The Minnesota Wild got off to an eventful start to their trade deadline festivities last week as they shipped Jason Zucker to Pittsburgh and fired head coach Bruce Boudreau, but as General Manager Bill Guerin cautioned, there still could be more moves to come as the Wild move closer to the NHL trade deadline next Monday.
The question is which players Guerin is possibly considering moving. Here’s the latest from the hockey rumor mills.
Jonas Brodin
The potential charter out of Minnesota has to begin at the blue line as Guerin has several assets that could fetch a solid return. One of those assets is Brodin, who is still young at 26 years old and is currently one point off of tying his career-high of 25 during the 2016-17 season.
But teams that would acquire Brodin would not be looking for an offensive jolt from the blue line as he has just 30 career goals in eight seasons. Instead, they would be attracted by his steady defensive play and cheap salary, which checks in at roughly $4.1 million.
For the Wild, dangling Brodin could mean landing a first or second-line center and while there have been some whispers from The Athletic’s Michael Russo that Montreal could part with Max Domi to land him, Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston predicted that Brodin will likely stay with the Wild past the deadline and let Guerin decide whether to extend him when he’s eligible this summer.
Matt Dumba
While Brodin is attractive to teams, the long-term upside of Dumba could be enough to make opposing GM’s mouths water. Two years ago, Dumba put up 50 points as a 23-year-old and then got off to a blistering start last season with 12 goals in 32 games before going down with a torn pectoral muscle.
This season hasn’t gone great for Dumba, however, as he has just four goals and 20 points in 58 games. Although some team may look at Dumba’s upside and decide it might be worth it, his $6 million salary over the next three seasons might say otherwise. Guerin also wouldn’t be selling the 24-year-old at peak value, which is something that might’ve factored in Paul Fenton being canned after one season when he traded a stable of Wild mainstays, including Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle and Nino Neiderreiter.
As Russo recently noted, There is no urgency to deal Dumba because of his contract status, but Guerin definitely isn’t married to the mainstays of this team and if a team makes the right offer, Dumba could be headed out the door.
Marcus Foligno
Foligno isn’t going to draw a franchise-altering trade, but he’s a player that can help Guerin stockpile assets to help him put his mark on the Wild. In exchange, he can also add a bottom-six player that could help out a playoff contender.
Foligno’s physical, gritty style on the ice could be attractive to a team in the hunt and his $2.875 million salary is something that an interested GM can live with. In addition, Foligno might be having the best statistical season of his career with 21 points in 48 games (two off of his career-high of 23 set in three straight seasons from 2015-18).
This would be a minor deal that wouldn’t generate headlines, but it could be one that gives Guerin a little something extra as he heads into a summer of change.
