During intense exchange with Michael Russo, Wild GM Bill Guerin laments Parise, Suter cap hits
In the eyes of general manager Bill Guerin, the Minnesota Wild's 2022-23 season would've been a lot better if they weren't forced to play with "one hand tied behind their back" because of the $12.7 million dead cap hits from the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter contract buyouts of 2021.
A major constraint on the Wild's efforts, as Guerin is well aware, is that the Parise and Suter buyouts will force them to eat $14.7 million in dead cap hits the next two seasons.
"I rarely bring this up, but I'm going to bring it up today because it's real and it's important," Guerin said. "I think our players and our coaches deserve a lot of credit because they're fighting with one hand tied between their back because of these cap restraints. We don't apologize for it. We're fine with it."
Guerin also refused to accept the narrative that this version of the Minnesota Wild is another example of the franchise's inability to get out of the first round of the playoffs. The Wild hasn't advanced beyond the first round since 2015, which featured a core of Parise, Suter, Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund, Jason Zucker and Charlie Coyle.
"There's been this narrative out there that right now the Wild can't get past the first round," said Guerin, "and I can understand the frustration but there are a small handful of players that have been here for a lot of that. Most of them are new. In my mind, that's not the narrative of this team."
"I refuse to hold our players that are new here responsible for what's happened in the past," he added.
That led to a somewhat intense back and forth between Guerin and longtime Wild reporter Michael Russo. It went like this...
Russo: "How do you get this team over the hump?"
Guerin: "What hump do you want us to get over?"
Russo: "To get past the first round..."
Guerin: "Why? And I'm not trying to be a smart ass, Mike. They're not going to put our name on the Stanley Cup to get to the second round. They're not going to give us a ring. But you know what, that's not our goal. Our goal is not to make it to the second round. Is it going to feel any better? It's not."
Russo: "To get to the Stanley Cup you have to get to the second round..."
Guerin: "It's tough. It's tough to fix it because we are down $14 million next year. That's fine. I think we've done a pretty good job of putting a damn good team on the ice with these restraints. So ... it's hard because it is disappointing that we haven't gotten past the first round, but that's not the goal. Yeah, it'd be nice, but that's not what we're building towards here. That's your narrative. That's what you guys write about. We're trying to build something bigger than that. And sometimes there's pain involved."
After the intense exchange, Guerin was asked if he believes the Wild can truly contend for a Stanley Cup when roster construction is going to be limited by the $14.7 million dead cap hits due the next two seasons.
"I think we'd be a better team without [the dead cap hits], with adding different players with that money. We'll get there, but I do think we've made some pretty good moves at the deadline and added some guys that were good players for cheap and that's what we're going to have to continue to do to manage this whole thing. Anything can happen."
Additional notes from Guerin
– Freddy Gaudreau needs surgery for an abdominal injury that he had been playing with for the past four months.
– Joel Eriksson Ek, who suffered a broken fibula April 6 when he was hit by an Evgeni Malkin slap shot, had surgery last week. He's expected to be fine before the start of the 2023-24 season.
– Ryan Hartman may need knee surgery after suffering an injury in Game 1 against the Stars. He missed Game 2 and gutted out the rest of the series on a bad knee.
– Mats Zuccarello was playing through a groin injury during the playoffs.
– Marcus Johansson signed a two-year, $8 million deal to stay with the Wild. He was acquired at the trade deadline and wound up being a strong connection on the second line with Matt Boldy.
– Guerin has talked to defenseman Matt Dumba but it's unclear if there's a chance Dumba will return to Minnesota. The veteran has played for the Wild his entire career and is a free agent this summer.
– Guerin on top prospect Marco Rossi: "I think Marco's going to spend the bulk of the summer here to focus on his fitness over here rather than going back home, which is great," said Guerin. "Everybody develops at a different speed and we've just gotta make sure that we're doing the right things for Marco as we go along because we don't want to put him in positions to fail or to stunt his development."
– Guerin suggested a new contract will get done with goalie Filip Gustavsson, who finished the regular season second in the NHL in goals-against average and save percentage.
