Bill Guerin is absolutely right about Matt Boldy – Minnesota Wild

Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin knows what a member of the 50/50 Club looks like. He spent his final season with the Pittsburgh Penguins during Sidney Crosby's only 50/50 season. Heck, Guerin even gave Crosby 12 of those 51 goals and dunked in another 12 of Crosby's 58 assists.

He watched another member of the club, Evgeni Malkin, while Guerin was in Pittsburgh's front office. It would be shocking if Guerin doesn't immediately think of those two when he thinks of a 50/50 player.

So it raised eyebrows when Guerin tabbed Matt Boldy as someone who could join the big center of that legendary 50/50 Club this offseason. Saying that is like looking at Crosby and Malkin and saying, “This guy looks a lot like them.” It seems ridiculous at first glance, even if you believed in Boldy that he would make a leap after his 29-goal, 69-point season.

But those big words look downright prophetic through 21 games. If Kirill Kaprizov hadn't been competing for the Art Ross and Hard Trophies, the competition in scoring, the conversation in State of Hockey could be all about how right Guerin was Bold.

Boldy has 11 goals and 22 points in 21 games this season, on pace for a 43-goal, 43-assist season, putting him within striking distance of the 50/50 Club. He entered Tuesday tied for 18th in goals, along with the likes of Connor McDavid, Brady Tkachuk and Tage Thompson. With his 22 points he fell just outside the top 30 of the competition.

And that was the case where Kaprizov mainly got top billing. Both players play together on the top power play, and John Hynes recently reunited them on the top line. But Kaprizov is the team's undisputed Big Dog, getting almost three more minutes per game than Boldy and the extra scoring opportunities that come with it.

Fortunately for the Wild, that system remains in effect. from Kaprizov knee-on-knee collision Because Drake Caggiula forced him out of Saturday's Calgary Flames game, he was back in the lineup in Monday night's loss to the Winnipeg Jets. While Kaprizov's return denies Boldy the opportunity to play in Sicko Mode as the No. 1 option — which he did in the spring of 2023 when he scored 13 goals and 19 points in 13 games with Kaprizov on the shelf — he played alongside him on the top line is a bigger prize.

Since John Hynes took over the Wild bench in late November of last year, he has regularly played 5-on-5 against Boldy and Kaprizov. Boldy has managed to shine both with and without his star counterpart. Going back to December 3 – his last 82 games – Boldy has 38 goals (15th in the NHL during that time) and 82 points (23rd). If we count that as a full season, we already have a proof of concept for a 40/40 season. How much more is adding twelve goals and six assists on top of those numbers?

Especially now that Kaprizov is making the leap he has made over the past year. Despite a missed game, Kaprizov is on pace to score 53 goals and 138 points this season. And while a 130-point season might be a bit much, it's not a stretch to think that Kaprizov can achieve a 50/50 season with relative ease. If you want to talk about the splits in the last 82 games, Kaprizov has 55 goals and 118 points.

With Kaprizov being on a different level, Boldy's game should be elevated, and even if he doesn't quite reach that 50/50 plateau, it's clear that Guerin's prediction wasn't fluff and hype. He's looking really good right now as far as Boldy is concerned, establishing himself as a second star on the same level as the Colorado Avalanche in Mikko Rantanen, the Florida Panthers in Sam Reinhart, or the Tampa Bay Lightning in Brayden Point. Boldy is a real force to be reckoned with.

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