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Who won the trade between the Wild and Hurricanes?

January 18, 2019, 11:54 AM ET [13 Comments]
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In this edition of the hotstove, we share our thoughts on Thursday's trade between the Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes.

Todd Cordell

I really like this deal from Carolina's perspective.

Since the beginning of 2016-17, Nino Niederreiter has averaged 1.96 points per 60 minutes at 5v5. That's the same number as Sebastian Aho and William Nylander. Pretty good, right? Niederreiter is also a big-time possession driver and one of the better defensive wingers in the league. While his production has tailed off a little bit this year, he is still only 26 and a change of scenery could do him well.

During the same time frame (2016-present), Rask has averaged 1.38 points per 60 at 5v5. That puts him below the likes of Jordan Weal, Scott Laughton, and Connor Brown, among many other underwhelming talents. I don't think Rask is close to Niederreiter's caliber defensively either. The cap space and versatility (Rask plays center or wing) is nice but I think Minnesota is pretty clearly getting the lesser player here.

Adam French

I would be tempted to post the Cary Elwes gif of confusion on this one. It's one of my favourites and I think entirely encapsulates my opinion on this deal.

Take out the advanced stats that essentially say Nino is Marian Hossa reborn, as I think that is a bit suspect having seen him play and the results he has accrued. He has, at the very least, had some results. Rask has had one solid season being spoon fed minutes in the offensive zone. He's the new Tyler Bozak, who was the new Rich Peverley (in Atlanta).

Nino, despite the godlike advanced stats, is an overpaid (slightly) 40 point winger historically who is inconsistently a power forward. Rask is an overpaid (slightly) third line centre masquerading as a second liner who needs his teammates to drive him.

I like the deal for the Canes who will likely try to link Nino with Aho and Teräväinen as a more skilled, but similar player to Ferland. Maybe roll a power line with Svech and Nino. That could be good.

For the Wild, I think this might either be the answer to one of two questions. Are the Coyle rumours true? Is Eric Staal coming back? Coyle has been mentioned in rumours both legitimate and...Buzzish...for years. Staal is getting older and you have to assume he wants either one last kick at the can or a kick at the money can. With Rask coming in on a contract with term, one has to wonder if he is their hope for a 2nd line centre going forward and if they will be making more moves to retool, reinvigorate and try to escape mediocrity.

Trevor Shackles

The Wild seem to be doing this in order to save money, but I can't believe that they weren't able to at least get a draft pick or a prospect in addition to Rask. Nino is clearly the better player here, even though it's not as if Rask is a useless player. Still though, as Tyler Dellow pointed out on Twitter, Nino's worst seasons have been Rask's best, so it seems strange for the Wild to sell low on him, especially since that's exactly how they acquired him from the Islanders.

James Tanner

This isn't as egregiously stupid as Taylor Hall for Adam Larson, but only because Nino Niederreieter isn't as good as Taylor Hall. It's still a really dumb trade.

Just off the top of my head, in recent years there have been some NHL moves so baffling that you know immediately they were bad ideas and all you can do is laugh - the Hall trade, the Subban trade, Edmonton not firing Peter Chiarelli, the Flyers hiring Chuck Fletcher, the Ducks hiring Randy Carlyle and now this.

What in the hell is Minnesota thinking? This trade clearly shows that their front office has no clue how to operate a hockey team in today's NHL and that they will do nothing but fail until the requisite four years goes by and they can fire the GM they pretty much just hired.

Teams like Toronto are so far ahead of what teams like Edmonton, Minnesota and Philly are doing it'd be funny if the fans of those teams weren't getting totally screwed.

This is a seriously bad move. Embarrassing and irredeemable.

On the other hand, I laughed when I heard the Hurricanes were going with Don Waddell, so I guess anyone can learn and change. He certainly seems to be making some solid moves so far. But Paul Fenton, you just Chiarellied yourself pal.

This trade, just in case I was unclear in any way, is a 100% win for Carolina with no possibility that I am wrong.

Peter Tessier

This is a funny one because there's leap of faith in this move, or a gamble. If you are Minnesota you are betting that in your system and roster under Boudreau there is far more to Rask than what the 'Canes are getting. That being said the moving of Nino in a down couple of years seems off but then there is the cap savings.

Are the Wild getting a shake-up because they need one and are they getting a player to fit in and provide a different set of skills? At first blush, many seemed to think that the Hurricanes won this trade easily but this might be addition by subtraction for the Wild and a bit of time will be needed to see if the trade is as one-sided as many believe. What is surprising is Carolina taking on more salary so perhaps there's more moves to come. On another note I'm sure Chiarelli is inspired by this move wondering how to do a one for one and get it right.

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