Wild insider: Could we see Zuccarello, Johansson and Bogosian extensions by season's end?
SOURCE:The Athletic|BY:Michael Russo and Joe Smith
With the Wild potentially in the market to make more moves before the trade deadline, the three veterans' status is worth watching.
Jesper Wallstedt didn’t need to make Christmas plans. He already knew where he was going.
The past couple years, Wallstedt said, Marcus Johansson has hosted the Wild’s Swedes over his house for the holiday. It provides a place for the likes of Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek and Filip Gustavsson to connect and have their traditional fare.
It’s not surprising, as Johansson, his wife Amelia, and their two daughters, Mila and Elize, have really found a home in the Twin Cities. It’s a big reason why Johansson signed a one-year, $800K deal last summer to stay.
“This was my No. 1 option,” Johansson said. “For myself and my family, my kids, this is where we wanted to be. It’s not about the money. It’s not about anything else. I wanted to play here. I want to be somewhere where I know my family likes it and kids like their schools. To me, it was a no-brainer.”
What could be a more intriguing question is whether the Wild and Johansson are a match for another contract, as the veteran winger is due to be a UFA next summer but eligible for an extension any time after Jan. 1.
Johansson, whose 11 goals in 37 games equal his totals each of the past two years with the Wild and whose 28 points are six fewer than he had last season in 72 games, has had a terrific year and looks like he has more hockey left in the tank. An extension could make sense after recently trading forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Öhgren.
However, Johansson isn’t the only veteran the Wild will have to decide on. There’s a chance Minnesota could look at extending Mats Zuccarello and Zach Bogosian as well.
Zuccarello, 38, has to decide if he wants to continue playing beyond this year — though he and buddy Kirill Kaprizov still have that special chemistry, as we were reminded of with Zuccarello’s setup of Kaprizov’s go-ahead goal Saturday in Winnipeg. Bogosian, 35, has resurrected his career here after falling into a seventh defenseman/healthy scratch role with the Tampa Bay Lightning a few years ago.
We believe the Wild would have some level of interest in bringing the three back, at the right contract. But even still, GM and president of hockey operations Bill Guerin might show some patience.
There’s so much up in the air with the Wild potentially making moves in advance of the March 6 trade deadline. The blockbuster for Quinn Hughes wasn’t the end of Guerin’s shopping, especially if the group looks like a contender. He’d want to add without deleting, so it could be a case where they could wait to see what the roster looks like later this season or early summer.
Zuccarello said before the season he was undecided as to whether to play beyond this season, but if he wants to come back, it’s hard to imagine Guerin won’t find a contract for him.
Zuccarello, who forced overtime Saturday night with the tying goal with 20 seconds left in regulation, showed how important he was to the team when the Wild went 12 consecutive games (10-0-2) without losing in regulation after having to wait for his season debut a month into the season following core muscle surgery.
He has scored three goals and 13 assists in 19 games and ranks fourth in franchise history with 245 assists and seventh with 351 points.
Originally acquired to provide depth a couple years ago when Calen Addison was moved, Bogosian has been a reliable third-pair defender and penalty killer while finishing up a two-year deal ($1.25 million AAV). He’s also been a big part of the culture of the dressing room; a reason Zeev Buium picked 24 as his Vancouver Canucks number was his respect for Bogosian.
Bogosian has felt great since early-season surgery to repair a broken ankle. He’s always been a gifted skater, and the 6-foot-3, 231-pounder still moves really well. The Cup champion also provides something important on a relatively smaller blue line: size and sandpaper.
Now, the one issue in re-signing Bogosian is what it means for prospect David Jiricek. The Wild gave up a boatload in November 2024 for the 2022 No. 6 pick, and while Jiricek hasn’t been able to stick yet at the NHL level, they might not want to bury him either (and there’d be no room with Bogosian, Jake Middleton, Brodin, Jared Spurgeon, Brock Faber and Hughes all on the roster).
Stick with goalie rotation?
Since Nov. 9, the Wild have had a pretty strict goalie rotation, with Gustavsson and Wallstedt alternating games. There have been two instances in which Gustavsson had consecutive games, though it was mostly opponent-related.
Could the Wild continue with this plan in the second half?
“Everything is short-term in our world,” coach John Hynes said. “I think both players are playing really well. It doesn’t mean it’s always going to be a strict rotation. Maybe it’s a guy playing a couple games in a row, or it’s one guy plays, the other guy does. It’s all determined on performance. If performance stays high we can continue doing what we’re doing.”
Would Hynes rather a goalie grab the net and be a true No. 1 down the stretch?
“I’d rather have the situation where two guys are playing really well,” Hynes said. “They’re focused. Being around the league long enough, sometimes there are times, yes, you can ride a hot goaltender and sometimes it is out of necessity. Maybe the other guy is hurt, maybe the other guy is really hot, maybe somebody is not playing as well. But for long-term over 82 games, if you can play both goaltenders regularly and both guys give you a chance to win every single night, that’s a great recipe for the team and the individual goalies.”
Brackett on Yurov
When Carson Lambos made his NHL debut in Columbus on Dec. 18, that meant 100 percent of Judd Brackett’s first-round picks since 2020 who have turned professional had played in at least one game for the Wild.
With three of those first-round picks — Rossi, Öhgren and Buium — traded in the Hughes deal, Brackett is really excited about the growth of Danila Yurov, who has five points in his past six games and recently had a three-point performance against the Washington Capitals.
Yurov’s impact is one reason why the Wild felt comfortable trading Rossi.
“I think, even if you think back to the rookie tournament, he comes over, eyes wide open and it’s his first time living in North America,” said Brackett, the Wild’s director of amateur scouting. “There’s a culture change, there’s language, there’s expectations. It’s a lot to digest. And I think he has just continued to play smart hockey, detailed hockey.
“Do I think there’s more offense to come? I do. I think that’ll come with surroundings and comfort, but he’s shown that he’s smart enough. He’s shown that he can play at pace. He’s incredibly responsible already at this age, which is usually what you’re working on with a young player. And even the other night (against Washington), what was he, 10 of 11 on draws?
“So I think the runway is tremendous for him. He’s a guy who doesn’t cheat for offense, that you love seeing him jump in on the hit on Zuccarello (in Seattle). This guy, he’s a hockey player. He gets it and he knows the work that goes into it, so I just see a guy who’s going to spend his offseason getting better and better and coming back each year to build on what he started with.”
Hughes further puts Wild on map
It’s the holiday season and the Wild are on the road until Jan. 10, so tickets weren’t likely to be sold this time of year.
But it is striking that the Wild have sold out all six home games since the Hughes trade, considering they sold out three of their first 16 games at Grand Casino Arena.
Blockbusters like the Hughes trade don’t happen often in the NHL and Wild fans are clearly energized by a team that is 6-1-1 since the trade (5-1-1 with Hughes in the lineup).
What’s also cool is that usually Minnesota is flyover country in the NHL. So it was neat seeing Matt Boldy featured in the NHL’s “Work From Home” ad spot earlier this season with Connor Bedard, Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, Sidney Crosby and Travis Sanheim. And now, in the league’s latest spot, “AI Can’t NHL,” we get to see Hughes’ acting chops alongside Jake Oettinger, Cale Makar and Charlie McAvoy.
The timing of the commercial’s release was perfect, too, as it came after the Dec. 12 trade. Editors were able to scramble and sub out Hughes highlights in a Wild uniform instead of the original Canucks sweater.
Hughes is starting to fit in with the Wild, as evidenced by his three-assist game in Saturday’s overtime win. Just like Guerin envisioned, the winner was a Kaprizov-to-Hughes-to-Boldy beauty.
However, just as Hughes started to not need Apple Maps to get everywhere, the Wild left Saturday for a seven-game road trip.
“Part of me wishes the break (didn’t come),” said Hughes, who returned home to Michigan to spend time with his family and finally take a deep breath. “I felt like I was starting to get into the groove here.”