Wilderness Walk: Helmet ads are coming

That’s Wild

• In case you missed it, Kaprizov is here in Minnesota loving life. Just vibes. [Hockey Wilderness]
• The Minnesota Wild unfortunately lost some goaltending depth when Alex Stalock suffered an upper-body injury, putting him out indefinitely. But they snatched up Andrew Hammond as a free agent to fill some depth. [Hockey Wilderness]

Off the trail...

• According to Sports Business Daily, the NHL Board of Governors could approve helmet ads for the 2020-21 season in the near future. As an extra revenue stream to make up for the fan-less arenas, it makes sense. [SportsBusinessDaily]
• St. Louis Blues legend Alex Steen announced his retirement on Thursday. The 36-year-old winger had one year remaining on his contract and because an existing back injury forced him to hang up the skates, his contract will go on the LTIR for next season. [St. Louis Game Time]
• The 2020-21 season is still uncertain, but there might be some significant changes coming to the pre-existing plans. According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, the seven Canadian NHL teams could temporarily relocate to the United States, in case their provincial government does not let major sports events take place. Considering the recent spike across all of North America, we might be seeing a bubble reappearance. [Sportsnet]
• Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis is planning out the NHL’s expansion team from his home in North Carolina. [AP]