Eriksson Ek-M.Zuccarello

M.Boldy-D.Strome-K.Fiala

J.Greenway-R.Hartman-M.Foligno

F.Gaudreau-N.Sturm-N.Bjugstad

A.Goligoski-J.Spurgeon

J.Brodin-M.Dumba

D.Kulikov-Co.Miller

C.Talbot

K.Kahkonen

This now looks like a contending team that could make some noise in the Central Division.

Fantasy Hockey Forwards to Trade For

Here is a list of Players who you should consider trading for in Fantasy Hockey. Tage Thompson Tage Thompson had very high expectations of him heading into this season but has been a massive disappointment to this point in the season with only 7 goals, 8 assists, 4 PPP, 60 SOG, and 99 FW. Thompson has been better after coming back from injury and you would think that he is going to eventually start putting points in bunches. Because of how bad Thompson's statline is this season. it would be a good idea to trade for him because you may not have to give up a lot in return. Elias Lindholm Elias Lindholm is another player who has had a slow start to the season with only 7 goals, 10 assists, 3 PPP, 68 SOG, and 297 FW so far this season. Lindholm is definitely going to want to play better if he wants to increase his value for his next contract and also showcase himself for a trade at the deadline. If Lindholm gets dealt to a contending team, his fantasy value would drastically improve b

TIPS FOR DECIDING WHO TO KEEP FOR KEEPER/DYNASTY LEAGUES

Keeper fantasy leagues are a variation of traditional fantasy sports leagues where participants are allowed to keep a certain number of players from their previous season's roster onto their team for the upcoming season. The number of players that can be kept, as well as the specific rules regarding keeping players, vary from league to league and are typically determined by the league commissioner or by a set of agreed-upon rules among league members. In a keeper league, the kept players usually come with a cost, such as forfeiting a specific draft pick in the upcoming draft or having to pay a predetermined fee. This adds a strategic element to the game, as managers must decide which players to keep based on their performance, potential, and value relative to the cost of keeping them. Keeper leagues often provide a deeper level of engagement and strategy compared to standard fantasy leagues because managers need to consider long-term player development and roster management beyond

FANTASY HOCKEY WAIVER WIRE PLAYERS TO PICKUP

Here are some players you should pickup in Fantasy Hockey, sorted by position. Center Colton Sissons Colton Sissons is one of the best 4th line centers in the league, but in fantasy hockey, he could be even more valuable than he actually is in real life because of what he provides in the peripheral categories. So far this season Sissions has 5 goals, 1 PPP, 1 SHP, 12 PIM, 20 SOG, 89 FW, 15 hits, and 9 blocks. This is a terrific stat line and although you can't count on Sissons scoring a ton, he will fill out the FW, Hits, and blocks usually. Sissons is owned in 6% of fantasy leagues, snag him up while you can. Nick Bjugstad Nick Bjugstad is having an excellent year so far with the Arizona Coyotes, in fact he has played so well that he earned himself a promotion to play on the 2nd line along with Mattias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse. Bjugstad also gets time on Arizona's 2nd PP unit and 2nd PK unit. Bjugstad may not be a name who stands out to casuals, but his fantasy stat line is

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