The Minnesota Wild are likely to be making a lot of moves to shape their future this offseason.
A Quinn Hughes extension is obviously the main priority for the Wild. Additionally, it’s believed that Minnesota isn’t afraid to make a move for a top-line center. Other potential storylines could revolve around several veteran players and possible trades
- Jacob Middleton
- Jared Spurgeon
- Jonas Brodin
- Filip Gustavsson
Other players like Mats Zuccarello and Vladimir Tarasenko (to name a few) are free agents on July 1st as well.
One name that will be an interesting situation to keep an eye on will be Marcus Johansson.
Minnesota Wild Have Interesting Decision to Make on Marcus Johansson
GettyDENVER, COLORADO – MAY 13: Marcus Johansson #90 of the Minnesota Wild celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against MacKenzie Blackwood #39 of the Colorado Avalanche during the first period in Game Five of the Second Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena on May 13, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Marcus Johansson will certainly draw different opinions regarding his retainment by the Minnesota Wild.
One one had, he was a lone bright spot to a Wild team that started the 2025 season 3-6-3. On the other, long stretches of low production are unacceptable of a middle-6 forward that most-often plays on the second line.
Johansson was brought back for the 2025-2026 season on a 1-year/$800k agreement. While the money sets low expectations, they need some young upside. Kirill Kaprizov’s $17 million average cap hit begins this season, and the Wild will need to give Quinn Hughes comparable money very soon.
Even with the lack of production, Johansson’s price tag could rise from that $800k. With that being said, it’s hard to imagine Bobby Brink couldn’t at least match his production long-term.
Johansson is one aging player out of many that the Wild must consider this offseason. If they can make it work, they should look to replace a lot of them with young talent that bring legitimate upside.
Wild Likely to Move On from Jeff Petry
GettyST PAUL, MINNESOTA – APRIL 14: Beckett Sennecke #45 of the Anaheim Ducks and Jeff Petry #2 of the Minnesota Wild get into a scrum in the first period at Grand Casino Arena on April 14, 2026 in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)
The report comes from Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic via Chris Schad of FanSided.
“The Minnesota Wild have plenty of objectives this offseason but one of the sneakiest may be along the blue line. With several veteran defenseman getting torched in their Western Conference semifinals series against the Colorado Avalanche, there may be several changes to the group this summer and it appears the first to go will be Jeff Petry.
According to The Athletic’s Michael Russo and Joe Smith, the Wild are expected to move on from Petry, who was acquired from the Florida Panthers in exchange for a conditional 2026 seventh-round pick. While they dubbed Petry as “a good insurance policy,” they also added he “seems likely to move on especially if [Zach Bogosian] re-signs.”
Losing Petry wouldn’t be a massive loss for the Wild as they head into next season. But he could be the first in a string of dominoes that could lead to a new look along the blue line when Minnesota heads into the 2026-27 season.”
The Wild obviously have much bigger fish to fry this offseason. However, this news regarding Jeff Petry lets us know that the Minnesota Wild’s offseason is officially upon us.
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