Ask Russo: The latest on Kaprizov, Wild playoff push, offseason plans and more (2024)

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Good morning from my flight to the Bay Area, and so much has changed since the last time we did one of these MEATY mailbags.

Jason Zucker was traded and Zach Parise almost was. Bruce Boudreau was fired. Dean Evason has settled in as coach and has his team playing hard with victories in six of nine games as the interim and on the verge of a playoff position as they begin a three-game trip to Cali with a game against Alex Stalock’s old team, the Sharks.

Ohhhhh, and some guy named Kirill Kaprizov has — we all assume — played his final KHL regular-season game, snatched his second consecutive league goal-scoring title and is on a team — CSKA Moscow — that hopes to win a second consecutive league championship before he debuts next season with the Wild.

Not a shock, but this thick mailbag is full of questions about Kaprizov, the Wild’s endless pursuit of a center or two and perhaps a goalie. Shockingly, it was light on questions about the inevitable coaching search, but no worries, I promise to do a coaching search “charticle” in the coming weeks.

I will be attending Iowa’s game against the San Jose Barracuda on Wednesday night. I’ll also be doing a The Athletic Straight From The Source podcast with Iowa coach Tim Army when I land, so please give that a listen Thursday. Here it is:

Tons and tons of questions (forgive me if yours wasn’t used, but there were repeats), so let’s get started. READ EVERY WORD, pretty please.

If Kaprizov season ends early in the KHL, are the Wild allowed to bring him over right away to finish the season here?

— Anthony N.

By NHL rule, absolutely. But Kaprizov’s agent, Dan Milstein, emailed me this week for only I’d guess the 50^th time (slight exaggeration, but not by much), that Kaprizov’s contract in the KHL ends April 30 no matter when his season ends and he cannot sign with the Wild until May 1 at the soonest.

When is Kaprizov coming over?

— John D.

Plan is next season.

Realistically what can we expect from Kaprizov next year? Everyone believes that he will come in here and light it up. That’s a lot of pressure on him and I don’t think we should have that expectation for him right away.

— Cody W.

You’re on the same wavelength as Bill Guerin. He, too, is trying to temper expectations. I’m sure there will be growing pains. But he is about to turn 23, not 18. And he has been a pro for years. And he will get plenty of opportunity. Some players can do it right away, some it takes awhile. Look at Kevin Fiala. His confidence is soaring and he’s finally becoming a star in front of our eyes (12 goals, 23 points in his past 15 games), but this guy has been a North American pro for several years. It’ll be interesting the lines and how they’re formulated. I can see Kaprizov and Fiala be on separate lines at even-strength but on the same power-play unit.

If Kaprizov’s team loses in the playoffs (unlikely), are you under the impression CSKA would let him join the Wild before April 30th? This is assuming he wouldn’t play in the world championships if he would rather try to make the playoffs with the Wild or the tournament gets cancelled similar to how the IIHF U18s just did.

— Eric B.

The Wild expect him to play in the world championships (as long as it’s not canceled due to the coronavirus), and even if it is, the expectation is for his two-year contract to start next season.

What will Kaprizov’s contract look like?

— Kevin R.

He’ll get the rookie max on an entry-level contract at his age bracket: Two years at $925,000 per. He can receive performance bonuses. If you were to assume Kaprizov got the max bonuses that total up to $2.85 million per year, it would hit the cap in each year of the contract. So, the cap hit would be $3.775 million. Next year’s cap is expected to be around $84 million. Teams are allowed to exceed the salary cap amount by up to 7.5 percent by virtue of having performance bonuses on their roster. So, Wild would have a cushion. The Wild also would have an additional $3 million to allot to performance bonuses for other entry-level players. The cap counting is done in two separate categories, one for actual salary and signing bonuses and one for performance bonuses. So, say the Wild finish the 2020-21 year $850,000 under the cap but Kaprizov hits all of his bonuses, they’d owe him $2.85 million. In that case, the extra $2 million that they exceeded the cap by would be charged to the following year and they would have a cap ceiling for the 2021-22 season that is $2 million lower than what the cap is actually set at. This really hurt Chicago years ago with Artemi Panarin. Every year there are a half dozen or more teams that have some sort of cap reduction the next season because of bonuses being earned in the prior year when they were either right below the cap or over it.

Does the CBA allow the Wild to augment (translator, driver, cook etc) a player on an entry-level contract? Assuming that Kaprizov signs, will the Wild bring him to development camp?

— Elmer V.

As far as I know, a team can hire anybody it wants. When Pavel Bure was with the Panthers, they hired his pal as a massage therapist. Columbus, back in the day, hired Russian support staff to help their Russian players adjust to this different culture. I asked Guerin, and he said the Wild plan to bring Kaprizov over to development camp June 28-July 3 and he would likely play one of the rookie games in September. By the way, the Wild have a different plan, I believe, for their prospects in the fall, so stay tuned. But sounds like they’re not going to Traverse City.

Odds Parise deal is revisited in the summer?

— Brady W.

I think it’s likely, but heck, if the Wild go on a playoff run and Parise sees a brighter future here, maybe he’ll rethink his willingness to go to the Islanders. Remember, just because he waived his no-move last month for that specific scenario doesn’t mean it’s a blanket waive. Guerin would have to go to him again. And right now, the way Parise is playing, maybe Guerin won’t want to move him. Say what you want about Parise, he still has been the Wild’s most consistent goal scorer this season. And, yes, I say this knowing the tear Fiala is currently on. He has had an amazing 15 games. But before this 12-goal tear, Fiala had eight. And, again, say what you want about Parise, but he always produces in the playoffs.

With it sounding like Parise will be on the move this summer, do you think there is any possibility we could also unload the Ryan Suter contract?

— jmeyers53

No, nor should they. He has had a good season and the cap recapture penalty actually gets a little worse for both players. If they were to retire going into the final year of their contracts and were traded this summer, it’d be $20-plus million cap recapture penalties for that final season. One risk would be horrible. Two risks would be devastating to the franchise if it ever came into fruition. Suter can probably play forever. All this is moot anyway — he’s not waiving, I don’t think. Cap recapture penalties are explained here.

Bill Guerin and The Minnesota Wild have decided to hire you as Coach (congratulations on the promotion, will certainly miss the quality work on The Athletic), how do you organize next year’s lines- assuming Kaprizov joins the roster and (Mikko) Koivu retires?

— Lake M.

Thanks for the offer, but more job security in my current vocation. This is a difficult task, one that shows why Zucker had to be traded and one that also shows why Parise may be revisited. It also shows why the Mats Zuccarello signing was so short-sighted. Like, where does Ryan Donato play? If Parise isn’t traded, will the Wild have to trade Jordan Greenway or Marcus Foligno or Ryan Hartman or Donato in the offseason to make the jigsaw puzzle pieces fit? But to play along, here’s what I can see assuming all players are back (meaning no trades, I sign a free agent or trade for a center, I buy out Victor Rask and I don’t re-sign Alex Galchenyuk):

Zach Parise-Eric Staal-Kevin Fiala

Kirill Kaprizov-NEW CENTER-Mats Zuccarello

Jordan Greenway-Joel Eriksson Ek-Luke Kunin

Marcus Foligno-Nico Sturm-Ryan Hartman

Ryan Donato, Gerry Mayhew (needs waivers)

Why has Kaapo Kahkonen not been called up? I know Iowa is playing well, but shouldn’t the priority be the NHL team?

— Kyle M.

It’s irrelevant now unfortunately because Kahkonen got hurt Monday night (I know you asked the question before that happened). But he got hurt on San Jose’s OT winner in just the flukiest play. He was beaten on the shot, looked behind him and saw the puck in the crease and one of the San Jose players going for the rebound. He went to dive on the puck to keep it out and wound up sustaining an upper-body injury. Unfortunately, what Kahkonen didn’t know was the puck was in the crease after already hitting the back of the net and coming out. He flew to Minnesota to be assessed by Wild doctors. Broken bone. No surgery, but he could miss much of the remainder of the regular season.

As for before, Stalock was playing well, and I’m guessing the Wild didn’t want to throw Kahkonen into the heat of an NHL playoff race so early. And, they probably felt it wouldn’t have been fair to Iowa after having such a sensational season to just pull its No. 1 goalie after already pulling the AHL’s leading goal scorer in Gerry Mayhew. Now, regardless, the net belongs to Mat Robson. The rookie is 10-9-4 with a 3.06 goals-against average and .898 save percentage after Wednesday’s loss to San Jose.

Would #GerryTime have more luck finding a regular NHL spot with his hometown Red Wings. He has one more year at $700,000 and it feels like if he’s not going to get a spot next year with the NHL Wild, they should try to move him before the draft.

— BGcannotWeight

Any living, breathing hockey player would probably have more luck finding a regular spot with the Red Wings. I’m sure Mayhew would like the best opportunity he can to make an NHL team, and maybe that can happen here next season because he will need waivers to get to Iowa out of training camp (I know there’s conflicting info on that, but I’ve asked director of hockey operations Chris O’Hearn, and he said that if a player signs his first contract at age 25 or older, he is only waiver-exempt for the first season of the contract. If Mayhew’s a good depth player though, I don’t think the Wild should feel compelled to trade him. Mayhew is a very useful player to the Wild. On an aside, I like your Twitter name.

With Luke Kunin coming back, is that the end of Mayhew’s run with the big squad or could someone like Mats Zuccarello, who has really struggled lately, take a few nights off?

— Tunssquad42

I don’t see any scenario where Zuccarello would sit for Mayhew. I also don’t see any scenario where the Wild would just let Mayhew sit in the press box endlessly if he’s not playing. So, my presumption is if the Wild get through this road trip healthy, they’d reassign Mayhew to Iowa. Theoretically, they could always do it before because they also have Rask as an extra. The Wild have two non-emergency, post-trade deadline callups left, so if they need Mayhew again, they can give him a shot.

Do you think these 4-6 games are indicative of what Mayhew is going to be? In other words, was it a fair test to see if he’s an NHLer?

— NorthStarsFanFo

I do think the Wild gave him a fair shot. They gave him four games on the first line (when Donato’s being forced to play the fourth line with no power-play minutes) alongside Fiala. Mayhew also got power-play time. The Wild scored 20 goals in those four games, and Mayhew didn’t produce a point. Small sample size? Absolutely. But this was his chance to be a dog on a bone, and we didn’t see it. He plays hard. He generates shots. He has great offensive instincts. But it didn’t amount to any production. We also saw on the power play how the AHL ain’t the NHL. This is a power-play star in the minors, yet he played the bumper position in the NHL and was smothered. I like Mayhew a lot, but I think it’s clear that leading the AHL in goals doesn’t necessarily translate to being a top NHL scorer. Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying he can’t play in this league. But we all always criticize the Wild for calling guys up from the minors and not putting them in positions to succeed. They did this time.

We (sat) behind the Wild bench the last few games (oh, good for me, ya, ya) and I was curious about the ear pieces Darby Hendrickson and a host of the other folks (looked like training staff) wear. Is that all-Wild-staff radio or are they listening into some NHL player safety radio?

— ZachRask

Darby’s so jacked these days, that’s his earpiece to provide on-bench security for the rest of the coaches similar to Secret Service. OK, bad joke. The earpiece Darby wears allows him to communicate with goalie coach Bob Mason in the GM’s booth. Mason is now the eye in the sky, essentially. It also allows him to communicate with video coach Jonas Plumb regarding potential reviews or challenges or anything else Plumb sees as he logs the game in the back. As for the medical guys, yes, the earpieces allow head athletic therapist John Worley to communicate with his assistants, Travis Green and Phil Watson, the team doctors and the concussion spotters in the press box and those watching from the Department of Player Safety in New York in case a player needs to be pulled from the game.

Team has an obvious need for a top center, can you shed light into who they have inquired about, might be interested in going forward or shown interest in the past? Any names you can throw out there? Nylander, Domi?

— Brady W

I can tell you for a fact that Guerin is well aware this team needs a center or two and will pursue a center or two in the offseason. Koivu is likely coming off the books, Staal has one year left, Eriksson Ek should have a long future in Minnesota and, I think, they feel Kunin is more of a winger. Alex Khovanov is one prospect the team hopes can develop into a top NHLer in the future, but the Wild, as you say, need centers. I can also tell you for a fact that Guerin doesn’t know if the center(s) will come via trade or free agency.

Free agency, to me, isn’t all that intriguing. Actually, it’s quite meh. One player the Wild may consider is Erik Haula, who scored 29 goals for Vegas a few years ago yet now is on his third team in a year (which is undoubtedly telling). But if the Wild feel his wheels are still A-OK after recent injuries, he may be a good safety net, especially if Guerin would prefer not to trade either of defensem*n Jonas Brodin or Matt Dumba. Other possible free agents: Mikael Granlund, whose production in the NHL really only took off after former Wild interim coach John Torchetti moved him to wing, and maybe Galchenyuk, who flamed out as a center in the NHL but has played there the past few weeks in almost a tryout scenario. May as well. The Wild don’t need wingers. They need centers, which is why I was harping during the opening presser with Guerin after the Zucker trade about giving Galchenyuk a look at center. If they could hit lightning in a bottle with Galchenyuk, perhaps they can sign him to a bargain contract this offseason. He has got skill and, as was his reputation, works his butt off.

As for trades, if I were Guerin — beyond William Nylander and Max Domi as you mentioned — I’d check in on the top centers for all the non-playoff teams this year. It may be pipe-dreams, but I’d at least inquire — and I’m sure he has — on guys like Jack Eichel, Dylan Larkin, the Florida gents, etc.

Who do you see them pursuing in the offseason to address our goaltending issues?

— @kylebear20

Million-dollar question. It really comes down to whether Guerin’s able to trade Devan Dubnyk, goes the buyout route, will continue to ride Dubnyk and Stalock or is willing to carry three goalies. Do they think it’s too soon for Kahkonen to play in a No. 1 or 2 role next season? I don’t know the answer to that question. If they don’t, do they try to sign a free-agent goalie (Robin Lehner, Jacob Markstrom, who knows?) on a shortish-term deal to try to buy time? It’ll certainly be a topic all offseason because all the analytics and the recent play do show that this is a much better team than maybe a lot of us thought when they’re getting quality goaltending. I just don’t know if it’s fair to the guys in that room to enter next season with the same goalie questions.

Is Dubnyk a buyout candidate this summer? I checked out the numbers on CapFriendly and it’d be a $2.66M cap hit next season and $833K cap hit the following season after that. Not terrible if you ask me. If Dubnyk is bought out, would you see them trying to ride with Stalock and Kahkonen next season or would they bring in another veteran to compete?

— Jared M.

Here’s my opinion on this: He’s a candidate if during the free-agent interview period there’s a free agent out there you 100 percent think is somebody that can take over as No. 1. I just don’t see them going to the extent of buying out Dubnyk unless it was more of a sure-thing upgrade than the unknowns of having a Stalock-Kahkonen tandem. It’s an interesting dilemma though because obviously free agents are going to want as long a term as they can get at that stage in their careers, but if the Wild feel Kahkonen is the future in net, you can’t go too long.

A handful of games in, what do you see as the major differences – philosophy, systems, etc. – between Bruce and Evason?

— Al S.

That’s a tough question because it’s been such a small sample size. The Wild are 6-3 under Evason and were 7-3-1 in Boudreau’s final 11 games. They’ve also taken advantage of a very soft schedule to start Evason’s tenure, and the games they lost were to the only true Cup contenders they faced, St. Louis and Washington. But regardless, Evason’s doing a real good job. His lineup decisions have been correct, he’s riding the hot glove of Stalock, his late-game management has been superb in my eyes and they do seem to be a lot more aggressive, particularly with the defensem*n. Although, again, I’m not sure how fair that is because the defensem*n were allowed to “go” under Boudreau, too. I know Guerin has really liked Evason’s attention to details and his communication skills with players.

How big of a mistake is it going to be when the Wild miss the playoffs, but end up with a 10-12th pick instead of a top 3-5? A (Alexis) Lafreniere, (Quinton) Byfield or (Marco) Rossi would go a long ways for this team’s future. By mistake I mean firing Bruce and going for the eighth spot at the end instead of selling and accumulating higher pick and futures.

— Brady W.

This team was never equipped to sell for higher picks and futures. Most playoff teams don’t want guys with term right now. They want rentals. And there was no amount of selling Guerin could have done at the deadline to move the Wild into a guaranteed 3-to-5 spot. They are just too good. There is too much talent, too much pride where veteran NHLers and rising youngsters were just going to lay down. This team may have flaws, but work ethic has never been one of them. The one asset Guerin could sell — Zucker — was dealt for futures and a player in Galchenyuk that, who knows, could have a future here. But without knowing the offers he had for his players, I applaud him for not throwing away guys like Brodin or Dumba in deals that didn’t provide the necessary value in his mind.

Why is Donato not on the power play?

— Anthony R.

I think he should be, but it’s probably due to fit. If you’re playing Staal and Zuccarello, they need to be on the power play. Obviously, the first unit has Parise and Fiala up front with Staal, the center. On the points are defensem*n Suter and Jared Spurgeon, and it’s hard to argue with either. Donato is likely not somebody they trust to play the point. On the second unit, you have Zuccarello and Galchenyuk, the center, with sharpshooters Dumba and Brad Hunt. So that left one spot with Mayhew scratched against Nashville, and it’s clear Evason wanted a right-shot bumper/net-front guy and chose Kunin. Not saying I agree with all this. I think Donato warrants power-play time, but these are probably the reasons. The way Zuccarello is playing, especially on the power play, that’s the only spot I could see Donato fitting into. But, as I mentioned, I don’t see them pulling Zuccarello off the power play and I’m sure they trust Zuccarello quarterbacking that unit from the half wall a heckuva lot more than Donato.

If Fiala keeps up this pace do you think they try to extend him this offseason? What would you think that contract looks like?

— Justin S.

I don’t want to guess on your second question right now, but I can see this being a big in-house debate: Get in front of it now or see if he can truly become an 82-game star next season and “do it again.” Fiala has been scintillating, but let’s also remember this has been for 15 games, not 82. Frankly, his agent Claude Lemieux may want to wait, too, because if he bets on Fiala and Fiala is truly a stud over a full season, the contract could be mammoth. The risk of waiting if you’re the Wild is if Fiala does become a point-a-game player next season and pots 30 or 40 goals, look out on that next contract, particularly when you’ll be buying many of his unrestricted years.

If Khovanov makes the Wild next year (fear of losing to KHL?), what would realistic expectations be given the logjam of average centers (Staal, Kunin, Ek, Sturm, Rask, possibly Gally)?

— Tyler M.

Khovanov is 19 years old. He should be in Iowa, period, if he doesn’t earn a roster spot. To go with your completely hypothetical because there’s no evidence he’s going to threaten KHL vs. AHL, if I’m GM and he did, I’m not being held hostage. Adios. Go. Because if you give a teenager a free pass to the NHL, he’s only going to pull an Alex Radulov later in his career, too. Iowa is where he’ll develop.

It’s been rumored Khovanov will go back to the KHL if he doesn’t make the MN Wild next season. Any truth to that or was that just Torchetti speculating?

— Kevin R.

Yeah, Torchetti doesn’t know. He was just pointing out that he once used CSKA Moscow as a threat to him when he was coaching Khovanov in Moncton, and he shut it down with Khovanov immediately. I don’t know Khovanov at all, but this is a Russian kid that was willing to come over and play in the Quebec League. That’s an indicator to me that he wants to be an NHLer, not a KHLer. Now, there are influences in Russia that none of us can comprehend or relate to, especially with the Moscow team that owns his rights, but the Wild’s plan right now is to start him in Iowa. Here is the relevant clip from the Torchetti podcast if you don’t know what these Wild fans are referring to:

Who is most likely to be bought out this off-season?

— Brian B.

I’ve got to assume Rask. Here’s the calculation, per CapFriendly.com:

Matt Boldy has really stepped up his game since he switched back to left wing. He’s up to 25 points in 32 games played. Do you think he’ll stay another season at BC or leave early and join the Iowa Wild?

— Kevin R.

Boston College is a great place to develop, so I think he should stay another year. I think these kids turn pro way too early for the most part. And just because he’s on fire now doesn’t mean he should turn pro just like I don’t think his slow start to his freshman year was a reason he should have stayed.

Who are some of the Junior players you believe will turn pro next season?

— Kevin R.

Let’s do it a better way. These are the junior guys that are eligible to play pro next year with no more junior eligibility: Ivan Lodnia, Fedor Gordeev and Shawn Boudrias. These are the junior guys eligible to turn pro but also have junior eligibility left: Khovanov, Damien Giroux, Calen Addison and Hunter Jones. These are the guys that are eligible to return to junior or can play in the NHL but are too young to play in the AHL: Adam Beckman and MatveiGuskov.

Previous teams have tried Galchenyuk at center and it didn’t work (supposedly) but here the Wild are trying him at center. Was this a stopgap due to the Kunin injury or do the Wild have plans for him at the position?

— Nicole B.

No, it’s not a stopgap because Kunin returned vs. Nashville and played wing and Galchenyuk stayed at center. I’m getting sleepy writing this monstrosity, so I can’t remember if I mentioned above, but I think it only makes sense. The only conceivable way I can see the Wild re-signing Galchenyuk is if he’s a future center here, so you may as well see if he can do it. As you can tell by my lines way up higher in this article though, there’s not a lot of lineup space for Galchenyuk to earn a spot.

We’re starting to see flashes of the pre-injury Dumba. Does that increase or decrease his chances of being the D who gets traded this off-season? Somewhat related, do you see any chance the Wild keep Dumba & Brodin, opt to protect 8 skaters rather than 7 forwards and 3 D in the 2021 expansion draft and just accept they’re going to lose an Ek/Kunin/Greenway type player?

— Keith L.

Maybe Dumba resurrecting himself would just allow them to trade him on a high and get full return rather than on a low. I can see the Wild go eight skaters. Remember, Carson Soucy’s a concern, too. They can’t all be protected, which is why I truly feel it’s more likely Guerin tries to parlay one of Brodin or Dumba into a center.

At risk of beating a dead horse: why in the world is Ryan Donato still only getting 10:30 of ice time night after night? He beat Braden Holtby on the breakaway last night, lost the handle on the backhand, and STILL zipped around to bank it in off Holtby’s skate. He leads the team in 5v5 goal scoring, so what gives?

— Andrew W.

I’m a proponent of him getting more ice time. He entered last game seventh in the NHL with 1.49 goals per 60 minutes and no player with 14 goals in the NHL even comes close to his paltry ice time. So, I’m not defending it. I do think Evason really likes the way the Donato-Koivu-Hartman line is going right now, so he doesn’t want to fiddle with it. But he has also explained that he’s trying to work with Donato on his defensive game and has really worked with him on video on being on the right side of the puck in his own zone. But I give this kid credit: Outwardly, he has been patient, mature and professional. Inwardly, I’m sure he too is wondering, “What gives?”

If the Wild dangled Greenway to the New York Rangers in a one-for-one hockey deal (the David Quinn connection), what would be a fair return in your opinion? Would we regret it eventually or will Greenway always be a teddy bear/grizzly bear type of player? Finally, would you try to pick up Henrik Lundqvist if we could move Dubnyk? It would seem to me he might like playing with Zuccarello and that could possibly benefit Mats. Which admittedly isn’t why you’d take him on, does he have anything left?

— Daniel O.

I love King Henrik — 10 years ago. I wouldn’t touch him now. And I mean that with respect. If I’m dangling Greenway, I go for one of their young goalies. Of course, I can be dreaming or inhaling too much jet fuel at this point.

Who do you think would be the best coach to replace BB?

— Jeff H.

John Lowe, the great former baseball writer, once told me, “It’s not my job to tell you what I think of Jim Leyland, it’s my job to tell you what Jim Leyland is thinking.” I contradict that advice on a minute-to-minute basis, but I’m going to take that advice now. I honest-to-God don’t have an opinion right now as to who they should hire, but I will work my darnedest in the upcoming months to give you the best information as to what Guerin’s thinking. And as I mentioned in the lede of this mailbag almost six writing hours ago, I will have a charticle soon on legit candidates. I’m developing my list. I hope it jives with Guerin’s.

Do you think the Wild should sign Brodin long term to keep the top 4 defensem*n intact, or should we trade him and hope we have a couple prospects ready to fill-in his spot?

— DJ N.

It truly has to do with what you can get in return vs. what you’d have to pay him. If you have to sign him in the $6 million range, I do think you seriously have to consider trading him if he can get you a center. If you can get him in the 5s, I’d do it before his agent hangs up the phone.

Will Billy G ask Parise and Zuccarello to waive their No moves (assuming Parise is still around) for the expansion draft? Will Craig Leipold appeal directly to Ryan Suter to do the same? If that happens how will each player react to that in your opinion?

—Daniel O.

Guerin’s the GM, so if he wants to ask that question, he’d do so to Suter. And sure, if Guerin could assure these players that there’s no chance Seattle is taking them, there would be no harm in them waiving their no-moves for expansion to allow the Wild to protect another player or players. I’m sure Guerin would attempt that if he thought it was necessary.

Does Evason really have a shot at Head Coach?

— Paul P.

If the team makes the playoffs and goes on a run, I think he would be a legit contender. He certainly has a good feel for the team and his ability to run the bench so far has been impressive, in my opinion.

This team needs to add centers before they have a real shot to be a Cup contender. How surprised would you be if Guerin came into camp without adding a top 6 center?

— Blake H

Extremely. He knows so.

If a player runs into a goalie’s stick with his face does the rule book actually say that is a penalty?

— Nick C.

Ha. I don’t know about that, but in the case you’re talking about, even Stalock called it a “stupid penalty.” The reality is no matter what you think of the penalty, it’s up to Stalock to have control of his stick and not hold it horizontally out.

TJ Oshie skates face first into Alex Stalock's stick, takes one for the team pic.twitter.com/uS8fFQNcW0

— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) March 2, 2020

If Wild signed Mikhail Grigorenko, C, CSKA-KHL, whom Corey Pronman listed on his No. 2 free agent outside the NHL ranking, would it be an entry-level deal similar to Kirill’s contract?

— Michael O.

No, he’s a real free agent. He has even played in the NHL before. Grigorenko, I believe, has played wing much of the year and even though I’m sure there has been talk with Milstein, who also represents, Grigorenko, I just don’t know if there’s a spot for him in the lineup the way the team is currently constructed above. There’d have to be player movement to sign him, I’d think. I like the thought though if the Wild feel he can play and help Kaprizov adjust.

Loved hearing you on (the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast) back in August. How did that interview come into fruition? Was it fun to interact with those guys? What do you think of that crew’s rise and impact on the NHL over the past few years?

— Jack M.

Paul Bissonnette texted me or DMed me on Twitter (I can’t remember) to ask if I’d come on after my Paul Fenton analysis of what occurred that caused him to lose his job after one season as GM. BizNasty had a really good relationship with former Wild coach Todd Richards, so when Bissonnette played for the Coyotes, I did a few stories on the two of them and I’ve been friendly with Bissonnette ever since. I never get nervous for any interview, but I was for that one and not only because the show was me and … Sidney Crosby. No, I just was worried what path they may lead me down. It was important to me that I played things straight and maintained my professionalism by not opining on Fenton beyond what I put in print, so to speak. So I did tell that to Bissonnette before the interview, and that if they wanted me to goof around and be as entertaining as most of their guests, I may be the wrong guy during that particular time. But he assured me that it was fine and they’d play it straight, too. So, I enjoyed the chat. I find them very entertaining, and I think it’s great that Paul and Ryan Whitney especially have risen to further fame on there. I mean, heck, they have a friggin’ vodka label now.

What do you think the Wild need to do (record wise) in their remaining games to make the playoffs?

— Dan M.

Entering Thursday’s action, the Jets may be in eighth place, but the Wild have the eighth-best points percentage in the West at 0.553 — on pace for 90.6 points. So, let’s say the pace is about 91. So, I’d say 93 to be somewhat safe or 95 to be very safe. That would mean a 10-6 or 11-5 record or getting 20 or 22 of their last possible 32 points.

When can we expect details on Winter Classic tickets? (sale date, pricing tiers, etc?)

— Maxwell K.

The NHL is still trying to map out the stadium, so it’ll be a little bit yet before they know how many tickets will be sold. The only thing I can say for certain is Wild season-ticket holders will have priority access and should get information next month on the process to get tickets. From there, it is unclear when or how many tickets or frankly if tickets will go on-sale to the general public because the season-ticket holders will get priority to scoop up tickets. So, the best possible chance to get access to tickets would be by becoming a Wild season-ticket holder. The stadium holds roughly 40,000 people. More information can be found in my Jan. 1 story.

What will it take for Donato to get a chance at top-6 minutes? Is it something we won’t likely see until next year when there are likely more roster openings after an offseason where we presumably lose guys via trade or don’t resign them?

— Jacob W.

It’s very unclear. If you looked at that line chart above, your last sentence is probably accurate. Unless there are trades or they’re willing to just not play Zuccarello, which is unlikely at $6 million per, it’s hard to see how Donato earns more minutes without injuries.

What is the longest stretch for a Wild player to average 2pts a game?

— Daniel T.

Fiala broke Brian Rolston and Marian Gaborik’s record by registering a fifth consecutive multi-point game Tuesday night.

Is there any protocol in the NHL for socializing with players from other teams before/after games? With as much as players move around, I’m curious if it’s frowned upon to grab dinner & drinks with old buddies who play for a soon to be opponent.

— Keith H.

Old-school guys, yes. It used to drive Jacques Lemaire nuts. But it’s a different league now. Just watch the games. It’s amazing how many times guys skate through the middle of the ice where years ago they would have been annihilated. Now, we rarely see open-ice hits. So, the reality is, if you switch teams, a lot of times, you’re still buddies with guys from the other team. So, Tuesday night, after the game, Fiala was outside the Nashville room catching up with guys like Ryan Johansen. Granlund was in front of the Wild room catching up with guys like Koivu. In Tampa earlier this season, the night before the Wild played in Tampa, Zuccarello had dinner with Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi and Victor Hedman at the same restaurant I was at. It didn’t affect how any of them played the next night. In fact, if you remember, Zuccarello lit up the Lightning. But, the old-school coaches and GMs hated fraternization. Denis Potvin used to tell me, at All-Star Games, he’d sit next to Bobby Clarke in the locker room for two days and not even say a word to him.

Ryan Carter and Kyle Brodziak played pretty well together for the Wild. The first game they met up after Brodziak got shipped to the Blues they dropped the gloves and fought each other. Was there bad blood or was it just for fun?

— Bret R.

I had dinner in the press room with Carter on Tuesday night, and he said, “Brodzy was on a line with Ryan Reaves and like Steve Ott or Scottie Upshall, and they were running around. Their first shift, Reaves hit Brodes. I felt like we needed to respond somehow, and I wasn’t going to fight Ryan Reaves, so I just grabbed Brodziak after he hit somebody hard. It wasn’t like a real fight, but we needed to respond. I’ve got a job to do and you’ve got a job to do. That’s why you’re out here running around to pump up your teammates. And I’ve got a job to do to send a message that we’re not going to roll over. We talked right in the hallway right after. I was like, ‘I didn’t mean to grab you and jump you and fight you,’ and he was like, ‘No, I get it. We were running around.’ I said, ‘I’m not going to fight Ryan Reaves.’ And he said, ‘I wouldn’t either.’”

Has this been the most aggravating season covering the Wild or was last season with Fenton worse?

— Andy P.

This has actually been a fairly straight forward season. The toughest part was the first couple months covering 20 of 30 on the road. That wasn’t exactly great for my health. But other than that, a typical Wild season. Up and down, late charge, interesting at the end, a big trade, a near trade and a coaching firing. But if you’re going to be aggravated by news covering sports, you’re not going to last long.

New throwback jerseys expected next year or the year after?

— Travis R.

Next season. As I think I’ve mentioned on a previous mailbag, I think it’s a good guess that the Wild’s will be North Stars colors. Not the logo, the colors. And, of course, there will be a Winter Classic special jersey.

What’s with the drum line music all game long?

— Steven H.

Ha. I haven’t asked about this, but I assume it was just an idea to change things up. I don’t think they’re there every game. It reminds me of Luongo’s Legion in Florida. Roberto Luongo’s future father-in-law, who owned Pizza Time in Coral Springs, is this funny Italian dude and he and his buddies would come to the Panthers games and sit in the upper bowl end zone and bang away all game during stoppages. This is when Roberto was still dating his daughter, Gina. Well, it was hysterical, but loud, and naturally, the high-rollers with big wallets from Boca and Palm Beach and Coral Gables in the lower bowl whined to management and the team had to actually stop their star goalie’s future father-in-law from coming to games with essentially an orchestra.

What is your game day routine? How early do you get to the rink? Do you take a pre-game nap?

— Graham F.

This may not be a shock to you all, but I’m not a big napper. In fact, I probably haven’t napped in my life. My game-day routine is a lot different than it used to be. When I lived in downtown Minneapolis, I used to stay all day at the arena on game-day on weekdays because I despised driving back to the rink during rush hour or snowstorms. Now, I live a lot closer to the arena, so I usually go home and work on future stories before the game. At the Strib, I always did a post-skate blog and early game notebook, and then I had plenty to do at the arena, whether it was work on my Sunday Insider or something. But now I’m able to use my time to write or report on future stories. For instance, Tuesday, I got a ton of work done for a feature believe it or not you probably won’t read until April. In fact, right now, I’m probably working on four future stories at once. I’m also a little busier now just because of the three podcasts and my KFAN duties. But, I get up early, read a ton of stories, head to the morning skate, spend the afternoon writing or talking and texting with hockey people, maybe watch a quick episode or two of VEEP or Curb Your Enthusiasm or Live PD, then head back to the arena around 4:30 and if it’s a good night, I’m out of the press box by midnight at the latest.

When was the last time a Wild player was Star of the Week in the NHL?

— David E.

Before Fiala on Monday, Dubnyk was Third Star of the Week Jan. 28 of last season. The last First Star of the Week was Staal on Feb. 26, 2017. Since 2006, they’ve had a First Star 14 times.

Stalock always hits the NHL logo on the boards at home games everytime he leaves the net. Does he do it on the road? Seems like a ritual for him.

— Corey C.

He does. One of his big rituals turned into a pretty cute part of my recent profile on him. His son emulates something he does on the ice.

For the 7-3-1 expansion draft, is there any rule in place to keep a team from changing a player’s position? Could the Wild say they’re moving Dumba to wing to be able to protect four defensem*n?

— Geoff A.

No. I asked NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly for you and he said, “Final position determinations are made by the league office.” In other words, they’ll sniff out something fishy like that in a nanosecond.

Looking through our history, we’ve never had a player wear the number 13. Outside of Vegas, we’re the only team with an unworn number like that below #45. Does the Wild have some unofficial superstitious rule in place not allowing anyone to wear #13? Or is it just a crazy coincidence?

— Garrett L.

I asked equipment manager Tony DaCosta and he said that it’s simply that no player has ever requested the number.

Have you ever met RussoSlacks?

— Paul G.

Once at Tom Reid’s. It was a dream come true … for him. Not so memorable for me.

That’s it for the mailbag. I’m deeply sorry to editor Zack Pierce for this gargantuan edit. I owe you a bottle of whiskey.

That’s it for me. I’m tired. Good night.

Oh, $%#&, the Iowa game starts in an hour.

(Top photo of Kevin Fiala: Bruce Kluckhohn / NHLI via Getty Images)