The Minnesota Wild open their post All-Star break portion of the season Tuesday night in Edmonton trying to make up for a first half of the year which has featured more disappointment than excitement.
Currently, Minnesota finds themselves seven points behind Calgary for the second wildcard spot in the West Division. Like the Wild, both Colorado and Dallas have been disappointing this year as well, but both stand between the Wild and Flames for that last wildcard spot.
That means Minnesota have a big hill to climb if they want to get back into the playoff picture.
If Minnesota can’t get become serious contenders for a playoff spot and quickly, the Wild could find themselves in a sellers role come the March 2 NHL Trade deadline.
As a result, The Hockey Writers took a look at the Wild’s Top 5 Trade Assets and here is who they think the Wild could be looking to move.
- 5. Matt Cooke
- 4. Erik Haula
- 3. Matt Dumba
- 2. Jared Spurgeon
- 1. Jason Zucker
The reason the blog highlights Zucker at the top spot is because, while he is young and appears to be coming into his own as a player, the timing would be right to move him, because he could command the highest return.
“He is currently 2nd on the team in goals with 16, on pace for a 30-goal season. That’s a pretty significant total when you consider that only 21 players had 30 goals or more in the 2013-14 season. If, when March 2nd comes, Zucker is still on this pace, teams would jump head over heels for a 30-goal scoring 23-year-old. Best case scenario, the Wild could try to induce a bidding war for Zucker and take the best offer come 3 pm EST.”
