The Minnesota Wild are firmly in the Central Division playoff picture at the NHL trade deadline. Even though the blistering-hot Winnipeg Jets are running away with the division, Minnesota could add in preparation for a playoff run. Injuries have been a big part of this season, with Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek missing time for the Wild. Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston outline GM Bill Guerin’s plans ahead of Friday’s trade deadline.
“Bill Guerin effectively ruled out the possibility of a big swing when he told reporters Sunday that injured forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek are both expected to return during the regular season,” the insiders wrote. “That means the cash-strapped team won’t have the benefit of extra LTIR space to use on a roster upgrade.”
Guerin has already made one move, bringing in a depth forward. “The Wild did manage to bring back veteran winger Gustav Nyquist in a trade with Nashville over the weekend. Anything else they do will need to be a cash-in, cash-out transaction, and those tend to be difficult to pull off at the deadline.”
The Wild will need to massage the salary cap to add anyone before Friday. What can they do while keeping these injuries in mind?
The Wild cannot do much at the trade deadline
The NHL salary cap is about to explode, with a $7.5 million increase planned for this summer. But since COVID-19 changed the financials of the league, the cap has only gone up $6.5 million total. That has hampered a lot of teams, especially the Wild because of their buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.
Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek not staying on LTIR for the rest of the season effectively kills any chance of adding an impactful player. They are also spending $14.7 million on Parise and Suter combined this season. Next year, it will be $1.66 million. That $13 million difference and cap increase should lead to a busy summer for Bill Guerin.
But after the Nyquist move, the Wild cannot do much. They have to leave their current cap space available for Kaprizov when he does come off LTIR. Even though the Wild currently have a 91.7% chance of making the playoffs, they want their star for the stretch run.
If they did keep Kaprizov on the LTIR, they could add Minnesota native Brock Nelson. He is a center, which will help with Eriksson Ek out, and can kill penalties. He is the best fit but is not realistic if they are getting Kaprizov back.
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