The Minnesota Wild Are Better Off With Kyle Brodziak

I don't know what Brodziak would fetch in a trade, so given a big return, I could be swayed on this opinion. But I feel that trading Brodziak would be a mistake. I think Brodziak has more value than what the Wild would get back in a trade, particularly in the short term.

In the regular season, Haula pulled mostly 4th line duty, getting 15 points in 46 games while averaging a tick more than 10 minutes a game, showing good possession numbers as Mike Yeo eased him into the league. By the last two weeks of the regular season, he was clocking more than 14 minutes a game, scoring 3 goals and 4 assists down the stretch.

If the Wild expects Haula to be able to sustain that level of play through the season, they absolutely should be looking to have Haula over Brodziak on the depth chart. And it's not hard to see why Fletcher could see a 3 million dollar fourth-line center as an expendable asset.

With Koivu, Granlund, Haula, and Brodziak, the Minnesota Wild have the strength down the middle to be able to roll four lines during the regular season. Forget the fact that the Wild are going to have more than 20 million in cap space which they can use to upgrade their team. Let's look at what the Wild could put on the ice if they only signed their own players.

Niederreiter-Granlund-Pominville

Parise-Koivu-Coyle

Fontaine-Haula-Keränen

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Remove Brodziak from that equation, and the Wild lose out on a proven center. Not only would this loss of depth compromise the ability for the Wild to roll four lines, but leave the Wild vulnerable to injuries. Koivu has missed at least 10 games in 3 of the last 4 years, and Granlund had two concussions last season. Take one of those guys out of the lineup, and Haula could move up into a scoring role, and probably do it credibly. But all of a sudden, you'd only have two proven NHL centers.

Can whatever the Wild get back in a trade be able to provide the Wild with a similar contribution next season? I'm not going to rule out the possibility, but if my (speculative and unfounded) hunch is correct, the Wild are looking to flip him to get that second round pick. That's definitely not going to be something that pays off with any immediate return, and may never provide the value that one season of Brodziak can provide. The Wild would have to impress with that second-round pick to get my endorsement.