With Wild energized by Quinn Hughes blockbuster trade, Bill Guerin likely not done
January 1, 2026
With Wild energized by Quinn Hughes blockbuster trade, Bill Guerin likely not done
13 comments
> Kaprizov’s recent bright and sunny mood has been emblematic of exactly what he feels.
> “Quinn is so good,” Kaprizov said in San Jose. “Playing against him and watching him on TV, I knew how good he was offensively, the way he can make plays and get the puck out. But I didn’t know how good he was defensively. I just love it.”
> That was evident a few days earlier, after the morning skate in Las Vegas, when Kaprizov and Hughes were stall mates. Watching the two chumming it up and seeing how much Kaprizov was laughing and genuinely enjoying the conversation, it was obvious how tight they are becoming.
> There’s mutual respect there. Kaprizov loves having another upper-echelon player around, feels he can win with Hughes and loves getting to know him.
> “I love that he lives in my building (in Minnesota),” Kaprizov said. “It’s nice to have somebody back there after (Marat Khusnutdinov was traded). It’s nice to have somebody to do stuff with and go to dinners and talk about things, like hockey and life.”
> As Guerin put it after signing Kaprizov to the record extension in September, “Great players like to play with great players.”
Sounds like Kaprizov approves of the trade.
Russo is really hammering the Ryan O’Reilly idea
If it was me (and I’m certainly not an NHL GM), I would wait to make another big trade until after the Olympics. If Billy takes that team far, he’s going to look better to players who doubt his ability to construct a competitive roster. And the Olympics are going to create injuries, either to our guys or to potential trade targets. Spending a bunch more picks, prospects, or players just to get an injured guy (especially if he doesnt have term) would be the death knell.
This year and next year feels like the time to push the chips in while Quinn is here. I hope he’s here for the long term, but that’s not guaranteed until the ink dries on an extension.
Let’s get a good centre!
Problem is the cost will be high. But if we’re going all in, it might be necessary. Especially in this division.
Zuccy is like, finally I can retire knowing my baby boy will be ok.
I’m putting 50 cents on Schmaltz or Trocheck wearing a Wild uniform after the Olympics. Crosby would be an absolute dream and I am mostly worried about him ending up in COL.
They’ve been on a hot streak, do they really want to fuck up the chemistry?
loving the good vibes we are bringing into 2026 ✨
This makes me wonder about how much of GM’ing takes personalities into consideration for team chemistry, if at all?
I still can’t believe Guerin traded for Quinn Hughes. I’m sure he told Kaprizov that he was gonna get some serious help when working on the extension but he really hit it out of the park.
Obviously the team needs an upgrade at centre and I would understand trading assets to get one but I hope it’s someone around Kaprizov’s age, and with term or extension eligible. I’m not sold on ROR despite him obviously improving the team.
“Playoff team may be buyers at deadline”. Thanks guy.
Russo is spot on. ROR is the guy they need. The preds have been playing better and are in a pretty good position to get a WC, which complicates things.
13 comments
> Kaprizov’s recent bright and sunny mood has been emblematic of exactly what he feels.
> “Quinn is so good,” Kaprizov said in San Jose. “Playing against him and watching him on TV, I knew how good he was offensively, the way he can make plays and get the puck out. But I didn’t know how good he was defensively. I just love it.”
> That was evident a few days earlier, after the morning skate in Las Vegas, when Kaprizov and Hughes were stall mates. Watching the two chumming it up and seeing how much Kaprizov was laughing and genuinely enjoying the conversation, it was obvious how tight they are becoming.
> There’s mutual respect there. Kaprizov loves having another upper-echelon player around, feels he can win with Hughes and loves getting to know him.
> “I love that he lives in my building (in Minnesota),” Kaprizov said. “It’s nice to have somebody back there after (Marat Khusnutdinov was traded). It’s nice to have somebody to do stuff with and go to dinners and talk about things, like hockey and life.”
> As Guerin put it after signing Kaprizov to the record extension in September, “Great players like to play with great players.”
Sounds like Kaprizov approves of the trade.
Russo is really hammering the Ryan O’Reilly idea
If it was me (and I’m certainly not an NHL GM), I would wait to make another big trade until after the Olympics. If Billy takes that team far, he’s going to look better to players who doubt his ability to construct a competitive roster. And the Olympics are going to create injuries, either to our guys or to potential trade targets. Spending a bunch more picks, prospects, or players just to get an injured guy (especially if he doesnt have term) would be the death knell.
This year and next year feels like the time to push the chips in while Quinn is here. I hope he’s here for the long term, but that’s not guaranteed until the ink dries on an extension.
Let’s get a good centre!
Problem is the cost will be high. But if we’re going all in, it might be necessary. Especially in this division.
Zuccy is like, finally I can retire knowing my baby boy will be ok.
I’m putting 50 cents on Schmaltz or Trocheck wearing a Wild uniform after the Olympics. Crosby would be an absolute dream and I am mostly worried about him ending up in COL.
They’ve been on a hot streak, do they really want to fuck up the chemistry?
loving the good vibes we are bringing into 2026 ✨
This makes me wonder about how much of GM’ing takes personalities into consideration for team chemistry, if at all?
I still can’t believe Guerin traded for Quinn Hughes. I’m sure he told Kaprizov that he was gonna get some serious help when working on the extension but he really hit it out of the park.
Obviously the team needs an upgrade at centre and I would understand trading assets to get one but I hope it’s someone around Kaprizov’s age, and with term or extension eligible. I’m not sold on ROR despite him obviously improving the team.
“Playoff team may be buyers at deadline”. Thanks guy.
Russo is spot on. ROR is the guy they need. The preds have been playing better and are in a pretty good position to get a WC, which complicates things.