Louder for the people in the back

Team: 2023-24 Minnesota Wild

Initial Creation Date: Jul. 13, 2023

Published: Jul. 13, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

I realize this won't stop people from thinking the Wild have cap to take on their cap dump player, but here's a fairly realistic look at what the Wild might look like opening night without any further trades. The 3 signings may be a little more or less expensive, but either way with a 22 man roster and $230k in cap, there's not much wiggle room to do anything. Maybe Beckman makes the team out of camp and that's more cap gone if Petan isn't the extra forward. They could still buyout Goligoski if Gustavsson or Duhaime make it to arbitration and get awarded a contract that way but that basically just saves enough cap to replace Goligoski with a league minimum player so that's not a huge help either. His full NMC means he's not going anywhere.

I've seen people say they could trade a goalie to start Wallstedt in the NHL to save cap. They 100% won't do that. Wallstedt is their future in net and they're not going to rush him into a situation where his development is ruined. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets a couple NHL games this year if injuries occur, but expect to see him spend the entire year in Iowa. He might get looked at next year depending on how his AHL season goes this year, since Fleury will likely be gone and they’ll have a spot open for him to compete for.