Wild GM eyes Stanley Cup after winning Olympic gold medal with Team USA

Sunday marks the three-week anniversary of Team USA’s monumental overtime victory against Team Canada in the gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

For Bill Guerin, the accomplishment still seems surreal.

The Minnesota Wild general manager, who had the same role with the U.S., has been swamped with duties for his NHL team since returning from Milan. From wheeling and dealing prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 6, to watching the Wild try to hunt down the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars in the Central Division for seedings in the upcoming Stanley Cup Playoffs, it’s been a whirlwind.

“I’ve been so busy,” Guerin told NHL.com ahead of the Wild’s game against the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SNO). “So, when I do have a brief moment thinking about the Olympics and what we did, it’s like it’s not real. It’s like a dream.”

The 2-1 overtime win delivered the U.S. its first Olympic gold medal since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid, New York.

Asked about how his life has changed since Jack Hughes’ overtime goal ignited a red-white-and-blue party both in Milan and back home, Guerin pondered the question for a moment.

“To be honest, I haven't had much time to really, like, just sit and think about it,” he said. “As of right now, it hasn't changed much.”

Except?

“Except for, I think I have to remind myself every once in a while what we just did. For people in my generation, to have waited 46 years for that moment, I think I have to remind myself every once in a while what we just did. It’s just, for me, at least, such a meaningful part of my life, of so many lives.

“Again, the biggest thing is, reminding yourself that we won, that we got it done.”

Guerin said those flashbacks are few and far between because the business of the Wild is front and center. The Olympics? That was then.

This is now.

Consider how busy Guerin was with the Trade Deadline less than two weeks after returning from the Olympics.

When all was said and done, Minnesota acquired forwards Michael McCarron (Nashville Predators), Bobby Brink (Philadelphia Flyers), Nick Foligno (Chicago Blackhawks) and defenseman Jeff Petry (Florida Panthers) in trades, and also claimed forward Robby Fabbri off waivers from the St. Louis Blues.

For Guerin, there was no time to relish in Olympic glory when he returned home. He had to turn the page immediately.

“Maybe for a day or two you’re in the moment,” he said. “But again, it's not like you could sit there and just think back on what just happened all that much. We had to get ready for March 6. And in a way that's good, too, you know? You just keep moving ahead and get refocused on the Wild and what we need to do.

“It was OK, and you know why? Because that's your job. You just can't let it slide. You have to get yourself back in the NHL mindset, and you have to get yourself there quickly. You just don't have time to relish in the moment all that much. You've got to get back to work and back to what your day job is. That's important.”

The Wild (38-17-12) are 4-3-1 since returning from the Olympic break and will be looking to rebound from a 4-2 loss to the visiting New York Rangers on Saturday. They are third in the Central, nine points behind the Avalanche and six back of the Stars. Indeed, Minnesota seems to be on a collision course with Dallas in the Western Conference First Round.

Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs (28-27-12) are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss at the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and are without captain Auston Matthews, who will miss the remainder of the season because of a grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion he sustained in a knee-on-knee collision with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas on Thursday. Gudas was suspended five games by the NHL Department of Player Safety on Friday.

Matthews was Team USA captain in Milan and at the 4 Nations Face-Off last season. For Guerin, who was GM for each team, the chance to personally get to know Matthews has provided a newfound appreciation of the center, both on and off the ice.

“I think the world of Auston,” Guerin said. “He's a great guy. He's a great teammate. You can see that when he's in there with all the guys. They all love him. He's a quiet leader and lets his play do the talking for him. That’s powerful. He’s got a presence to him; you can feel that. We felt it at the Olympics.

“I thought he did a fantastic job as our captain. Like Jack (Hughes) said, (Matthews is) a winner. And if you really watch him each and every night, the way he commits himself to a 200-foot game on both sides of the puck, it's incredible. And I don't think it's talked about enough. He could be in the Selke (Trophy) voting (as the NHL’s best defensive forward) every single year.

“It's an unfortunate situation that he got hurt. It seems like things have been tough (in Toronto). You never want your season to end like that.”

As for the Wild, Guerin hopes their season extends deep into the spring.

“We needed some grit, some size, some face-off guys, penalty killers, to solidify our bottom sixes at the Deadline, and we feel we checked those boxes,” he said. “I’m happy with it, our coaches are happy with it. We made our big move a couple of months ago getting (defenseman) Quinn Hughes from Vancouver, and I know there’s fans who said going into the Deadline, “Great Hughes deal, what are you going to do for us now?” It’s part of the business. We got our business done; now it’s just a matter of getting ready.

“I think there's versatility to our game. We've got speed and skill. We've got some heaviness to our lineup. We’ve got goaltending. There's a lot to like.”

Even with teams like the Dallas and Colorado looming in Minnesota’s quest for the Stanley Cup?

“It's honestly just a matter of putting it all together at the right time.” Guerin said. “That's for any team. I don't care who you have in your lineup or on your team -- if you're not playing the right way at the right time, it's going to be tough.

“So to me, that is more important than anything -- having a clear understanding of what our identity is and what our game needs to be to have success.”