Wild's biggest surprise, disappointment to start 2024-25 season
11/13/2024 11:10 PM
The Minnesota Wild missed the playoffs in 2024. And due to their ongoing salary cap restraints, the Wild made limited moves in NHL Free Agency. However, it seems as if none of that truly matters. Minnesota — and star forward Kirill Kaprizov specifically — is off to a flying start to the 2024-25 campaign.
The Wild entered play on Wednesday with a record of 10-2-3, good for second place in the Central Division. Only the historically good Winnipeg Jets are a better team in the Central Division at this time. So far, Minnesota has positioned itself nicely in terms of playoff seeding. The Philadelphia Flyers proved a collapse can happen at any time. For now, though, the signs are positive.
Some of the team’s usual suspects are playing as advertised. Meanwhile, other aspects of this team have played above or below expectations. Whether their early run of form is indicative of anything certainly remains to be seen. Still, let’s take a quick look at the biggest surprise and disappointment for the Wild in 2024-25 through their first 15 games.
Kirill Kaprizov has stormed out of the gate for the Wild
The fact that Kirill Kaprizov is good is not surprising. The Wild star has been a fantastic hockey player for a long time. However, few envisioned him getting off to the start he has in 2024-25. There is a very real argument to be made for Kaprizov being a Hat Trophy candidate in the early going.
Kaprizov is tied for the team lead with nine goals in 15 games. He has a clear lead, though, when it comes to points. His 28 points are 12 more than that of winger Matt Boldy, who is second among Wild skaters. Moreover, Kaprizov’s 28 points are good for second-best in the NHL behind Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon.
At this rate, Kaprizov will end the 2024-25 season with 49 goals and 153 points. This would shatter his career-high totals for points in a single season. And it would undoubtedly help the Wild ascend the ranks of Stanley Cup contenders in the Western Conference. So long as he remains healthy, Minnesota should be in a good spot moving forward.
Yakov Trenin is off to a slow start after summer signing
The Wild made Yakov Trenin their biggest free agent signing of the 2024 offseason. Trenin came in as a physical and defensive forward who could help the third line. For $3.5 million a season for four years, though, Minnesota is hoping he can chip in some offense. To that end, the signing is a disappointment in the early going.
Trenin remains a physical, defensive forward. In fact, no Wild forward has a lower Goals Against Per 60 Minutes in all situations than Trenin, according to Evolving Hockey. He also has the highest On-Ice Save Percentage of any Minnesota forward in all situations. Only Marcus Foligno has thrown more hits this season, as well.
However, the Wild have received pretty much nothing from Trenin offensively. He has one assist through 15 games this year. For illustrative purposes, goaltender Filip Gustavsson has one goal for Minnesota this season. Trenin has not scored a goal yet in 2024-25.
Again, Trenin is not an offensively inclined player. But he has scored at least 12 goals in each of the last three seasons. And at a nearly $4 million cap hit, expectations are going to be higher. Trenin has not come close to those expectations this year.
Trenin is still an effective player depending on the situation. However, there is more to be desired without a doubt. It will certainly be interesting to see if the 27-year-old Russian can turn things around in 2024-25.
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