Minnesota Wild Free Agent Targets: Brock Nelson

Brock Nelson's name has been linked to the Minnesota Wild for the last year or so. If he makes it to free agency on July 1, you better believe the Wild will look at him as someone they could sign. 

Nelson, 33, seems to fit the mold as a player the Wild would want. He is 6-foot-4 and has a reputation of being a defensive center who scores 30 goals. Although he has scored 30 goals, Nelson really isn't really the defensive center as some suggest. 

The native of Minnesota is an offensive player first and foremost, who creates offensive chances and rush chances at 5-on-5 for his line mates.

At media availability with Wild General Manager Bill Guerin and Wild head coach John Hynes, Guerin was asked what the priority will be for him during free agency. 

“I think our D-corps is set. I’d like to focus on forwards. You’re talking about what type of players? Probably more center position. I think Ekky [Joel Eriksson Ek] needs a little help. He’s in a battle every single night, and there’s no easy nights for him, so I think we could create some help there," Guerin said. "I wouldn’t be opposed to a scoring winger either. But we’re going to have to look and see who’s available when it comes to free agency, and there’s always possibilities of trades, too, so we’re going to explore all that stuff.”

So, it is pretty clear the focus is on the center position but mostly a center who is big and can take a load off Eriksson Ek. At 6-foot-4, Nelson seems like that guy. 

As you can see above, Nelson had a high finishing rate this year and created a lot of chances for his teammates. Which is a plus. He will enter the 2025-26 season as a 35 year old. 

Nelson peaked as a 30-year old when he recorded a career-high 37 goals and 59 points. He followed that up at 31 years old with 36 goals and a new career-high in assists (39) and points (75). The following season Nelson had 34 goals and 69 points. 

After three consecutive seasons with 30 goals, Nelson took a dip in goals and points and finished with 26 goals and 56 points in 80 games. He was traded with William Dufour to the Colorado Avalanche for first round draft pick in 2026, third round draft pick in 2028, Oliver Kylington and top prospect Calum Ritchie.

He finished with six goals and 13 points in 19 regular season games for the Avalanche and had zero goals in seven playoff games. Nelson had a 44.1% face-off percentage in the playoffs as well. 

The reason why Nelson has been linked to Minnesota is for a new reasons. It is the first time in his 12-year NHL career that he is a free agent. He is also from Minnesota. Nelson also was chosen to represent USA at the 4 Nations Face-off which Guerin was the General Manager for. 

He had zero points in four games and was a minus-3. 

In 920 career NHL games, Nelson has 301 goals, 286 assists, and 587 points. He has a career face-off percentage of 48.0 as well. 

Nonetheless, the Wild have to be a little careful when it comes to offering Nelson a contract. His point totals took a bit of a dip for the first time in three seasons and is entering the 2025-26 season at the age of 34. The Wild just saw how quickly Gustav Nyquist fell off. 

At the age of 34, Nyquist posted a career-best 52 assists and 75 points. He followed that up with just 11 goals and 28 points at the age of 35. He played 28 games for the Wild following the trade that sent a 2026 second round pick to Nashville, with two goals and seven points. He had zero goals at 5-on-5 with the Wild. He had just one 5-on-5 goal in his last 76 games and was a minus-29 in that span. 

Just look at Eric Staal for example. The Wild turned his career around when they got him in 2016-17. At the age of 32, Staal recorded 28 goals and 67 points. He followed that up with 42 goals and 76 points the next year. 

He spent four seasons with the Wild from 32 years old to 35 and recorded 111 goals, 129 assists, and 240 points in 311 games. He retired at 38 and recorded 19 goals and 42 points in 125 games after Minnesota moved on from him. 

"Yeah, July 1 can be a day of mistakes, too. We don’t want to do that," Guerin said about free agency. "But we also don’t want to miss out on opportunities to make our team better."

If the Wild are looking for help for Eriksson Ek, and are considering moving on from Marco Rossi, Nelson can be that guy. For a short-term price. He will undoubtedly make the Wild better next year, but the team should still be careful how much they commit to him.