With a new head coach, are the Minnesota Wild prepared to take the next step during the 2016-17 season?
The Minnesota Wild had a season to remember in 2015-16. After a terrible January and start to February, head coach Mike Yeo found himself in the unemployment line. Interim head coach John Torchetti helped the team win 15 of their last 27 games in regulation to make the playoffs with a 38-33-11 record. They lost to the number one seed Dallas Stars in the first round.
Minnesota decided to move on from Torchetti as their head coach after the Anaheim Ducks fired Bruce Boudreau. Boudreau will join a team that has a lot of potential, but must win now. Will they be able to do so?
Offseason Review
Here’s a quick review of what the Wild have done this offseason.
Additions: F Chris Stewart (Ducks), C Eric Staal (Rangers), G Alex Stalock (Maple Leafs)
Losses: F Thomas Vanek (Red Wings), F Justin Fontaine, C Jarret Stoll, F David Jones
Retained: G Darcy Keumper, D Matthew Dumba, F Ryan Carter
The Minnesota Wild are bringing back a familiar face in Chris Stewart. In 2015-16, Stewart spent 20 games with the team with 11 points. He spent last season playing for Boudreau’s Ducks. He should bring some size and physicality to Boudreau’s offense.
Eric Staal got a relatively cheap three-year deal. His tenure with the New York Rangers was a disaster. However, in Boudreau’s system, Staal could get back to being the productive player that fans are used to seeing.
Alex Stalock will likely serve as goaltending depth in the AHL unless the Wild decide to carry three goaltenders. Ryan Carter is returning to the Wild after spending the past two seasons with them, but his spot is not set in stone.
Thomas Vanek was never a fit with the Wild and has since moved on to the Red Wings. Justin Fontaine and Jarret Stoll each got tryouts while David Jones is still trying to find a job.
Extending Matthew Dumba was important for the Wild. They will get two more years to evaluate if he is worth a long-term deal. Darcy Keumper will serve as the backup for goaltender Devan Dubnyk.
Player Spotlight: Nino Niederreiter
The Minnesota Wild have a number of veteran players, including Ryan Suter, Zach Parise, Eric Staal, and Mikko Koivu. They are great leaders and should be important to the team’s success in 2016-17. However, people often overlook the Wild’s young skillful forwards. None of them are better or more overlooked than Nino Niederreiter.
Besides having an excellent name, Niederreiter finished fifth on the team last season with 43 points and his 20 goals were third on the team. He brings a lot of value that you cannot measure on the scoresheet. As productive as he is on offense, he might be even better on defense. That’s quite rare from a wing.
Niederreiter had the largest influence on shots attempts against of any player in the NHL. Yes, that includes perennial Selke Trophy candidate Patrice Bergeron. Niederreiter forms a strong shutdown line with Koivu. Boudreau loves shutdown lines because they allow him to give the other lines more favorable zone starts and deployment.
Of course, other young players will be important too. Charlie Coyle, Erik Haula, Jason Zucker, and Dumba should each benefit from having Boudreau as their coach. He’s going to utilize them according to their specific strengths. But Neiderreiter could be the most important of their young players.
2016-17 Outlook
All Boudreau does is make the playoffs. He has never missed the playoffs in a full season as a head coach. That likely won’t change this year. Sure, the Central Division got better. But the Wild did as well just by hiring Boudreau. Minnesota has few weaknesses and are a balanced team on paper.
The question with every Boudreau team is what they will do once they make the playoffs. That’s quite hard to project, but Dubnyk is likely the best goaltender that Boudreau has ever had. His goalies have done terribly in elimination games and not all of it is Boudreau’s fault.
A key factor this season for the Wild should be their offense. Their defense won’t be an issue. Boudreau’s teams have always been sound defensively (hence their dominance despite mediocre goaltending).
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The Wild must score more goals and be a stronger puck possession team in order to make some noise in the playoffs. Minnesota has the talent necessary to do it. They might not have a go-to goal scorer, but perhaps that will benefit them, much like the Florida Panthers last season.
Minnesota will go as far as their young players can take them. Which, if they play their cards right, could be the Stanley Cup Finals.