By Tony Abbott -
It's never too early in the season for trade rumors, and the Minnesota Wild rarely get through the early part of the season without activity. Since Bill Guerin took over as general manager, he's been proactive at fixing holes on his roster, trading for Ian Cole, Ryan Reaves, and Zach Bogosian in the first two months of the season.
So where there are trade rumors, there's the Minnesota Wild, and it looks like the Wild are circling around defenseman David Jiricek, whom the Columbus Blue Jackets are looking to trade. This isn't the first time the Wild have been connected to the former No. 6 overall pick, but the smoke surrounding the hot stove is finally heating up. National reporters like Frank Seravelli and local beat writers like Michael Russo are backing up the idea that the Wild are in.
Again, this isn't the first time there's been buzz about this possibility. But that was then, and this is now. The Blue Jackets have changed their general manager and coach since then, and while, say, someone like Kent Johnson has thrived with a second chance, Jiricek has fallen out of favor with a second regime. He turns 21 on Thanksgiving, and for now, he's as much of a Cleveland Monster as he is a Columbus Blue Jacket. It's a bit young for this label, but the former top pick is officially a post-hype player.
So, what would Minnesota get in today's version of Jircek, and is the juice worth the squeeze?
Unsurprisingly for a player whose team is rushing two years removed from their draft, Jiricek doesn't have much track record in the NHL to speak on. In his 53 career NHL games, the former top pick has cost Columbus 1.6 Standings Points Above Replacement, struggling offensively and defensively at 5-on-5.
That's not to dunk on Jiricek -- it's hardly a crime to not be NHL-ready in your age-19 season, as he was last year. However, the source of friction is Jiricek's public displeasure with being in the AHL. If Minnesota trades for him, they need to be ready to keep him in the NHL because chances are he won't enjoy Des Moines much more than Cleveland.
To be fair, if Jiricek believes himself to be too good for the AHL, he has a point. Through 86 games for Cleveland, he has 14 goals and 59 points as a defenseman. Those are exceptional numbers for a player his age. He also thrived during the Calder Cup Playoffs, scoring three goals and 11 points in 14 games. Purely from a points perspective, Jiricek's trajectory is promising.
But as Dean Evason told The Athletic, "We know his offensive side." So what's the problem?
So far, it's been his footspeed. The Athletic's Scott Wheeler wrote about him last season, saying, "He moves his feet well for his size, though I do worry about his stilted backward skating and how often he gets caught flat-footed against the rush... He's a better skater going forward than backward."
Ask, say, Jonas Brodin, and you'll find out how important skating backward is. Though, if you're the Wild, that's probably the source of optimism that Jiricek can be fixed. Wild skating coach Andy Ness has a guru reputation and successes to show for it in players like Marco Rossi. If Ness can work his magic on Jiricek, then Minnesota would have a big, right-shot defenseman with high-end offensive skills on their hand, and that's something that any team could use.
So, the question becomes: What are (or should) the Wild be willing to give up for him?
There may have been a time when acquiring Jiricek might have cost another former top pick in Rossi. That's almost certainly not the case today. Whatever the Wild feel about Rossi, he's a center who has 17 points in 21 games. No team is trading that for an AHL defenseman who is clearly out of favor with their club. It might not even cost a (current) top prospect. TSN's Chris Johnston reported that the Jackets will "start to listen" about draft pick compensation.
However, the Wild can give Columbus immediate -- or near-immediate help, which is a value-add over a team like the Pittsburgh Penguins. Who makes sense?
It feels difficult to think Minnesota would part with their top prospects at forward, defense, and goaltender, so Danila Yurov, Zeev Buium, and Jesper Wallstedt would be out. Going to that next tier of prospect would lead us to Riley Heidt and Liam Öhgren.
Heidt is interesting as a potential center prospect, but with Adam Fantilli and Cayden Lindstrom in Columbus' Under-21 pool, Heidt's destination would likely be the wing. If that's the case, then the 5-foot-10 forward would have competition in top short king winger prospects in 5-foot-8 Gavin Brindley and 5-foot-9 Jordan Dumais.
Öhgren probably makes the most sense in a one-for-one swap for a few reasons. For one, teams like to save face in these types of prospect-for-prospect trades. Look at the Winnipeg Jets with Rutger McGroarty, who they traded for the Pittsburgh Penguins' Brayden Yager -- both players being forwards drafted No. 14 overall. Öhgren wasn't a top-10 draft pick, but he has a first-round pedigree from the same draft. It's not equal value, but it's something.
The other reason Öhgren might be appealing is that there isn't a one-to-one comparable to him in Columbus' system. The Jackets' wing prospects are either small or have major flaws with their skating. Öhgren doesn't have either problem, and his presence as a player who combines physicality and skill should appeal to someone like Dean Evason.
But maybe Columbus would want a defenseman to refill their pool. While there aren't any Jiricek's in Minnesota's system (assuming Buium is off the table), there are plenty of intriguing names. David Spacek is a right-shot defenseman riding a five-game point streak and has two goals and nine points in his second pro season. Daemon Hunt is widely considered to be NHL-ready. The drop-off in pedigree would likely mean a draft pick would have to come into play, but a lottery-protected first-rounder in 2025 seems like a reasonable thing to sweeten the deal.
Jiricek has his red flags, but his skill set makes for a smart buy-low on a caliber of prospect that is difficult to come by. His physical stature also would lend a strong balance for an up-and-coming blueline that lacks sheer beefiness. If the Wild can wrest him away for the right price,
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