Wilderness Walk: It’s quiet, too quiet

That’s Wild

• Not a lot of news surrounding the Minnesota Wild, but predicting who the team might protect for the upcoming expansion draft next year, is worth a second look. [Hockey Wilderness]
• Nico Sturm’s NHL career is still early and after signing his second contract with the Wild last week, he’s looking forward to a larger opportunity in 2020-21. [Dan Myers - NHL]

Off the trail...

• The Philadelphia Flyers have found themselves quiet in the middle of a hectic offseason, but fans are certainly split whether that is a good idea or not. Is this team good? Is this team actually bad and needs to drastically improve through trades and free agency? [Broad Street Hockey]
• The Ottawa Senators made a significant splash in free agency on Thursday. That’s right, you didn’t read that wrong. The basement-designated club locked up winger Evgenii Dadonov for three years and a cap hit of $5-million per year. [Silver Seven Sens]
• Imagine, with your star player still unsigned and a restricted free agent with your limited cap space, pursuing an aging unrestricted free agent. Makes you think.

• The New York Rangers had a busy Thursday, re-signing goaltender Alexandar Georgiev and defenseman Tony DeAngelo to two-year deals. Both were restricted free agents. [Blueshirt Banter]
• The Dallas Stars are suffering some financial trouble due to the pandemic and furloughed, a far too familiar reality with professional sports teams across the globe cutting costs. [Sean Shapiro - The Athletic]
• Scott Burnside provides an interesting look into the Carolina Hurricanes’ war room during the draft and free agency. [Scott Burnside - The Athletic]