In this morning’s end-of-season media availability, veteran forward Nick Foligno touched on his future with the Minnesota Wild and his playing future in general. According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, Foligno stated that he would love to return to the Wild next season, but will first decide whether he wants to continue playing.
Minnesota acquired the 38-year-old Foligno at the deadline in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. He performed admirably, scoring one goal and adding four points in 17 regular-season contests, with two additional goals and three points in 11 postseason games. His two playoff goals came in the series-clinching loss against the Colorado Avalanche in Game 5 of Round Two.
There’s no surprise that retirement is a legitimate question for Foligno. As soon as the Wild acquired him, it had all the makings of a swan song, playing out the final days of his career with his brother, Marcus Foligno. Fortunately for Minnesota, should Foligno return, it’ll assuredly be on a much cheaper deal than his current $4.5MM salary.
Additional notes from the Wild:
According to Joe Smith of The Athletic, defenseman Jonas Brodin revealed his playoff ailment to the media. Brodin shared that he broke a toe bone after blocking a shot in Round One, a fracture that required surgery. It’s more of the same for Brodin, who has not registered 70 or more games in a single season since the 2021-22 campaign.
Unsurprisingly, Russo indicated that head coach John Hynes isn’t expected to depart this offseason. The question is fairly typical after a team is bounced from the playoffs, especially a team as talented as the Wild. Hynes has been the main bench boss in Minnesota since the 2023-24 campaign, guiding them to a 125-78-24 record (.604 W%) in that time.