LAS VEGAS — The Minnesota Wild’s expanded front office, large cast of scouts and owner Craig Leipold went out for a steak dinner Thursday night and will be up bright and early Friday to do their final prep for the NHL Draft for what should be an extravaganza at the magnificent Sphere.
The first round is Friday night, the second through seventh rounds Saturday, with the Wild currently holding the 13th pick plus a second-rounder, fourth-rounder, two fifth-rounders and a sixth-rounder.
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Of course, potential trades and preparations for free agency are also front of mind at the draft. Here’s what I’m hearing from team and league sources on all three fronts.
Minnesota would likely be willing to trade the 13th pick outright, especially if it was to the Winnipeg Jets for the University of Michigan standout Rutger McGroarty. There’s no doubt the Wild, like many teams, have been talking to the Jets about the 2022 14th pick, who reportedly doesn’t want to sign with Winnipeg.
The Wild are also willing to move down in the draft to get an extra second-round pick if the options on their list are all of similar stature when it gets to 13.
The Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks used a similar template Thursday when the Sharks moved up three spots to No. 11, giving the Sabres the 14th and 42nd picks. The Chicago Blackhawks, who own the second pick on Day 2 of the draft, look like a good option for that type of move for the Wild, with Chicago also bearing the 18th pick.
“I mean, yeah, there’s a chance,” president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin said Thursday. “I don’t know what the chances are, but if somebody wants to do that, and it makes sense for us, then we’ll do it. But we’re happy at 13, too.”
The Wild continue to talk to teams about goalie Filip Gustavsson, but they are also quite comfortable keeping Gustavsson if they can’t make a trade. They are just not going to give him away and have reason to keep him, considering there are serious questions as to whether 39-year-old Marc-Andre Fleury and 21-year-old rookie Jesper Wallstedt can play more than half the games next season.
If Gustavsson isn’t traded, Wallstedt would start in AHL Iowa with the plan being to get him spot starts throughout the season in Minnesota.
The Wild also plan to be in the market for a middle-six winger this season if they don’t acquire a player like McGroarty, who would likely sign with whichever team he’s traded to and start next season in the NHL.
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While there will be free agents they’d pursue, they could also dive into the trade market and pursue wingers that way. One player who may make sense is Patrik Laine, the Columbus Blue Jackets 26-year-old scorer who is looking for a fresh start. The only way it could work, though, with the Wild’s cap situation, is if the Blue Jackets ate nearly half of his $8.7 million cap hit for the next two years. The Wild could afford him at $4.35 million, especially if Columbus took a rostered player back.
Guerin admitted it’d be hard to make a significant trade with the little flexibility he has.
“I’ve kinda done my poking around and stuff,” Guerin said. “It’s kinda funny. You’ve kinda done your poking around, and you get here and it’s been pretty quiet. But (Friday) is usually the day, right? Either way, I still like the makeup of our team. We could (make a trade or sign a free agent), but we need to get back to our identity. We need to get our swagger back. We need to get back to the way we’re capable of playing, but with our identity. To me that’s the biggest thing.
“We have players that had down years. And, look, that happens — like, we all understand that. But we need them to have bouncebacks. We have guys that are proven scorers that didn’t score as much as they needed to. We need that.
“Health is also a big thing. And, you know what? Our start. We have to be more ready to go at the start of the season.”
Guerin said he likes the initial schedule he has seen for the Wild for next season. It’s expected to be announced by the NHL on Tuesday.
Faber, Rossi make all-rookie team
Brock Faber, who was runner-up to Connor Bedard for the Calder Trophy on Thursday, and Marco Rossi each made the all-rookie team. Rossi was awarded for his 21-goal season by the PHWA voters.
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Rossi also got an extra $212,500 performance bonus for the honor and now has earned $637,500 in bonuses. Because the Wild were at the cap ceiling, they’ll get an overage for the same amount next season. That hurts considering they already have $14.7 million in dead money for the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts.
Assuming Liam Ohgren and Marat Khusnutdinov make the team, the Wild now have $6,787,246 in cap space next season. That doesn’t include the eventual re-signing of restricted free agent Declan Chisholm.
Wild cutting loose Mason Shaw
It’s been expected for awhile, but the Wild have informed heart-and-soul forward Mason Shaw that he won’t be tendered a qualifying offer by Sunday’s 4 p.m. deadline, according to a league source. That means the restricted free agent will become an unrestricted free agent at 11 a.m. Monday and can sign with any other team. Shaw returned from a fourth career torn ACL last season.
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Besides Chisholm, the Wild’s other RFAs are Graeme Clark, Dmitry Ovchinnikov, Adam Raska, Sammy Walker, Hunter Jones and Simon Johansson.
There’s a good bet the Wild cut loose a handful of these others. In fact, Johansson, too, has been informed he won’t be QO’ed, his agent told The Athletic on Thursday.
(Photo of Patrik Laine: Bailey Hillesheim / Getty Images)
