Now that the All-Star game is behind us along with the bye week, it is time to focus on the road ahead for the Minnesota Wild. Does that path include a better road Wild team, one that is going to get on a run and put themselves into a solid playoff position? Or is it going to be more of the same with the great home Wild and the suspect road Wild?
The trade deadline is a month away, and for the Wild that is 14 games with 8 at home including a 5 game homestand. What will happen between now and then is a big mystery, because up until this point we have been teased or disappointed.
Key RFA that need to be resigned: Jason Zucker $2.0M Matt Dumba $2.55M
Pending UFA: Chris Stewart $1.15M Matt Cullen $1M Daniel Winnik $660K
Both Zucker and Dumba are going to warrant raises based on their production and those three UFAs are bargain basement guys, so parting with one or all of them really does very little for the future of the organization.
So what trade options do the Wild have as the deadline approaches?
We know that with past history having showed little return, the mortgage option is not an option at all this time around.
The Wild defense depth is very thin, so trading either Dumba or Brodin is absolutely out of the question.
Eric Staal, presents a very curious option as he is signed for another year at a very friendly $3.5M annually, could he be moved? Staal has proven that last year was no fluke and his All-Star appearance only adds to the intrigue.
Staal is a top line center and playoff contenders can never have too much depth down the middle. But would the Wild deal Staal while they themselves are in the thick of a playoff race?
A lot has been said recently with the emergence of Burnsville's Brock Boeser, who won the accuracy shooting in the skills competition, and took home the All-Star MVP as well. Many here in Minnesota, wish that Chuck Fletcher had drafted Boeser over Joel Eriksson Ek.
I am not going to get into a debate on that here now. But the one thing I will say is that given the track record of this regime, they have never and I mean never given a single young player any real chance to play a regular shift at the NHL level. So what makes anyone think that if Boeser was a Wild draft pick, that he would have gotten any more of a chance than has Eriksson Ek, or Luke Kunin?
In order for results to change actions must change.
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