Feb 24, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) celebrates with center Joel Eriksson Ek (14) after scoring a goal against the Seattle Kraken during the first period at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
The Wild Can Expect More From Their Top Line Next Year
A big focus of the Minnesota Wild’s offseason is improving their secondary scoring. At his postseason availability, Bill Guerin told the media, “I could have done a better job at insulating…our top players, creating more depth within the organization. I think that’s something we fell short on.”
No one will argue with that. Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Matt Boldy combined for 105 of the Wild’s 248 goals, or 42.3% of their total. At 5-on-5, that trio scored 53 of Minnesota’s 155 goals (35.2% of the total). Marco Rossi (18) and Ryan Hartman (12) were the only other Wild players who scored 10 or more goals.
The Wild have to address their depth. They cannot be a one-line team next year and expect to succeed. Or at least, expect Kaprizov to agree to spend the next part of his career carrying a club that can’t find a second punch.
While the 2023-24 season seems like a waste (and in many ways was), new coach John Hynes figured out something that avoids chalking up this season as a total loss. It turns out that putting Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, and Boldy together is a look that can frighten NHL defenses for years to come.
Hynes’ predecessor, Dean Evason, tried (and for a long time, succeeded) to bolster Minnesota’s depth by deploying a spread-the-wealth philosophy in his lines. Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, and Kevin Fiala (followed by Boldy after the Fiala trade) had their lines to carry, and they were largely good enough to make it work.
But as the Wild’s depth started to erode, that methodology had to change. Last year, Evason put Eriksson Ek on Boldy’s line to break Boldy out of a half-year-long sophomore slump. But Evason never could quite bring himself to press the button to load up the top line.
Hynes did and never looked back. The Wild’s top trio played 374 5-on-5 minutes together and out-scored opponents 30-18 over that time. Of the 74 forward lines who played 200-plus minutes at 5-on-5, Minnesota’s loaded top line scored 4.81 goals per hour. The only line that scored more frequently was when the Edmonton Oilers loaded Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Zach Hyman on their top line.
As great as that is, there’s another level this line can reach. For one, they could play together the full season, so something like 600-plus 5-on-5 minutes together rather than fewer than 400. That’d help. So would Boldy’s transition from a 30-goal guy to a Kaprizovesque force. But even if there’s no growth in chemistry or skills, there are reasons to believe Minnesota’s top line can improve next year.
