By Tom Schreier -
The Minnesota Wild were light on cap space two years ago and high on ambition. Bill Guerin didn’t want to give up substantial assets, so he traded a 2024 third-rounder for Marcus Johansson and a fifth for Gustav Nyquist.
Both players were on expiring deals, making them low-risk deadline pickups.
"These two players are what we were missing, what we needed, and that is they're both highly skilled guys," Guerin said. "They're excellent skaters, and I think they're going to provide us with just that natural ability out there. They're both effortless skaters and just high hockey-sense guys [who] can make plays.
"I think we could really use that."
The Wild finished with 103 points that year, ten points lower than the previous season, and lost in the first round for the fourth year in a row. However, Johansson clicked with Matt Boldy and had six goals and 18 points in 20 games. Meanwhile, Minnesota acquired Nyquist when he was injured, and he had five points in four games.
In Minnesota’s six-game series against Dallas, Johansson had two goals, and Nyquist had five assists. However, the Wild signed Johansson to a two-year, $4 million extension, while Nyquist signed a two-year, $6.37 million deal with the Nashville Predators. Johansson had 30 points in 78 games last season and 19 in 51 this year; Nyquist had 23 goals and 75 points in 81 games last season.
Minnesota extended the wrong guy.
Guerin may be trying to rekindle a spark with an old flame by sending a second-round pick in 2026 to Nashville for Nyquist. However, he’s older now and scoring less. Nyquist had nine goals and 21 assists in 57 games for the Predators, who spent $32 million in free agency but are the third-worst team in the West.
“He was a player we were interested [in] from way back,” Guerin said when he traded for Nyquist in 2023.
Guerin probably felt a little desperate when he traded for Nyquist again. Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek are on injured reserve, and the Wild don’t want to miss the playoffs for the second time in a row after competing for first in the Central at Thanksgiving. Still, the Wild will continue to hover around the playoff bubble indefinitely if Guerin ignores player aging curves.
Although Guerin played better in his 30s than in his 20s, most forwards’ production declines after age 32. Johansson is still a responsible defensive player, but he’s less productive offensively because he’s 34. Similarly, Nyquist, 35, isn’t the same player he was last year or during his stint with the Wild.
Guerin can’t correct a past mistake by trading for Nyquist this season.
By giving up a second-round pick for Nyquist, Guerin is mortgaging the future for a team that cannot win now. The Wild are top-heavy, even when fully healthy, and teams have shut Kaprizov down in the playoffs because Minnesota becomes a one-line team. Minnesota’s opponents will also capitalize on situations where Zach Bogosian and Jon Merrill are on the ice.
The Wild don’t want to miss the playoffs two years in a row. However, they will be lucky to get out of the first round if they qualify, making it the eighth time since 2015 that they’ve failed to reach the second round.
Guerin chose to try to build a competitive team after buying out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, despite the $14.6 million in dead cap he accrued. Trading for Nyquist feels like a desperate move to correct a past mistake and make the playoffs with a flawed team. Instead, Guerin should have held onto the second-round pick and invested in the Wild’s future.
He continues to do the same thing and expects different results. Until Guerin adapts, the Wild will always be a little light on cap space, high on ambition, and a little desperate.
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