Latest news with #Brodin
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
How the boss of Ikea gives his workers permission to fail
Many corporate leaders praise innovation but are less vocal about failure. That's not the case for the CEO of Ikea 's owner — he hands out "banana cards." Jesper Brodin, boss of Ingka Group, said in a podcast interview with Norges Bank Investment Management CEO Nicolai Tangen that the idea came directly from employee feedback. "A big group of Ikea colleagues said openly that we feel sometimes afraid of daring to make mistakes. What would be the consequences?" Brodin said in the episode released on Wednesday. To ease those fears, he created a symbolic gesture: "I invented this card where I basically cosign in advance for your mistake. And I've handed that out to a lot of people." Brodin said the "banana card" sent a clear message to staff: take risks, and that it's OK to fail. "I actually do follow up with everyone who I handed this card to," he added. "But more as an encouragement to say: if you do a mistake and you look for somebody to share that burden with, you can count on me." An Ingka Group spokesperson told Business Insider the card is so named to encourage staff to "go bananas" with bold risks. They also said Brodin rolled it out companywide and is following up on its use to promote "experimentation" and "co-responsibility." The initiative is part of Brodin's broader push to keep Ikea agile and entrepreneurial, despite its global scale. He took up the role in late 2017. "The biggest threat for us today, besides things like climate change, economic turmoil, would be our internal capability to actually be entrepreneurs," he said. With about 216,000 employees globally, Brodin said complexity and inertia were constant risks for Ikea. "Being part of a big system, there is always a force of nature that invites you to make things more complicated — maybe a little bit too many experts, too many meetings, and so on," he said. "So you need to constantly try to cut down on meetings, encourage people to take decisions, to take risks, to dare to do mistakes." For Brodin, Ikea's future hinged on being bold. "If you have an idea and you don't act on it, there's something dying inside," he said. "For us, it's important to be a live community of people who go for their ideas and continue to look for the next horizon." A number of prominent tech and business leaders share Brodin's belief that failure is essential for innovation. British inventor James Dyson has said he built more than 5,000 prototypes before launching his bagless vacuum cleaner in 1993, telling The Wall Street Journal in April that real wisdom comes from experience. Elon Musk told the International Space Station Research and Development Conference in Boston in 2015: "Anything which is significantly innovative is going to come with a significant risk of failure." Meanwhile, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos put it simply in a 2015 letter to shareholders: " Failure and invention are inseparable twins." Steve Jobs, the late Apple cofounder, also spoke about the value of failure in Silicon Valley.
Business Mayor
02-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Ikea aims to lure city dwellers with store on London's Oxford Street
Unlock the Editor's Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Ikea wants to use its new store on London's Oxford Street to attract more city dwelling customers as part of a strategic shift to expand beyond giant out-of-town warehouses. The shop, which will open on Thursday, is part of a plan to make the brand more accessible for customers living in cities. Jesper Brodin, who runs Ingka, the group that operates 90 per cent of Ikea stores globally, said the shift was prompted by conversations with shoppers a few years ago. 'People said 'we like Ikea, but on a weekday it's difficult for me to get to Wembley',' the chief executive said, referring to its vast shop in north-west London. 'It was a realisation that we had to invest in digital and online but also that we had to find a way to bring Ikea closer to customers.' The Grade II listed Oxford Street building, formerly the flagship unit of fashion retailer Topshop, has three floors and the equivalent of 5,800 sq m of retail space. About half of the 6,000 products on display, spanning storage boxes, plush toys and crockery, can be bought straight away, while larger items of furniture will be available for home delivery or click-and-collect. Inside the Oxford Street store: Ikea has previously opened inner-city stores in Paris, Mumbai and Stockholm Ikea paid £378mn for the building in 2021 before investing tens of millions of pounds to renovate it in what amounted to Ikea's 'biggest investment by far' in a single shop, Brodin said. Read More Gold prices gain following dollar dip, tariff speculation 'I'm quite confident that Oxford Street will work but also that we will continue to scale in more big cities,' he added. Ikea opened its first UK city store in west London in 2022, having experimented with different formats such as planning studios, including one in central London that subsequently shut. The first of its smaller inner-city stores opened in Paris in 2019, followed by Mumbai and Stockholm in 2022, in an effort to reach new customers as shopping habits changed. Brodin said he wanted to open more small-format Ikea stores in other UK cities, including Brighton, where it bought a shopping centre in 2023. Beyond more store openings, Brodin said the priority was to make Ikea 'more affordable and more sustainable'. The new store, which will include a Swedish 'deli' selling Ikea's famous meatballs, was hailed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan as a 'vote of confidence in London, in our economy and in our plans to rejuvenate Oxford Street'. In February, he launched a consultation on pedestrianising Oxford Street, arguing it would help it compete with other global shopping locations. The thoroughfare was hit hard by the shift to online shopping and a lack of tourists during the pandemic. In the UK, Ikea employs almost 12,000 staff, has 21 full-size stores, one order-and-collection site and three plan-and-order sites. The first store opened in 1987 in Warrington, north-west England.
Forbes
15-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why IKEA's CEO Is Betting On Small Joys And Big Sustainability
Jesper Brodin was nothing like I expected. A formidable CEO, yes—but without the polished sheen or corporate distance. At Milan Design Week, while much of the design world leaned into spectacle, Brodin sat with me in a converted warehouse in Navigli, discussing carbon emissions and circularity with the calm of someone more interested in systems than soundbites. The CEO of Ingka Group—the largest IKEA retailer globally—was there as IKEA unveiled two projects: the return of its design-led STOCKHOLM collection and Do Something, Change Everything, a data-backed display of how the company is reworking its operations to meet urgent climate targets. Both presentations reflected a broader shift in how IKEA approaches the intersection of design, behavior, and impact. The STOCKHOLM collection is a nod to longtime customers—those who grew up with flat-packs and now have more disposable income. Do Something, Change Everything made the company's strategy clear: by investing in renewable energy, resource efficiency, and circularity, IKEA can reduce emissions and champion affordability at scale. This approach extends to new services like IKEA Pre-Owned and Sustainable Living Shops, designed for how people buy, live, and budget today. CEO Jesper Brodin at Milan Design Week The same attention to everyday realities also shapes the company's Life at Home Report, now in its 11th year. Drawing on insights from over 38,000 people across 39 countries, the 2024 edition revealed that one in three people don't feel enough joy at home. The solution doesn't suggest grand overhauls. Instead, it points to small, powerful shifts—more personalization, more connection, more comfort. In the conversation that follows, Brodin shares how these insights inform IKEA's evolving design priorities, retail strategy, and long-term sustainability goals. You've been at IKEA since 2002. What was your relationship with the brand before joining? I grew up in Sweden—my father was a teacher, my mother worked at a travel agency. We didn't have a lot of money, so every purchase had to count. I remember going to IKEA with my dad and assembling furniture together. I thought it was fun—he might not have agreed! But that relationship with the brand started early. You've just launched the latest STOCKHOLM collection. Can you tell us about that? STOCKHOLM was designed for people who've maybe grown out of their first apartments, had their first kids, and now have a little more money. We noticed some of these customers 'graduated' from IKEA and started shopping elsewhere. So we asked, what if we could keep them with us? This is our eighth STOCKHOLM collection—it's the biggest yet with 100 products. It's intended to 'flirt' with that more design-focused category, but still at a quarter of the price you'd find elsewhere. A similar sofa from a competitor might cost €5,000—we're offering ours for €1,400. IKEA's STOCKHOLM Collection at Milan Design Week There's a lot of talk around sustainability at IKEA. If you couldn't use the word 'sustainable,' how would you describe your approach? It's about doing what's right—not just for business, but for all our stakeholders. Being people and planet positive has to be business positive too. It's not charity; it's a smart business. We've proven it's possible to grow and reduce our carbon footprint at the same time. Since signing the Paris Agreement, we've grown our business by 24% and cut absolute carbon emissions by 30.1%. That's impressive. How have you achieved those reductions? Almost every action we've taken to cut carbon has also helped us reduce costs. We've invested in renewable energy—wind and solar—and now we produce 140% of our own needs. That independence is a business win. We've also reduced food waste by 60.5%. People often assume sustainability is expensive, but being smart with resources is good for the bottom line. And yet, many still believe sustainable products are unaffordable. Why do you think that is? It's a misconception. At IKEA, we follow a design formula: form, function, price, quality, and sustainability. Years ago, I met two groups of producers. One said we had to choose between low price or high quality. The other said increasing quality would save money—through lean production, zero waste, worker motivation, and better materials. They were right. It's the same with sustainability—transformation lowers cost in the long run. Milan Design Week How do you address concerns around greenwashing? Greenwashing emerged from companies that were reckless or misleading. But now there's a new concern—greenhushing. The best companies are staying silent out of fear of backlash. We've chosen the opposite approach. We work with youth organizations, NGOs, and even lawyers who prosecute greenwashing to keep us honest. We're sharing the facts—30% carbon reduction across 20 to 30 examples. If we make a small mistake, we'll own it. But silence isn't an option. How do you know your customers care about sustainability? Every two years, we survey over 33,000 people across more than 30 markets with GlobeScan. Climate change has consistently been the number one concern—across Texas, Shanghai, Milan, Stockholm. In fact, awareness is highest in China. Today, 64% of customers report taking conscious action, like recycling or buying secondhand. But only 6% say they could pay more for climate-smart products. The reality is that most people simply can't afford to care the way they'd like to. So how does that shape IKEA's strategy? We can't build a sustainable future by asking people to pay more. That only works for the wealthy, and it doesn't drive transformation. So we bake affordability into our sustainability strategy. That's why we celebrate when we can lower prices—it means we're reaching more people. Milan Design Week Speaking of affordability, tell us about IKEA's approach to the secondhand market. This is almost embarrassing, I didn't realize how massive our secondhand market share was! Just go on Ebay or Facebook Marketplace and you can see how many people are reselling IKEA products. They don't throw them away—they sell them, especially in life stages like parenting where space is tight. In some areas, we actually have a higher secondhand market share than first-time purchases. How did that lead to IKEA Pre-Owned? We began exploring this seriously around 2015. At first, we thought the existing platforms were good enough. But eventually, our innovation team saw room to add value. We built IKEA Pre-Owned, now live in Spain and Norway. Sellers can access our full photo library, get price recommendations based on our database, and buyers get free spare parts. It's not just resale, it's a better experience. Let's talk about the Life at Home report. How does the concept of 'designing for joy' fit in with your other priorities like sustainability and affordability? People start with price. Then they want functionality—especially in small spaces. After that, quality and well-being become important. Joy is woven through all of that. We've seen families save for years just to buy a bunk bed for their kids so they can create space to play or do homework. That shapes our design process. We do home visits constantly and come back with real insights. We design all our products in-house, so we have a point of view. Simplicity, Scandinavian style, and the feel of the material all contribute to joy. The STOCKHOLM Collection at Milan Design Week Finally, what's the future of IKEA retail that excites you most? We've made big investments in online and services. But we've also explored new physical formats. We realized we couldn't take 70 years to adapt—we had to move fast. After many tests and mistakes, we've landed on three new formats: home planning studios, pick-up points, and what we call 'access format' stores. They're smaller, urban, and flexible—like the one opening soon on Oxford Street in London. They give you the full IKEA experience in a condensed version. It's super exciting to see them rolling out globally.
New York Times
20-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
How Wild prospect David Jiricek is handling scratches — and development: ‘You have to have patience'
ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Tuesday's off day, only a few Minnesota Wild players were on the ice. Among them were Jonas Brodin, the veteran defenseman rehabbing a lower-body injury, and Marc-Andre Fleury, the Hall of Famer who has started just one of the past 10 games. And touted defense prospect David Jiricek. Advertisement Jiricek, 21, had wrapped up shooting drills on Fleury toward the end of the session when goalies coach Frederic Chabot turned to skating coach Andy Ness. 'You know,' Chabot said, 'I think that's the best Jiricek has looked.' Much has been made about Jiricek's being a healthy scratch in the nine games since his March 1 recall. And there's a fair argument that he would be better off playing 20-plus minutes for AHL Iowa than being bag-skated here. Any time a No. 6 pick — one for whom the Wild traded a draft haul to the Columbus Blue Jackets to acquire in November — is sitting, it's going to draw attention. But Jiricek isn't as ticked off as Wild fans seem to be. Of course, he would rather be in the lineup. 'I'm not going to lie, I still want to play,' he said. However, Jiricek points out he has missed only four games with Iowa in the past few weeks, and there have been benefits to his development while training with NHLers. 'One hundred percent,' Jiricek said. 'I skated with (Brodin) and had some practices with Flower. For me, that's always like a dream, you know? He's a Hall of Famer. To shoot on him, it's always a blessing. It's actually a pretty good situation for me.' When the Wild called up Jiricek, it was for insurance in case of an injury on the blue line. And though the rest of the defensemen have been healthy since (aside from Brodin still working his way back), it's not like Minnesota could have sent him down. The Wild are allowed only four nonemergency recalls post-trade deadline, and if they tried to swap Jiricek with another defenseman, it would be their fourth and final one. Once Brodin returns, which could be as soon as Saturday, Jiricek is expected to get shipped back to Iowa. 'It's a difficult one with David,' coach John Hynes said. 'He's been great. We've tried to use him where he hasn't got in, but he's put a lot of extra work in (and) is doing some things that will be beneficial to him. He knows the situation. We have to keep him here right now. If there's an injury, he's going to be the next man up. Being around the team, being around the environment, getting extra work put in is not a bad thing. Obviously, the game action is important. So, let's say, if (Brodin) comes back and we don't get injuries, it's on our mind to let him get down and play and continue for his development. I think, overall, it's been a positive.' Advertisement The one thing Jiricek has acknowledged needing to improve since he was made a top-10 pick by Columbus is his skating, and he's getting plenty of work in with Ness and the Wild staff. Jiricek noted it's mostly the transitions from backward to forward. 'It's just building, getting him stronger,' Ness said. 'His skating posture, then his skills and his daily habits. You're on the ice with Fleury, Brodin, your level just goes up that much more — just watching this and being around. Even (Kirill) Kaprizov. Just having his mentality, his competitiveness, his attitude bleeding onto you is a positive thing.' Jiricek was acquired (along with a 2025 fifth-rounder) Nov. 30 for Daemon Hunt, a first-round pick this year, a third-rounder in 2026, a fourth-rounder in 2026 and a second-rounder in 2027. He has played in six games for Minnesota this season, picking up a goal and 2 points with a plus-2 rating in 13:02 average ice time. There was some excitement from the Wild staff on the potential there. 'I think I played some decent games and showed the guys I belong here — and showed the coaches,' Jiricek said. 'I showed well, so I'm just waiting for my chance.' Wild forward Brendan Gaunce, who played with Jiricek with Columbus' AHL affiliate, Cleveland, said there should be some patience given to Jiricek. 'He's a good player,' said Gaunce, a 2012 first-rounder with the Vancouver Canucks. 'I find it funny because the media thinks when you're a sixth overall pick, you have to have success right away. They think you can just step in and play. There are so many factors that come into it, especially for a person coming from Europe to here. English isn't his first language. There's so many steps you have to go through to be comfortable. You're over to a new place, away from your family. It's a different game, different style of coaching. You're getting paid, and it's your job, and you're like, 'Holy, this is a lot for me to take in.'' Advertisement Jiricek, in his third year living in North America, said he's doing well with his transition off the ice, having lived in four cities in between the two NHL teams he's been with. He noted the differences in the NHL level from even some of the top levels he's played at, from world championships to the Czech league. 'These are the best players in the world,' Jiricek said. 'It's going to be a different challenge for me. Especially as a young guy like me. I'm just trying to learn. There's a lot of tremendous players on the (Wild) D-core, so I'm trying to learn too.' Jiricek knows this will be a 'huge' summer for him as he enters the last year of his entry-level deal before becoming a restricted free agent. Whether Jiricek does his regular offseason workouts with his small group of pros in Czech or stays in Minnesota for part of the time remains to be seen. You have to imagine that Jiricek's putting in more work with Ness and strength and conditioning coach Matt Harder could have some benefits (as it did for Marco Rossi a few summers ago). Unless there's a trade, he'll have to battle for a spot on the Wild blue line, with Brock Faber and Jared Spurgeon staples on the right side and Zach Bogosian under contract for another season. 'It's a big year for me, a huge year for me,' Jiricek said. 'I'm trying to make the NHL. There's a lot of goals for next year for me. I'm still going day by day right now. But the goal for next season is really big.' Gaunce brought up Thomas Harley, the Dallas Stars defenseman who was the 18th pick in 2019. Harley played in 131 AHL games over three seasons before jumping in regularly in the NHL. Last month, Harley jumped into the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament with Canada and shined. He's 183 games into his NHL career. As former Norris Trophy winner Victor Hedman often said, it takes 200 NHL games for a defenseman to fully feel comfortable. 'If you watch (Jiricek) play, he's got all the talent in the world,' Gaunce said. 'He's working hard to get to his next step. He's 21 years old. People are so nervous about the expectations and that he's not going to meet them. He just graduated university or would be in the third year of university, where (most kids) don't have their life on straight. And you have to deal with people around the world telling you you're not good at something. There are a lot of steps that come with it. He's adjusting well to a new team. He's doing what he can control, and the next step comes naturally.' Gaunce has some perspective on this as a former first-rounder who has played for five teams over 185 games, bouncing between the AHL and NHL. Advertisement 'It means getting used to the limelight, getting used to some of the stressors from the outside,' Gaunce said. 'I had a tough time when I was younger. You want to make everyone like you instead of being who you are. That's how you got there.' Coaches and teammates say Jiricek has the right attitude. The unfortunate part in recent weeks is that there haven't been many full practices for the Wild — mostly just morning skates. In hindsight, Minnesota could have decided to recall another defenseman March 1, like Carson Lambos (another former first-rounder), leaving Jiricek in Iowa to play big minutes in those last four games. But with the margin for error in the standings so small, the Wild felt it was important to have their most NHL-ready defenseman from Iowa on the roster in case of an injury. Jiricek could very well be back in Iowa's lineup this Saturday for its next game if Brodin is back. This isn't the same situation as Columbus, where frustration built up when Jiricek was scratched for 12 straight games. Agent Allan Walsh told The Athletic that the Wild have been excellent in communicating their plans with Jiricek, and there's trust between the team and player. Jiricek is taking every day with a growth mindset. 'I'm trying to work on my craft and work hard,' he said. 'It's good to be in the NHL and watch the games and make so much money. But if you're a hockey player, you just want to play the games. You don't want to be in the gym every day. But it is what it is. I don't want to be in the gym every day, but I have to. I just have to go through it and wait for my chance.' Jiricek seems to have a healthy perspective on things. And he's handling any pressure from the outside in stride. It's hard enough to deal with the expectations that come with being a top-10 pick, much less the attention from being part of a big trade. 'Some (top-10 picks) just go in right away and show they can play,' Jiricek said. 'But sometimes it takes time. You have to have patience. And I'm just trying to be patient right now.'
New York Times
17-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Russo and Smith: As Wild season spirals, trade-deadline regret is inevitable — ‘Not getting any younger'
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Marc-Andre Fleury, 40, is in the last year of his Hall of Fame career. Mats Zuccarello, 37, has one more year on his Minnesota Wild contract — and possibly his NHL career — and has been with the club for six seasons. Captain Jared Spurgeon, 35, has devoted 15 years of his life to the Wild. Jonas Brodin, 31, was drafted 14 years ago. Advertisement The list goes on: Joel Eriksson Ek, 28, has been here nine seasons; Marcus Foligno, 33, for eight; Ryan Hartman, 30, for six; Kirill Kaprizov, who already turns 28 next month, for five; and Jake Middleton, 29, for four. Other than Spurgeon and Brodin, nobody on the roster has won a playoff round wearing a Wild sweater. Time is running out for some. As Foligno said during a candid conversation with The Athletic on Saturday morning, 'You're not getting any younger.' That's always the give and take when you're a general manager like Bill Guerin playing the long game. Guerin has been waiting for four years for the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyout handcuffs to be greatly reduced this summer so the team can pounce. But that doesn't help the vets pouring sweat, hard work, pain and career equity into the season. You can bet these players were hoping for some help with Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek and Brodin sidelined. 'It's tough. We all want to win,' Foligno told The Athletic. 'We've been grinding for the past couple months, so it's just — I think you always want to see yourself as a team that's always going for it. 'We have a great team, but we're a different team without those three studs that we're missing. Would you have liked to add or done something? For sure. But when you're kind of going with Billy's plan and what we have to understand is it's moving chess pieces right now, and if you lose something you might regret it. And Billy doesn't want to be put in that position. We understand that side of it, too. But you look at other teams bulk up and it just kinda gives you a little bit of jealousy. We know next year is next year and that we'll have that off our plate finally, but it just feels a little bit frustrating when you always want to be in that position to succeed.' Injuries have caused the Wild's season to unravel. Advertisement They had the best record in the NHL in mid-December. They handled injuries, particularly Kaprizov's, admirably through the first week of January, but the continuous absence of three critical pieces — Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek and Brodin — has been too much to bear of late. They're the fourth-worst team and lowest-scoring team in the NHL since Jan. 9, and they have frankly stunk since the 4 Nations Face-Off: 4-6-1, two regulation wins, 20 goals scored for an ugly 1.81 per game. GO DEEPER Russo: Wild look broken, tired and incapable of scoring, and help is not on the way Brodin seems close to returning — maybe this week. But Kaprizov isn't expected to start skating for another 10 days or so, and it's unclear how long it will be before Eriksson Ek can. When he couldn't walk after practice Feb. 24, league sources were saying it would be a six-to-eight-week timeline. Guerin has said he expects the three players back before the end of the regular season in explaining the limits the team faced at the March 7 trade deadline, but it sure feels like even if Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek can return, it'll probably be with a handful of games left before the playoffs. This was the Wild's chance to do what so many other teams do annually and hold one of the two out until the playoffs so they could take advantage of the long-term-injured-reserve loophole and get help. Brock Nelson went to the Colorado Avalanche for the equivalent of Danila Yurov and a first-round pick. Nobody in their right mind thinks Guerin should have considered that. But surely he could have done something to help an exhausted and overmatched roster by adding some scoring or speed or a faceoff guy who could keep the Wild's head above water and also make an impact in the playoffs once the cavalry returns. Instead, these players, who have been so professional these past four years — playing their butts off despite knowing their team was not icing a roster commensurate with other contenders because of the Parise/Suter shackles — got miniscule help. Instead, these fans, who have also been patient for four years, who have paid a fortune to show up only to leave unsatisfied many nights and who were so excited by the early-season play and bought in to this possibly being a special postseason, were told again, 'Our time is coming.' GO DEEPER Wild GM Bill Guerin on not pulling LTIR lever while rivals bulked up at deadline: 'Our time will come' Guerin met with a number of veterans before the trade deadline to explain his predicament. The Wild were capped out, so anything he did after the Gustav Nyquist pickup had to be penny in and penny out. He had no flexibility, Guerin told them. But that was only because he wouldn't put Kaprizov or Eriksson Ek on the shelf until the playoffs. If he had, he would have had plenty of flexibility. Advertisement Players know how that works. So even if they were warned, they had to be disappointed when they got back to the team hotel from the March 7 morning skate in Vancouver and no additions were delivered beyond Justin Brazeau for Marat Khusnutdinov, Jakub Lauko and a sixth-round pick. It sure feels like Guerin didn't go the LTIR route because he didn't want to give up big assets for players at the deadline — so he can instead go into this offseason with enough assets to have options to make bold moves. But that didn't stop him from giving up first-, second-, third- and fourth-round picks and defense prospect Daemon Hunt for 21-year-old David Jiricek, who has played six games since being acquired in November and has been a healthy scratch in seven straight games since being recalled from AHL Iowa. It didn't stop him from giving up a second-round pick for Nyquist, 35, who has one assist in seven games. 'If you could have thrown two guys on there, yeah, for sure, maybe you can open up a spot to get a top-tier guy that makes a lot of money and can add to it, but it sounds like a lot of things handcuffed them and he really couldn't do much,' Foligno said. 'So it is what it is. It's been the story for the past couple years, so we've just got to find the character in the room to do something this playoffs. 'Is it tough to do that when you're playing against some big powerhouses? Yeah. But hockey's hockey and there's bounces and things may go our way this time.' Foligno said he 'sure hopes' that Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek and Brodin will return 100 percent and give the Wild a boost. But he also knows how difficult it will be for them to magically be their very best when they haven't played for so long and Minnesota's playoff opponent will be going 500 mph at that time of year. 'I think everyone thinks coming back, it's going to be back to normal,' Foligno said. 'It's not like we're going to rush someone back here. I think everyone's hoping that it works out well, but from what I know from the injuries, I think it's going to be something where you're going to talk about getting into game shape, things like that that might hurt us or hurt the guys. But I don't know. I think that they'll fit pretty comfortably, and I think our depth will be there once those guys come in, too, and maybe that will help our team a little bit more this postseason.' Advertisement Foligno, after back-to-back seasons where he tried to play through core-muscle issues that ultimately required surgeries, has been one of the NHL's best defensive forwards this season. He's doing everything possible to be a leader on and off the ice during these tough times. He's just hoping the Wild can devote themselves to playing defensive hockey since it's proven so difficult for this team to score right now. 'That 40-to-60-game range is a grind, and if you don't compete and don't show up, it's going to be a nightmare in the best of times, but especially now without our three studs,' Foligno said. 'So we caught ourselves in that a little bit, and I think just having a voice of, 'Let's just play it this way,' and I don't want to say play it safe, but we have to. We're not scoring goals whenever we want. We're fighting things right now, and if we can win 2-1, 3-2, then that's how we have to do it. 'I think that's the mentality. If you can get it through your teammates' heads, 'This is how we have to play,' then you're going to see results. But if you don't and you go on your own page, it's going to be a little bit nightmarish trying to make the playoffs.' But this is why Foligno and his veteran teammates had to be hoping for some sort of help from management at the deadline. The injuries this season have been truly outrageous. 'We thought last year was bad and then this year was another crap storm,' Foligno said. 'I don't know. Hopefully this is the end of it and there's better luck to look forward to next year. But we're still getting those three guys back, and we've got to focus on just this season and go from there. We take it day by day and I think that's the biggest mentality, is when you go through all these injuries, it's like you don't even know what day it is. You just know it's a practice day or a game day, and you've just got to see who's in the lineup and you've got to play and you've got to play hard. But, man, this has been 2 ½ months of this. 'It's been a grind, for sure, but we're in a position where we've had probably the toughest injuries, I feel like, in the league. I feel like the schedule's been crazy and our roster's been crazy, and yet we were at the top of the league and that just shows a lot about the guys we have on the team. 'Take (Nathan) MacKinnon off Colorado, take Leon Draisaitl and (Connor) McDavid off Edmonton, Auston Matthews off Toronto, Jack Eichel off Vegas — it changes everything. We've been playing without Kirill for three months. Ekker for a while. I don't know if too many teams are going to survive that. They're stars in this league for a reason, and when you don't have that star, it's just an energy (depletion). They do things in the game that get you that one or two more goals that you can say, 'Hey, our offense is back,' or, 'We can play a little bit more like this.' But other teams didn't have that this year, and they're ahead of us for that reason.' Advertisement Then add in the fact that the Wild were icing a roster with more than $15 million (including Marco Rossi's bonus overages) in dead money already, and it explains why the Wild are running on fumes. This is why it just feels like a missed opportunity not to do what so many other teams have done — and would have done — in the situation the Wild found themselves in, and that's hold Kaprizov or Eriksson Ek out until Game 1 of the playoffs. Help could have been provided. The players were owed that. So were the fans.
