'We'll deal with it,' Wild GM Bill Guerin says of painful salary cap squeeze

The Wild will try to re-sign goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury but may not be able to afford to keep 30-goal scorer Kevin Fiala.

Those are the roster decisions looming over the team in the offseason, its first with a severe squeeze brought on by the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts.

"We'll deal with it," General Manager Bill Guerin said Tuesday during a news conference at Xcel Energy Center. "I think we'll be every bit as good next year."

While the Wild received instant savings when it cut ties with Parise and Suter last July, that wasn't the only outcome of those departures: So was a stiff cap penalty. After dealing with a $4.7 million hit on its books over the past season, the price tag of the buyouts jumps to approximately $12.7 million this summer before tacking on another $2 million in 2023.

With the NHL salary cap projected to increase only $1 million to $82.5 million and most of the Wild's lineup already signed, the team has roughly $8.2 million in cap space, according to the contracts listed on capfriendly.com; that number will drop if the Wild includes prospects like Calen Addison and Marco Rossi to its roster, and Guerin expects players from the minors to crack the lineup next season.

"We knew exactly what we were doing," Guerin said. "We knew exactly what position we were putting ourselves in. I'd do it again. We're just going to deal with it."

Creating more cap space through trades is an option, and one Guerin said the Wild could take. So a restricted budget is the present reality for the Wild and it might lead to a future without Fiala.

"There's uncertainty," Guerin said. "We'd love to have Kevin back. I don't know if it's going to be possible."

Fiala is on an expiring one-year, $5.1 million contract and as a restricted free agent, the Wild still has his rights. He's coming off a career year that included 33 goals and 85 points but a goalless showing in the playoffs.

"Unfortunate, but that's the human side of the game, too," Guerin said. "It's not automatic. It's not guaranteed. Even some of the great playoff performers of the game have an off year here and there."

Fiala still set himself up for a raise, one that might be too rich for the Wild and could force the team into a trade.

"We'll see what we can do," Guerin said, "and if we can't do anything, then we move on."

But this isn't the only situation the Wild has to address. The team needs another goalie, and it's eyeing Fleury after acquiring him in a trade deadline deal from Chicago that cost the Wild a second-round draft pick. The 37-year-old, finishing a three-year, $21 million deal, will be an unrestricted free agent, and he said he'll consider staying with the Wild.

Regardless of how that pursuit goes, Guerin made it clear it doesn't affect Cam Talbot, who's under contract for another season and split action with Fleury before Fleury started five of the team's six playoff games.

"There's no controversy," Guerin said. "There's no drama. We like both goalies. We like both people. We want them both back, and we think we can be successful with both of them."

Another trade deadline pickup, defenseman Jake Middleton, is a restricted free agent and skated on the top pairing next to captain Jared Spurgeon. Forward Connor Dewar is also a restricted free agent, with defenseman Jordie Benn and forwards Nick Bjugstad and Nic Deslauriers unrestricted free agents.

How much cap space the Wild has will determine how busy it is in free agency, but Guerin acknowledged, "We're pretty set."

To Guerin, the playoffs were "disappointing," a six-game, first-round loss to St. Louis that was indicative of the Wild straying from its identity.

"When we were faced with tough situations, we didn't stick to our game plan," he said. "We didn't stick to what made us successful."

Still, he doesn't feel that misstep will slow down the Wild after the progress it already achieved with franchise records for wins and goals and its first 100-point scorer in Kirill Kaprizov.

"This is my first season that management, coaches, and players alike were able to do things exactly the way we wanted to do them," Guerin said. "We took such a big step in the right direction in my mind that that gives me a lot of hope and a lot of encouragement for what's to come."