Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1414676
P R E S E N T E D B Y from a quality top-six into a qual- ity, well, top-three (Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin and Matt Dumba) with three new faces they'll try to infuse into the lineup without hopefully missing a beat. Veteran Alex Goligoski, the hometown gent from Grand Rapids who played at the University of Minnesota once upon a time, was signed to replace Suter. Then, after los- ing out on Cole and not being able to sign Marcus Foligno's older brother, Nick, up front to replace Parise, the Wild turned their attention to their third defense pair by signing veterans Dmitry Kulikov and Jon Merrill to short-term contracts. The Wild also let forwards Nick Bonino (San Jose) and Marcus Johansson (Seattle) leave as free agents but signed versatile, fast forward Freddy Gaudreau, who came out of nowhere to help the Nashville Predators in the 2017 Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Gaudreau played for and adored Wild coach Dean Evason when Evason coached him on the Predators' AHL- affiliate Milwaukee Admirals. "I heard nothing but great things about the organization, about the city," Gaudreau said of why he chose the Wild. "And then, of course, I played for Deano back in the days in Milwaukee, and I love him. I love the way he thinks, the ways he sees hockey and life, and just was a great fit with him in the past." Joel Eriksson Ek was rewarded for his breakout season with an eight-year, $42 million contract extension. O C T O B E R 2 0 2 1 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M 27 Photos / Minnesota Wild/Bruce Kluckhohn fully transition to a bunch of new leaders, starting with second-year captain Jared Spurgeon. But that was just the beginning of a roster overhaul as Guerin continues his attempt to turn this proud franchise into a true Stanley Cup contender. Besides Parise and Suter, defenseman Carson Soucy was lost in the expansion draft and veteran Ian Cole signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. That means the strength of the Wild—their blue line—has gone