Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1479454
P R E S E N T E D B Y 27 O C T O B E R 2 0 2 2 | M H J ON L I N E . C O M improvement from cer tain play- ers, a lack of regression from players who had career years last season and the incor pora- tion of rook ie Marco Rossi into the lineup. Rossi, who turns 21 at the sta r t of ca mp, was a point a ga me in the minors last season until he hit a bit of a wa ll at the end of the season. The Wild lef t him a roster spot this of fseason but have made clea r he must come into ca mp a nd deser ve to get it. But to ex pect Rossi to be Kev in Fia la out of the gate to sta r t his N HL ca reer is unfa ir a nd unlikely. So for the Wild to be just as good this year, they will need players like Ryan Hartman, Mats Zuccarello, Joel Eriksson Ek, Freddy Gaudreau and Marcus Foligno to not waver off their combined 121 goals and 279 points last season and they will have to improve their dismal special teams. The Wild had a 20.4 percent power play that ranked 18th in the NHL and a 76.1 percent pen- alty kill that ranked 25th. They combined for the worst special teams once the Wild got into the playoffs. That was a big reason why the Wild once again failed to escape the first round. Then there was the goalie situation. Despite going 13-0-3 down the stretch, Talbot was shelved in the first five games of the playoffs for Fleury, 37, who went 9-2 in the regular season after Guerin traded for his old Pittsburgh Penguins teammate in the playoffs. He didn't start a game until Game 6, and he struggled mightily in his first action in more than two weeks. It truly was a no-win situation. Talbot was stung by all of this— so was his wife, who took some potshots at the team and coach Dean Evason on Twitter—and made clear he wasn't happy. In the end, Evason said the team decided to go with Fleury because of his resume that included three Stanley Cups and a Vezina Trophy only the season before. A fter Fleury 's arrival, the Wild basically rotated starts between the veterans Fleury and Talbot. It worked well and both goalies combined for 22 wins and the Wild soared into the playoffs on a high. The goal was to go with a split next season and that 's why Guerin re-signed Fleury for two more seasons. But after Fleury 's signing, Talbot 's agent could be seen ani- matedly talking to Guerin at the draft, Talbot voiced via text his discontent and, despite Guerin vowing he wouldn't trade Talbot, Guerin had a change of heart and dealt Talbot to the Ottawa Senators for the less proven but younger Filip Gustavsson, 24. The native of Skelleftea, Sweden, went 5-12-1 in 16 starts and 18 appearances for the Senators last season with a 3.55 goals-against average and .892 save percentage and was 11-6-1 with a 2.50 goals- against average and .915 save per- centage for AHL Belleville. Kirill Kaprizov rewrote the Wild record books last season, with a franchise-best: 47 GOALS 61 ASSISTS 108 POINTS