Minnesota Wild 2025-26 NHL Season Preview | The Steve Dangle Podcast

Minnesota Wild 2025-26 NHL Season Preview | The Steve Dangle Podcast

years ago, Steve Dangle out of nowhere went on a rant about how the Minnesota Wild created the 2012 2013 lockout. And it, if you’re a longtime listener of this show, uh, a lot of Minnesota fans are actually, and they were like, “Hey man, what did we do?” And that, “Oh, you didn’t do anything.” Now, the reason I bring this up is that’s the last time I can remember there being any drama with the Minnesota Wild. perhaps the Sudter Perez buyouts. I would say that but but really this is a very quiet dramafree team until this year and last year they were neck andneck with the Winnipeg Jets until some key injuries to guys specifically like Capri off which kind of took them off. Now they still finished with 97 points kind of snuck into the playoffs wasn’t great but we all expect this team I think to be better this year. So, the uh the betting odds, interestingly, have them getting slightly worse. And I thought I wanted to set all that up to say that the overunder at B MGM is 95 and a half. And they had 97 points last year. That’s a little low for me. I’m I’m hammering over on that. And by the way, you get better odds on the over to 1.95. I’m lightly pushing over. So, you’re not a big believer? No. Jesse Blake, can you give me the number again? The number is 95 and a half. They had 97 points last year. 95 and a half. It’s real. I’ll take over. You’ll take over. I’ll take over. See, that sounds like a light push. You’re It’s so It’s It’s so right on the line of where they should be. I think there could be over. There could be four teams in this division with 100 points. Oh, yeah. I look at the division, I say there’s it’s a tier of three and then a tier of three and then kind of a tier of one and two. So, would this be the team, and I don’t want to ask your ranking, it would be in the second tier three. Winnipeg and Colorado are kind of step of above. Okay. Now, second here, but that’s that’s how I look at it. Uh, Capri off thing aside, and we’ll get to it. Um, this is a team with Jonas Broaddin, who obviously is on the IR right now, as is Matt Zukarelloo. So, when you’re looking at their depth chart, they’re not sort of featured in that. But I want to start with defense because it looks strong. And I wanted to talk Broaddin’s included in this, but you got Middleton Faber, Zeb Buham, who they’re expecting big things out of, Jared Spurgeon, uh, David Urech, sorry, Adam Urechek. Um, no, it’s David. It’s David. Adam Urk in St. Louis. Uh, David Uric and Zack Begoian who is still hanging around 35 years old. They’re, you know, the this video is about how they’re going to perform this year. Mhm. But they’re set up so well for the future on the back end to already have Faber back there. Yep. Who really impressed me at Four Nations. And then Urachek is, you know, a little bit more of a wild card just cuz of the trade and everything. Got to get, you know, focus back on track. Um, and Bou, I mean, wow. That he looks exciting. Them being bad at just that one year could really benefit them in the future. It’s amazing. That’s a strong defense core. And it’s what I see a lot in that defense core guys, tell me if you disagree, is all those guys can really move the puck, you know, except for like Zack Bosian who probably is not at the big puck moving level anymore. Uh those guys that they can snap a puck up to the fords very quickly and that is going to help out their goalending. They’re Yeah, they’re they’re exhausting and and this is this this is what’s important for a video like this, which is about their regular season performance. Yeah, playoff gets a little more heavy and whatever. or I think they’re pesky and I think they’re a decent playoff team, but teams that can move the puck and just exhaust you for game 29 and 43 and all those dog days and I’m on a four game road trip and I just want to get home to my wife and kids and video games and everything. I I think uh the Minnesota Wild on most nights are going to be an exhausting out. Okay. And that’s a big part of it. Uh on goalending, Gustoson and Walstead. I mean, Gustoson had a great year last year. Uh Walstead seems like a pretty good backup, too. 22 years old. Uh so, you know, you you hope to see some more from him. Obviously, 2.2 million bucks. They believe in him a little bit. That’s Ascarov money, right? So, he got the Ascarov. Yeah. Like, uh he’s part of a crop of goalies that are supposed to be the next uh guys. I I I’m pretty high on them. Jesse, let’s talk about the defensive goalending from your perspective here. What stands out to you? The Gustoson I think is like he needs to be talked about in that upper echelon of goalender cuz the seasons when he’s been in Minnesota like when since he’s moved from Ottawa over to Minnesota like he’s been excellent year in year out a little bit of a dip in the 23 24 season but I don’t put that entirely on him last year with like the full workload 58 games the 914 and he really held them up for a long while in that second half of the season in the into the new year after January 1st where the team wasn’t very good. They didn’t pick up a lot of wins and he still had good numbers game in and game out. And I think Gustoson is in that elite class of goalender. Uh hard to deny that their strength really does exist up front though with a guy like Carell Capri off who did as of this recording turn down an eight-year $128 million contract 16 million bucks. Um you know in asking around and again I said this on the STP I’ll say it here. when a player does when when that kind of deal gets um rejected. Uh I asked people that would know and they’ve said yes, it will affect the dressing room. To what extent, we don’t know, but we do know that you need to have a strong dressing room to try to have that not be a distraction. Uh Marco Rossi is resigned. It’s looking like he’s going to play with Capri off and Matt Baldy. What a what an opportunity for him. Uh, and then you got Ogrren, Erikson, Terraasenko, who’s looking to have a bounceback year. Uh, Johansson Hartman who’s psychotic, Felino, and then Trennenstrom and Eurovv as your fourth line at least penciled in. Um, it seems like a pretty balanced group, but maybe not the depth scoring that you need to compete with the guys at the top end of the division. And we saw that when Capri off was out. I tell you what, like listen, uh having them ranked where I’ve ranked them without spoiling it, but you already talked about the tiers of this division. If they’re not completely dominant, like if you’re not in a lockedin top three spot and Capriov is unsigned as the trade deadline approaches, no Wild fan wants to hear this. you have to very seriously consider trading this player. You are pretty well set up for the future. You are at least on the back end. Um you do have cap space right now and if you wanted to you could do this crazy all or nothing balls to the wall, empty the tank, acquire guys m make a real run of it. The more responsible thing to do if it looks like he’s leaving is cut your losses. Oh, take it from a Leafs fan. Yeah, we got a third line center for Mitch Mner and we’re lucky for it. Ask the Islanders, you know. Ask Well, it actually ended up working out pretty well for them. I don’t think that’s going to happen to you though, right? I have a hard time picturing Capriovv leaving for nothing and the Wild get better. Um, is there a situation though if you look back guys at at what Colorado did? I mean, they were so when in retrospect they were maybe $750 or even $500,000 away per year from Rantin. And you look at the trade they made and you go, I think they probably should have just resigned him and figured it out. Um, I I wonder if this Capri off situation, Jesse and Steve, is Capri off’s worth more to the Wild than he is to anybody else. Well, let let me throw this out there because I’ve been a little doom and gloom. A guy who just said no to $16 million a year better show up and be the best player in the world. He did. That does put pressure on him and I know a million%. Yeah. Jess, what do you think here? Yeah. And I don’t think he is worried about that. Like it like looking at the numbers I I wrote down what they were from October to January 1st and that’s 2311 and 4. They were the fifth best team in the league. Wow. Incredible. January 1st onwards to the end of the regular season the 21st best team in the league. And the difference there is injuries is not injuries injury. It’s Caprio and him not being there day in and day out and at his peak. So when you look at what they are with and without him, if I’m Minnesota, I run this thing out as long as I can and I give him everything. Like I don’t think it’s in like my even like purview to trade this guy. I’m I He’s so important to the organization, to the team, to how it’s built right now unless there is some package where even if Colorado like it’s a great example like they looked at that package as something that can that’s okay that’s going to fill that gap. Even if you think it’s there, it’s probably not Capri off. He’s He’s a one of one. They’ve set themselves up really nicely. Like, uhoh, Baldi, they got him done. Uh oh, Faber. They got him done. And they have some other young guys coming, but it’s going to be a while until you really have to pay them. I I’m signing this guy. Oh, you definitely should, but I think they thought making him the highest paid player in the league would work. As of this recording, guy guys, uh the the rumor is that Capri off’s agent is in Minnesota speaking to Minnesota brass right now. So Jesse, when does this video go up? September 19th. I wonder if they have this conversation and go, okay, like what would you accept? So like what is your number? I don’t I think I’m more optimistic. Hopefully you are too, Minnesota Wild fans. But it it looked dark for a little bit, but as the days go on, it looks a little better because they seemed to not have any other option but to give him what he wants. The Minnesota Wild were neck andneck with the Jets, but as you said, not injuries, injury really derailed their season. 97 points though, they did sneak into the playoffs. Didn’t get the success perhaps that they wanted to against the Vegas Golden Knights. Looked a little outmatched there. Where do you have the Minnesota Wild in the Western Central Division? Uh, difficult because of the division. Um, fourth. Fourth. Okay. Uh, Jesse, I also have them fourth. Well, that’s is bad news cuz I have them fourth as well. So, definitely wrong. Definitely wrong. Enjoy your division win, Minnesota. Yeah, it’s your Minnesota Wild season preview.

Steve Dangle, Adam Wylde, and Jesse Blake preview the upcoming season for the Minnesota Wild and predict where they will finish in the Central Division.

Watch all of the SDP’s season previews here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLk7FZfwCEidvSUzbw6oNte1NPk_wopwD

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