The Wild didn’t make any splashy acquisitions early in NHL free agency, but they had plenty of exits.
In-season trade pickups Ryan Reaves, Gustav Nyquist and John Klingberg signed elsewhere, as did Sam Steel after the Wild lost his rights.
“You want to be more active,” General Manager Bill Guerin said. “You also have to be smart and can’t put yourself in a bad position.”
Departures were expected to outnumber arrivals.
With nearly $15 million of their budget eaten up by the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts, the Wild are strapped for cap space, and their decision making has been reinforced as much.
Their only additions on Saturday were centers Vinni Lettieri (two years) and Jake Lucchini (one year) on two-way contracts, but Guerin wants both players to live to make the team.
Lettieri is the grandson of former North Stars player and GM Lou Nanne and was a standout at Minnetonka High who made three NCAA tournament appearances with the Gophers. The 28-year-old from Excelsior had 23 goals and 26 assists in 48 games with Providence in the American Hockey League last season and has logged 83 NHL games with the New York Rangers, Anaheim and Boston (including one last season).
“I think that’s one of my best assets is my shooting and skating ability,” said Lettieri, who mentioned he was honored to have this opportunity. “If I can be a high-energy guy — I know the Wild’s very good at that and being hard to play against — so if I can continue to mold myself into their style of play, I think it’s going to be a great fit for me.”
Lucchini, 28, made his NHL debut last season with Ottawa, scoring once in 11 games.
He also suited up for the Senators’ minor-league affiliate in Belleville, totaling 19 goals and 34 assists through 61 games. Overall, Lucchini’s racked up 137 points in 237 AHL games.
As for behind the bench, there’s no longer a vacancy there.
Jason King is the new assistant, replacing Brett MacLean after MacLean became Iowa’s head coach in the AHL.
King, 41, spent the last three seasons as an assistant for Vancouver where he ran the power play, a responsibility he’ll assume with the Wild. In 2022-23, the Canucks converted 22.7% of their power plays to rank 11th in the NHL. The Newfoundland native was also an assistant in the AHL and played professionally for 11 seasons including 59 NHL games.
“Just a high-character guy,” Guerin said. “Hard working, smart hockey guy.”
What still needs to be addressed is the roster the coaching staff will oversee.
A veteran forward was on the Wild’s radar and even though they could still make that signing this summer, there’s no guarantee.
“Certain things that we thought we were going to be able to get done didn’t materialize,” Guerin said. “So, we might have to adjust our thinking.”
They wanted to bring back Reaves, who chipped in five goals and 10 assists in 61 games last season as a physical leader, but the three-year, $4.05 million contract he secured from Toronto was too lucrative for the Wild.
“I’m extremely happy for Reavo,” Guerin said. “He’s a fantastic guy, elite at what he does, and brings a lot of energy. Toronto is lucky to be getting him. We’ll miss him.”
Nyquist joined Nashville on a two-year, $6.37 million deal and Toronto also landed Klingberg (one year for $4.15 million), while Steel went to Dallas for one year at $850,000 after he didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the Wild ahead of Friday’s deadline and became a free agent.
While the Wild have around $7 million in cap space, they’ve earmarked the bulk of that for re-signing their restricted free agents: goaltender Filip Gustavsson, winger Brandon Duhaime and defenseman Calen Addison.
Just above the league minimum at $800,000 is what the Wild have allocated for additional spending. That’s why Guerin doesn’t feel keeping long-time defenseman Matt Dumba is an option.
“He’s going to be tough to replace,” Guerin said of Dumba, who reached free agency after 10 seasons and nearly 600 games with the Wild after the team drafted him seventh overall in 2012. “Matt’s a good player. He’s a great guy. He’s been here a long time and did some great things.
“But at some point in time, you gotta move on, too. I haven’t seen his name out there, but I’m sure something will materialize for him.”
Guerin was “bored” and occasionally frustrated on Saturday, mentioning how he “would’ve loved to have been more active.”
But a ho-hum start to free agency wasn’t just indicative of the Wild’s finances. This also reflected their depth chart, which is almost at capacity.
“We still have a few RFA contracts to get signed,” Guerin said. “But for the most part our team is set, and we’re happy with that.”