Heading into last offseason, there was an expectation that the Wild would be busy with much more salary cap space at their disposal. Instead, their spending was relatively tempered, headlined by the additions of winger Vladimir Tarasenko and center Nico Sturm. They also re-signed center Marco Rossi to a bridge deal after a prolonged period of trade speculation. The end result was them entering the season with much more cap space than they’ve been accustomed to.
At the moment, Minnesota has over $4.2MM in cap space, per PuckPedia. That amount is lowered a bit by the fact that they have 15 forwards counting against their cap thanks to injuries to Sturm and winger Mats Zuccarello, neither of whom have played this season.
It appears they’re looking to put that cap flexibility to use sooner than later. Anthony DiMarco of The Fourth Period reports that Minnesota is believed to be looking to add a middle-six forward. While they’ve been known to be coveting center help for several years now, they’re not limiting their search to just that position; they’re open to adding on the wing as well.
Entering play tonight, the Wild sit 21st in the NHL in goals scored despite having three forwards (Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy, and Rossi) all averaging at least a point per game. While that line is producing, they’re not getting a ton of help elsewhere. Tarasenko has only scored once, Joel Eriksson Ek has just two goals, and Marcus Foligno is still looking for his first point of the season.
With that in mind, it makes sense that GM Bill Guerin appears to be looking at what might be out there on the trade front. On top of having some struggling veterans, top prospects Danila Yurov and Liam Ohgren have seen very limited playing time; it might be more beneficial for their development to play a bigger role with AHL Iowa over fourth-line ice time in Minnesota. Adding a middle-six forward could push one of them off the active roster, allowing for that extra playing time to happen while ideally giving their offense a bit of a boost as well.
Having said that, this is still a little early in the season for teams to start parting with proven talent. While there has been plenty of speculation around players like Nicholas Robertson (Toronto) or Yegor Chinakhov (Columbus), there’s no guarantee that adding one of them – or someone like that – would come in and give their attack the shot in the arm that they’re seeking. But if they’re looking for someone with more of a track record, they may have to wait a while yet before the market really starts to open up.