Minnesota Wild, dealing with limited salary cap space, retain focus on building from within

Players have come and gone.

Some who left are still on the payroll, a reminder of how enduring the cost of change can be.

But as much as the Wild have evolved in recent years, their commitment to the future has stayed the same, and this priority has led to an intriguing prospect pool that can receive another boost beginning Wednesday at the NHL draft in Nashville when the team has the first of three selections in the top 65.

"Teams are finding it harder and harder to acquire marquee players and certainly positional players via trades, the price in free agency," said Judd Brackett, Wild director of amateur scouting. "So, drafting and development is always going to be sort of the lifeblood of an organization."

The last time the Wild didn't draft in the first round was in 2017. They traded that season's pick to Arizona in a pre-deadline deal that netted Martin Hanzal.

But they haven't been idle in Round 1 since. In each of the past two years, the Wild made two choices in the first round, nabbing goaltender Jesper Wallstedt and defenseman Carson Lambos in 2021 before adding forwards Liam Ohgren and Danila Yurov a year ago.

"We still need to build internally," General Manager Bill Guerin said. "We're still creating a foundation, and it starts with that."

This edict was crystal clear last season when Guerin traded for five players without moving the team's first-round pick or its second-rounder; the highest pick he sacrificed was a third-round selection in the Marcus Johansson trade with Washington that was extremely effective for the Wild.

Johansson made a seamless return, bolstering scoring while building chemistry with Matt Boldy. After the season, the Wild re-signed Johansson to a two-year, $4 million contract to continue his second stint with the team.

Factor in the Jordan Greenway departure to Buffalo and pair of trades that saw the Wild retain salary, and the team received four draft choices, including an extra second-rounder, for this year.

That pick, at No. 64, is after the Wild's own second-rounder (53) and their first at 21.

"Those are the guys that play," Guerin said, referring to the top picks. "They have the best chance of playing and making an impact on your team, and they're the highest assets."

Overall, the team currently owns six picks. Rounds 2-7 are Thursday.

"We see depth in this draft throughout, so it's not just going to end in the first 10 or 15 players," Brackett said. "From looking at my travel, game reports, players discussed this year, it just feels like it's a longer list, a stronger list of names of players that we're excited about.

"I think it's the density of this draft, not just the quality of it."

The 2023 class is rich with centers, especially at the top where generational talent Connor Bedard is the consensus No. 1 pick ahead of Michigan standout Adam Fantilli, Sweden's Leo Carlsson and Will Smith from the U.S. national under-18 team. Chicago, Anaheim and Columbus, in that order, have the first three choices.

Brackett said the Wild can "look for that intersection" of the best player available and a position of need, "but at No. 21 we're at the mercy of other teams," he explained. "If someone falls that is in a position of redundancy and they're just the best player available, we're going to take that swing."

Even with new arrivals on deck, the spotlight isn't shifting from the Wild's past selections. In fact, it's getting brighter.

Wallstedt is coming off his first season in the American Hockey League after leaving Sweden, Lambos is turning pro and so are the likes of David Spacek (2022) and Caedan Bankier (2021). Same with Pavel Novak, who announced last October he was cancer-free following a diagnosis earlier in the year.

As for Marco Rossi, whom the Wild drafted ninth overall in 2020, his readiness and ability to make an impact is important for the team.

Rossi cracked the Wild roster out of training camp last year, but the center was eventually sent back to the minors after he struggled to produce offensively. With Iowa, Rossi finished the season at almost a point-per-game pace.

"We want everybody to turn into effective players that can help us win," Guerin said.

That progression is especially vital considering the Wild's finances.

They are starting the most expensive years of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts from 2021, losing nearly $15 million of their budget for the next two seasons to cover those exits.

Although most of their lineup is under contract, regulars like goalie Filip Gustavsson and forward Brandon Duhaime need new deals. Longtime Wild defenseman Matt Dumba and forward Ryan Reaves, one of the in-season trade pickups last year, are among the players who can test free agency when it opens Saturday.

The approximately $8 million in salary cap space the team has available to spend, per CapFriendly, doesn't offer much wiggle room, but signing free agents or making trades aren't the Wild's only options.

Also key is that pipeline of homegrown talent.

Their actions have reinforced as much.

"I'm very happy with the way these young players have developed thus far," Guerin said. "But now, for a lot of them, this is where it all really begins. Now you're not just a prospect. You've got to become a player.

"This is when we'll really know how good of a job we've done."