By Thomas Williams -
Several hours before free agency opens up for the NHL, the Minnesota Wild out and acquired Vladimir Tarasenko from the Detroit Red Wings to address some scoring issues.
A move like this, to take on his full contract with one year left, should mean that they are somewhat out of the running for one of the top remaining free agents. The Wild do have almost $13 million in cap space after this acquisition, but still have Marco Rossi to re-sign (potentially, if not traded). With that space shrunk down to single digits, it limits the Wild's ability add someone of true top-end impact.
The Athletic's Michael Russo expanded on the Wild's plans after getting Tarasenko in the fold.
Quote"We knew the Wild wanted to add a scoring winger to their arsenal; we figured that would come via free agency. But players such as Brock Boeser, Nikolaj Ehlers and Mikael Granlund would have taken more term and probably dollars than the Wild wanted to invest. Adding Tarasenko and taking on his full $4.75 million takes them out of the scoring winger market when free agency opens Tuesday and allows them to solely focus on adding a faceoff-winning, penalty-killing center, perhaps Christian Dvorak, Sean Kuraly, Nico Sturm or Radek Faksa."
Those sure are some names. Maybe the most fun would be a Nico Sturm reunion in St. Paul, but someone with a little bit more of a scoring touch like Christian Dvorak could be a real possibility to add someone in the bottom six and down the middle.
Time will tell who the Wild end up adding (if anyone) as free agency opens up Tuesday at 11 a.m.
- Does Vladimir Tarasenko have any gas left in the tank? Looking at what he can provide as he gets into his mid-30s. [Hockey Wilderness]
- The X is no longer The X. Now, the building where the Wild play is called the Grand Casino Arena. [NHL.com]
- At the 2025 NHL Draft, the Wild played it extremely safe. [Hockey Wilderness]
Off the trail...
- Some trade grades on the latest moves including Mitch Marner, John Gibson, and more. [ESPN]
- Well, this is going to be bigger than everything else. Mitch Marner has been signed and traded to the Vegas Golden Knights. [Sportsnet]
- In response of losing Marner, the Maple Leafs went out and bought very low on some scoring depth, acquiring young winger Matias Maccelli for just a conditional third-round pick. [MLHS]
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