Last fall, Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold predicted that the start of free agency in 2025, with the team finally out from under eight figures of dead salary cap money, would be like Christmas in July.

Wild fans might feel like this was a Christmas when you got dress socks instead of a sweet new bike.

Generally speaking, it was a day of what can be termed “strategic patience” for general manager Bill Guerin and the Wild hockey operations staff, who added a depth forward in the form of Nico Sturm, didn’t seem to be in mix for many other available pieces.

Still, Guerin believes the additions of Sturm and Vladimir Tarasenko via a Monday trade were net positives.

“Our team is better than it was couple days ago, I feel,” Guerin said. “I said it after last year and the year before and the year before: today is a big day for a lot of teams, us included. It’s an ongoing process, but the difference is now we get to be more involved in other things. Our cap issues before is something that was holding us back. Now that won’t, and hopefully we can be involved in other things as the season goes along.”In the run-up to the opening of free agency, Guerin had made it clear that there was no pressure to spend money just for the sake of spending, and that Minnesota’s newfound cap space might be better used for in-season trades and at the 2026 trade deadline than on an underwhelming free agent class.

Happy homecoming

It’s a homecoming for Sturm, who played some of his first North American hockey a decade ago in Austin, Minn. and made his NHL debut with the Wild. Guerin brought back Sturm for a second stint with the Wild via a two-year, $4 million contract.

“Full-circle moment for me, coming here and, first and foremost for me, another chance in the next few years to compete in the Stanley Cup playoffs and bring that elusive Cup to (Minnesota),” Sturm said.

Sturm, 30, spent the bulk of last season in San Jose before heading cross country at the trade deadline and landing in Florida, where he played a limited role in the Panthers’ Stanley Cup run. It was the second NHL title of Sturm’s nine-season pro career; he also was a part of Colorado’s Stanley Cup run in 2022.

He brings a reputation for winning faceoffs and for logging minutes in a penalty killing role, two weak spots for the Wild. After three seasons of college hockey at Clarkson, Sturm made his NHL debut in Minnesota in 2019 and played more than 100 games for the Wild before leaving at the 2022 trade deadline.

“We know what type of guy he is. We know how seriously he takes his role,” Guerin said. “His faceoff percentage is one of the best in the league. Obviously, very attractive to us. We’ve been struggling in that department for a while.”

As a student at Clarkson, he began dating fellow college hockey player Taylor Turnquist, from Spring Lake Park. Today, the two are engaged and make their offseason home in the Twin Cities. Turnquist is now retired after having played pro hockey in Boston and for the now-defunct Minnesota Whitecaps.

“The group chat is buzzing,” Sturm said. “Obviously, they’ve been Wild fans their whole lives and are excited to dust off those old Sturm jerseys they’ve still got laying around.”

Opening day moves

The hopes of some teams to spend on July 1 were also hampered by a number of pending free agents — Brock Nelson in Colorado; Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad and Brad Marchand in Florida — re-signing with their current teams. Sought-after forward Mitch Marner, formerly of Toronto, was dealt to Vegas in a sign-and-trade arrangement on Monday.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day came not long after free agency opened at 11 a.m. when Vancouver forward Brock Boeser, who is from Burnsville and was a member of North Dakota’s NCAA title team in 2016, inked a new seven-year deal with the Canucks that will pay him upwards of $7 million a season.

Forward Justin Brazeau, acquired from Boston at the 2025 trade deadline, signed a two-year contract with Pittsburgh.

Next on the agenda for Guerin and the Wild, who have said they would like to add depth on defense and in goal, are the futures of forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Marco Rossi. Kaprizov’s five-year extension expires after this season, and Guerin has said a long-term deal for the Russian superstar is the team’s top priority. Rossi is a restricted free agent who has been the subject of much trade speculation.

Guerin said Tuesday the Wild would match any other team’s offer sheet for Rossi and they hope to extend him, as well.