It turns out, even if we have a couple of minor gripes with some of the contracts that Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin has handed out, that this team is in the upper third of teams in the NHL when it comes to spending efficiently.
In a recent article from The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn, the Wild are ranked 11th in the entire league in contract efficiency. The highlights, of course, include Matt Boldy’s sweetheart contract for one of the best two-way wingers in the game, and other forwards like Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov playing way above their current cap hits.
While there are some disappointments — like Yakov Trenin earning the title of the Wild’s most inefficient contract — Minnesota has no real problem contracts. Even Jonas Brodin and Jared Spurgeon come in right around market value according to Dom’s model, with just the slightest of negative surplus value.
Maybe add in a very low-dollar Marco Rossi contract and the Wild could be cooking with some real gas.
- It’s always a good time to look back at what we thought of players throughout the years. Now that the Wild have a couple of high-end prospects coming into the team, what can we learn from some previously hyped-up prospects and their trajectories? [Hockey Wilderness]
- Unfortunately, Kirill Kaprizov has an injury history. Does the potential of him not being fully healthy throughout important parts of the season and postseason, potentially make his hypothetical new contract already something of an albatross? [Hockey Wilderness]
Off the trail…
- Canucks star Elias Pettersson said in an offseason interview that he wants “revenge” after his disappointing season last year. [TheScore]
- One Swedish blueliner is really looking forward to the Olympics. [NHL.com]