Minnesota Wild Fantasy Hockey Spotlight | Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and More

It's been a while since we have done a team spotlight, and in lieu of the richest contract in NHL history just being signed, there is no better time than the start of regular season.

This is going to be a Wild one, so let's get right into it, shall we?

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Keeper Status

Kirill Kaprizov just signed an eight-year, $136M contract. Coming in at an AAV of $16M, this is the highest contract in NHL history. This makes Connor McDavid's new two-year deal an absolute steal! He signed today for $12.5M AAV. 

Kaprizov spent half the season injured, but still had 25 goals, 31 assists, and 14 powerplay points in just 41 games played as a forward. He also had 145 shots on goal, 16 hits, and 17 blocked shots.

Must-Draft Players

Matt Boldy is poised to have a breakout season. He will be stapled to Kaprizov all year and a 70+ point effort last year, so as hard as it is to believe there is still room to grow, there is.

Boldy has elite deployment and a guaranteed spot on the top line, and the number one powerplay unit. His deployment is a perfect match for his volume of shots, which landed him a seventh in the league last year. Boldy also spent the majority of last season without Kaprizov, so putting these two together is a recipe for success.

Boldy had 27 goals, 46 assists, and 21 powerplay points in 81 games played last season as a forward. He also had 271 shots on goal, 51 hits, and 69 blocked shots.

Brock Faber is the Miro Heiskanen of the Wild. Elite defenseman with an unreal hockey IQ, and vision for the game, however a lot of what he does on the ice does not translate to fantasy hockey.

Don't get me wrong, I would still draft Faber all day every day, but hedge your expectations on his production. Just be mindful of the downfalls here. Another notable is that he is losing ground on deployment to rookie defenseman Zeev Buium and has been demoted to the second unit powerplay. Still, Faber remains on the top penalty kill unit and will rack up shotblocks in volume there.

Faber had 10 goals, 19 assists, and 10 powerplay points in 78 games played last season as a defenseman. He also had 124 shots on goal, 35 hits, 115 blocked shots.

Joel Eriksson Ek is my selection for one of the best breakout players of the season. He spent the majority of last year injured as well, but was an absolute monster following the 4 Nations Face-Off. I suspect he will continue this trajectory. While he is not a lock for the top line yet, I believe he will end the season there.

JEEK is a bit of a fantasy league unicorn. He scores, he passes, he hits, he blocks shots, and has elite deployment on a competitive team. His health is the only downside here. All of this depends if he can stay healthy for most of the season. If he can, his ADP and value is off the charts and could be the steal of your draft! 

JEEK had 14 goals, 15 assists, and 10 powerplay points in just 46 games played last season as a forward. He also had 140 shots on goal, 82 hits, and 36 blocked shots.

Marco Rossi's contract situation finally concluded with a $5M AAV three-year signing, which should help tensions between Rossi and the team. Further tension is allegedly between head coach John Hynes and Rossi, sometimes leaving Rossi in the doghouse with limited TOI paying down the lineup. 

Hynes had Rossi playing on the fourth line last year during playoffs, so hopefully that is behind them both.

Assuming that the team is now happy to secure Rossi for another three years, and the coach doesn't need to lean on Rossi as much with the full return of Kaprizov and JEEK, Rossi is likely to continue his elite deployment without the pressure of filling holes of missing superstars.

There is a lot more to love drafting Rossi than to not, and it's a very low risk, high reward draft pick, especially given his mid-round ADP. Rossi is going to have constant powerplay time, and top six minutes. Maybe some line one, maybe some line two. Maybe some top unit time, maybe some second unit time. Expect him to be up and down all season but produce regardless of where he lands.

Rossi had 24 goals, 36 assists, and 16 powerplay points in 82 games played last season as a forward. He also had 136 shots on goal, 63 hits, and 41 blocked shots.

Injury Report

Mats Zuccarello will miss the start of this season according to the NHL.

At 38 years old, missing six-to-eight weeks minimum will have lasting effects on his game upon return. A usual steady and predictable 50-60 point forward is a big hole to fill, but the Wild are still quite deep and the impact will not be nearly as bad as last year's losses in which the team still saw success.

Zuccarello's absence will only give better opportunities for the younger players on the roster fighting for a top six role. That said, Zucarello should be close to a point a game based on his deployment and is a safe IR slot stash until his return. 

Zuccarello had 19 goals, 35 assists, and 16 powerplay points in 69 games played last season as a forward. He also had 151 shots on goal, 32 hits, and 48 blocked shots.

Rookie to Watch

Zeev Buium is the rookie defenseman taking the team, and the league by storm. He is coming in on the second defensive pairing, and has stolen Faber's spot as the quarterback on the top powerplay unit. We discussed him and his potential in my Rookies article, so you can bring yourself up to speed there.

Zeev had 13 goals, 35 assists, and 48 points in 41 games played as a defensemen last year in the NCHC.

Elite Goaltending

We also can't forget that they have Filip Gustavsson in net who is a solid top starter in the league who will provide consistent backstopping. He is a early round selection in most drafts, based on his numbers last year and having to hold his own for majority of the starts last year and his heavy workload.

Gustavsson not only is a starter, not limiting his starts to a tandem role, but is going to give you elite level save percentage and goals against average. The defense in front of him is very good, giving you next to no fear of him having blowout games where he is chased.

Gustavsson had 31 wins in 58 games started last season as a goaltender. He also had an impressive .914 save percentage, 2.56 goals against average, and five shutouts.

Notable Mentions

Captain Jared Spurgeon and veteran Jake Middleton are both defenseman that should be mentioned, even if they didn't make the list. They are both bulwark defenders who are definitely rosterable and are likely to be selected in late rounds of your draft.

These depth defenseman have between 40-50% rostered rates respectively, and should fetch between 30-40 points each plus decent peripherals.

In Closing

The Wild are a deep rostered team, with only one major injury. You could add defenseman Jonas Brodin to the injured list, but with the emergence of Buium who is set to make his NHL debut, this is almost to the team's benefit.

The Wild are not only deep, but balanced. They have a keeper, a roster full of young stars, veteran defenseman, and a Calder Memorial Trophy candidate amongst them who is starting the season on the top powerplay unit.

Draft any of these players on the Wild knowing they will provide elite level scoring, excellent peripherals, a solid +/- rating, and amazing goaltending. They look to be in great shape both going into the season, and for fantasy as well.