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Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The NHL trade deadline is now less than 72 hours away, and at least for now, we are still waiting to see if Minnesota Wild president of hockey operations Bill Guerin has another blockbuster deal up his sleeve<\/a> before the buzzer goes off on Friday at 2 p.m. CST.<\/p>\n We know Bill Guerin is searching for a top six center, and the Wild have been specifically connected to<\/a> Guerin\u2019s good buddy and fellow Milan Olympic Gold Medalist<\/a>, Vincent Trocheck \u2014 but only if the New York Rangers lower their asking price between now and Friday afternoon,<\/p>\n Until a bigger and better opportunity presents itself, if it even does, Minnesota will have to settle for smaller moves that strengthen deeper parts of the lineup. Monday, the Wild waived \u2018one of us\u2019 Tyler Pitlick, in order to make room for their own waiver claim<\/a>, Robby Fabbri.<\/p>\n Minnesota Wild trade for Predators center Michael McCarron<\/p>\n And on Tuesday, as first reported by Michael Russo (The Athletic)<\/a>, Billy made yet another move to strengthen the Wild\u2019s bottom six, this time trading a 2028 second round pick to Nashville in exchange for (almost) 31-year-old<\/a>, 6\u20196\u2033 232 lb centerman, Michael McCarron.<\/p>\n One day after adding Robby Fabbri off waivers as they try to reshape their fourth line, the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday acquired 6-foot-6 center Michael McCarron from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2028 second-round pick, according to league sources.<\/p>\n Michael Russo \u2013 The Athletic<\/a><\/p>\n McCarron turns 31 on Friday, which happens to be the aforementioned NHL trade deadline. Now that he\u2019s already been dealt, he won\u2019t have to sweat anything out on his birthday.<\/p>\n The 2013 No. 25 overall draft pick \u2014 who\u2019s on the final year of a veteran\u2019s minimum deal<\/a> \u2014 has scored 5 goals and totalled 12 points in 59 games this season<\/a>, averaging 14:30 TOI with the Predators. More importantly, McCarron bully mentality is something the Wild could use for this stretch run.<\/p>\n McCarron makes Wild a much harder team<\/p>\n As a member of the Minnesota Wild, McCarron will play on the fourth line and kill penalties, which is why \u2014 as Russo reports \u2014 his acquisition is a clear indictment on Nico Sturm, who Guerin brought back<\/a> this summer via free agency.<\/p>\n The move is a clear indication that the Wild haven\u2019t been pleased with Nico Sturm\u2019s play. McCarron is a big body who plays a heavy game and has an edge, leading the Predators with 165 hits. He\u2019s also good on draws, winning 53.8 percent of them over the past five seasons, and is a good penalty-killer. He\u2019s amassed 275 penalty minutes in the past three seasons and is known to drop the gloves.<\/p>\n Michael Russo \u2013 The Athletic<\/a><\/p>\n jake middleton and michael mccaron get punchy in front of fleury pic.twitter.com\/1KDk0QPR15<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) April 6, 2022<\/a> <\/p>\n Related: Wild\u2019s Olympic Hero Plays Hard, Parties Harder<\/a><\/p>\n So not only does McCarron leave Nashville as their leader<\/a> in hits (165), but he\u2019s amassed 73 penalty minutes this to boot. In other words, the MN Wild have a new enforcer in town, at least in the modern sense of the term.<\/p>\n Without a doubt, Guerin also targeted the rough and tumble center for his acumen in the faceoff circle. McCarron has taken over 3,300 draws during his nine-year NHL career<\/a> \u2014 and coming away as the winner at a 52.8% clip, which happens to be his exact faceoff win percentage this season.<\/p>\n Around the league, the questions surrounding the Wild\u2019s plan before the trade deadline are much less about \u201cif\u201d Guerin will make another big deal, but instead about \u201cwho\u201d he\u2019ll eventually reel in.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMentioned in this article: Michael McCarron<\/a> NHL Trade<\/a> NHL Trade Deadline<\/a> <\/p>\n More About:Minnesota Wild<\/a><\/p>\n Add MinnesotaSportsFan as a preferred source on Google. \t\t\t![\"Add](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/google_preferred_source_badge.png\"){kind=icon}
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