While an enormous contract extension for Kirill Kaprizov looms on the horizon in the summer of 2026, the Minnesota Wild are poised to enter the 2025 offseason with much more room and flexibility than in years past after a difficult 2024-25 season. The infamous Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts will only cost $1.6 million against the cap next season following two-straight seasons in which the pair’s dead cap collectively consumed $14.7 million of the Wild’s salary, and three straight seasons of $12 million or more.
Wild general manager (GM) Bill Guerin currently has $78.9 million committed to 10 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies in 2025-26, giving them around $16.6 million to fill out the rest of the forward group. 34-year-old Marcus Johansson and 35-year-old Gustav Nyqvist their only notable unrestricted free agents this summer, and neither should command too high of a price at this stage of their careers if there is mutual interest in a return.
Related: Avalanche 2025 NHL Free Agent Targets: Depth Defensemen
The Wild’s most significant decision of the 2025 offseason revolves around Austrian center Marco Rossi, a restricted free agent (RFA) this offseason who will be 24 by the time the 2025-26 season begins. Rossi tallied an impressive 24 goals and 60 points in 82 games despite star winger Kaprizov (56 points in 41 games) missing half of the season. Where the issue arises for the front office is the playoffs where the young pivot only posted three points in six games and was relegated to the fourth line during the Wild’s first-round defeat at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights. There are questions about his size (5-foot-9) and whether he is suited for the center position at the NHL level, putting his future in Minnesota in doubt.
While Rossi is likely to have plenty of suitors, the Colorado Avalanche should push hard to secure his services. Huge swings at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline saw GM Chris MacFarland bring in Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle to solidify the center position behind Nathan MacKinnon, but neither player performed well relative to their acquisition cost as the Avalanche fell to the Dallas Stars in the second round.
An inconsistent source reported there being mutual interest in Nelson’s return amid speculation the soon-to-be 34-year-old would likely hit the open market. The free-agent market for centers is very slim this offseason, so a potential Nelson departure would create a…
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