The NHL Trade Deadline gets murky sometimes and the Minnesota Wild are no exception. A few weeks ago they were entrenched in a playoff spot. Now, the basement of their division is staring straight at them.
An ugly performance on Sunday for all of national TV to see was an exclamation point on how low things have sunk. Paul Fenton had to be dismayed seeing this all unfold along with the rest of Minnesota Wild management.
What can Minnesota do to right the ship? They are still in a wildcard spot. Let’s take a look.
Minnesota Wild: Facts and figures
At least Minnesota has some cap space. Despite the Wild’s current malaise, they have $7.45 million in current cap space. However, they watch intently because there are as much as $1.3 million in performance bonuses which prorates to 2/3 of their current cap space. Thankfully most of those bonuses do not appear likely to get paid out. Losing Matt Dumba was bad enough but the injury to Mikko Koivu was worse. Reliable two-way centers like Koivu are like glue. Everything that could go wrong is going wrong.
Minnesota looks like a boat that has run aground. Devan Dubnyk‘s numbers have gone south. The blown three-goal lead against New Jersey was a new low even for the Wild. When a coach all but questions a goalie, that’s an ominous sign. Consequently, that low was replaced again by Sunday’s shutout at home by St. Louis. The Blues thought to be dead have risen while Minnesota has descended further.
Bruce Boudreau‘s guarantee they would make the playoffs flies contradictory to Paul Fenton‘s green light to make moves. That cold truth drives this deadline of indecision.
Who Minnesota Could Dangle
Eric Staal — The biggest asset Minnesota possesses is Staal, who was a 40-goal scorer last season. This year turning into the struggle it has is akin to his end in Carolina but he can still eat up minutes. His possession numbers are still near +3% above the relative average. Staal sparking a team on a rental would not be a surprise. He did for a bit with the New York Rangers when he was traded. The $3.5 million cap hit raises Staal’s attractiveness. Whoever loses out on the big players may come calling for Staal.
Do not be surprised if Nashville makes a run at Eric Staal as the center could easily boost the second or third line. Furthermore, Staal has won a Stanley Cup with Peter Laviolette. Potentially, Columbus could even be a destination or Winnipeg depending on what occurs with Panarin, Stone, Duchene, etc. Lastly, Staal’s ten team no-trade list is noteworthy.
Jonas Brodin — Brodin showing up on a few lists is not surprising. Minnesota needs to trim to save cap space. This way, the Wild can sign a Jared Spurgeon. Brodin’s cap hit is not terrible ($4.17 million) and his age (25) is young enough. The two years left on the deal might convince a few teams to take a shot at acquiring him. Cap control is almost as much “buzz words” as a rental. He can play both on the left and right side. His offense is not great but defensively, Brodin is still solid. The Islanders or Canucks could be suitors. Maybe a third team jumps in.
How about two more?
Charlie Coyle — Coyle seems like he has been a trade deadline dangle for the third year in a row. Coyle earns $3.2 million and is under contract for next season. Paul Fenton possesses an intriguing chip here. Coyle plays anywhere within the top-nine and can be a center or right wing. His offense is not outrageous but is capable of averaging a point every other game. Also, Coyle’s size (6’3″, 220 pounds) will appeal to some teams. Boston and Calgary appear to be possible destinations.
Eric Fehr — Fehr is an easy chip to flip. He plays a bottom-six role (mostly fourth line) and is deployed a ton in the defensive zone. That 63% number is not a misprint this year but again Fehr plays about 11 minutes a night. Maybe Fehr can fetch anywhere from a fifth to seventh-round pick. Minnesota does not have a fourth or fifth-round pick so an extra shot at the draft never hurts.
Lastly, would Minnesota buy at the deadline?
That appears less and less likely. Minnesota had problems before the injuries and those have only worsened. Paul Fenton trading assets to retool for the coming seasons may be the smartest thing he can do. At the least, maybe he can undo the damage done by trading Nino Niederreiter. So far, Victor Rask in a small sample size has flopped. This is while Niederreiter scored eight goals and 13 points in 13 games. That has to sting Fenton and the Wild. What might have been?