The phrase a 'second chance' has been floating around the Wild at training camp in regards to the upcoming season.
There wasn't much roster turnover from last year's Wild team that missed the playoffs for the second time since 2012. They added Yakov Trenin from free agency and traded Vinni Lettieri to the Boston Bruins for Jakub Lauko. Both Trenin and Lauko bring the same style to the table.
"I feel like, it’s just like a, I don’t wanna say turn the page but we had a lot of guys, including myself, that just, it was a down year," Wild assistant captain Marcus Foligno said. "It wasn’t ourselves. A lot of injuries as a team, and a slow start that really handicapped us. I think just going into this season, there’s a lot of excitement. Everyone’s got a chip on their shoulder.
"Expectations surrounding us on the outside a little bit low, but it’s very high inside. So that’s what we’re excited about. Everyone’s coming in ready to roll, little bit ticked off, and I think that’s really good for our team."
After two days of training camp the Wild have shuffled the lines a little bit. Ryan Hartman is back as the team's number one center with Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello.
Marcus Johansson is back for another year as the team's left winger with Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy as his line mates, Freddy Gaudreau is back and is entering year two of his five-year contract that includes a 15-team no trade clause, and Filip Gustavsson is back after having his name thrown around in countless trade rumors during the offseason.
"You’re giving the guys maybe a second chance at where they were in the lineup, and that puts, I think, it’s great pressure on those guys, including myself," Foligno said. "We all have to produce more than what we did last season. And at the same time, it’s understanding that it’s due to a start. You have to have a good start. Our best season was because of a start. So it’s getting back to those ways and being mentally sharp from the first puck drop in a home opener."
Johansson, 33, is on the final year of his two-year contract and is set to be a free agent after the year is over. Johansson, Lauko, Rossi, and Khusnutdinov are the only four from the Wild's forward group that aren't locked into this year and next year. Plus many of them, six players to be exact, have some type of no trade clause.
The pressure is essentially on them to bounce back and make the postseason again. If not, this could continue to spiral into years of the same result.
“Well, because I think players will be healthy. Well, I’m hoping that they’re healthier and I’m relying on players to have bounce-back years," Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin said. "Everybody has an off year, and I think we had a few guys that had off years. I think our team had an off year. We didn’t have health.
"You know what? When we were healthy and guys were playing the way that they can, we were a good team. So the idea is to bounce back and get back to where we can, and I’m confident in the players that they can do that.”
A second chance can be a good thing and after a year where the Wild had more wins than regulation losses, it is fitting that a second chance has been given. But if the second chance turns into the same result as last year, the Wild might be stuck in the middle for what could be awhile.
