It is one of the best traditions in all of sports, the passing of the Stanley Cup from teammate to teammate. The Captain, to the grizzled veteran who has never won a Cup, to the rookie who had a huge impact in the playoffs. The order in which the cup is passed is always super interesting. So after a a 55 win regular season, the Presidents Trophy, and a #1 seed in the playoffs, this is how the 2023 Minnesota Wild will handoff the Stanley Cup.
Team Leaders/Veterans
Obviously the first to get the Stanley Cup will be Jared Spurgeon. He is team captain, he’s a team and fan favorite and all around good guy. Him going first was never in doubt, however who he hands it to is up for debate.My pick to go 2nd is Alex Goligoski. He would be in his 15th year, a MInnesota boy and exactly the kind of guy who gets it 2nd.
3. Marc Andre Fleury: this is obviously conditional on if he is still on the roster, but according to my sources, (me) he will still be on the team. He has multiple cup wins, but in his 18th season he definitely goes in the Top 5.4. Mats Zuccarello: In his 12th season, the Norweigan Gretzky finally wins the Cup and skates around the X 4th overall.
5. Kirill Kaprizov: Does Mats give it to one of the veterans like Foligno or Brodin? Nope he hands Lord Stanley off to Conn Smythe winner, and best friend Kirill Kaprizov.6: Jonas Brodin: in my simulation he is still on the team and the longest serving Wild player. If Kaprizov doesn’t win the Conn Smythe I could see him going in the 5 slot.
Fan Favorites, 3rd Line Grinders, Shot Blockers
7-10: Marcus Foligno, Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway, Cam Talbot: Foligno may be a little too low for someone with over 700 games played but there isn’t a player you could bump for him in the Top 6.
Veteran Defenseman
11-15: Jordie Benn, Dmitriy Kulikov, Tyson Jost, Jake Middleton, Jon Merril: While this group looks to be the oldest, minus Jost, I would wager serious $$$ that someone from this group is the first Wild player to drop the Cup.
Young Guns, Playoff Roster Additions
16-20: Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi, Brandon Duhaime, Connor Dewar, Jesper Wallstedt
29yo, 2 kids, former place kicker for the worst high school football team in Minnesota history. 2/2 xp, 0/2 field goals, led the state in total punts.