Bill Guerin has made the Minnesota Wild into a contender with one simple trick. He channelled his inner Michael Jordan and said, “F*** them kids.” Instead of stockpiling them and holding onto dear life, he made the bold decision to flip Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, and Liam Öhgren to land Quinn Hughes.
That’s not easy to do, and Hughes recognized the haul that went to the Vancouver Canucks. “Some teams, they’re in [trade talks] until they hear what they have to trade to get me,” the star defenseman said after arriving in St. Paul. “But Billy, he was just full-in.”
“Full-in” is going to be the Wild’s motto at the trade deadline. Minnesota has the second-most points in the NHL, but it’s clear they want another piece to keep up with the likes of the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars. That means the kids that are still around are on the chopping block, for the right deal.
Those kids are, specifically, Danila Yurov, Jesper Wallstedt, and Charlie Stramel, the Wild’s three brightest youngsters. It’s tough to see Minnesota pulling off a big deal without at least one of those players leaving, and Guerin seems willing to pay that price. As he told Joe Smith of The Athletic, “I don’t believe in [untouchables].”
Once Buium — a consensus top-10 prospect before the season — left the State of Hockey, that felt like the right sentiment. The genie was out of the bottle, and if trading someone like Yurov or Wallstedt or Stramel could land a former Conn Smythe winner in Ryan O’Reilly, or a young, right-shot, cost-controlled center like Robert Thomas, then the price is the price.
However, Yurov’s play should force the Wild to rethink that. On the one hand, it looks silly to have a player who’s got 21 points in 50 games be considered untouchable. Maybe it is. But we’ve talked about Yurov’s growth from the start of the season, and he continues to be dangerous on a near-nightly basis. His all-Russian line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Yakov Trenin has been a force.
That’s a huge difference between him and Buium. As talented as Buium is, the rookie wasn’t at the point where he was ready to contribute to the team, even as a third-pair defenseman. Replacing Buium with Hughes wasn’t just an upgrade. It was one Minnesota could make without losing a beat. Jonas Brodin dropped to the second pair, and Jake Middleton to the third. No holes, just an airtight side of the defense.
Yurov is a genuine asset to this team right now. If the Wild expend Yurov to get a No. 1 center, that’s great. It’s an upgrade, for sure. But it also leaves a hole in the lineup. Instead of having Yurov, who is driving offense on the third line, Minnesota would likely fill that spot with Ryan Hartman, who hasn’t been nearly as impactful this year. Presumably, their top line would be stronger, but at the third line’s expense. On the whole, that’s an upgrade, but third-line scoring can make-or-break a team in the playoffs.
Besides, the Wild aren’t in a position where they can burn any center depth. Last May, Guerin was vocal about getting help for Eriksson Ek. Since then, they’ve traded away Rossi, and while Yurov helps Minnesota weather that loss, it’s unwise to improve at the position without getting deeper as well. Otherwise, the Wild remain one injury away from Eriksson Ek assuming way too much responsibility on his plate.
It’s important not to deal in absolutes. There are centers who are good enough that the trade-off of losing Yurov is a no-brainer. But among Yurov, Wallstedt, and Stramel, it feels like Yurov is the one Minnesota should work hardest to keep.