Will the Minnesota Wild choose a winger or center as their next addition?
Minnesota Wild General Manager Bill Guerin joined Judd’s Hockey Show with Judd Zulgad and AJ Fredrickson and was asked about the next trade his team makes. Does it necessarily need to be a center, or could it be a winger?
NHLRumors.com Transcriptions
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AJ Fredrickson: “And what do you say to, I guess the people, including myself, where if they’re looking at you and the Wild and they’re going to be making a big transaction that brings a new forward into the mix. I feel, and I think a lot of people do, that it has to be a center. Like, that is the spot where the franchise has seemingly been looking for somebody in that position for quite a long time.
But it was reported earlier in the summer that you were very much in and had an offer for Brady Tkachuk before he got traded down to Florida. Where do you stand on it being a center versus potentially a winger? The value of if it’s the right player, I don’t care what position it is. They need to work for the Wild than for me.”
Bill Guerin: “Yeah, that’s a good question, and like that’s something that, that, to be honest with you that I wrestle with as well because there has been such a dire need in this organization for that true number one center. But you really, yeah, but you just hate to miss out on any really good player.
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Like last year, we weren’t really looking for a defenseman, and Quinn became available, and that happened, and he really changed our team in a positive way. In my mind now, the game is much different. This isn’t 1988, where you have your traditional playmaking center going through the middle of the ice carrying the puck, and you’ve got your two wings.”
NHLRumors.com Note: The preface of the question comes from the fact that Bill Guerin isn’t afraid to make moves. He tried to get Brady Tkachuk from the Ottawa Senators. Not a center, but he adds an element the Wild don’t have on the wing. Not to mention, Guerin knows Tkachuk from USA Hockey with the Four Nations Faceoff and Olympics.
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But as Guerin later mentions, wingers in the NHL now can drive offence. It isn’t like the old days. A perfect example is the Chicago Blackhawks teams that won Stanley Cups. Patrick Kane drove the offense from the wing on his line. Look at his centers; they weren’t big names.
Yeah, the Wild have Joel Eriksson-Ek and Ryan Hartman, and getting an upgrade would be ideal, but as Bill Guerin has stated, you can’t be afraid to go after top players when they are available, regardless of position. The next move Guerin makes will benefit the Minnesota Wild in hopes of making a deep run in the playoffs.
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