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3 Trades that Make Sense for the Minnesota Wild
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- 3 Trades that Make Sense for the Minnesota Wild
Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
There hasn't been much good news for Minnesota Wild fans in 2025 , but things are looking up. Kirill Kaprizov is out at least a month and Jonas Brodin was also put on long-term injured reserve . That might sound like more bad news to most fans, but here's the silver lining.
Since Minnesota has so much salary on LTIR, general manager Bill Guerin now has some salary cap wiggle room to make moves prior to the NHL trade deadline. Before the Kaprizov and Brodin LTIR moves, the Wild had about $100k with which to work. Puckpedia now has the Wild's deadline cap space at $5.225 million and the LTIR pool at just over $6 million.
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Will Bill Guerin wait out the Wild and see where they stand come March? Probably. This team hasn't performed well against the best in the West, so it isn't a surefire contender. But Minnesota couldn't even be called a trade deadline buyer a week ago because they didn't have any money. Who might Guerin target now that he can take on salary? Here are three trades that make sense for the Minnesota Wild given their needs.
Acquire former Minnesota Wild forward Mikael Granlund
Since the Wild are expected to sign Brock Nelson in free agency this offseason, acquiring a rental in Granlund makes the most sense. Giving up assets for a player you can get in free agency is a bit silly, unless you have concerns about Mikael Granlund's performance in the playoffs.
Granlund averages 0.54 points per game in the playoffs. That's considerably lower than his 0.68 points per game in the regular season. That's to be expected given the increased physicality and better opponents limiting available space.
This give-and-go between Mikael Granlund and Will Smith 😮💨🔥 pic.twitter.com/Lsar3baRoN
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) January 20, 2025
Related: Sounds Like Brock Nelson is Destined for a Minnesota Wild Homecoming…but When?
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The Wild offense would absolutely benefit from half a point per playoff game. But the biggest benefit might be adding a player to take and win a high volume of faceoffs. Dallas dominated draws against Minnesota in the 2023 playoffs, winning 54.8 percent of faceoffs . The Wild continue to struggle gaining possession off the draw. They're 27th in the league in faceoff win rate (48.13 percent).
As of this writing, Granlund is owed $1.7 million this season. That's now within the Wild's budget, and San Jose would probably accept 2026 NHL draft picks as compensation so Minnesota can retain its four picks in this year's draft. Granlund addresses the Wild's need for a left shot who can also play center and helps solve Minnesota's struggle to score on top teams in the West.
Bring home Minnesota native K'Andre Miller
The New York Rangers aren't sellers yet, but they might not have the cap space to give K'Andre Miller a considerable raise next season. He's one of the seven Rangers set to be restricted free agents this offseason, and New York has just over $22 million in projected cap space next season. And that's despite a $7.5 million increase of the NHL salary cap next season.
Miller's puck skills and outlet passing ability are inconsistent. He doesn't have the best hockey IQ and leaves you wanting more physically.
K'Andre Miller has taken a considerable step back offensively after a stellar 2023-34 season, but he's still a sound defenseman. He ranks fifth amongst defenders with 36 takeaways and has served just 10 minutes in penalties over 44 games played. He's owed roughly $1.5 million as of Jan. 31, and acquiring him early would give both Miller and Minnesota a better chance to determine whether a new contract is warranted.
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Miller would benefit from a change of scenery, and there's no place like home. He's from St. Paul, but more importantly, he'd learn from and be paired with excellent veteran defenders. Less would be expected of him in Minnesota, too. He certainly wouldn't log the almost 22 minutes of ice time the Rangers have him skating.
Jon Merrill is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and the Rangers will probably want an expiring contract and a couple of draft picks in return for Miller.
Related: What Does the Increasing NHL Salary Cap Mean for the Minnesota Wild?
Take on salary to acquire 2025 draft pick(s)
Bill Guerin has a fourth-round pick in this year's draft because he helped complete the trade of Ryan O'Reilly to Toronto in 2023. All it cost him was a $1.875 million cap hit and Josh Pillar, who's playing pretty well at the University of Saskatchewan.
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Guerin now has the cap space to do the same thing this season. He already traded the Wild's 2025 first-round pick for prospect David Jiříček early in the season. Don't be surprised if Guerin adds a 2025 draft pick by providing the player and taking on the salary necessary to complete a three-team trade.
Minnesota has weathered the storm of injuries thus far this season in ways that can't be explained. For one, they tend to right the ship on the road, posting the best road record in the NHL (20-5-3). That's despite outscoring their opponents by a total of nine goals this season. That's not sustainable, especially given the injuries, which is another reason why these trades make sense for the Minnesota Wild.
