The Minnesota Wild missed the playoffs last season and will have to recalibrate their salary cap as the money from the buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise largely disappears from the books. However, general manager Bill Guerin still believes his team will be in contention for the Stanley Cup next season.

“My expectations are to get back to the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup,” Bill Guerin said, according to Kayla Douglas of theScore. “I think some teams are in the process of rebuilding or something, but we’re not. What really hurt us last year was injuries. If we stay healthy, we can get back to our 100-plus point seasons, get back to the playoffs and improve.”

Next season, Suter and Parise will account for $14.74 million in dead cap for the Wild, which drops to $1.67 million in a year. Last season, Minnesota missed the playoffs for the first time since 2019, and Guerin’s comments suggest that his core of players can at least make the playoffs again.

“Players have bad years, coaches get fired, teams miss the playoffs. Things like that happen. The most important thing is that we come back,” Guerin said, according to Douglas.

Bill Guerin’s approach to the 2024-2025 deer season

Despite the high dead cap number, Guerin approaches this season ready to win in Minnesota.

“We’re trying to win,” Guerin said, according to Douglas. “We’ve got some salary cap hurdles, but you know, I think we’ve done well under the circumstances. I’m looking forward to it, but … I’m not saying, ‘Oh my God, we’ll just wait until next (year).’ No, we have this year.”

Why does Guerin think the Wild are among the favorites this year? He expects players to meet their career norms.

“We need the guys who have scored 10 (goals) but normally score 20 to get back to 20,” Guerin said, according to Douglas. “(Marcus) Johansson has to have a better year. (Frederick) Gaudreau has to have a better year. (Matt) Boldy has to get off to a better start. (Kirill) Kaprizov has to get off to a better start. (Ryan) Hartman can have a better year. … Foligno, if he stays healthy, we need him in the 15-20 goal range.”

The next offseason could be an active one for the Wild, but they are focused on the upcoming season.