ST. PAUL, Minn. — If you take it all at once, it could seem overwhelming.The Minnesota Wild’s offseason checklist includes deciding on which of their eight unrestricted free agents to bring back, finding a way to extend Quinn Hughes’ contract and — oh, by the way — acquiring the long-coveted No. 1 center.Where do you start?“The first thing you have to do is take a breather or step back from a very emotional end of the season,” Wild assistant GM Mat Sells said on Tuesday.That’s not to say the Wild haven’t gotten started yet, though.It began with coach John Hynes’ exit meetings with players, taking the temperature on their interest in a return. Assistant general manager Chris Kelleher is in town to run pro scouting meetings this week with the scouts and front office, to get a feel for who’s available as replacement players if Minnesota doesn’t re-sign its own guys. There’s only around $15 million of cap space, and that’s before re-signing restricted free agents Daemon Hunt and Bobby Brink and potential roster hopefuls like Hunter Haight perhaps making the team.Sells and Bill Guerin, the Wild’s president of hockey operations and GM, have started initial calls with the agents of some of their pending UFAs.“I’d expect some of the action (to pick up) in the next couple weeks,” Sells said. He added that the Wild would love to “run it back” with the same group, but that’s pretty darn near impossible in today’s NHL.“It’s complicated,” Sells said. “You take the opinion of a lot of people. But the most important thing is first for the players. Does the player want to return? If they want to return and we have an appetite for that, that’s usually a good starting point for getting a deal done. But there’s the financial component of it. We have a lot of free agents. And we had an expanded roster after the trade deadline, and that doesn’t exist when you start the season.“So there will be some changes.”What changes will those be? Which UFAs will return? We did our best to handicap it.The top prioritiesMichael McCarronSells indicated that half the battle is already resolved: The Wild badly want McCarron back, and he wants to come back.But this one may be more complicated because McCarron will be a highly coveted center if he reaches free agency on July 1 and certainly could get more on the open market than the Wild can pay him.As McCarron explained in his end-of-year presser, he’s never made more than $900,000 in a season. At 31, this is likely his first and final opportunity at a big payday and security. But he also prioritizes winning and feels the Wild have the makings of a contender.So the big question will be if the Wild can satisfy him with enough money and term to make him forgo the most appetizing opportunity of his career.“That’s a hard thing to do,” Sells said. “You’d never begrudge a player taking a better offer elsewhere, but we’re still sitting here in May and free agency isn’t until July 1. Theoretically, you might think you know what you can get as an agent or player. But if we can make him a quality offer that satisfies someone’s key needs, I think he can be pretty receptive to that.”Mats ZuccarelloThe other player on an expiring contract that Guerin has publicly said he’d re-sign if they can get a deal done is Zuccarello, who will be 39 by opening night.Zuccarello still has fire in his belly and wants to return, but if he’s going to enter Year 8 in Minnesota, he’ll certainly have to come down on his $4.125 million average annual value. The Wild could offer him a one- or two-year guaranteed contract, maybe in the $3 million range, or perhaps sign him to a bonus-laden 35-plus contract.We’ll see where this goes, but there’s no doubt that if Kirill Kaprizov’s best buddy and longtime linemate is willing to play ball, the Wild will sign him on the dotted line.“With Mats and Michael both, you’re talking about two important players on our team,” Sells said. “They have a positive impact on the ice. But just generally in the rink, Mats brings us such a confidence and swagger and playmaking. That’s not easily replicated.“Michael brings a confidence and commitment level and battle level every single night. Every faceoff draw, every penalty kill. And that’s coveted around the league and hard to replace. We like both players, and we’ll see what we can come up with on both.”One or the other?Marcus JohanssonIt’s hard to envision both Johansson and Vladimir Tarasenko returning.One or the other? Maybe.Johansson makes the most sense because he’s fit in so well in Minnesota, especially during his second stint, averaging 0.53 points per game over the past three-plus seasons since returning before the 2023 trade deadline. He’s coming off a 49-point, plus-18 season in which he made just $900,000.Johansson, who turns 36 in October, wants to keep playing, but this time, it’s hard to imagine he’d take a league minimum deal. If the Wild can get him in the $2 million range, maybe it makes sense in a third-line role for somebody we all know can be the default second-line winger if need be.Vladimir TarasenkoAt 34, Tarasenko bounced back from an 11-goal 2024-25 season in Detroit with his second 23-goal season in three years.He was a good citizen, a positive mentor for young Danila Yurov and scored big goals down the stretch. He had trouble finding a fit to start the season, which is how Johansson got back to the second line in the first place. But he slowly found his footing and earned at least the internal debate of bringing him back because he was such a pro and brings offense to the bottom six and second power-play unit.But what would a reasonable contract for Tarasenko be? And would he accept that? Plus, after the Kirill Kaprizov saga last summer, we can’t see Guerin and Sells being in a hurry to work with Tarasenko’s (and Kaprizov’s) agent, Paul Theofanous.This may be one where you don’t make a final decision until you see what else you can do in advance of July 1.Price has to be rightNick FolignoFoligno, 38, said it was a “dream come true” to chase the Cup with his younger brother, Marcus. And both brothers would love to give it another shot.There are a few wrinkles, though.First, Nick Foligno has to decide whether he wants to put in the offseason commitment to play another year. And if the former Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets captain wants to play another year, it’s going to have to be a pretty big discount from the $4.5 million AAV he carried last season. Marcus feels Nick understands the economics of it and would be open to it, although Nick kiddingly joked after the season that he wants just a little less than Kaprizov, “like $16 million.”The key here is the other dominoes in the Wild offseason. If Guerin’s able to re-sign McCarron, could Minnesota move two-time Cup champion Nico Sturm (who is entering his last year at a $2 million AAV) and keep Foligno as a cheaper replacement? Or a Yakov Trenin? Foligno being able to play third or fourth line, center or wing, and on the penalty kill, provides some versatility.Zach BogosianGuerin loves Bogosian, but at 35, how do you bring him back when he missed 41 regular-season games and two in the playoffs, where he was basically the walking wounded from start to finish?Even at a league minimum deal, the Wild may be able to find a depth defenseman who is younger and more durable.Nevertheless, it wouldn’t shock us if Guerin brought Bogosian back just because of the respect he has for him.Thank you for your serviceJeff Petry, Robby Fabbri, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Ben Jones, Ben Gleason, Cal Petersen.