Minnesota Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher is “actively” trying to trade back into the first-round of Sunday’s NHL Draft, the Star Tribune reports.
“Seemingly every year we’ve made moves at the draft table, whether we’ve traded up or traded back,” Fletcher told FOX Sports North this week. “There’s a way to move up in drafts and there’s a way to move back and get extra picks. That will really be up to what the scouts want. But I’d be surprised if we weren’t active between now and then.”
The Wild traded away its first-round pick when they acquired forward Jason Pominville from Buffalo before last season’s trade deadline. It wound up becoming the No. 16 overall pick.
Michael Russo writes that the Wild is also actively trying to trade wingers Cal Clutterbuck and Tom Gilbert. Trading one or both would boost the Wild’s cap space, which is currently at $3.6 million.
Meanwhile, the Wild re-signed defenseman Steven Kampfer to a one-year deal on Friday. He’ll provide depth from the Wild’s American Hockey League affiliate in Iowa.
