Wild owner Craig Leipold expects a playoff berth before Zach Parise, Ryan Suter buyout relief arrives

Like he is at the outset of every season, Craig Leipold is excited for the Wild to start playing hockey again soon.

But the significance of what’s awaiting the franchise once this minimum 82-game summit ends isn’t lost on the Wild owner.

“July 1 is going to be like Christmas,” he said.

Leipold is eyeing the end of the most expensive years of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts, when the nearly $15 million penalty the Wild have been shouldering since last year finally drops to a much more manageable $1.7 million charge.

“We’re going to have money available,” Leipold continued. “We’re going to have the resources available to do what we need to do to get back to Wild hockey, and we’re looking forward to that.”

Already, the Wild have identified the players they plan to pursue if they become free agents, and Leipold said he feels they’ll be able to acquire one or two.

This eagerness for the future, though, isn’t negligence for the present: The Wild might need a bounce-back season to keep their own superstar let alone acquire someone else’s.

Kirill Kaprizov, who’s in the fourth season of a five-year, $45 million deal, can sign an extension beginning July 1 and is eligible for free agency after his current contract expires.

“What does he want? He wants to win,” Leipold said Tuesday night at Xcel Energy Center during a 7-2 preseason blowout for the Wild over Chicago that included a power-play goal and three assists from Kaprizov. “So, we have to prove not only to him but to other [free agents] that we also want to win, and we’re used to winning. This is the State of Hockey, and we’re going to get back to the winning ways. We’re going to get a perennial playoff team, but it does start with Kirill.

“He’s going to be the focus of what we’re going to do. We plan to re-sign him. I will tell you: Nobody will offer more money than us or longer. So, all we have to do is prove to him that we want to win.”

Leipold hasn’t talked with Kaprizov about his situation but mentioned, “I know enough about Kirill and how he feels,” and to Leipold, success is key.

The money, he figures, will work itself out.

“We need to show to him, and frankly we need to show to a lot of people, we need to show our fans that we’re committed to winning and we’re gonna get there,” Leipold said.

In an uber-competitive division and conference, the Wild will have their work cut out for them.

Not making the playoffs last season disappointed Leipold, who lamented the team’s poor start and rash of injuries. He called the third-to-last penalty kill “unacceptable” and described the goaltending as an “unusual” result.

“Nobody got really hot,” he said. “Didn’t know which goalie we should go with.”

The Wild didn’t change much over the offseason with their limited funds, but Leipold believes the team has improved.

“We don’t want to miss the playoffs this year,” said Leipold, who was at the NHL Board of Governors meeting in New York earlier in the day. “We think it’s important for us to get in.”

If they don’t, Leipold made it clear moving on from President of Hockey Operations Bill Guerin hasn’t been discussed.

“There is no pressure on Bill,” Leipold explained.

There is, however, plenty at stake for the organization.

While Leipold noted corporate sponsorships are the highest they’ve ever been and the team had a 90% renewal rate for season tickets, they’re falling short on game-day ticket sales. Renovations to Xcel Energy Center are also top of mind.

The season opens next Thursday at home vs. Columbus, and the Wild still have decisions to make.

They have 29 players still in training camp after forward Reese Johnson was placed on waivers before puck drop to get him to the minors. Matt Boldy (lower-body injury) skated with the team on Tuesday morning and could draw in for the Wild’s preseason finale Friday at Chicago.

Jake Middleton (bruise) didn’t play on Tuesday, but captain Jared Spurgeon, alternate captain Marcus Foligno and defenseman Jonas Brodin made their preseason debuts.

Spurgeon scored in his return from hip and back surgeries, with Frederick Gaudreau, Jakub Lauko, Joel Eriksson Ek and Marco Rossi also picking up goals. Filip Gustavsson had 19 saves.

But how much the Wild have truly evolved, if it all, is still to be determined.

“Our plan is to make the playoffs,” Leipold said. “So, there is no what if we don’t. We are gonna make it.”