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2025-26 Minnesota Wild Predictions and Odds to Win Stanley Cup Finals

by Ryan Cobbett - 9/25/2025

Minnesota Wild predictions Kirill Kaprizov

Last season the Minnesota Wild finished the regular season with 97 points and claimed the top wild card spot in Western Conference. Their -11-goal differential was the worst amongst playoff teams in the conference. With the top wild card, they squared off against Vegas in the first round of the playoffs. Unfortunately, their playoff stay was short lived as they were eliminated in six games after fumbling a 2-1 series lead.

The offense struggled last season in large part thanks to the extended absence of Kirill Kaprizov. They finished the season averaging 2.74 GF/G which ranked in the lower fourth in the league. Their power play wasn’t much better as they cashed in on just 20.9% of their man advantage opportunities which ranked 20th in the league. As for the penalty kill, their 72.4% PK% was the third worst mark in the league. Matt Boldy led the team with 73 points, 27 goals, and 46 assists. Marco Rossi followed with 60 points and was third on the team with 24 goals. Kaprizov finished third on the team in points (56) despite playing in just 41 games. His 25 goals were the second most on the team and he joined Boldy and Rossi as the only Wild players to reach the 20-goal mark.

Minnesota ranked 15th in the league in goals allowed as they allowed 2.88 GA/G while their .908 SV% ranked fifth. Filip Gustavsson was one of three goalies for Minnesota last season, and he led the way with 58 appearances where he went on to post a 31-19-6 record while allowing just 2.56 GA/G and a .914 SV%. Marc-Andre Fleury was solid in his final year as he allowed just 2.94 GA/G in 26 appearances while maintaining a .899 SV%. Jesper Wallstedt was the third goalie to appear in the crease for Minnesota as he made two appearances.

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Seasons come and go, so now it’s time to take a look at what we can expect from the Minnesota Wild in 2025-26:

Minnesota Wild Key Additions/Losses

The losses for Minnesota were minimal over the course of the offseason. The team traded away Frederick Gaudreau who had 37 points (18 goals, 19 assists) to the Seattle Kraken in a move that freed up some cap space. Brendan Gaunce (12 games) was dealt to Columbus and Declan Chisholm (12 points) was traded to Washington. Andre-Fleury retried, and Gustav Nyquist left for Winnipeg.

As for the additions, the Wild added Nico Sturm to a two-year deal after the forward tallied 14 points in 62 games for Florida last season. The Wild also filled a hole when they acquired Vladimir Tarasenko in a deal with Detroit.  

Minnesota Wild X-Factors

Kirill Kaprizov- In the shadows of McDavid’s rumored unease is another superstar who may be changing teams. Kaprizov and Minnesota have yet to reach an agreement to keep the star with the Wild for the foreseeable future which could hang over the locker room like a dark cloud. Kaprizov is the best offensive weapon for Minnesota, and his absence will sorely be missed. While there are a lot of budding stars and plenty in place for a run at the cup, if Kaprizov doesn’t want to return a move could be likely. If he is not moved, he needs to stay healthy and on the ice. He was playing like a Hart Trophy winner before his injury last season and Minnesota desperately needs to see that production again if they want to keep up with Dallas, Colorado, and Winnipeg.

Minnesota Wild Goalie Outlook

Minnesota has a solid outlook in the crease. Gustavsson has been developing into one of the most reliable goalies in the NHL. He played at an elite level to start the season last year and the goal this season will be to maintain those elite numbers through the playoffs. Wallstedt behind him is an exciting prospect and perhaps an important name to float around at the deadline if Minnesota wishes to acquire another top tier scorer to pair with Kaprizov. Gustavsson has allowed just 2.57 GA/G over his three seasons in Minnesota and any improvement in this number will take Minnesota from a wild card team to a guaranteed spot in the Central Division. The young Swedish duo has one of the highest ceilings in the league.

Grade: B+

Minnesota Wild Key Schedule Stretch

December 11th-January 8th- There will be a lot of hockey played in this stretch for Minnesota, and it won’t be easy. There are 15 games during this stretch with eight of them happening on the road. This stretch starts right after a four-game west coast road trip and begins with a matchup against the Dallas Stars on home ice to being a four-game homestand. The rest of the opponents on this homestand are Boston, Washington, Ottawa. That gives Minnesota three playoff caliber opponents in a five-day stretch. After that four-game stretch, they fly to Columbus to take on an interesting Columbus team before returning home for three more games. Those three games include Edmonton, Colorado, and Nashville. Of the seven home games, five of them are against playoff caliber teams. After their bout with Nashville, Minnesota will hit the road for a seven-game road trip with stops in Winnipeg, Vegas, San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles (twice), and Seattle. All in all, the Wild will be battle tested after this stretch of games where they have a seven-game road trip and face 11 playoff caliber teams.

Minnesota Wild Notable Odds

Stanley Cup Champions: +2200

Conference Winner: +1200

Division Winner: +650

To Make the Playoffs- Yes: -195

Norris Trophy- Brock Faber: +8000

Vezina Trophy- Filip Gustavsson: +2700

Hart Trophy- Kirill Kaprizov: +1100

Calder Trophy- Zeev Buium: +1300

Minnesota Wild Prediction

Minnesota will find their way back into the playoffs regardless of how the Kaprizov saga plays out. There are plenty of pieces in place with proven goaltending that can get them there. Any last-minute efforts to attract Kaprizov to a long-term deal, like adding another star skater, could push Minnesota into a real Stanley Cup contender. The wild did lose a few key role pieces over the course of the offseason but the addition of Tarasenko paired with a healthy Kaprizov and a further improved Boldy and Rossi I think Minnesota has the potential to reach 100 points on the season and could fight their way ahead of Winnipeg to earn a guaranteed spot. Take the over on the win total and pay attention to rookie Zeev Buium as this year’s version of Lane Hutson.

Over 96.5 Team Total Points

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