Article: The Quinn Hughes Trade Changed Everything

[MNCountryLife]

Would love a player like Stamkos but his contract out to 27-28 it would be really hard to take that in.

[OldDutchChip]

48 minutes ago, MNCountryLife said:

We likely need to trade out a player or two to bring another high end player in.  Who would that be?

BG already tried to move Hartman to Philly.  Other potential trade outs that I could see happening would be Foligno, Mids, Trenin and Valdy.  Not a one of those guys is playing bad.

I don't see BG trading away any of the other higher paid players as they all seem to fill important roles with the team.  Other players have pretty low cap hits so wouldn't get us much.  Might be a rider on a trade.

Valdy, Mids and Foligno all control their contracts and are unlikely to move. Vlady has had a resurgence.  

This leaves Hartman and Trenin as the most likely moves out.  Move them both would open up 7.5M.  Our current cap space is $2.8M so we most likely must move a least one to make another big trade happen.

I think Spurgeon is on his last contract.  I am guessing he will want to retire at the end of 26-27.  Add in the extra cap space and I think we will absorb a new Hughes contract easily for 27-28.

i think Trenin is not going anywhere and shouldn't in my opinion. he has been great for us and will only get better when games start to matter more. if hartman (or vlady for that matter - unless he has a full nmc....) leaves for let's say -  Sheifele - then that should be enough. sheifele remaining or retention should be fine for us to absorb. 

2.8 - i thought it was more? hmm 🤔

[Dango]

Could there still be some lingering virus infecting the Jets locker room since the Laine thing , as an observer i noticed all the blame was put on Laine and it seemed to have been cured when he was traded  but we all know 85% of the time it isn't  just 1 persons fault ,  we never really heard Laines side of the story and failure  will always cause finger pointing so maybe the Jets are broken and players might want to move on .

[Pewterschmidt]

2 minutes ago, Dango said:

Could there still be some lingering virus infecting the Jets locker room since the Laine thing , as an observer i noticed all the blame was put on Laine and it seemed to have been cured when he was traded  but we all know 85% of the time it isn't  just 1 persons fault ,  we never really heard Laines side of the story and failure  will always cause finger pointing so maybe the Jets are broken and players might want to move on .

Laine could not be reached for comment as he’s recovering from a botched circumcision.  (Not a joke)

[Dis-allowed display name]

17 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

Scheifele does have a good contract and wouldn't block us from signing QH. Actually might help seal the deal. There is no way Hughes would leave Kap, Boldy, Ek and Scheifele. They are all in their prime (with Scheifele not as old as ROR)

Yes, we would be loosing prospects.....but we are all in now, so who cares about a couple of picks in the 20th? another Height or Haight or Stramel? 

I think Avs and Stars can be bested. And I'd throw it all for a chance to run "wild" for next 5 years. 

Kap, Boldy, Ek, Scheifele....i just don't think there's been such a powerhouse on Offense in the last decade plus. Not to mention our D and G are tops in the league.
I think i'd do it. 🍻

Oh....stop talking me into it!

[MNCountryLife]

47 minutes ago, OldDutchChip said:

2.8 - i thought it was more? hmm

Puckpedia says Projected cap is $2.8M

Current cap is $5.6M

I really don't fully understand the two different cap definitions.  Perhaps someone can explain those better than me.

[Pewterschmidt]

Marco Rossi placed on IR with lower body injury

[Dango]

6 hours ago, MNCountryLife said:

Puckpedia says Projected cap is $2.8M

Current cap is $5.6M

I really don't fully understand the two different cap definitions.  Perhaps someone can explain those better than me.

The only thing i can think of is if a few players meet performance bonuses such as Yurov can get up to 2 million and Jiricek can get up to 1 million and theres a few smaller ones , but im not sure ,  some of those are lofty expectations .

[mnfaninnc]

21 hours ago, OldDutchChip said:

If it costs 2 1sts i think i would jump at that. For reference, neither or the Florida teams had any firsts recently (tampa had one but that was a very end first) and that comes with the territory of being a true contender. we off loaded one batch of top prospects already, let's not stay half-way. Ship off 2027/28 1st (late first) and bring Sheifele in. 

Scheifele is 32. That kind of fits into Kaprizov/Ek window. From what I've read, Scheifele is not on the block nor is Winnipeg thinking of blowing it up. So, to pry him loose would probably need to be an overpay. I would think 2 1sts and a roster player with mid cap contract + retention would be that overpay.

Tarasenko has an 8 team trade list. We were not one of those 8, but Kaprizov convinced him to waive. I would think that Winnipeg is not one of those 8 as many players have them on their list, even though they've been successful lately. Not having the 1st rounders doesn't bother me so much, they are what they are, NHL currency. I believe Guerin feels better being able to trade out for genuine NHLers, not count on futures. For those suggesting Hartman, that would be irony since Winnipeg hates him. 

I still believe Winnipeg has a run in them with their current roster. I'm not sure this one can get done, but if it does, I think 50% retention is necessary. Maybe OCL can come in and say he'll pay the full salary, just give me the cap retention part?

I believe the projected cap space probably has to do with the bonuses and Hunt being on IR. The depth of Hunt is also a nice thing to have, though, I think his injury is pretty significant. Then I look at puckpedia and it says he's day to day.

Cleaning up one other item: It appears that Detroit is still looking to add an RHS defender. The 3 rumored are Justin Faulk, Connor Murphy and Brett Kulak. Rasmus Andersson was also mentioned, but there figures to be a bidding war there and Detroit doesn't want to get into that. While I've pushed for a Spurgeon/Danielson trade, my thinking right now is that his players' only meeting and his play have the Wild front office not wanting to move him. Should they choose to, I think Hunt could fit into the lineup seamlessly, and Danielson would be a nice forward to have and that money could go towards a Scheifele deal. But, that would be a pretty crappy thing to do to Spurgy. I do think that having Hughes and Spurgeon on the back end makes us a little small, but then watching Spurgeon throw down a couple of forwards on this trip starts to change my mind. To me, Guerin is in add mode, not hockey trade mode. I think he wants Spurgy here, and wants to give him a silver stick.

[OldDutchChip]

23 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

Scheifele is 32. That kind of fits into Kaprizov/Ek window. From what I've read, Scheifele is not on the block nor is Winnipeg thinking of blowing it up. So, to pry him loose would probably need to be an overpay. I would think 2 1sts and a roster player with mid cap contract + retention would be that overpay.

Tarasenko has an 8 team trade list. We were not one of those 8, but Kaprizov convinced him to waive. I would think that Winnipeg is not one of those 8 as many players have them on their list, even though they've been successful lately. Not having the 1st rounders doesn't bother me so much, they are what they are, NHL currency. I believe Guerin feels better being able to trade out for genuine NHLers, not count on futures. For those suggesting Hartman, that would be irony since Winnipeg hates him. 

I still believe Winnipeg has a run in them with their current roster. I'm not sure this one can get done, but if it does, I think 50% retention is necessary. Maybe OCL can come in and say he'll pay the full salary, just give me the cap retention part?

I believe the projected cap space probably has to do with the bonuses and Hunt being on IR. The depth of Hunt is also a nice thing to have, though, I think his injury is pretty significant. Then I look at puckpedia and it says he's day to day.

Cleaning up one other item: It appears that Detroit is still looking to add an RHS defender. The 3 rumored are Justin Faulk, Connor Murphy and Brett Kulak. Rasmus Andersson was also mentioned, but there figures to be a bidding war there and Detroit doesn't want to get into that. While I've pushed for a Spurgeon/Danielson trade, my thinking right now is that his players' only meeting and his play have the Wild front office not wanting to move him. Should they choose to, I think Hunt could fit into the lineup seamlessly, and Danielson would be a nice forward to have and that money could go towards a Scheifele deal. But, that would be a pretty crappy thing to do to Spurgy. I do think that having Hughes and Spurgeon on the back end makes us a little small, but then watching Spurgeon throw down a couple of forwards on this trip starts to change my mind. To me, Guerin is in add mode, not hockey trade mode. I think he wants Spurgy here, and wants to give him a silver stick.

maybe Winny would like to take Jiri as that 1st pick equivalent.....who just needs a change of scenery? 😉

i'd rather we keep Harty and ship out Foligno (if there's an option)

you right - Winny is not yet in Vancouver mode - but there has to be something brewing over there. last place in the league at mid point is not a fluke. 

[mnfaninnc]

On 1/4/2026 at 9:43 AM, OldDutchChip said:

you right - Winny is not yet in Vancouver mode - but there has to be something brewing over there. last place in the league at mid point is not a fluke.

In this case it very well may be. Having Lowry and Hellebuyck out for decent time really hurt this team. Hellebuyck is not back in the groove yet. Both are back healthy. I find it hard to believe that Ehlers is the difference between a President's trophy and last place in the league.

[Scalptrash]

The trade didn't change everything, the Wild still can't beat bad teams.