WildHBcommunity: Wild State of Affairs Early Trade Deadline Edition
Minnesota Wild Have Fought Their Way Back into Playoff Picture
I have to give credit where it is due, it certainly appeared to be impossible odds just a month ago that this Minnesota Wild club would be positioned to be buyers at the NHL trading deadline to supplement their roster for a playoff push.
Many of us were looking ahead to what could be salvaged from a lost season with elevated expectations and major letdowns in their performance. To the credit of Wild bench boss Mike Yeo, his team responded once again despite the entire hockey world doubting it possible for them to be contender.
Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher swung a trade January 14th for Devan Dubnyk who had enjoyed a career resurgence under the tutelage of former NHL netminder turned goalie coach Sean Burke. When Fletcher moved to acquire Dubnyk, his team was 28-20-7 and had just been embarrassed by the Pittsburgh Penguins 7-2 with veteran backstop Niklas Backstrom giving up 6 goals while heir apparent Darcy Kuemper was placed on injured reserve.
When the Dubnyk trade was announced, two thoughts came to my mind the first being that I really loved that Fletcher avoided Ryan Miller and Jaroslav Halak price tags last year to get Iilya Bryzagalov for a 4th round pick. The other thought was Dubnyk has been on 5 teams in 2 years and had been a failed former 1st round pick in his hometown of Edmonton so how is this guy the "Savior" as my #WildWednesday colleague Scott Schwietz coined him to be.
A month later Fletcher has again captured lightning in a bottle with acquiring a castoff netminder to remedy consistency issues for his club. Here we go again with this State of Hockey group, I have to swallow my pride at admit that Yeo is cemented as the head coach here. I have to again have faith that Fletcher is going to add a piece between now and the March 3rd NHL trade deadline without doing harm to the future of this club or without committing to some albatross contract.
What is the Greatest Need of the Wild Now via Trade
I think whenever we approach the NHL trade deadline the fans clamor for scoring but I see this year's greatest need being a big body pivot or a left handed 3rd pair defensemen. I think adding a player like Antoine Vermette or Andrej Sekera to this current group for the Wild could push them into the contender category.
Both guys will be unrestricted free agents this summer though so whatever assets you send to the desert or the carolinas for one of these guys is buying you months of service not years. Other options exist out there like former Houston Aeros defensemen Zbynek Michalek or Marc Methot of the Ottawa Senators.
Maybe just maybe Fletcher is able to take a homerun swing on soon to be free agent Mike Green who would look very good next to Ryan Suter on the top pair and as a cannon from the point on the power play.
Knowing how Fletcher operates we could very well be looking at a smaller understated trade for some piece no one sees coming like happened with the Jason Pominville trade 2 seasons ago. There exists some other high end guys rumored to be available like Ryan O'Reilly and Jordan Eberle but I really dont see a way the Avs would deal in division or Fletcher would want to ship the asset it will require to make that type of move.
Who Could be Made Available by Fletcher to Swing a Deadline Deal
I think that the most high profile player available in a deadline deal to add a player(s) to this current NHL group would/could/should be Erik Haula. I think what we saw last year from the young finn was a guy capable of using his speed and aggressiveness to disrupt opponents in both ends of the ice while creating opportunities for himself and his linemates.
This year though Haula has hit a wall with his play and it looks like a complete affirmation of the dreaded sophomore slump. Haula was a 7th round selection in 2009 so this summer he will be a restricted free agent. While this extremely down season for him seems to play right into Fletcher's hands contract negotiation wise it could also be a huge booster to his value via trade as the center of a package for a key addition to the Wild's playoff push.
As it stands I believe Mikael Granlund, Nino Niederreiter, Jonas Brodin, Marco Scandella, and Jason Zucker to be untouchables. Zucker has been viewed by me before this season as most likely to be dealt and return a major piece but he proved how valuable he is with his performance this before losing his season to injury.
Others that I think could be included in a the "RIGHT" deal are Charlie Coyle, Jared Spurgeon, and Mathew Dumba. The interesting thing is, Fletcher is never going to admit to any of this young core being made available until a deal is signed, sealed, and delivered.
I think Wild fans have their personal favorites out of the veteran and young core so mentioning any of them creates an argument based upon preference but the truth is that when Fletcher makes calls trying to add to this team before march 3rd they will ask for Nino or Granlund or Brodin or Gustav Olofsson so the bridge will be crossed at some point.
Fletcher has worked very hard these past 2 NHL trade deadlines to protect the young players he had acquired in his first couple years on the job. Now that his first group of draft picks is either failed or graduated to the NHL level, he is going to have to commit to what their futures hold with the organization or elsewhere soon.
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Just My Take, Tony Dean
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