Following the departures of multiple forwards, the Wild have a couple of slots to fill in their bottom-6. In a situation where the team is hard up against the cap heading into free agency, logic would dictate that a younger or unproven player might be the only option to fill the vacancies, based on how NHL players earn salary over their career. However, there are a pair of UFA’s the Wild have already expressed interest in that could find themselves extending their careers by playing together in a Wild sweater.
The Stanley Cup champion Penguins find themselves in a cap crunch of their own, and multiple reports have Nick Bonino, Trevor Daley, Chris Kunitz, and Matt Cullen potentially moving on from Pittsburgh.