Written By Zach Wright
Since the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks ended the Minnesota Wild season in May, it’s been a pretty typical offseason for an NHL team. It was relatively quiet until mid-June when the Wild announced they were placing veteran forward Matt Cooke on waivers in the attempt of buying out his contract to free cap space. The Wild will pay two-thirds of Cooke’s salary over two years, saving $2 million this season and an additional $1 million in 2016. This cost cutting move, though small, is a vital move to make in the hopes of signing notable free agents such as Mikael Granlund, Chris Stewart, Erik Haula, Christian Folin and Kyle Brodziak. Though players like Brodziak and Cooke are expendable, they provided depth to a depleted forwards unit, as well as stepped in and became important pieces on the penalty kill, which led the NHL come season’s end.
With former Golden Gopher defenseman Mike Reilly expected to sign with the Wild on Wednesday, it further fuels the rumor that Minnesota may try to move a defenseman, which could spell the end of Jared Spurgeon’s days. The 25-year-old defenseman, who is set to become a free agent at the end of 2016, has taken strides in becoming one of the more underrated players in the league, making his trade value great enough to possibly move him to free more cap space, or bring in more young assets to bolster their farm system. With the free agency period opening Wednesday, the Wild are most likely going to stand pat and worry about signing their own.
It began over draft weekend with rumors running rampant that the Wild and goalie Devan Dubnyk were closing in on a deal. Finally, on the final day of the draft, news broke that Dubnyk and the Wild agreed on a deal keeping the 29-year-old goalie in Minnesota for the next six years, paying him $26 million, with the bulk of that coming in the first four years. After inking the deal, Chuck Fletcher talked about the issues Minnesota has had with goalies, saying:”We’ve been chasing our goaltending a little bit the last couple years, chasing stability in the goaltending position and we’re hopeful that Devan can be a steadying influence back there. We’ve analyzed it to death,we’ve looked at it every which way and we’re very comfortable with this signing.”
Dubnyk is going to be the 21st-highest paid goalie in the NHL once the deal becomes official. To put that into perspective, Niklas Backstrom is the 24th-highest paid, so if there is any concern from fans, they should be concerned with the length of the deal rather than the money. Like quarterback in the NFL, the goalie position is arguably the most important position in hockey. If your favorite football team signed a 29-year-old quarterback to a six-year deal, would you react the same way? Time will truly tell if this was a good deal, or if it will go down as a grave mistake by the Minnesota Wild, but if the team gets the same level of play they saw at the end of last season, the Wild will be just fine. The signing of Dubnyk wasn’t the only thing to happen over the weekend, though. The Minnesota Wild, as well as the other 29 teams, drafted the future of the NHL in Sunrise, Fla., at the 2015 NHL Draft.
Meet your 2015 draft picks:
Joel Eriksson Ek, Round 1/Pick 20
If you hear Färjestad and think that it sounds pretty familiar, it should. The Minnesota Wild selected Jonas Brodin out of Färjestad in 2011, and he’s proven to be a vital piece in the defensive core for Minnesota. Eriksson Ek is a big center who excels at using his size, skill and skating to get to the net and create scoring chances. He’s an intelligent, scoring center that is good both offensively as well as able to get back and help defensively. Ranked fourth among European skaters by the NHL, Eriksson Ek will provide depth for the Wild at the center position when he arrives and could be a very solid forward to eventually succeed Mikko Koivu.
Jordan Greenway, Round 2/Pick 50
Since Derek Boogaard left Minnesota, you could say one big thing the Wild are lacking is physicality. They tried to fix that with guys like Brent Burns, Matt Cooke and even Chris Stewart as recently as last year, but nothing has really stuck. That’s going to change when Jordan Greenway makes his way to Minnesota. Not only are they getting a big, power forward, but the 6-foot-5, 223-pound winger registered 78 points in two seasons at the United States National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich. Greenway is committed to Boston University for 2015-2016, and his new coach David Quinn had a lot to say. “He’s just scratching the surface. Total power forward, skill, good hands, good hockey sense. You look at a big guy like that at 18, you’d think he’d be clumsy. He’s an athlete. If this kid was a football player, he’d be a five-star tight end going to Notre Dame or Alabama. And he’s a great kid. He’s a personable, likable kid.”
Ales Stezka, Round 4/Pick 111
With the Minnesota Wild re-signing goalie Devan Dubnyk, and with Darcy Kuemper waiting in the wings, taking a goalie in the draft wasn’t a need but more of a luxury. Ales Stezka came into the draft ranked fourth out of the European goalies. Last season, Stezka finished with a 1.90 GAA and .937 save percentage, as well as 1.98 GAA in the playoffs in the Czech U20 league. Stezka is heading to play for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL next season, but the Wild are in no rush. With Kuemper viewed as the possible future goalie, the goalie situation in the Wild system is beginning to crowd with names like Johan Gustafsson, John Curry, Alexandre Belanger and Kaapo Kahkonen, who was taken last season.
Kirill Kaprizov, Round 5/Pick 135
This is the extreme low-risk, high-reward pick for the Minnesota Wild. Kaprizov was drafted by the Metallurg Novokuznetsk of the KHL and proved he could play with the league’s best at the age of 17. ESPN’s Corey Pronman says Kaprizov is an “above average skater, skilled with the puck, and possesses an outstanding hockey IQ.” Kaprizov is a top-notch forward who isn’t afraid to be the first man on the forecheck, despite his size. He’s a good character guy on and off the ice and has all it takes to be a good NHL forward. He could turn into a left wing version of Mikael Granlund seeing as his game already mimics Granlund.
Nicholas Boka, Round 6/Pick 171
In another low-risk, high-reward pick, Nicholas Boka is a typical “responsible” defenseman. He knows his way around all three zones on the ice, but his size isn’t that of a defenseman that many NHL teams look for. His 6-foot, 200-pound frame is on the smaller end, but he possesses a physical aspect that sometimes can hurt his game. Averaging just over a penalty a game, that’s an area that has room for immediate improvement. Limited scouting reports say he’s a good skater but can improve. He has an above-average shot from the point that will only get better as he grows in college at Michigan. Boka won’t be a guy that you see in two years, but come five years you may see him insert himself to help the Minnesota Wild and their already solid defensive core.
Gustav Bouramman, Round 7/Pick 201
Back to back defensemen in the draft for Minnesota. Bouramman is scouted as a quick, average sized defenseman. He’s not the kind of guy that’s going to be overly physical but instead use his quickness and his good hockey IQ to maneuver the ice. Though he didn’t stand out a season ago for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, he’ll be “the guy” in the upcoming season after the graduation of Darnell Nurse, who’ll join the Oilers’ organization. In 67 games last year, Bouramman scored only five goals but added 39 assists and scored a goal and four assists in the postseason.
Jack Sadek, Round 7/Pick 204
You didn’t think the Wild could go a whole draft without a Minnesota boy, did you? Jack Sadek helped lead his Lakeville North team to the Minnesota State High School Championship a year ago. Committed to the University of Minnesota, Sadek will step in and make an immediate impact for the Golden Gophers. Six-foot-2 Sadek has the frame, and will grow into that in college to develop into a great defensive prospect. He’s an incredible athlete with an above average first step, but one thing to work on as he grows is his confidence. More often than not he chooses the safe play such as dumping the puck in the offensive zone rather than using his size and speed to make a play. Though he’s not as developed as other prospects taken in the draft, his size and physical skill allow for the Gophers and Wild organizations to develop him into a future top defenseman.
After taking a look at the moves made prior to the draft, as well as the draft itself, there’s reason to be excited for the Minnesota Wild. These aren’t guys that are going to make an immediate impact for the Wild, but they’ll grow in the farm system and are expected to make an impact once they make it to the show. It’s not likely that the Wild will make any big splashes when the free agency period starts Wednesday, but never say never when it comes to moves that general manager Chuck Fletcher might make.
Zach Wright can be heard on Cold Omaha’s The Wake Up Call every Sunday Morning beginning at 8 a.m.
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