LAS VEGAS — Nick Foligno has watched his younger brother, Marcus, play hockey his entire life. He knows the Minnesota Wild winger is a physical force. That’s his game. He loves hitting people.
But Nick Foligno, the Chicago Blackhawks captain, couldn’t believe it when he saw Marcus credited with 11 hits in Game 1 of the first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. It tied a franchise postseason record.
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“I was dying laughing,” Nick Foligno told The Athletic. “He was a beast. He loves this time of year. Who doesn’t?”
Marcus Foligno, 33, has a punishing style made for playoff hockey. Ask opponents, and they’ll say the 6-foot-3, 225-pound winger is a big part of the fabric for the hard-checking Wild. Defensemen cringe going back to the boards when he’s forechecking. The idea for Foligno and the Wild is if they can wear down the Golden Knights by the end of the series, it gives them a better chance to advance.
“That’s when he’s playing his best hockey,” coach John Hynes said. “Everybody has to play to their identity, and that’s what his identity is, and what makes him a good player.”
But what happens when you’re Foligno and you lose the physical ability to be that player?
Foligno said there were some low moments this past summer, some doubt, when he was rehabbing from his second core surgery in as many years. There were times in the last couple seasons when he felt like he was playing on one leg. The bread and butter of Foligno’s game is forechecking, but he couldn’t get there fast enough, and there wasn’t nearly as much power. The father of three struggled to play soccer in the backyard with his daughters. He’d tie a string to their bikes so he wouldn’t have to chase them as far down the street.
Humbling? Yes. Frustrating? Of course.
“There were some dark days going through that stuff and thinking about the future and thinking about, how are you going to manage through this injury?” Foligno said. “You’re thinking about it: ‘Will this (surgery) really solve all my problems?’ You’re really banking on coming out of it. There’s always a bit of gray area, little bit of fogginess where it comes to like, ‘Am I going to be the player I once was before these injuries started piling up?’”
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The Wild were banking on it, having signed Foligno to a four-year, $16 million extension before the 2023-24 season. It was around Christmas that season when Foligno first started to notice the issues. It led to a groin injury. The stops and starts became more challenging. “You’re skating on one leg,” he said. “I’m not the best skater as it is, a little heavier than some other guys. It takes a toll on you.”
Foligno had his first core surgery that offseason, and the second one came after he was shut down in late March last year, once the Wild were eliminated from playoff contention. He said he leaned a lot on Nick, 37, who has gone through his share of injuries in his career. “He seems to have an answer for everything,” Marcus said.
How Marcus and Nick Foligno’s NHL paths were shaped by their late mother: ‘She was the rock’
A Mother’s Day read on heart of Foligno family #mnwild #blackhawks @NickFoligno https://t.co/8UZTNPOPIF
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) May 12, 2024
The biggest change is how Foligno had to alter some of his training, his pre-practice and pre-game prep, to become more in tune with certain types of stretches and treatment to extend his career. Hockey mortality will do that to a player.
“I think he understood who he is now, right?” Nick Foligno said. “That’s the hardest thing to come to terms with as an older player. You just have to take more care of yourself. Marcus realizes now, the way he plays, how he plays with reckless abandon, how he plays so physical, over time your body just takes a beating and you don’t realize it.
“It’s just understanding that over time, the reality that you have to do more. I watched guys when I came into the league and I was like, ‘Oh,’ then you realize, ‘It’s going to be me one day,’ right?”
Marcus Foligno said that means a lot more anti-inflammatory treatments, including cold tubs. He’s stretching more, keeping his hips open and core strong. Essentially, it means 20 to 30 more minutes in the gym with minor exercises that make a big difference.
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“Before it was like, just hop right into a workout, put skates on and go,” Marcus Foligno said. “Not like that anymore. You’ve got to fire up your body and make sure you get rested and make sure everything is feeling good again. That gives me confidence mentally knowing I’m 100 percent in the game.”
Nick Foligno said they even saw a pelvic floor specialist out of Toronto named Sally Belanger, who was a big help. There were soft-tissue treatments, hot and cold therapies, supplement suggestions. Before Foligno saw the differences on the ice, he noticed them at home with daughters: Olivia, Camila and Julia.
“Oh my God, I wasn’t able to kick a soccer ball last year,” Marcus Foligno said, laughing. “Now I’m able to run in the backyard and chase their bike when they go down the street. Before, I’d have a string on it so I didn’t have to go too far. You think about all that stuff. It’s not just on the ice. Off the ice, you can do so much more.”
Foligno said it took until approximately the 10-game mark this season for him to feel more like his old self in games. He needed to get his timing back, and the confidence that he can do everything physically that he used to. When Foligno was banged up, he didn’t have the same power. He couldn’t skate fast enough to establish a forecheck the way he previously did.
“That’s the biggest difference from this year, is that I can do all the stuff and not have to think twice about, ‘Can I get up the ice right now?’” Foligno said.
Foligno has garnered an immense level of respect from teammates. He plays a hard game and that takes a toll, as evidenced by his last two surgeries. Foligno talks like a captain and hits like a freight train. That’s a rare combination.
Kirill Kaprizov is the Wild’s best player. Filip Gustavsson is their backbone. Jared Spurgeon is their captain. Foligno is their heartbeat, and their conscience.
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“Moose is a guy where, every team in the league probably wants two of them,” defenseman Jake Middleton said. “We’re fortunate to have the original ‘Moose.’ What he brings from a leadership standpoint and play away from the puck and finishing checks — guys know when he dumps it, they’re looking over their shoulder. They know he’s coming. Those are things he brings night in and night out that can’t really be replicated.”
roll the film 🎥
we've got a Moose mic'd up pic.twitter.com/3Svrw1BpSS— x – Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 22, 2025
Foligno quietly was one of the league’s top defensive forwards this season. According to The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn’s model, Foligno has a plus-4.0 defensive rating, which accounts for his play at even strength and short-handed, along with his usage; that was 23rd in the league. The Wild allowed .44 fewer expected goals against per 60 relative to his teammates at five-on-five, the best mark on the team. Foligno didn’t play the toughest defensive assignments consistently this year, perhaps a little different than his GREEF days (with Jordan Greenway and Joel Eriksson Ek).
But Foligno was a stabilizing force in a year when the Wild missed Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek and others for a good chunk of the season. He played in 77 games, his most since the 2018-19 season, and tallied 14 goals, his most since a career-high 22 in 2021-22.
“He’s such an important part to this group,” said Gustav Nyquist, a deadline addition who is in his second stint with the Wild.
Foligno said he hopes the Wild’s physical style eventually wears down the Golden Knights; Minnesota’s 54 hits in Game 1 were second-most in postseason franchise history, behind the 71 they had against Vegas in 2021.
“You can feel the wind come out of some guys when you squeeze them pretty good,” Foligno said. “Talking to our defense, it’s tough when you’ve got guys that chip it in, they’ve got to turn and they feel like you’re coming. They’re not making a great tape-to-tape pass, they’re rimming pucks and that plays into our forecheck. If you do that over and over again, and you stay above it, it’s just grueling, right? It’s tough for anyone to feel that pressure every night. So it’s fun to be the hunter instead of the hunted.”
Matt Boldy scored two goals in Game 1, with Kaprizov tallying two assists. Gustavsson played a solid game. But if the Wild are going to advance past the favored Golden Knights, they’ll need more from their depth up front. And Foligno is a big part of that.
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“So much is talked about Kirill, and rightfully so, even (Mats Zuccarello); they’re great playmakers,” Nick Foligno said. “Boldy. They’re top players for a reason. But Marcus is a play-driver. Marcus is the driver of that team. When he’s healthy and when he’s doing this, he’s a menace out there and teams know it. Once you have the taste of playoffs and you don’t get there, especially as an older player, it’s frustrating as hell. Marcus and I are both driven that way. This is where our game shines. We play for those moments.”
(Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
Joe Smith is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Minnesota Wild and the National Hockey League. He spent the previous four years as Tampa Bay Lightning beat writer for The Athletic after a 12-year-stint at the Tampa Bay Times. At the Times, he covered the Lightning from 2010-18 and the Tampa Bay Rays and Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2008-13. Follow Joe on Twitter @JoeSmithNHL
