Wild insider: Trade deadline wrap-up, Marc-Andre Fleury on retirement and Dakota

Sometimes teams just have bad years, and sometimes teams have years when they’re inundated with injuries. It certainly seems that Minnesota Wild president and general manager Bill Guerin is banking on it having been the latter with his team in 2023-24 heading into next season.

Barring unforeseen changes this offseason, the Wild will have a returning roster including 10 forwards (if one includes Marat Khusnutdinov), seven defensemen and goalie Filip Gustavsson, with a decision to be made on Marc-Andre Fleury.

The recent trades of Brandon Duhaime and Connor Dewar effectively open two roster spots for internal options or outside acquisitions.

Guerin believes the Wild have been in a hole since Jared Spurgeon initially got hurt in the second-to-last exhibition game. The reality is with $14.7 million in dead money, they could not afford the incredible number of injuries this season.

Look no further than when the Wild lost seven guys right when they had home-and-homes against the Winnipeg Jets and Dallas Stars.

But it started with Spurgeon, because the blue line is where the team lacked depth coming into the season with three defensemen who were scratched for much of last season’s second half: Jon Merrill, Alex Goligoski and Calen Addison.

“You lose your No. 1 defenseman, it hurts,” Guerin said. “That hurts any team. For us in our situation, the one thing that we really needed this year was good health, and we didn’t have it. We haven’t had it. But that’s the way it goes.”

The problem is the Wild will have another $14.7 million dead cap hit to open next season, so they will again lack the depth to recover if they’re inundated. They’ll be relying on Spurgeon, who turned 34 in November, to be full steam ahead after season-ending back and hip surgeries. And praying Marcus Foligno, who plays a hard brand of hockey and has dealt with significant injuries throughout his Wild tenure, will remain healthy. And hoping underachievers such as Ryan Hartman, Marcus Johansson and Freddy Gaudreau have big offseasons and return to form.

This is a team that, despite the cap penalties, posted 100-plus points in each of the past two seasons — thus, again, Guerin banking on this season having been the aberration.

Foligno was outspoken after Duhaime was traded, saying Wild players have nobody to blame but themselves for Guerin’s selling off three pieces, including Pat Maroon, for draft picks and not buying like he has done at previous deadlines.

Marcus Foligno wasn’t happy to see Brandon Duhaime go. (Brace Hemmelgarn / USA Today)

Guerin doesn’t look at it like that.

“I really don’t,” Guerin said. “You can look at it that way, but I can also look at me, personally. I look at what’s happened this whole year with the coaching change, all the injuries that have happened. And this group of players has still maybe, until the last little while, kept us in a position where we can compete for a playoff spot. That says a lot…