Now that Matt Cullen has signed with the Nashville Predators, the Wild needs to find a replacement as the second line center.
General manager Chuck Fletcher tells the Star Tribune that wingers Charlie Coyle or Mikael Granlund could fill the role.
“We’ll see if they’re ready for it,” Fletcher said. “Granlund’s a talented, young player and we feel he’ll be a good NHL player in time. Whether that happens right away or not will be up to him. Charlie Coyle’s a player that proved to all of us that he can play in the NHL last year.”
Both Coyle and Granlund are natural centers, but as a pair of 21-year-olds the two have played in a combined 64 games. Cullen, 36, played in 1,073 games.
Note: Pierre-Marc Bouchard, who signed with the Islanders, tells the Star Tribune that “Minnesota will always be a special place for me.”
