The Wild entered Thursday four points behind second-place Dallas in the Central Division, two points ahead of Colorado and eight points clear of the first team outside the playoff picture in the Western Conference. Minnesota had four games left before the deadline and 24 games remaining in the regular season.

The problem is that the Wild have been without superstar winger Kirill Kaprizov for all but three games since late December because of a lower-body injury, and now have lost center Joel Eriksson Ek to a lower-body injury that the team says will sideline him week-to-week.

Kaprizov, who still leads the Wild in goals (23) and points (52) despite missing 21 games, was originally supposed to miss four-to-six weeks after undergoing surgery in late January. Guerin recently said Kaprizov will miss more time than expected.

Eriksson Ek’s participation with Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off was questioned based on the fact he missed the Wild’s final game before the break because of a lower-body injury and that he already had missed 14 games this season because of injury. Eriksson Ek returned for the Wild’s first game after the 4 Nations but was placed on injured reserve before Tuesday’s loss to Detroit.

Kirill Kaprizov still leads the Wild in scoring, despite missing more than 20 games due to injury this season. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

The refusal by NHL teams to divulge injury information leaves us with no idea of when Kaprizov or Eriksson Ek might be back. The reality is both could be lost for the rest of the regular season and even the playoffs. Kaprizov already is on long-term injured reserve — a player must be expected to miss at least 10 games and 24 days of the season to go on LTIR — and Eriksson Ek could join him.

The LTIR designation creates salary cap space, meaning the Wild would be able to add significant help at the deadline. But that would keep Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek on the shelf until the playoffs open, at which point the salary cap disappears. Teams, such as the Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning, have angered NHL fans and teams by using this to their advantage.

Do nothing at the deadline?
But if Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek aren’t going to return this season, or return at far less than 100%, there’s a case to be made that Guerin might be best served to do nothing. The Wild find themselves nearing the finish line of having $14.8 million in dead salary cap space caused by the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Those hits will decrease to a much more manageable $1.7 million next season and the salary cap will rise $7.5 million to $95.5 million.

That puts the Wild in an excellent position to be active when free agency opens on July 1. How wise it would be to acquire a Brock Nelson from the Islanders or Brock Boeser from the Canucks at the deadline for what almost certainly would be a steep price?

Nelson could help the Wild replace Eriksson Ek at center and Boeser could provide some scoring punch, but both are pending free agents. So unless Guerin was acquiring a player he liked with term left on his contract, why give up quality from your organization when that player can be signed this summer?

Guerin and coach John Hynes want to make the playoffs after missing them last season, but the Wild remain in good shape to do so. What Guerin shouldn’t do is give up a young player, such as winger Liam Ohgren, or one of his better prospects because he thinks a trade might be able to help the Wild win a playoff round.

The Athletic recently ranked the Wild prospect pool second in the NHL and you would think that top prospects such as forward Danila Yurov and defensemen Zeev Buium and David Jiricek are off limits. Jiricek, the sixth-overall pick by Columbus in the 2022 draft, was acquired earlier this season for the Wild’s 2025 first-round pick. That would be the selection to move in a trade, but Guerin knew that when he sent it to the Blue Jackets.

Guerin also knew he was adding a big, right-handed shot defenseman to his blue line for the future. And that’s where Guerin’ focus should remain — the future. An attempted quick fix might create excitement, but with major questions about Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek that enthusiasm is certain to be short-lived.

The post Deadline Dilemma appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

Minnesotans combine for eight points as UND wins Frozen Four

TAMPA, Fla. — Brock Boeser was not the MVP of the Frozen Four, but his numbers in the two games should grab any hockey fan’s attention.

Boeser, a freshman from Burnsville, had a goal and three assists and was a plus-4 to help the University of North Dakota men defeat Quinnipiac 5-1 on Saturday before a crowd of 19,358 at Amalie Arena.

“He’s been a special player for us all season long and big players come through in big games,” North Dakota senior left wing Drake Caggiula said of Boeser. “He definitely stepped up today.

“He’s a hell of a player, hell of a kid. It was an honor to play on his line all season long. He makes things happen out there and he definitely took charge today.”

Boeser had a point on each of the first four goals for North Dakota and ended up scoring the game-winning goal in the first period on a bit of an odd play.

Boeser and Austin Poganski, a St. Cloud Cathedral graduate, combined on what turned out to be the game-winning goal. The two forwards were on the ice killing a penalty and their aggressive play was rewarded.

“I was just finishing my check in the neutral zone and he tried to shoot it into a pad,” Poganski said of Boeser on the initial play. “But then Brock used his great speed.”

Quinnipiac goalie Michael Garteig came out of the net to play a loose puck, but shot it into Boeser, who ended up scoring his team-leading 27^th goal into an empty net at 14:16 of the first period to give North Dakota a 2-1 lead.

“I saw the goalie come out and I kind of read what he was doing and he kind of gave it away,” said Boeser, who scored the first short-handed goal in a championship game since 1999. “It went off my shin pad and then I had a wide open net.”

The Fighting Hawks (34-6-4) led 2-1 going into the third period before Boeser had assists on two goals by Caggiula — at 1:21 and 3:41 — to help North Dakota to a 4-1 lead.

He also had an assist on the game’s first goal, which was scored by Shane Gersich. Gersich, a freshman from Chaska, gave North Dakota a 1-0 lead at 11:56 of the first period.

“That was just a great play by (Boeser) to get the puck out of the (defensive) zone and he was able to get it to (defenseman Gage Ausmus) and he was able to get a nice shot on net and the rebound just happened to be right there,” said Gersich, a Washington Capitals draft pick.

Poganski, a 20-year-old right wing and St. Louis Blues draft pick, finished off the scoring with a goal at 10:41 of the third period to make it 5-1.

“You dream for that, for just helping the team succeed and for winning the national championship,” Poganski said of scoring his 10^th goal of the season. “I think everyone on this team had a little part in that today with blocked shots (14), big hits and big saves by (goalie) Cam (Johnson). Cam played awesome and it was a huge team effort.”

MINNESOTA CONTRIBUTIONS

Gersich had three shots on goal, a blocked shot and was a plus-1 in the game. He finished the season with nine goals, two assists and was a plus-15 in 36 games for the Fighting Hawks.

Trevor Olson, a sophomore right wing from Duluth, was the other forward from Minnesota in the lineup for the Fighting Hawks. Olson had four assists, 18 penalty minutes and was a plus-11 on the season.

Two of North Dakota’s defensemen in the lineup Saturday are from Minnesota.

Tucker Poolman, a sophomore from East Grand Forks and a Winnipeg Jets draft pick, had three shots, two blocked shots and was a plus-2 for the Fighting Hawks. For the season, he had five goals, 19 assists, four penalty minutes and was a plus-20.

Gage Ausmus, a junior from East Grand Forks, had two assists, four blocked shots, a shot on goal and was a plus-2 for North Dakota in the title game. Ausmus, a San Jose Sharks draft pick, had 11 assists, 31 penalty minutes and was a plus-14 on the season.

North Dakota’s Brad Berry, who played for the Minnesota North Stars from 1991-93, became the first rookie head coach to a national title. Berry, who set a school record for wins by a rookie coach, took over after Dave Hakstol left the university to coach the Philadelphia Flyers. Berry, who led North Dakota to the NCHC regular season title, spent nine seasons as an assistant coach before taking over as head coach of the Fighting Hawks.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Boeser, Caggiula, North Dakota defenseman Troy Stecher, North Dakota goalie Cam Johnson, Quinnipiac center Travis St. Denis and Quinnipiac defenseman Connor Clifton were named to the all-tournament team. Caggiula, who had four goals, an assist and was a plus-5 in the two games, was named Most Outstanding Player of the Frozen Four.

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Brock Boeser sets up UND with long-awaited championship shot

TAMPA, Fla. — The joke on the ‘CBS Line’ for the University of North Dakota men’s hockey team takes a shot at the youngest of the three players.

Freshman Brock Boeser leads the Fighting Hawks in goals. Wink, that doesn’t sit well with sophomore center Nick Schmaltz and senior left wing Drake Caggiula, the other members of Boeser’s line.

“We always joke around, telling him to pass the puck because all he does is score,” Caggiula said of Boeser, who has 26 goals. “A lot of people don’t realize how good his vision is. He can make plays all over the ice, not just scoring goals.

“He made a great play to me on my first goal with a saucer pass behind the defenseman and a great play to set up the third one.  He’s been huge for our line and he’s a freshman, but he doesn’t act like a freshman. He’s a very mature kid on and off the ice and I think that’s what makes him special.”

Boeser, a 19-year-old from Burnsville, had assists on the first and third goals for the Fighting Hawks in a 4-2 win over Denver in the semifinals of the NCAA Division I Frozen Four on Thursday at Amalie Arena. Boeser set up Schmaltz for the game-winning goals with less than a minute left to play and the Fighting Hawks added an empty-net goal with 1.8 seconds left.

Third-seeded North Dakota (33-6-4) plays top-seeded Quinnipiac (32-3-7) at 7 p.m. Saturday for the national title.

North Dakota advanced to its first national title game since 2005 and will be trying to pick up its first national title since beating Boston College in 2000.

Boeser and his linemates are a big reason why. Boeser, a first-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks in 2015, has 56 points in 41 games and was a plus-3 in the semifinals win.

“He’s a fun player to play with (on a line) and he thinks the game the same way as me and Drake,” Schmaltz said of Boeser. “We like to make plays, but we also like to play hard away from the puck. A staple of our success is how hard we play away from the puck and get on offense.

“(Boeser) has been a huge piece to our line and, hopefully, we can keep it rolling on Saturday.”

Boeser, the NCHC Rookie of the Year and an All-NCHC first team pick, played last season for the Waterloo Blackhawks in junior hockey in the United States Hockey League. He was a USHL first team all-star and tied for the league lead with 35 goals in 57 games and was third in the USHL in points with 68.

He said that playing on a line with Caggiula and Schmaltz has exceeded his expectations for this season.

“I really can’t explain the feeling of the opportunity to play with these guys … it’s been tremendous,” Boeser said. “With the North Dakota fan base and the tradition … you can’t really describe it. You just have to live it and it’s just been tremendous.”

Austin Poganski, a sophomore right wing from St. Cloud and a St. Louis Blues draft pick, plays on the second line for North Dakota and said that watching Boeser play this season has been special as well.

“He’s done it all and it’s hard to explain all the things he can do with the puck,” Poganski said of Boeser. “He just plays with so much poise.”

That poise helps him take the good-natured ribbing from his linemates and turn it into a positive.

“They say that I have tunnel vision and just shoot the puck,” Boeser said with a smile about his linemates’ criticism of his play. “I’ve been proving to them lately that I can get an assist too.”

The other Minnesotans who were in the lineup Thursday for North Dakota were freshman left wing Shane Gersich (Chaska), sophomore right wing Trevor Olson (Duluth), sophomore defenseman Tucker Poolman (East Grand Forks), junior defenseman Gage Ausmus and freshman defenseman Hayden Shaw.

3 MINNESOTANS ADVANCE WITH BOBCATS

Three players from Minnesota played Thursday for the top-ranked Quinnipiac team that will play in its second national championship game in four years.

Left wing Bo Pieper, center Tommy Schutt and defenseman Derek Smith were each in the lineup for the Bobcats in their 3-2 win over Boston College on Thursday.

Pieper, a sophomore from Roseville, was on the second line for Quinnipiac and had two shots on goal. Pieper, who is 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, has five goals and four assists in 41 games this season and eight goals, 14 assists in 79 career games.

Schutt, who is from Chanhassen, played on the third line for the Bobcats. Schutt, a 6-0, 190-pound junior, had a team-leading five blocked shots, two penalty minutes and two shots on goal. Schutt has six goals and five assists in 42 games this season and 12 goals, 15 assists in 117 career games.

Smith, who is from Apple Valley, was on the third defensive pairing and had one shot on goal. Smith, a 5-11, 185-pound junior, has three goals and 13 assists in 36 games this season. In 107 career games, he has five goals and 34 assists.

The trio helped Quinnipiac kill 4 of 5 penalties against Boston College.

WILD DUO PLAYS FOR EAGLES

Two draft picks of the Minnesota Wild played right wing for Boston College on Thursday.

Adam Gilmour, a 6-foot-3, 193-pound junior from Hanover, Massachusetts, played on the Eagles’ top line. Gilmour had four shots on goal in the game. For the season, he finished with 12 goals, 14 assists in 41 games. In 119 career games, Gilmour has 28 goals and 45 assists. He was a fourth-round pick of the Wild in 2012.

Alex Tuch, a 6-4, 220-pound sophomore from Baldwinsville, New York, had Boston College’s first goal, four shots on goal and was a minus-1 on the second line. For the season, he had 18 goals, 16 assists in 40 games. For his career, he has 32 goals, 30 assists in 77 games for Boston College. Tuch was a first-round pick of Minnesota in 2014.

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