Continuity was the story of the summer for a Minnesota Wild team that has lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in the second round of the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.

The player who had the biggest impact on the Wild last season was goaltender Devan Dubnyk, who was on his way to washing out of the league after a miserable 2013-2014 season, but after Dubnyk won 27 of 39 starts for Minnesota, posting a .936 save percentage, the middling Wild were thrust into playoff position. As a result, Dubnyk was Minnesota’s top priority in the offseason and that’s fine so long as there isn’t an expectation that he continue to play at that level over the long haul, because that’s just not fair.

Minnesota’s forward group is anchored by veterans Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Jason Pominville and Thomas Vanek, but if there is to be serious improvement, it will come from young forwards. Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker, Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter could all play significant roles and if one or two have a breakout season, then that would have the Wild headed in the right direction.

Ryan Suter is the steady veteran on the Minnesota blueline, but this is another group with upside. Jared Spurgeon, Marco Scandella and Jonas Brodin have established that they can handle top-four roles, but Matt Dumba is pushing for a bigger role and prized collegiate free agent signing Mike Reilly offers additional long-term value.

Is it going to be enough to overtake the top teams in the Western Conference? Right now, it looks like the Wild are good enough to get to the playoffs, but will need some improvement to take it to the next level.

 

OFF-SEASON HEADLINES

June 27: Devan Dubnyk signs six-year contract extension with Wild

July 1: Wild lock up centre Mikael Granlund, add former Gophers blueliner Mike Reilly

 

2015-16 MINNESOTA WILD

* Off-season Addition

 

Projected Lines

LW C RW
Zach Parise Mikael Granlund Jason Pominville
Jason Zucker Mikko Koivu Thomas Vanek
Nino Niederreiter Charlie Coyle Justin Fontaine
Ryan Carter Erik Haula Jordan Schroeder
  Tyler Graovac  

Fighting For Jobs: LW Ruslan Fedotenko*, RW Kurtis Gabriel, LW Michael Keranen

 

Projected Pairs

LD RD
Ryan Suter Jonas Brodin
Marco Scandella Jared Spurgeon
Mike Reilly* Matthew Dumba
Nate Prosser  

Fighting For Jobs: RD Christian Folin

 

Projected Goalies

No. 1 No. 2 No. 3
Devan Dubnyk Darcy Kuemper Niklas Backstrom

Off-season Departures: RW Chris Stewart, C Kyle Brodziak, LW Matt Cooke, G Josh Harding

Projected Lineup: Michael Russo/Minneapolis Star-Tribune

 

SERAVALLI'S THREE QUESTIONS

1. Will goaltender Devan Dubnyk remain as good as he was last season after his $26 million deal?

2. Will free agent signee Mike Reilly live up to the hype as an instant addition?

3. Will the Wild opt to carry seven or eight defencemen?

 

BUTTON'S TOP PROSPECTS

Top 2015-16 Prospect

D Mike Reilly (Minnesota, NCAA): Great head and combined with excellent skating & passing ability, he can dictate the game.

Long-Term Prospect

C Joel Eriksson Ek (Farjestads, SweHL): Smart, versatile centre who can contribute in multiple ways. Needs time to mature.

* Listed with 2014-15 teams

 

 

BY THE NUMBERS

 

Three-Year Breakdown (League Rank)

  2012-13 2013-14 2014-15
Points 94 (15th)* 98 (11th) 100 (11th)
Goals For 2.5 (T-22nd) 2.4 (T-24th) 2.8 (T-12th)
Goals Against 2.6 (T-15th) 2.4 (7th) 2.4 (6th)
Power Play 18% (16th) 18% (16th) 16% (11th)
Penalty Killing 81% (18th) 79% (27th) 86% (T-16th)
SAT% Possession 49.4% (16th) 48.6% (22nd) 51.0% (16th)

* 2012-13 points: Pro-rated lockout-shortened total

 

ESTIMATED PAYROLL vs. CAP - $71.0M/$71.4M

Minnesota doesn’t have much cap room as long as goaltender Niklas Backstrom’s $3.4 million-plus is on the books. If Backstrom, who has played 40 games over the past two seasons, ends up on long-term injured reserve, then there would be plenty of space, but until then, Minnesota will have to pay close attention to their cap situation.

 

PARTING SHOT