Minnesota Wild's 3 Burning Questions Heading into 2024-25 Season – Hockey Writers –

The Minnesota Wild regular season is right around the corner, and with that comes predictions, expectations, and questions. As training camp gets underway, the top topic on everyone's mind is who will fit on a roster with several open spots. Of course, discussions also include goaltending, combination lines, and special teams.

In this article, we'll examine some of the questions the Wild will face heading into the season. This will range from achieving a goal to agreeing to everything in between. First will be scoring goals because that is easily the biggest question and something that is discussed in almost every topic about the season.

1: Will the Wildcats Use Three Goals?

Simply put, yes, of course, but only at the beginning of the season. They want to give Marc-André Fleury, Filip Gustavsson, and Jesper Wallstedt a chance to show what they can do. Although Fleury and Gustavsson will be the top two forwards for the rest of the season, that doesn't mean Wallstedt hasn't had a chance.

However, the biggest problem with the three goals is the Wild's current cap space, which is very small at $756,410, according to PuckPedia. Right now, that's not enough to boost anyone in the event of an injury, which will change when the regular season starts, but not without the help of sending someone like Wallstedt back to the Iowa Wild in the American Hockey League.

And, as head coach John Hynes said on the first day of training camp, they want Wallstedt to play, whether it's in the NHL or the AHL. He needs to play games, and whatever is the best situation at that time will be where he comes. He's a young goaltender still gaining experience, so being in the AHL won't hurt him. Hynes also used the word “fluid” to describe their patrol, which is the best way to describe it because it's always changing.

2: Will Ryan Hartman Control His Anger?

Everyone who has seen Ryan Hartman play knows that his game has a little fire in it, and he is very athletic, but that is what makes him so difficult to play against. The problem is if he lets it boil and ends up in the penalty box or worse, as happened at the end of last season, he had to watch from the sidelines due to suspension.

However, Hartman has shown that he can hold his own and continue to play hard, so when Hynes was asked what he expected from Hartman this season, his answer of “smart play” came as no surprise. So yes, Hartman should be able to control his anger, but the big question is, will he? Hopefully he has learned from last season and will use his skills without going into the penalty box. The team needs his style and raw power, but he has to be able to look after it.

Hynes knows the way Hartman plays and has made it clear that he does not want him to stop being that player, but wants him to focus on maintaining this side of his game. If there is an event that cannot be avoided, that's fine, but if it is avoidable, then so be it. Every player can improve their game in some way, which is something Hartman needs to focus on this season.

3: Can the Team Find Consensus?

This is an area where the Wild have struggled almost all season. They will get into a hot streak when they do everything right but can't keep up. No matter who or what is to blame, whether it's coaching, players, system, injuries, etc., the team has to find a way to hold it together and stay consistent. The short answer is also yes; they can be compatible; the hard part is figuring out how to do it that night in the middle of the night when everything changes.

When they find something that works, they have to keep doing it, and when it stops working, they have to adapt. They have faced this before because sometimes the coaching staff was reluctant to change and wanted to push until they started working again. Hynes is not that type of coach in most situations. It seems that when something doesn't work, he finds the problem or changes it to try something new.

The Wild have had great coaches over the years in different styles of the game, but Hynes seems to have something others haven't: adaptability. He will make changes and adapt to his environment to make things work. Some might argue that he had plenty of time to do that last season when he took over in November, and they are still struggling, but it's also important to show that he was still in his first season at the club, and that takes time.

Related: Minnesota Wild Training Camp Day 1 Reflections

He tried to make changes and turned some of them off, until it was time for the team to stand up and make the necessary changes to win. It is important for him to admit that he tried because sometimes, no matter what is done, the team just can't find a way, and they struggle until they find a way again. He now has experience in both situations and will likely have a better handle on things when the regular season begins.

Final Thoughts of the Wild

There are many questions on the list of players that have not been answered but as the season approaches those answers will become clear. The first thing that comes to mind is the line combination. We've seen glimpses of what training camp will be like, but Hynes isn't afraid to mix things up either.

Then there is the question of whether certain players will step up and lead if players can avoid injuries, and so on and so forth. While we don't have all the answers yet, from what we've seen in the first few days of practice, the team has promise.