Finally, after a long offseason with few additions and the notable subtractions of Kevin Fiala, Cam Talbot and Dmitry Kulikov, Wild training camp has arrived.
Players reported Wednesday, with the first on-ice sessions coming Thursday.
Fifty-eight players will take part in camp, including 22 promoted from the Tom Kurvers Prospect Showcase last week in Chicago.
Several practice sessions are free and open to the public. Here’s the current training camp schedule, which is very much subject to change. Here’s the link to reserve tickets for practices for training camp and throughout the season.
Before we launch into training camp talk, here are some stories to catch up on if you missed them this summer:
Moving forward now, let’s take a look at the biggest questions the Wild must answer in training camp, plus projected lines and the cap situation:
1. Can Guerin pilfer a good forward off a cap-strapped team?
Why bury the lede? This is the biggest question of camp. By trading Kulikov, the Wild freed up $2.25 million in cap space and now technically have $5.7 million and change to spend.
In the team’s mind, that number is really lower, because with Jordan Greenway and Jon Merrill not expected to start the season, there’s theoretically room for four roster hopefuls to make the team: a sixth and seventh defensemen (one perhaps being Calen Addison), a 13th forward and, as long as he earns a spot, Rossi.
However, with the season opening with a four-game homestand and AHL Iowa so close, the Wild don’t necessarily have to put a seventh defenseman and 13th forward on the roster (barring injury) until they head out for a five-game road trip in late October.
The Wild will also want to leave themselves with at least $1 million in cushion to be able to afford call-ups this season.
General manager Bill Guerin’s plan here is transparent.
NHL teams must be cap compliant — below the $82.5 million ceiling — by opening night Oct. 11. There are several teams around or above the cap. There are also teams that simply have too many forwards.
Guerin’s hope is that as the season creeps closer and these teams become more desperate, he’ll be able to snag a quality forward, preferably a scorer who can help replace the 85 points lost by dealing Fiala to the Los Angeles Kings, for either very little or essentially for free.
Some teams that might need that type of cap dump include Florida, Edmonton, Dallas, Montreal, Boston, Vegas, Los Angeles, Washington, Toronto, Columbus and Vancouver.
There also could be very intriguing players placed on waivers next month.
2. How do the lines shake out?
Unless something has changed since The Athletic sat down with Evason last week, the Wild’s prolific top line from 2021-22 of Kirill Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello will stay intact.
But with Greenway on the shelf, who takes his spot on the left side of Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno?
There will be a lot of experimentation in camp, but Evason said Tyson Jost will get the initial look. Jost arrived in a trade from Colorado for Nico Sturm last season but never got much opportunity beyond the fourth line. This will be his big shot to not only receive increased minutes but also contribute offensively while helping the line maintain its identity as a shutdown trio.
We all know about Evason’s affinity for Freddy Gaudreau. He feels he can play anywhere. After Matt Boldy’s arrival last January, Gaudreau centered a potent line with Fiala and Boldy.
But just to show you how much of an opportunity the Wild are giving Rossi to make the team, Gaudreau is expected to start training camp at left wing so Rossi and Sam Steel can be tried in that center spot next to Boldy.
Connor Dewar and Brandon Duhaime will bookend the fourth line. If Rossi makes the team, Steel could end up in the center spot there. But don’t be surprised if we hear a lot about Nic Petan in camp, too. The 27-year-old center has 154 games of NHL experience and could push to make the team…
Read More: Five burning questions for Wild training camp: Can Guerin swing a trade for