NHL Preview 2019-20: Minnesota Wild

(This year again, I will twin-post with my Collectibles Blog and write about a player who is related to my Preview post here. Today, it's Minnesota Wild much-maligned captain, Mikko Koivu).

GM: Bill Guerin (since 2019). 7/10
Coach: Bruce Boudreau (since 2016). 8/10

2018-19 record: 37-36-9, 83 points (last in Central Division, 11th in Western Conference).
Playoffs: Did not qualify.

Departures: Eric Fehr (C), Anthony Bitetto (D), Pontus Aberg (RW), Nate Prosser (D), Matt Read (RW).

Arrivals: Ryan Hartman (RW), Mats Zuccarello (LW).

Top forwards: Zach Parise (55-60 points), Eric Staal (45-55 points), Mikko Koivu (40-60 points depending on possible injuries), Jordan Greenway (30-40 points), Jason Zucker (45-50 points), Joel Eriksson Ek (20-35 points), Ryan Donato (20-35 points).

Must-improve forward: He doesn't need to improve per se, but poor Parise has really caught the injury bug, slowing him and his production down from the levels he had accustomed his fans to.

Top defensemen: Ryan Suter (30-40 points), Matt Dumba (45-60 points), Jared Spurgeon (35-40 points), Jonas Brodin (25 points), Greg Pateryn (10 points).

Goalies: Devan Dubnyk (84/100), Alex Stalock (79/100).

Top prospects: Luke Kunin (21, C, 2016 first-round draft pick), Matthew Boldy (18, LW, 2019 first-round draft pick), Vladislav Firstov (18, LW), Kirill Kaprizov (22, LW, point-per-game player in the ultra-defensive KHL), Filip Johansson (19, D, 2018 first-round draft pick).

Analysis:
It's extremely hard to believe Coach Boudreau is already on his third GM, but that's the world we live in now. Guerin's got a lot of work ahead of him to trim down the excess cap and get it back to a manageable level, and handing a 29-year-old defenseman who has just had a career year a deal that carries the team's highest cap hit ever for seven seasons (well into his mid-30s) doesn't necessarily seem like the best step in the right direction.

Dubyk has seemingly regressed from an All-World goalie to a middle-of-the-pack #1 with a GAA of 2.59 and save percentage of .913, but the departures of defensemen like Marco Scandella led to the team giving away more quality shots, so that's something the coaches will have to work on to help him regain his All-Star form.

The Wild needs to rebuild, whether its owner likes it or not. Your top forwards (Parise at 35, Staal at 34, Koivu at 36), top defenseman (Suter, 34) and goalies (Dubnyk is 34, Stalock is 32) can't all be over 30 on a non-playoff team and stay together. Even the Pittsburgh Penguins are struggling with their array of aging stars, the Wild's downhill slide is only going to get worse before it gets better.

Prediction: 7th in the Central Division, 28th in the NHL.