Scoring threats highlight trade targets for Wild
Between all-star goaltender Devan Dubnyk and minutes-chewing defenseman Ryan Suter, the Minnesota Wild have been winning with defense this season.
At just 2.33 goals-against per game the Wild are right up there with Chicago and Los Angeles among the league's top defensive units.
But while head coach Mike Yeo's defense has come to play, the offense has been in a free fall over the last few weeks.
Minnesota has scored three or more goals just three times in its last 10 games, and currently ranks 19th in the league in scoring, the second-worst mark in the Central Division.
While Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu are looking as productive as ever, the rest of the offense has fallen on hard times.
Mikael Granlund has just four goals through 48 games played, while high-priced winger Jason Pominville has just five and former Gophers star Thomas Vanek has scored just four goals in his last 20 games.
With the trade deadline less than five weeks away general manager Chuck Fletcher seems intent on putting some of that defensive depth to use.
The Wild were reportedly close to bringing former Columbus star Ryan Johansen to Minnesota before Nashville offered up Seth Jones, while potential trade target Ryan Nugent-Hopkins of the Edmonton Oilers is all but off the table after suffering a hand injury that could keep him out beyond the Feb. 29 trade deadline.
Matt Dumba, Jonas Brodin and Marco Scandella are all compelling trade candidates in the name of offensive help but the Wild face significant financial obstacles in targeting in a big name on offense.
Minnesota is projected to have around $3 million in cap space at the deadline according to NHL finance outlet General Fanager, and with nearly a dozen players due new contracts this summer, the Wild's books have little wiggle room.
Jonathan Drouin, LW, Tampa Bay Lightning
STATS: 2G, 1A, 19GP
Trading your top prospect after just two years is rarely a sound strategy, but what the move lacks in necessity it makes up for in controversy. Drouin and his agent haven't been coy about the second-year winger's demands, and his exit strategy in Tampa appears to be set: Hold out for a trade.
The Wild have plenty to offer the Lightning in the form of Dumba or Brodin, but despite Drouin's demands GM Steve Yzerman is still dealing from a position of strength.
The Lightning are 7-3 in their last 10 games and look very much like the team that nearly knocked off Chicago in the Stanley Cup Finals last season, giving Yzerman plenty of flexibility if he chooses to wait out Drouin's frustration.
Loui Eriksson, RW, Boston Bruins
STATS: 15G, 24A, 47GP
The year's hottest rental in the lead-up to the deadline, Eriksson is scoring at a solid clip this season, having racked up 15 goals and 39 points for the Bruins. However, with Boston a gamble to make the playoffs in a tight Atlantic Division, GM Don Sweeney is reportedly fielding offers for the 30-year-old winger's services.
The Wild need goals, and Eriksson's $4.25 million cap hit matches up well with the young defensemen that Fletcher is supposedly looking to move.
Andrew Ladd, LW, Winnipeg Jets
STATS: 10G, 17A, 48GP
A 6-foot-3 winger and consistent 20-goal scorer, Ladd is on the tail end of a five-year, $22 million deal that carries an annual cap hit of $4.5 million.
While hardly a game-changing option, that math works out in Minnesota's favor should the Wild acquire the power forward, while Winnipeg's 25th-ranked defense and the impending loss of hulking blue-liner Dustin Byfuglien would make Fletcher an attractive trade partner.
