Wild insider: Five burning questions that will define the rest of Minnesota’s season
January 14, 2026
Wild insider: Five burning questions that will define the rest of Minnesota’s season
11 comments
Some trade talk in this one, but nothing specific beyond an assertation that Guerin will certainly trade for a top 6 forward at some point before the deadline.
> Anybody can see the Wild are a scoring winger or first-line center away from true contender status.
> Guerin wants to win now and is going to try to take at least one more big swing, dealing picks and prospects probably for a center.
> Still, he has to be smart here and show some restraint, as much as he may want to get ahead of the competition on the market.
> He mortgaged a lot of the future in the David Jiricek trade 14 months ago and last month’s Hughes deal. And as much as he’s willing to use more picks and prospects to get better for the now, these assets are hardly infinite.
> Sure, Guerin could dangle even more future firsts. Maybe even Danila Yurov, Charlie Stramel, Adam Benak, Riley Heidt or Hunter Haight.
> But these aren’t A-plus prospects.
> You know who is, even though he’s a full-time NHLer right now?
> Jesper Wallstedt.
> With Filip Gustavsson signed until 2031, would it shock any of us if Guerin at least considers this? If Wallstedt’s what it would take to get a legit No. 1 center or star winger?
> Remember, we all figured Buium was untouchable … until Hughes came on the market.
Win now, yes, but considering a big part of helping us win now is the elite goalie tandem, any trade involving Wally has to see a return of a major needle mover like in the Hughes trade. I’m talking a Dylan Larkin or Tage Thompson level of return.
Going to advocate trading for Nick Schmalz.
* Would be great to slot in as 2C
* PPG player on a pretty middling team throughout his whole career
* Don’t think he’s resigning in Utah so they’ll want to get something in return but don’t think the trade price will be as costly as other players that keep getting thrown around
* Has family in ND, MN, and WI so really like his odds of resigning and wouldn’t be shocked if he took a team friendly deal.
a 1C would be awesome. I just do not see this happening. We really do not need a star center. Yurov and Khus are proving that a player that is not stupid can succeed with top wingers.
We do need a Rossi replacement. a 80% Ek.
we are going nowhere with just Ek and Yurov at center. Hartman is fine, fine at playing center when Ek is hurt. Sturm is a really good 4C, nothing more
I am not against trading any player. It seems stupid to trade Wallstedt when he has another year at $2M then RFA. Other teams are attracted to 1-5 years of a cheap good goalie.
My biggest worry is when was the last time a D core as small as ours did anything in the playoffs?
All we need is a healthy Erickson Ek. Two years in a row we have seen how the team falls behind the 8-ball when Ekker is out of the lineup.
forgot to add:
If we trade Wallstedt, who is the back up goalie?
MAF is available…..
Unless some no-brainer move (Thomas, ROR, etc) is a available right now, no trade should happen until the Olympic break is done. There’s no way to know what teams will need what considering the risk extra games have on those players health.
To what end. I hate to be a downer but Dallas and Colorado will be tough outs. If we finish second the reward is playing the 3rd best team. Then the first. This year is tough
Fix the faceoffs and the PK or everything else doesn’t matter. They aren’t getting past Dallas or Colorado if this two things aren’t fixed.
We need Trocheck and Zibanajad to be true contenders. However this gets done. Yurov and Wallstedt are going to be centerpieces in any trade we do. A Brodin may even be involved. Billy is in win now for next 2-3 years. Trocheck for sure and if not Zibanajad then schmaltz or Kyrou or Thomas. Absolutely no on Panarin. We need 2 more top 6 guys. Preferably Right handed.
11 comments
Some trade talk in this one, but nothing specific beyond an assertation that Guerin will certainly trade for a top 6 forward at some point before the deadline.
> Anybody can see the Wild are a scoring winger or first-line center away from true contender status.
> Guerin wants to win now and is going to try to take at least one more big swing, dealing picks and prospects probably for a center.
> Still, he has to be smart here and show some restraint, as much as he may want to get ahead of the competition on the market.
> He mortgaged a lot of the future in the David Jiricek trade 14 months ago and last month’s Hughes deal. And as much as he’s willing to use more picks and prospects to get better for the now, these assets are hardly infinite.
> Sure, Guerin could dangle even more future firsts. Maybe even Danila Yurov, Charlie Stramel, Adam Benak, Riley Heidt or Hunter Haight.
> But these aren’t A-plus prospects.
> You know who is, even though he’s a full-time NHLer right now?
> Jesper Wallstedt.
> With Filip Gustavsson signed until 2031, would it shock any of us if Guerin at least considers this? If Wallstedt’s what it would take to get a legit No. 1 center or star winger?
> Remember, we all figured Buium was untouchable … until Hughes came on the market.
Win now, yes, but considering a big part of helping us win now is the elite goalie tandem, any trade involving Wally has to see a return of a major needle mover like in the Hughes trade. I’m talking a Dylan Larkin or Tage Thompson level of return.
Going to advocate trading for Nick Schmalz.
* Would be great to slot in as 2C
* PPG player on a pretty middling team throughout his whole career
* Don’t think he’s resigning in Utah so they’ll want to get something in return but don’t think the trade price will be as costly as other players that keep getting thrown around
* Has family in ND, MN, and WI so really like his odds of resigning and wouldn’t be shocked if he took a team friendly deal.
a 1C would be awesome. I just do not see this happening. We really do not need a star center. Yurov and Khus are proving that a player that is not stupid can succeed with top wingers.
We do need a Rossi replacement. a 80% Ek.
we are going nowhere with just Ek and Yurov at center. Hartman is fine, fine at playing center when Ek is hurt. Sturm is a really good 4C, nothing more
I am not against trading any player. It seems stupid to trade Wallstedt when he has another year at $2M then RFA. Other teams are attracted to 1-5 years of a cheap good goalie.
My biggest worry is when was the last time a D core as small as ours did anything in the playoffs?
All we need is a healthy Erickson Ek. Two years in a row we have seen how the team falls behind the 8-ball when Ekker is out of the lineup.
forgot to add:
If we trade Wallstedt, who is the back up goalie?
MAF is available…..
Unless some no-brainer move (Thomas, ROR, etc) is a available right now, no trade should happen until the Olympic break is done. There’s no way to know what teams will need what considering the risk extra games have on those players health.
To what end. I hate to be a downer but Dallas and Colorado will be tough outs. If we finish second the reward is playing the 3rd best team. Then the first. This year is tough
Fix the faceoffs and the PK or everything else doesn’t matter. They aren’t getting past Dallas or Colorado if this two things aren’t fixed.
We need Trocheck and Zibanajad to be true contenders. However this gets done. Yurov and Wallstedt are going to be centerpieces in any trade we do. A Brodin may even be involved. Billy is in win now for next 2-3 years. Trocheck for sure and if not Zibanajad then schmaltz or Kyrou or Thomas. Absolutely no on Panarin. We need 2 more top 6 guys. Preferably Right handed.