Minnesota Wild fans have known that Matt Boldy arrived in the NHL a long time ago. The only question is how high his ceiling could be.
For most of the 24-year-old’s career, the conversation has been centered around his offense. Bill Guerin mentioned before last season that he believed that Boldy could someday become “a 50/50 guy,” recording 50 goals and 50 assists in a season. His playmaking ability is also apparent when he’s on the ice, using space correctly and finding an open teammate.
But for all the talk about Boldy’s offense, his defense is beginning to take center stage, and it could be the final step needed to go from an All-Star caliber player to a franchise player.
Boldy’s defensive play has been a hot topic as he’s made a couple of crucial plays during the Wild’s recent hot streak. Minnesota has won seven of its past nine games and collected points in eight of its last nine. The key has been a commitment on defense, where the Wild have allowed two goals or fewer in seven of those games.
To that extent, Boldy has been leading the charge. In a Nov. 16 overtime win against the Vegas Golden Knights, Mitch Marner went on a breakaway in overtime that seemed to spell doom for the Wild. When Marner passed the puck behind him to Shea Theodore, it was Boldy who sprinted down the ice after a turnover and lifted his stick to extend the game and help Kirill Kaprizov score the eventual game-winner.
On Wednesday night, Boldy’s defense played another key role in the Wild’s win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Already up 1-0 on Brock Faber’s goal early in the game, Boldy made an excellent read on an entry attempt by the Hurricanes, leading to a breakaway and giving Minnesota a 2-0 lead.
The Hurricanes came back to force overtime, and Boldy’s shootout winner drew the headlines along with a highlight-reel save by Jesper Wallstedt. But if it weren’t for Boldy’s play earlier in the game, the Wild may have never been in that position, which shows how big a development his defense has become.
Like many aspects of Boldy’s game, he laid the foundation a long time ago, and it’s beginning to reach elite levels. According to Evolving-Hockey, Boldy is currently a top-20 defensive forward in their goals above replacement metric at 1.9. He also ranks in the 91st percentile defensively, which puts him among the league’s best defenders at the forward position.
As a result, the Wild have given Boldy priority assignments throughout the year as part of the Wild’s top defensive line alongside Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson. But it also serves as a steady foundation to an offensive game that is still growing.
Guerin mentioned during a TV interview earlier in the year that a strong defensive game is critical to long-term success in the NHL. When the offense runs dry, players can lean on their defensive game and remain viable contributors.
Boldy did some of this one year ago when he endured three stretches without a goal in nine games or more. The worst drought came late in the year, with a 15-game stretch with just two goals coming out of the 4 Nations Tournament. The slide, where the Wild posted a 6-8-1 record, turned a fast start into a crawl toward the playoffs, but Boldy worked on the little things to keep the team afloat.
“It’s hard to score, no question about it, when things aren’t going your way, things aren’t going in,” Boldy said at the end of that slump last March. “As I’ve played more and more, you realize that you’re going to go through these ups and downs. You don’t want to. But you can’t be nonexistent when it’s not going in.”
So far this season, both aspects have come together. Boldy is tied for the team lead with Kirill Kaprizov with 11 goals and second on the Wild with 22 points entering Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. While his offensive output has been key, his defense has been just as crucial on a team that needs to limit offensive chances until it can find dynamic upgrades deeper in its lineup.
If the Wild want to keep their recent hot streak from being their annual Thanksgiving resurgence, Boldy will still have to contribute on the offensive end. However, his defense is providing the team with a steady foundation and could be the cornerstone that turns him into the franchise player the Wild fans believe he can be.