Sports

RandBall: Christmas in July? It doesn’t feel like that for the Wild

It’s July 1, but it doesn’t feel like Christmas for the Wild. That’s just the reality of the market and their position, Michael Rand writes in today’s 10 things to know.

By Michael Rand

The Minnesota Star Tribune

July 1, 2025 at 4:37PM

Vladimir Tarasenko (91) celebrated with teammates after scoring a goal against his new team. (Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

As last season approached, the final one during which the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts would be a massive drain on the Wild’s salary cap and notions of contending, Wild owner Craig Leipold was giddy.

“July 1 is going to be like Christmas,” he said nine months ago in anticipation of a free agency period when the Wild would finally have money to spend.

I don’t know if Leipold will ultimately regret saying that, but the NHL player acquisition market does not feel like Christmas at all.

The entire NHL salary cap went up $7.5 million from last year to this year and will jump $25.5 million over the course of the next three years. More teams have more money to spend on free agents or to retain their own players.

The new message is this:

Sorry, Wild fans. Those shiny new toys you wanted are out of stock. Maybe there will be more in about six months. But for now, here is Vladimir Tarasenko — as I talked about at the start of Tuesday’s Daily Delivery podcast.

Trading basically nothing to Detroit to take on the last year (at $4.75 million) of Tarasenko’s contract, as the Wild did Monday on the eve of free agency beginning Tuesday, is a modest short-term risk.

They’re banking on the 33-year-old wing recapturing his glory years (last great season: four years ago) or at least being dangerous (last decent season: two years ago).

Tarasenko has topped 30 goals six times in his career, but five of those years came when he was 27 or younger. He twice scored hat tricks against the Wild in the playoffs, so they know how dangerous Tarasenko can be.

He still thinks of himself as a goal scorer, as he noted during an introductory news conference after signing a two-year deal with the Red Wings last summer, but he produced just 11 goals in 80 games for Detroit in 2024-25. So now he’s here.

In free agency, the Wild might be looking for goaltending and defensive depth plus a center who can kill penalties and win faceoffs.

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Christmas? That sounds more like Amazon Prime Day.

Their biggest moves might be Tarasenko plus re-signing center Marco Rossi (GM Bill Guerin is now saying nice things about him) and extending star Kirill Kaprizov while saving some of that cap space for future moves.

Of the Kaprizov extension, which could take a while, Guerin said this: “So, if it doesn’t happen on July 1, don’t panic. Don’t panic. It’s a process.”

Patience is prudent. Fans ultimately will be upset longer if a team is lousy and full of overpaid players than if they have to wait for bigger moves.

But unless something surprising happens Tuesday and beyond, this will not be the offseason the Wild, their owner or their fans envisioned.

Here are nine more things to know today:

Speaking of market realities, the expected came true Monday when the Wolves lost Nickeil Alexander-Walker. In terms of how to handle an asset, it was a masterclass: The Wolves had him for a low cost for two-plus seasons, helped revive his career, then received some assets in a sign-and-trade once Alexander became expensive (four years, $62 million in a deal that sent him to the Hawks). In a perfect world, the Wolves would be able to keep every player indefinitely — especially the productive ones who are also good people like Alexander-Walker. But this, too, is the reality of the market.
The Wolves are trying to win now. Any good franchise also has an eye on the distant future as well, something we were reminded of when Minnesota introduced its two 18-year-old draft picks Monday.
And the Wolves also brought back Joe Ingles, who at age 37 is more than twice as old as those picks. Maybe at some point they can add some players who are in the middle of their career?
NBA free agency this season is devoid of big names, but Tuesday did bring drama. The Bucks waived injured guard Damian Lillard, stretching his $113 million owed over five seasons, while signing former Indiana center Myles Turner.
Longtime Minnesota Star Tribune writer Kent Youngblood, who recently took a buyout and is retiring at the end of this week, joined me on Tuesday’s podcast. We talked about the big-time stories and athletes he has covered over the past three-plus decades and also dissected the 14-2 Lynx.
Those Lynx face Indiana on Tuesday at Target Center in the Commissioner’s Cup final. Caitlin Clark is listed as out with a groin injury.
Tuesday is also the first day colleges can start paying athletes as part of the new revenue-sharing model. Star Tribune columnist Chip Scoggins wrote about the sea change recently and will be my guest on Wednesday’s podcast to talk more about how it will affect the Gophers.
Owing to a combination of injuries and underperformance, the Twins in June went from having one of the best rotations in baseball to having one guy you trust: Joe Ryan. Luckily for them, it’s now July and Ryan is pitching Tuesday night against the Marlins.
Royce Lewis also could return Tuesday for the Twins. He had started to turn his season around, hitting .367 with a .990 OPS from June 1 to June 13, before a hamstring injury derailed that momentum.

about the writer

Michael Rand

Columnist / Reporter

Michael Rand is the Minnesota Star Tribune's Digital Sports Senior Writer and host/creator of the Daily Delivery podcast. In 25 years covering Minnesota sports at the Minnesota Star Tribune, he has seen just about everything (except, of course, a Vikings Super Bowl).