Buffalo Has What the Wild Need At the Deadline 

The Minnesota Wild are looking for goal-scoring talent to create offense when opponents double-team Kirill Kaprizov or when he's injured. Fans and media have criticized Kaprizov because the Wild haven’t been able to produce the necessary goal-scoring depth to go on a playoff run. 

Teams like the Winnipeg Jets are Minnesota’s kryptonite. The Dallas Stars, Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Los Angeles Kings also give the Wild headaches. And don’t count out Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. 

However, the Buffalo Sabers are the perfect trade target. They have two right-handed wingers who they are willing to trade for younger talent. Alex Tuch and Jack Quinn are the kind of right-handed snipers the Wild need. 

To Buffalo: Matt Boldy, Hunter Haight, and Marat Khusnutdinov 

To Minnesota: Alex Tuch, Jack Quinn, and 2025 3rd-round pick 

Fully Healthy 2024-25 Roster  

Forwards 

Alex Tuch - Joel Eriksson Ek - Kirill Kaprizov 

Mats Zuccarello - Marco Rossi - Jack Quinn 

Marcus Johansson - Freddy Gaudreau - Ryan Hartman 

Marcus Foligno - Yakov Trenin - Jakub Lauko 

Defensemen 

Jake Middleton - Brock Faber 

Jonas Brodin - David Jiricek 

Declan Chisholm - Zach Bogosian 

Jon Merrill

Long-Term Injured Reserve (LTIR): Jared Spurgeon  

Goalies 

Filip Gustavsson 

Marc-André Fleury 

Powerplay 

Unit 1

Kirill Kaprizov - Alex Tuch - Mats Zuccarello - Joel Eriksson Ek - Brock Faber 

Unit 2

Marco Rossi - Jack Quinn - Marcus Johansson - Freddy Gaudreau - David Jiricek 

Penalty kill 

Unit 1

Joel Eriksson Ek - Ryan Hartman 

Jake Middleton - Brock Faber 

Unit 2

Freddy Gaudreau - Yakov Trenin 

Jonas Brodin - Zach Bogosian 

The Wild is Kaprizov’s team. Not Boldy's.

Kaprizov has established himself as a 100-point scorer, but Boldy has shown he can't put up numbers like that. He has the talent but lacks consistency against better teams. 

Someone like Tuch, who has already played for the Wild, will be able to adapt and conquer against better teams. He's born to play the gritty style and arguably brings similar puck-handling skill than Boldy. The difference is Tuch has the shot to consistently be a productive goal-scorer. He's built for playoff hockey. He went to the Cup finals with the Knights in 2017-18. 

Rossi and Quinn reuniting will help the Wild breakout 

Rossi and Quinn are Ottawa 67s (OHL) legends. They have a close friendship that creates good on-ice chemistry. Quinn scored the goals while Rossi effectively set him up. Rossi and Quinn will be another version of Kaprizov and Zuccarello. 

Quinn is a downgrade from Boldy due to production, but he has a better shot than Boldy and is the better shooter for their power play. Quinn is still developing his well-rounded game but has shown flashes of what he can do on a good night.

For example, in the clip below, Quinn created space around Connor Dewar and Brandon Duhaime to beat Marc-Andre Fleury last year.

Rossi’s emergence as a playmaker and scoring threat will help Quinn reach his ceiling. There's no doubt that Quinn can emulate Jason Pominville. Can he become the Wild’s version of Sam Reinhart? 

A mature Tuch is what the Wild need! 

Tuch developed into the player the Wild wanted him to be when they took him in the first round of the 2014 draft, but now they need him back. 

Boldy and Tuch are the polar opposite players. Tuch is more similar to Bill Guerin as a hockey player than Boldy is. Tuch can produce 20 to 30-plus goals and will step up in the playoffs against rivals like Winnipeg, Dallas, and Colorado. The Wild should reunite Tuch and Eriksson Ek. 

What's the plan for Danila Yurov, Liam Ohgren, and Zeev Buium? 

Yurov will finish the season in Russia for Metallurg Magnitogorsk (KHL). He's likely going to make the playoffs to defend the Gargain Cup. While Yurov didn't play a fully healthy season, he gets to reset and try to repeat as a champion. 

Once Yurov’s season concludes, the Wild should let him take the offseason to be prepared to come to training camp. Johansson will be off the books. Yurov’s Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) will be 2025-26 or 2026-27. 

Ohgren will need to take another year of development in Iowa, and there's nothing wrong with that. The Wild could play an 11-forward, 7-defenseman (11/7) lineup every night and make him the first call-up. 

The Wild may need to play an 11/7 lineup to shape their cap situation. The Wild can use Chisholm as their 7th defenseman when Buium comes. Chisholm's more valuable than Lauko at this point. Wild must deal with extending Kaprizov, Rossi, Gustavsson, Quinn, and Buium. The Wild will be burning Buium's first year, and it wouldn't make sense to do the same for Yurov, who will likely sign for two years like Khusnutdinov, along with burning a year off for Ohgren, who has played 8 NHL games. 

Ohgren projects to be a better version of former prospect Adam Beckman. Much like Rossi, the Wild should give Ohgren time to develop into a top-of-the-lineup player. However, he will likely play a top-six or top-nine role. His ETA will be 2025-26 or 2026-27.

For the Wild to play Buium, they need to place Spurgeon on LTIR to fill out the 23-man roster. If anyone can come in and replace Spurgeon, it’s Buium, who's projected to be the Wild's next star defenseman. Buium can play both sides of the ice. Therefore, he can play with either Middleton, Brodin, or Chisholm. Buium will likely replace Faber on the top unit while Faber is injured. 

Or they could slot Buium in Gaudreau's spot on the second unit. The thought of facing Buium and Jiricek on the same power play has the potential to be game-breaking. Faber, Middleton, Buium, Jiricek, and Brodin would make for one of the NHL’s best bluelines. His ETA will be at the end of this season or 2025-26. Buium has nothing else to prove at the NCAA level.

Resting Spurgeon might be best for all parties

Spurgeon's the Wild’s version of Mike Conley on the Minnesota Timberwolves. That's how important he is to the team, but hockey is more brutal than basketball. Spurgeon's body has been through wear and tear for 15 seasons. He gets to reset and will fill a role when Bogosian's contract expires in 2026-27. 

Buium will be able to take over for Spurgeon in all aspects of the game. The Wild must thank the hockey gods for Buium dropping to 12th! He will be their Spurgeon replacement. 

Spurgeon will be able to play an effective role as a 7th defenseman to finish out his career! 

The Wild should extend Chisholm, 24, for 1-2 years. Chisholm is not as good as Spurgeon and doesn’t have Buium’s ceiling. However, he's shown to be a solid two-way defender who can play on the second pairing if needed, not to mention on the power play. He's a serviceable bottom-four defender they can afford while Carson Lambos continues developing. 

Why didn't Khusnutdinov didn't work out? 

Khusnutdinov has a future, but it's more of being a shutdown contributor on a Stanley Cup-winning team due to his versatility and speed. The Wild have a variety of bottom-six players who can replace Khusnutdinov, especially with size. 

Mikey Milne, Rieger Lorenz, Rasmus Kumpulainen, Caedan Bankier, and Charlie Stramel can fill out the bottom six and make Wild tougher to play against. Minnesota should consider extending Jakub Lauko to be that player. Yurov’s the better prospect with top-six potential. Out with Khusnutdinov, in with Yurov. 

Future Outlook 2027-28 

Alex Tuch ($7 million) - Danila Yurov (ELC) - Kirill Kaprizov ($13 million) 

Liam Ohgren ($887,000) - Marco Rossi ($6.75 million) - Jack Quinn ($3 million) 

Riley Heidt ($950,000) - Joel Eriksson Ek ($5.25 million) - Charlie Stramel (ELC) 

Marcus Foligno ($4 million) - Freddy Gaudreau ($2.1 million) - Yakov Trenin ($3.5 million) 

First call-up forward: Mikey Milne 

Second call-up forward: Caedan Bankier 

Still developing: Ryder Ritchie (will move Stramel to the fourth line) 

Zeev Buium ($8.85 million) - Brock Faber ($8.5 million)

Jake Middleton ($4.35 million) - David Jiricek ($2.5 million) 

Carson Lambos ($863,000) - David Spacek ($863,000)  

Jonas Brodin (Trade Brodin's $6 million cap hit to open up cap space) 

First call-up for left defenseman: Aron Kiviharju 

Second call-up for left defenseman: Stevie Leskovar 

First call-up for right defenseman: Sebastian Sioni 

Second call-up for right defenseman: Kalem Parker 

Filip Gustavsson ($5 million) 

Jesper Wallstedt ($3 million) 

Total spending

$66,363,020 without Yurov and Stramel cap hits. 

Special Teams 

Powerplay 

Unit 1

Kirill Kaprizov - Joel Eriksson Ek - Alex Tuch - Danila Yurov - Zeev Buium 

Unit 2 

Marco Rossi - Jack Quinn - Riley Heidt - Liam Ohgren - David Jiricek 

Penalty kill 

Unit 1 

Joel Eriksson Ek - Marcus Foligno 

Jake Middleton - Brock Faber 

Unit 2 

Freddy Gaudreau - Yakov Trenin 

Carson Lambos - David Spacek 

The Wild have a sustainable roster for long-term success. While Minnesota lost Haight, who looked promising, they added Quinn, an established NHL player with similar scoring potential. Think of Quinn as the right-shot version of Ohgren. Tuch gets to finish his career where it all started in Minnesota. Even if Boldy breaks into a star for Buffalo, it won't matter because the Wild will likely have won a few championships. 

Kaprizov will continue his greatness with Yurov by his side. Rossi and Quinn reuniting will spark the Wild's top-six. Ohgren will soon join Rossi and Quinn! Kaprizov, Tuch, Eriksson Ek, Rossi, Quinn, Yurov, Ohgren, Buium, Jiricek, and Stramel all look like 20-plus goal scorers at the worst. Kaprizov is a three-time 40-goal scorer, and Rossi has scored 20 goals. Tuch has had a 30-goal season. 

Eriksson Ek has scored 30 goals. Quinn can hit 30 goals in a breakout season. Yurov can hit 30 goals in a breakout season. Ohgren’s capable of scoring 30 goals. Buium has 20-plus goal upside as a defenseman. Jiricek can reach his potential and become Minnesota’s new and improved Matt Dumba. Stramel's the Wild’s version of David Backes with 20-goal potential. All those players will take scoring pressure off Kaprizov. 

Buium, Faber, and Jiricek will be able to impact Minnesota’s blueline. Once Zuccarello, Hartman, and Bogosian are off the books and they have more cap space, the Wild’s young core will hit their prime with Heidt, Stramel, Wallstedt, and Spacek breaking into the NHL. The Wild may have to move Brodin to make cap space for extensions. Lambos is ready to play a sustainable role. 

The Wild are officially a goal-scoring powerhouse!