Wild trade tiers: Besides Marco Rossi, who is most and least likely to be traded this offseason?

Sports

add

It’s officially tire-kicking season.

With a week until the June 27 and 28 draft, Minnesota Wild president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin is making and receiving plenty of calls on players.

And with the Wild finally unburdened by the large portion of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyout penalties (dead money decreases from $14.7 million to $1.67 million through 2029) and possessing nearly $16 million in cap space, there is an expectation by the fan base that Guerin will take some swings as the franchise enters its 25th season.

The problem is that the free-agent market isn’t exactly enticing and keeps getting thinner by the day. The Wild planned to pursue center Brock Nelson this summer, but he re-signed with the Colorado Avalanche. On Wednesday, Ryan Donato re-signed with the Chicago Blackhawks. On Thursday, Matt Duchene re-signed with the Dallas Stars.

Florida Panthers center Sam Bennett and Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares are pending free agents, but both could re-sign with their current teams. And if they don’t, the Wild would have to compete with several others to try to persuade them to sign in Minnesota.

So the trade route makes the most sense.

As you surely know by now, Marco Rossi is the likeliest Wild player to be traded. There could be an incentive to do so before July 1 because that’s when the pending restricted free agent would be eligible to sign an offer sheet elsewhere.

As of now, the Wild and Rossi have taken a break on negotiations. Earlier this season, the team offered Rossi a five-year, $25 million extension, which he rejected. His camp countered with a short-term deal with a high average annual value, which the Wild didn’t accept. Minnesota recently offered a two-year deal with an AAV less than $5 million, and Rossi didn’t accept that.

He had been looking for a long-term deal in the Matt Boldy range ($7 million) — an area the Wild have so far shown no appetite to go near.

So unless the Wild change course and offer him a two- or three-year deal with a significantly higher AAV ($6 million?), the sides will remain in a stalemate.

To trade Rossi, Minnesota would want to receive an NHL player who can replace the 60 points they’d be trading away. Guerin has made it clear that he doesn’t want to make his team worse, so he would be willing to take a center who can produce for Rossi or a winger who can produce and then look for a center in a secondary deal. For instance, the Wild have shown a lot of interest in the Buffalo Sabres’ JJ Peterka, who is considered a winger by his current team.

The problem is, as far as we know, Guerin has so far been offered mostly futures for Rossi. While Guerin would likely take a player and a first-rounder and perhaps flip the first-rounder elsewhere, he definitely doesn’t want just a first-rounder.

That’s the offer (the No. 15 pick) that the Vancouver Canucks likely made for Rossi.

So we’ll see where this goes this week, but the one thing, that’s certain from talking to sources around the league, is Guerin has been on the phone a lot and seems very motivated to make trades.

Who could be dealt? Who won’t be?

Let’s take a look at this year’s version of our Minnesota Wild trade tiers:

The “Don’t Even Ask” Division 

Kirill Kaprizov

The best player in franchise history could soon be one of the highest-paid players in the NHL, with the Wild planning to try to sign him to an extension this summer, one year ahead of free agency.

The “Not Going Anywhere” Division 

Matt Boldy

The budding star winger showed signs of dominance in his best playoff performance yet, with five goals and seven points in six games against the Vegas Golden Knights. The “Robin” to Kaprizov’s “Batman” is not being shopped, especially at what looks like a bargain seven-year, $7 million AAV deal for a 30-goal scorer.

Brock Faber

The cornerstone defenseman is slated to be an Olympian next year and the No. 1 defenseman in Minnesota for the next decade.

The Wild are building around Matt Boldy and Brock Faber, not trading them. (Derek Cain / Getty Images)

Joel Eriksson Ek

Arguably the team’s most irreplaceable player, Eriksson Ek ended this past season not only as Minnesota’s No. 1 center but also their top shutdown pivot. The Wild are trying to get him help this summer, not move him.

Zeev Buium

The first-round pick and top prospect got his first taste of the NHL during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Buium, 19, is expected to be a staple in the top four for a long time.

Mats Zuccarello

Zuccarello is heading into what could be the final season of an impressive career. The 37-year-old, a good friend of Kaprizov’s, isn’t going to be dealt, and it’s not just because of his full no-move clause. Heck, even a one- or two-year extension makes sense if that’d make it more likely for Kaprizov to stick around.

Marcus Johansson

The veteran winger signed a one-year deal at $800,000 with a full no-trade clause. He could have returned to finish his career with Farjestad in Karlstad, Sweden, and he gave up less money than he could have gotten as a free agent to return to Minnesota. So he’s not waiving.

The “Likely Not Going Anywhere” Division

Filip Gustavsson

Gustavsson joked after the season that it’s crazy how quickly things change, as he went from being shopped last summer to being considered for a contract extension this summer. The Swede reaffirmed his position as the Wild’s No. 1 goalie with a strong season, and it’s hard to imagine the team trading him with the inconsistencies and struggles of top goalie prospect Jesper Wallstedt.

Marcus Foligno

Foligno played his best hockey of the season in the playoffs, showing how healthy he was after back-to-back offseasons of core muscle surgeries. The 33-year-old is a heart-and-soul leader for the Wild, an identity player and a rare power forward, so he’s likely not a trade chip — especially while he still holds a full no-move clause with three years left on his deal at a $4 million AAV.

Jake Middleton

As much as Foligno is beloved in the room, so is Middleton, the tatted-up, “tarp-less” cartoon character with a mean stache. The mobile defenseman is important to the culture of the team and can play with Faber or Spurgeon. He’s also likely not going anywhere due to Brodin’s health situation this summer.

Declan Chisholm

The Wild are likely to tender the defenseman a qualifying offer to retain his rights, so if he’s not re-signed by July 1, he’ll become a restricted free agent. With Brodin and Middleton out with injuries last season, he became quite handy in the top four.

Jesper Wallstedt

Yes, he’s coming off a rough, injury-plagued year, but the Wild are hoping with a good summer that he’ll be able to come in and win games and further develop as Gustavsson’s backup. Unless a trade makes sense, there’s no reason to punt yet on Wallstedt.

The “It’s Possible” Division 

Ryan Hartman

It felt like Hartman was on thin ice with the Wild after his eight-game suspension in February — his fifth in the NHL. Patience was wearing thin. But perhaps Hartman won everyone over with his strong play down the stretch and in the playoffs, when he was one of the team’s best players. If Hartman can channel that going forward, he’ll be a bargain at $4 million AAV for the next two seasons (or a valuable trade chip). His no-move clause turns into a 15-team no-trade on July 1.

Jonas Brodin

This is not to say the Wild are shopping Brodin, a blueline mainstay the past decade who’s as good as they get defensively. He’s still their top left-shot defenseman and one of the most beautiful skaters in the NHL — one of the very few players in the league who can slow down Connor McDavid types. But with Brodin’s age, 31, his recent injury history and the fact that he doesn’t hold no-trade protection over the final three years of his deal (at a $6 million AAV), the Wild would at least have to listen. Brodin has been dealing with an injury, per league sources, that he’s currently rehabbing and thus likely won’t be traded this summer.

Jared Spurgeon

Spurgeon had a strong bounce-back season after 2023-24 ended with hip and back surgeries. He’s still playing at a high level and is the Wild’s captain. But, like Brodin, there’s got to be at least the temptation to listen on the 35-year-old defenseman with two years left on his deal ($7.57 million AAV) and modified no-trade protection. Faber is the team’s top right-shot defenseman, and the Wild paid a hefty price to acquire David Jiricek.

Would the Wild consider trading captain Jared Spurgeon? (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)

Yakov Trenin

Trenin had a largely disappointing first season with the Wild after being the team’s biggest free-agent acquisition last summer (four years at $3.5 million AAV). What Trenin showed in the playoffs, though, is that he can be the kind of player the team envisioned when bringing him in. Moving on from him one year into his deal would be an indictment of Guerin’s signing, but we don’t think it’d be out of the question.

Carson Lambos

The 2021 first-round pick has probably earned a change of scenery after having yet to make his NHL debut, but he’s only played two years in the minors and seems close to getting a chance, especially with the number of times Brodin has gotten hurt. Still, he could be a chip.

David Jiricek

After giving up first-, second-, third- and fourth-round picks plus Daemon Hunt to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the defenseman, it would seem hard to believe the Wild would even entertain flipping him. But if Jiricek was the final piece of a big package, you’d have to consider it.

The “Most Likely To Be Traded” Division

Marco Rossi

We’ve covered this a bunch in this space over the past several months, but with Rossi and the Wild at an impasse over a contract extension, expect the club to push for a deal before other teams can offer sheet him on July 1.

Liam Ohgren

Another first-round pick who could be used as a trade chip this summer. Ohgren, the sharp-shooting Swede, had 19 goals in 41 games for AHL Iowa last year and scored two more in 24 games with the Wild. He could either be a middle-six winger for Minnesota or be moved as part of a bigger summer deal.

Freddy Gaudreau

The versatile center has three years left on a deal with a $2.1 million cap hit and a modified no-trade clause. But his limited production in the playoffs and some young centers coming from the pipeline (Danila Yurov, Hunter Haight, Charlie Stramel, Riley Heidt) could make him expendable.

David Spacek

The defense prospect admitted he had a tough transition to pro hockey a year ago, but he bounced back some this past season. Spacek, who has performed masterfully at the international level with Czechia, appears blocked from making the jump to the NHL (especially with the acquisition of his good friend, Jiricek). It wouldn’t be surprising if Spacek, entering the last year of his entry-level deal, wants a fresh start, and the Wild would likely oblige.

(Photo of Ryan Hartman, Jonas Brodin and Frederick Gaudreau: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

Share on

email

Previous

trending_flat

NFL mandatory minicamps: Wrapping up biggest storylines of past couple weeks

Sports

Next

trending_flat

Inter Miami vs. Porto odds, prediction, time: Free 2025 FIFA Club World Cup expert picks for Thursday, June 19

Sports