Minnesota Wild <\/strong><\/p>\n Current Cap Hit:<\/strong> $91,088,165<\/a> (below the $95.5MM Upper Limit)<\/p>\n Entry-Level Contracts<\/strong><\/p>\n D Zeev Buium<\/strong><\/a> (two years, $966.5K) Potential Bonuses<\/strong> Yurov is coming off a bit of a tough year in the KHL after a breakout 49-point effort in 2023-24 but he\u2019s still expected to come in and play a regular role with Minnesota right away.\u00a0 His $1MM in \u2018B\u2019 bonuses are unlikely while he\u2019ll need to play regularly in the top six if he is going to have a shot at his $250K \u2018A\u2019 bonuses, of which there are four of them.\u00a0 Ohgren\u2019s first season in North America didn\u2019t go quite as well as the Wild had hoped.\u00a0 He was a solid scorer with AHL Iowa but didn\u2019t fare particularly well with the big club.\u00a0 Projected as more of a depth player this season, his \u2018A\u2019 bonuses seem unlikely while he\u2019d be trending toward a bridge deal if he winds up in that limited role this year.<\/p>\n Buium was a late-season addition, getting into four playoff games where he held his own.\u00a0 Without a ton of firepower on the back end, he should be able to play an important role this season, including seeing some action on the power play.\u00a0 Reaching a couple of his \u2018A\u2019 bonuses should be doable while if things go as planned, he could be the type of player that they want to sign long-term quickly.\u00a0 Jiricek, on the other hand, feels likely for a bridge as well.\u00a0 He has yet to establish himself as a full-time NHL player and while he should get there this year, that won\u2019t be enough to land a long-term pact.\u00a0 If he can lock down a regular third-pairing spot, he could potentially double his current price tag although his bonuses are unlikely to be hit.<\/p>\n Signed Through 2025-26, Non-Entry-Level<\/strong><\/p>\n D Zach Bogosian<\/a><\/strong> ($1.25MM, UFA) The timing of the multi-year cap increase couldn\u2019t have been any better for Kaprizov.\u00a0 Already poised for a multi-million-dollar raise, his market value will only go up now.\u00a0 Recent speculation<\/a> has a possible offer landing in the $16MM per season range which feels a bit much on the high side but if it gets a deal done, expect GM Bill Guerin to do it.\u00a0 When healthy, he\u2019s one of the elite wingers in the league.\u00a0 Tarasenko was brought in from Detroit in a cap-clearing move from the Red Wings and is coming off a rough year that only saw him record 33 points, the lowest full-season total of his career.\u00a0 A rebound this season could keep him in this price range but if he has a similar showing in 2025-26, landing half of this could be tough.<\/p>\n Zuccarello saw his production dip last season but he still managed 54 points, a solid return on the first season of this contract.\u00a0 Now 38, it\u2019d be surprising to see him land another two-year pact but if both sides are happy, he could land another one-year agreement.\u00a0 His next deal would be a candidate to be bonus-laden if Minnesota needs some extra flexibility next summer with an overall price checking around this one.\u00a0 Johansson opted to take just above the minimum to ensure he stayed with the Wild.\u00a0 He probably could have beaten that on the open market with something more in the $1.5MM range based on the season he had but as long as he\u2019s content in Minnesota, they could keep him around at a price close to the minimum if he has a similar role this season.<\/p>\n Bogosian wasn\u2019t quite as impactful last season as he was in his first year with the team but he still held down a steady third-pairing role while taking a regular turn on the penalty kill.\u00a0 This type of salary for that type of role is reasonable value but it would be surprising if he landed this much on his next deal when he\u2019s 36.\u00a0 By that point, he may be better off in a seventh defender role who steps in when injuries arise.<\/p>\n Signed Through 2026-27<\/strong><\/p>\n F Ryan Hartman<\/a><\/strong> ($4MM, UFA) Hartman has shown some flashes of being a legitimate top-six threat over his six seasons with the Wild which earned him this vote of confidence.\u00a0 However, the first year of the deal wasn\u2019t great while he has now dealt with injury issues in four of those six years.\u00a0 Still, a center who has 20-goal upside when things are going well should be able to command at least a little more than this on the open market two years from now on another multi-year deal.\u00a0 Sturm was Minnesota\u2019s most notable UFA signing this summer, coming over from Florida to help the penalty kill and play in the bottom six.\u00a0 He\u2019ll need to get back into the 20-point range with Minnesota to avoid being cast more into the fourth-line role which would lower his market value.<\/p>\n Spurgeon has been a big-minute, all-situations player for a long time but it has started to catch up with him in recent years.\u00a0 They\u2019ve managed his minutes a bit more lately to the point where he was fourth in ATOI among Minnesota\u2019s blueliners.\u00a0 While that\u2019s an appropriate role for his age, this contract is definitely on the expensive side for someone in that role.\u00a0 If there\u2019s an extension two years from now, it could be worth closer to half this amount, including incentives.<\/p>\n Wallstedt\u2019s deal was a headscratcher when it was signed and it looks even worse now.\u00a0 Following San Jose\u2019s path when they signed Yaroslav Askarov<\/a><\/strong> early, he struggled considerably with AHL Iowa last season, posting a .879 SV%.\u00a0 Had they waited, they probably could have signed him for half this amount.\u00a0 Nonetheless, he\u2019s still viewed as a quality prospect and if he performs to those expectations, they should still get a good return on this deal.\u00a0 He\u2019ll need to cut into Gustavsson\u2019s playing time if he wants to get more than an incremental raise in 2027.<\/p>\n Signed Through 2027-28<\/strong><\/p>\n D Jonas Brodin<\/a><\/strong> ($6MM, UFA) Foligno also got an early extension a couple of years back like Hartman did.\u00a0 Unlike Hartman, the offensive upside isn\u2019t there as he has only reached 30 points once in his 14-year NHL career nor does he play center.\u00a0 He\u2019s still an effective third liner but this is on the high side of things for someone who is best known for his physicality.\u00a0 Considering he\u2019ll be 37 when his next contract starts, he\u2019ll probably be year-to-year on his next deals at a lower cost than this.\u00a0 Trenin\u2019s deal was baffling at the time as giving someone who is best suited as a fourth liner this term and money was not necessarily the best of ideas.\u00a0 Clearly, they were banking on a bounce-back offensively and that didn\u2019t come.\u00a0 Trenin can contribute, sure, but his value might be closer to half of this.<\/p>\n Brodin has been a key shutdown defender throughout his 13-year NHL career, playing big minutes and anchoring the penalty kill.\u00a0 Those players typically don\u2019t get big contracts but Brodin, being one of the better players in that role, was the exception with this deal.\u00a0 As market values increase with the cap, this contract will hold up just fine, as long as he stays healthy.\u00a0 Unfortunately, that has been a consistent challenge for him lately.<\/p>\n Signed Through 2028-29 <\/strong><\/p>\n F Joel Eriksson Ek<\/a><\/strong> ($5.25MM, UFA) Eriksson Ek dealt with some injury issues last year (a common theme for core players on the Wild) but he remains a legitimate top-six center offensively while being one of the top defensive middlemen out there as well.\u00a0 That combination isn\u2019t necessarily a prototypical number one center but it\u2019s a role he often fills with Minnesota.\u00a0 If he was hitting free agency now, he could likely land a contract starting with an eight.\u00a0 This has been a big bargain for a few years and should continue to be moving forward.<\/p>\n Middleton begins this contract that was signed last summer on the heels of a career year.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t able to duplicate that last season but he was still a key top-four defender who handled some tough defensive minutes.\u00a0 At first glance, this deal might seem a little high but with where market values are going, this should be a fair-value contract even coming off the dip in production a year ago.<\/p>\n Signed Through 2029-30 Or Longer<\/strong><\/p>\n F Matt Boldy<\/a><\/strong> ($7MM through 2029-30) Boldy\u2019s contract looked like it had the potential to be a team-friendly one when it was signed.\u00a0 Yes, there was some shared risk with a long-term deal signed when he had around 100 NHL games under his belt but if he lived up to his potential, it would be a favorable one for Minnesota.\u00a0 Now, in a cap environment that\u2019s going to crank up much higher than we\u2019ve seen, it\u2019s even more of a club-friendly deal.\u00a0 He could surpass Eriksson Ek as their best contract before too long while he\u2019s on track to hit double digits for an AAV on his next deal.<\/p>\n Faber had a fantastic rookie season, earning him this deal after just one year; like Boldy, Minnesota moved to sign him early.\u00a0 His sophomore year (played on his entry-level pact) wasn\u2019t quite as high-end but he was still a high-impact performer.\u00a0 It might take a year or two for the offense to come back but this deal should age well while it\u2019s already being used as a new benchmark in contract talks for other young defenders.<\/p>\n Still To Sign<\/strong><\/p>\n None<\/p>\n Buyouts<\/strong><\/p>\n F Zach Parise<\/a><\/strong> ($833.3K to 2028-29) Retained Salary Transactions<\/strong><\/p>\n None<\/p>\n Carryover Bonus Overage Penalty<\/strong><\/p>\n $1.1MM<\/p>\n Best Value:<\/strong> (non-entry-level) Eriksson Ek Looking Ahead<\/strong><\/p>\n Heading into the summer, with the big dead cap charges gone from Suter and Parise\u2019s deals, Minnesota had the flexibility they\u2019d been lacking for a while now.\u00a0 They ultimately didn\u2019t do much with it.\u00a0 The benefit to that is that with more than $4MM in room, they\u2019re in a good spot to bank some space early and then have ample wiggle room to take a big swing or two in the second half if the right trade materializes.\u00a0 If not, they\u2019ll be well-positioned to absorb the entry-level bonuses and avoid the overage penalty for next season.<\/p>\n Speaking of next summer, they have nearly $40MM in cap space, more than half of which will be needed to re-sign Kaprizov and Gustavsson.\u00a0 But after that, they\u2019ll only have a handful of spots to fill.\u00a0 Things look even cleaner for the following year.\u00a0 After some lean years in their spending room, the Wild now have a very promising cap outlook.<\/p>\n Photos courtesy of Jerome Miron and Nick Wosika-Imagn Images.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. \u00a0Teams that 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D David Jiricek<\/a><\/strong> (one year, $918.3K)
F Liam Ohgren<\/a><\/strong> (two years, $886.7K)
F Danila Yurov<\/strong><\/a> (three years, $950K)<\/p>\n
Buium: $1MM
Jiricek: $1MM
Ohgren: $500K
Yurov: $2MM
Total:<\/strong> $4.5MM<\/p>\n
G Filip Gustavsson<\/a><\/strong> ($3.75MM, UFA)
F Marcus Johansson<\/a><\/strong> ($800K, UFA)
F Kirill Kaprizov<\/a><\/strong> ($9MM, UFA)
F Vladimir Tarasenko<\/a><\/strong> ($4.75MM, UFA)
F Mats Zuccarello<\/a><\/strong> ($4.125MM, UFA)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/USATSI_20493634-232x300.jpg\")
<\/a>While plenty has been said about Kaprizov\u2019s situation (and justifiably so), Gustavsson\u2019s expiring contract also looms large.\u00a0 After a tough 2023-24 showing that saw him lose the starting job at times to Marc-Andre Fleury<\/a><\/strong>, he rebounded quite nicely, making a career-high 58 starts while finishing sixth in Vezina Trophy voting.\u00a0 The starting goaltender market has gotten a lot more expensive over the last 18 or so months and while he\u2019s not in the same echelon as the starters who passed the $8MM mark recently (Linus Ullmark<\/a><\/strong>, Jeremy Swayman<\/a><\/strong>, Jake Oettinger<\/a><\/strong>, and Thatcher Demko<\/a><\/strong>), there\u2019s a case to make that he\u2019s in the tier below them.\u00a0 That could allow him to push for $7MM on a long-term agreement which would be another sizable jump on their books.<\/p>\n
D Jared Spurgeon<\/a><\/strong> ($7.575MM, UFA)
F Nico Sturm<\/a><\/strong> ($2MM, UFA)
G Jesper Wallstedt<\/a><\/strong> ($2.2MM, RFA)<\/p>\n
F Marcus Foligno<\/a><\/strong> ($4MM, UFA)
F Marco Rossi<\/a><\/strong> ($5MM, RFA)
F Yakov Trenin<\/a><\/strong> ($3.5MM, UFA)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/USATSI_24873011-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Few players were in as much trade speculation as Rossi was this summer.\u00a0 For months, it had been well known that he wanted a long-term, big-money contract while Guerin\u2019s preference was a bridge deal.\u00a0 A suitable trade offer wasn\u2019t made, nor did an offer sheet materialize and in the end, Rossi moved toward Minnesota\u2019s preferred option.\u00a0 Coming off a 60-point season, this isn\u2019t bad value for the Wild and notably, the contract is back-loaded, carrying a $6MM salary in 2027-28; that number becomes his qualifying offer when he\u2019ll also have arbitration rights.\u00a0 If all goes as planned in his development, the big payday coming his way will be even higher than the contract he was originally seeking this summer.<\/p>\n
D Jacob Middleton<\/a><\/strong> ($4.35MM, UFA)<\/p>\n
D Brock Faber<\/a><\/strong> ($8.5MM through 2032-33)<\/p>\n
D Ryan Suter<\/a><\/strong> ($833.3K to 2028-29)<\/p>\n
Worst Value:<\/strong> Trenin<\/p>\n