Bill Guerin Is Looking Very Right About Matt Boldy

Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin knows what a member of the 50/50 Club looks like. He spent his final season with the Pittsburgh Penguins during Sidney Crosby's only 50/50 season. Heck, Guerin even fed Crosby on 12 of those 51 goals and dunked in 12 more of Crosby's 58 assists.

He watched another inductee into the club, Evgeni Malkin, while Guerin was in Pittsburgh's front office. It'd be shocking if Guerin's mind doesn't immediately leap to those two when thinking about a 50/50 player.

So it raised eyebrows when Guerin pegged Matt Boldy as someone who could join the big center in that legendary 50/50 Club during the offseason. Saying that is like looking at Crosby and Malkin and going, "This guy is a lot like them." It seems ridiculous on its face, even if you believed in Boldy to make a leap from his 29-goal, 69-point season.

But those big words are looking downright prophetic through 21 games. If it wasn't for Kirill Kaprizov contending for the Art Ross and Hard Trophies, the league in scoring, the talk in the State of Hockey might be all about how right Guerin was about Boldy.

Boldy has 11 goals and 22 points through 21 games this season -- on pace for a 43-goal, 43-assist season that puts him within striking distance of the 50/50 Club. He entered Tuesday tied for 18th in goals with Connor McDavid, Brady Tkachuk, and Tage Thompson, among others. His 22 points put him just outside the league's top 30.

And that's been with Kaprizov mostly getting top billing. Both players play on the top power play together, and John Hynes recently reunited them on the top line. But Kaprizov is the undisputed Big Dog on the team, getting nearly three minutes more per game than Boldy and the extra scoring opportunities that come with them. 

Fortunately for the Wild, that system is staying in place. Kaprizov's knee-on-knee collision with Drake Caggiula forced him out of Saturday's Calgary Flames game, he was back in the lineup in Monday night's loss to the Winnipeg Jets. While Kaprizov's return denies Boldy a chance to go on a Sicko Mode run as the No. 1 option -- which he did in spring 2023 when he scored 13 goals and 19 points in 13 games with Kaprizov on the shelf -- playing alongside him on the top line is a bigger prize.

Since John Hynes took over the Wild bench late last November, he's frequently played Boldy and Kaprizov together at 5-on-5. Boldy has managed to shine both with and without his star counterpart. Going back to December 3 -- his last 82 games -- Boldy has 38 goals (15th in the NHL over that time) and 82 points (23rd). If we count that as a full season, we already have proof of concept for a 40/40 season. How much more of a stretch is adding 12 goals and six assists on top of those numbers?

Especially with Kaprizov taking the leap he's made over the last year. Despite a missed game, Kaprizov is on pace to score 53 goals and 138 points this season. And while a 130-point season might be a bit much, it's no stretch to think Kaprizov can hit a 50/50 season with relative ease. Heck, if you want to talk about last-82-game splits, Kaprizov has 55 goals and 118 points. 

Kaprizov being on another level should raise Boldy's game, and even if he doesn't quite hit that 50/50 plateau, it's clear that Guerin's prediction wasn't bluster and hype. He's looking awfully right about Boldy right now, and he's establishing himself as the same level of second star that the Colorado Avalanche have in Mikko Rantanen, the Florida Panthers have in Sam Reinhart, or the Tampa Bay Lightning have in Brayden Point. Boldy is a true force to be reckoned with.