The Minnesota Wild began this season
looking to take the next step toward Stanley Cup contention.
That
hope was buoyed by their pre-season re-signing of superstar left winger
Kirill Kaprizov to an eight-year contract extension.
Entering November, however, the Wild
find themselves near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
They still have enough time to regain their footing, but GM Bill Guerin has reportedly turned to the trade market to find
some help for his struggling roster.
On Oct. 31, Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di
Marco reported a team source claimed Guerin was shopping for a
forward to add some scoring punch among the Wild’s middle six
forwards. Di Marco suggested Calgary Flames center Nazem Kadri and
Boston Bruins forwards Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt as trade
targets.
All three have surfaced in recent trade
speculation, especially Kadri and Zacha. However, the Flames and
Bruins haven’t gone into sell mode yet as they hope to salvage the
season.
Zacha and Mittelstadt would be the more
affordable in terms of salary. They’re also younger than Kadri,
making them better potential long-term fits than the Flames center.
If any of them become available, it’ll likely be in the second half
of the season. However, that could be too late to help the Wild.
The Athletic’s Joe Smith and Michael
Russo expressed doubt that Guerin will find a suitable impact trade
that can provide immediate help to the Wild. Given the limited talent
available, they feel that this club has little choice but to look
within to improve their performance.
NHL Rumor Roundup: Updates On Bruins’ Zacha, Blue Jackets’ Chinahkov And Blues
The Bruins’ struggles continue to make Pavel Zacha the subject of trade speculation, along with Blue Jackets winger Yegor Chinakhov. The Blues, meanwhile, remain patient with their core players.
Turning to the Buffalo Sabres, their
goaltending logjam had Daily Faceoff’s Carter Hutton and Jeff Marek
recently pondering the future of Devon Levi. The 23-year-old was
considered the Sabres’ goalie of the future, but he’s had difficulty
cracking the lineup.
The Sabres podcast After The Whistle
(hosted by former NHLers Craig Rivet and Andrew Peters) claimed that
Levi was rumored to have asked to be moved before he was returned to
the Sabres’ AHL affiliate in Rochester.
Since then, there’s been no additional
reports claiming Levi wants a trade, or any indication that the
Sabres are entering trade offers for the young netminder.
Nevertheless, this could be a situation worth watching given the
limited depth of available goalies in this season’s trade market.
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