Each year, retailers give American consumers plenty of incentive and enticement to do their shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday. And to be sure, consumers spend millions that day on the various sales and doorbusters that have become part of the retail lexicon.
But a wise consumer can find value and great stuff with patience, as well, saving their money for later in the season, when needs arise — and oftentimes bargains emerge.
With a notable purse to invest for the first time in his tenure as the Minnesota’s general manager, Bill Guerin will certainly have some incentive to be a Black Friday shopper on Tuesday, when the NHL’s July 1 free agency period opens. Guerin has identified offense as the Wild’s primary need, but has also talked of adding depth on defense and in goal. And there are plenty of good players available at those positions, even though this has generally been identified as a free agent class short of eye-popping.
“We just want to add. We want to add some pieces,” Guerin said in a meeting with the media following Saturday’s NHL draft. “We’re pretty set with our seven (defensemen). We’ll add some depth. We’d like to add some forwards and how that happens, I’m not sure.”
For example, the Wild have widely been rumored as a potential landing spot for goal-scoring forward Brock Boeser, an unrestricted free agent and with roots in the Twin Cities who may be interested in a homecoming for the right price. But with the league-wide salary cap rising from $88 million to $99.5 million for the 2025-26 seasons, a lot of teams suddenly have money to spend. So, player salaries could be rising, too — and more top players could trigger a bidding war.
For years, Wild fans have been waiting for July 1, 2025, when most of the salary paid to Zach Parise and Ryan Suter on their 13-year, $98 million contracts comes off the books. Guerin admitted that more than $14 million dead salary cap money prevented him from being more involved in free agency the past two years, and limited his options at the trade deadline.
Also starting Tuesday, Guerin has an open window to exclusively negotiate with superstar forward Kirill Kaprizov on a contract extension that some have predicted will be worth $15 million or more annually. While the GM has made no promises of a big splash when free agency begins, he has had conversations with Kaprizov and his agent about surrounding the high-scoring Russian with complementary pieces that could mean trips past the opening round of the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.
“They know the plan. They know what we’re trying to do. And we have the same goal, and that’s to win,” Guerin said, adding that in-season trades can be another way to invest bolster a lineup with talent that might not be available on July 1. “Sometimes it doesn’t just happen in one day, you know. But the biggest thing is that we’re going to be able to be players in the game again.”
By “the game,” Guerin specifically mentioned the Dallas Stars’ 2025 deadline acquisition of Mikko Rantanen, who played a key role in the team’s run to the Western Conference Final, as well as Florida trading for Matthew Tkachuk’s trade in the summer of 2022, which has helped the Panthers win the past two Stanley Cup titles.
“Big players do move, and we haven’t been able to be involved in that type of stuff,” Guerin said. “But if they come up, now we can.”
With the NHL’s version of Black Friday upon us, it appears wise investing and patience will be his mantras, even with the Wild back in the game fiscally for the first time in years.
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