By Luke Sims -
The Minnesota Wild haven’t scored a goal in their last two games while allowing nine. Their star player, Kirill Kaprizov, is out until further notice. Other complementary players are on the injured list or suspended, and their team defense and special teams have been horrible.
Still, they are holding onto the third seed in the Central Division with 66 points, seven points ahead of the Calgary Flames for the second Wild Card spot. With the March 7 trade deadline nearing, the Wild’s approach should be clear.
They are not a buyer.
I’m not saying they can’t add. They should pull the trigger if a move that benefits the team in the short- and long-term and does not require giving up significant assets comes along. Still, given Minnesota’s cap situation, that seems unlikely.
The team has two games until the 4 Nations Face-Off, where a few of Minnesota's players, like Matt Boldy and Brock Faber for Team USA, will participate. Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Filip Gustavsson will represent Team Sweden. The 4 Nations Face-Off is a little break in the NHL schedule, and it has acted as a mini-trade deadline where some big names have been moved. The Wild will have 26 games after the 4 Nations Face-Off for new players to acclimate.
Minnesota can’t do much at the deadline because it has limited cap space. With all their injuries throughout the year, they have been unable to accrue cap space. Kaprizov is currently on IR, so the Wild have temporary wiggle room.
Still, they have limited cap space in the long term and wouldn’t hold Kaprizov on IR throughout the season. It’s unethical, against league rules, and he drives winning more than any other player. However, it helped the Vegas Golden Knights win games in the playoffs.
If the Wild make a move, they will likely acquire a player with a large salary like Brock Nelson, which will cost cap space and assets. The Wild don’t have their first-round pick this year because of the David Jiricek trade earlier this season. They also don’t have their third-rounder because they packaged it to trade up for Zeev Buium in last year's draft.
The Wild aren’t in a position to give up promising prospects. Liam Ohgren has looked solid in his early NHL career. Riley Heidt is tearing up the WHL again with 63 points in 41 games. Danila Yurov is healthy and producing double-digit goals in the KHL and should come over from Russia next season. Zeev Buium is tearing up college hockey, leading all defenders in points, and Charlie Stramel has bounced back in East Lansing.
We’ve seen the San Jose Sharks send Wild legend (yeah, I said it) Mikael Granlund to the rival Dallas Stars for a first-round pick and a conditional third-round pick. Teams have already traded big names, like J.T. Miller, Marcus Pettersson, and Mikko Rantanen. These players are being traded for prices the Wild don’t have the assets to pay. Guerin has said he’s comfortable with his core and expected more from his current group. It doesn’t sound like he’s motivated to pull off a blockbuster at the deadline.
In all reality, the Jiricek trade was the Wild’s swing. They chose to go after a player they thought could be an investment in their future. From his limited NHL sample size, this trade could be a winner for the Wild.
Hopefully, Buium will sign with Minnesota after his season concludes. That would give the Wild another capable puck-mover on the backend who can provide a little more in the transition department than Zach Bogosian or Jon Merrill.
The Wild should treat signing Buium and Kaprizov returning healthy as their trade deadline additions. Adding a Hart Trophy-caliber forward and one of the best prospects in all of hockey will give this team the boost it needs going into the postseason.
Barring a monumental collapse, this team should make the playoffs. MoneyPuck.com has the Wild with an 86.8% chance to make the postseason. The odds of going farther than that fall off significantly. Still, adding a player they can’t afford with assets they don’t have is not a wise decision for any team, especially the 2024-25 Minnesota Wild.
All stats and data via EvolvingHockey, HockeyDB, Cap Wages, and Moneypuck unless otherwise noted.
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