In honor of u/CapFriendly's last day of availability to the public(Or so I thought. Looks like it's still up!), I used the Armchair GM mode to mock up the Wild's roster for the next three seasons. There's been a lot of speculation about how tight the cap/roster will or won't be; this is me crunching the numbers.
2024-25
So this season's roster is pretty much set. There's only ~$1.2m in space so unless there's a trade this is it. I also didn't add Heidt to the roster yet because we know BG likes to slow play his guys. Tbh I think this team will be better than last year's.
Faber will have another year of development. If we can get Spurgeon and Brodin healthy and improved play from Gus, we're in good shape. I can see Ohgren playing a significant amount of the year since injuries are inevitable. But man, 14 million would go a long way…
2025-26
…or so we thought. (Sorry, had to)
Here's 25-26. I had the cap going up another $2m to $90m total. Most of the 14m from the buyouts goes directly to Faber. I have him signing for $9mx8, which he deserves. I also signed Rossi to a $5mx2 bridge deal(after another solid year)
I also signed Wallstedt and Chisolm to $2.5 and $3m bridge deals, respectively, and I'm bringing up Zeev, Yurov, Heidt, and Ohgren into the NHL. This team has $2.4m in cap space. Not a ton of wiggle room on those bridge deals. And no space for free agents. Solid team regardless. (Also, I'm realizing I overpaid for Chisolm probably)
2026-27
This is where it gets really interesting. The year of the Kaprizov deal. I have him signing for $13m by then with the cap going up to $94m. He might not get quite that much but he's gonna get a bag, as he should.
Zuccy comes off the books, so his buddy Kap is essentially absorbing his $4m/yr. MAF will also come off the books and we'll be re-signing Khus by then. So I have him at a smaller bridge – $1.5m. This team needs another goalie, but they have $8.7m in cap space.
Buium, Yurov, Ohgren, and Heidt, will all hopefully need decent sized extensions shortly after this season, but the follow year Hartman and Spurge coming off the books will free up $11m, so there will be some money available. It all depends on how good the prospects are.
In conclusion, I believe there is space for many of the young forwards to get ice time and prove themselves. There's also cap space to re-sign the guys we need to, but just barely…
The problems I see with the roster are:
What if Wallstedt, Chisolm, or Rossi command more than a bridge? We don't really have space to give them much more, nor will it be easy to make space with NMC/NTCs.
What if Spacek, Hunt, Lambos, etc command an NHL spot? I guess we trade Chisolm, but then we don't have money to re-sign whichever guy has replaced him.
And this is the big one – There is zero space to go out and get a bonafide superstar. This is why people are upset. FLA, VGK, and COL all were able to surround their stars with complementary players(or actual stars) that contributed immensely to their runs:
Nichushkin, Toews, Eichel, Stone, Reinhart, Tkachuk,etc
The Wild can't do that. They have to pray that the prospects pan out in a major way.
They'll have good, maybe even great teams all 3 seasons, but they left a lot up to chance by locking in their 4th line/bottom pair for the entirety of it.
I'm willing to wait til 25-26 to see if it happens, but I understand why fans(and beat writers) are upset. Time will tell, but the clock starts a year from now.
2 comments
Nerd!
I mean, hello, fellow nerd.
Like you said, everything rides on our prospects. Tbh, they seem to be hyped for a reason (by other teams’ writers/scouts as well), so I’m optimistic.
Because I don’t know what to do if it’s still mediocrity for the next 5-6 years (most likely I will go for a walk, calm down, and continue watching).