On the Minnesota Wild …
Chad Graff of the Pioneer Press: It seems unlikely that the Wild will re-sign trade deadline acquisition Martin Hanzal because they don’t have a lot of cap space and his inconsistent production. Hanzal said he’ll likely be looking for a long-term deal come July 1st.
The Wild need to re-sign free agents Mikael Granlund and Nino Niederreiter. They may not be interested in handing another veteran a long-term deal.
“It’s so early to say,” general manager Chuck Fletcher said. “I thought Martin did a good job for us and brought exactly what we thought he would in terms of faceoffs and size and playing hard through the middle. … He was impactful and certainly made us deeper through the middle. He was a good pickup for us.”
GM Chuck Fletcher said that a backup goaltender is “critical” for the Wild. Darcy Kuemper is a UFA and likely won’t be back. Alex Stalock appeared in two games for the Wild is under contract for another two years.
Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press: GM Chuck Fletcher said that there will be changes to the roster for next season, but he won’t be overhauling it. He his fine with their core players.
They need to re-sign Mikael Granlund and Nino Niederreiter to long-term deals. They need to find a competent backup goalie.
Coach Bruce Boudreau would like for them to add a physical defenseman.
Michael Russo of the Star Tribune: GM Fletcher hasn’t decided if they’ll be asking forward Jason Pominville to waive his no-movement clause for the expansion so that they could protect another forward. The Wild could work out a deal to select/not select a certain player.
The Wild will likely look to trade trade Pominville and his $5.6 million cap hit for the next two seasons. He has a 20-team no-trade list now and will go down to 10 teams on July 1st.
Hard to see the Wild bringing Martin Hanzal back. Hanzal wouldn’t mind coming back if they are interested.
“I was really happy here so if there’s a chance for me to stay here, I would love to. But that would have to be both sides agreeing on that. I enjoyed it. I loved it here. … I’ve never been a free agent. It’s going to be a new experience. I have no idea right now to be honest which teams or whatever. I have to wait for the offers and see what happens.”
Fletcher on Hanzal, Ryan White and their cap.
“We haven’t gotten there yet. There’s still some concern and some uncertainty with where we have the salary cap lined up. Clearly we’re going to have to make some move. We have been up front about that. We will take a look. We certainly have challenges this summer in terms of managing the cap and looking at our players. I also think there’s opportunity and by that I mean last year we looked at the trade market awhile and we found Eric Staal. I think this year teams are being forced to look at their rosters differently so I do think there’s opportunities here to at least pursue some different things. In that sense it’s going to be a really exciting summer. We will see about Hanzal and White. It’s so early to say.”
Fletcher on their need for a physical defenseman.
“I like our skill. I like our depth. You always want to be a little bit bigger. Add a physical defenseman. We will potentially look at that. And just make sure we have enough depth. It’s a good group. It’s a good team. We have to keep pushing.”