Neal: The Wild’s most dangerous offseason weapon is Bill Guerin’s pen

It’s time for the Wild to go deeper.

Deeper with their roster, then go deeper in the postseason.

Despite encouraging signs that the arrow is pointing upward for this franchise — it does have a decent mix of savvy veterans and developing young talent — the first-round exit at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights exposed the Wild for what it lacks.

And that is depth, which the club finally can address during the upcoming offseason.

No offense meant to Ryan Hartman, who seemed to be on a redemption march against Vegas after serving a midseason suspension. He averaged a point a game during the series against the Golden Knights, scoring both Wild goals on Thursday. And stick taps to Marcus Foligno, who left everything on the ice in the series.

When healthy, the Wild are a team with a very good top line. And that’s it.

Joel Eriksson Ek, the masterful two-way player, centered a line in the playoffs that included Kirill Kaprizov, who is one of the game’s top 20 players, and Matt Boldy, who should be a perennial 30-goal scorer.

And they produced. Particularly Kaprizov and Boldy, who each were tied for second in the league with five playoff goals before the Wild’s season ended on Thursday night with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Golden Knights.

It is a great line. And imagining the next few years with that group is tantalizing. But it’s not enough to expect postseason runs. They need to get deeper, and stronger in the middle.

That’s why adding an accomplished center should be high on General Manager Bill Guerin’s shopping list this offseason.

He will be less encumbered by finances to make this happen, as the $14.7 million cap hit the Wild took from buying out the contracts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter waaaaay back in 2021 will drop to $1.7 million. Plus, the NHL salary cap is rising by $7.5 million, a sizeable jump for the league, for 2025-26.

Despite defenseman Brock Faber’s salary increase and the approaching extension talks for Kaprizov, there will be money to address depth for the roster.

Center Danila Yurov, the Wild’s first-round pick in 2022, is expected to join the club next season after being released from his KHL contract. His immediate impact is difficult to project. And the Wild need a proven player at the position.

Marco Rossi scored two goals during the Vegas series as a fourth-liner. Despite being second on the team in scoring during an injury-plagued season, the restricted free agent looks to be a trade option. The Wild will likely seek another, and bigger, center.

John Tavares will be the best center on the free agent market but wants to remain in Toronto and looks willing to take a pay cut to do so.

If you’re a fan of the one-of-us approach to roster building, Brock Nelson is considered to be one of the top centers entering the market. The Warroad product had two assists on Thursday as Colorado beat Dallas in Game 6 of their series. The free-agent market for centers is light, especially since Sam Bennett is working on a deal to remain with Florida. Guerin might have to swing a deal to bring in a quality center.

And if he has to pivot elsewhere, he could just corner the market on Brocks.

Winger Brock Boeser has gone on record that he is unlikely to return to Vancouver, where he scored 40 goals in 2023-24. He had 25 goals and 25 assists this past season, one in which he missed time because of a concussion.

Adding Boeser could be pricey in terms of years and average salary. A Burnsville native, Boeser, 28, checks the one-of-us box. When it comes to hockey, the one-of-us angle often means the player is good. The Wild would have three quality Brocks, all from Minnesota.

With the financial gloves finally off, Guerin can finally reach for his pen to sign some quality talent. This is the offseason we’ve waited for since the day the buyouts were announced.

The Wild also became the first team among the top four men’s North American professional sports leagues to make the playoffs eight times in a 10-year span and lose in the first round each time, according to the analytics site OptaSTATS. The Twins’ streak of 18 consecutive losses in the postseason is worse, but the Wild are now seated at the same table.

Those factors should be enough for Guerin to spring into action.

Any depth added to this roster should include an impact center.