Wild’s biggest reasons for concern after 2025 NHL Trade Deadline

Besides being down Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek and Brodin, Guerin didn’t make too many moves to upgrade the roster ahead of the stretch run. Bringing pending UFA Gustav Nyquist to town was a decent addition, but he’s been futile offensively with just a single point over eight games. He’s also 35-years-old, hasn’t been nearly as effective as last season, and will likely sign elsewhere in free agency on July 1.

Guerin also moved on from Marat Khusnutdinov — a once promising prospect — along with Jakub Lauko, trading them to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Justin Brazeau. That was a bit of a head-scratcher, as Brazeau, 27, is significantly older than both Khusnutdinov (22) and Lauko (24). Brazeau is nothing more than a bottom-six player, and he hasn’t managed a single point in the State of Hockey since being acquired.

Overall, the Wild were in a tight spot due to their salary cap constraints. But Guerin definitely could have done much better, and the roster as currently constructed just does not hold a candle to the other three Central Division contenders: the Winnipeg Jets, Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars.

It certainly doesn’t help that all three of those clubs made moves to increase their chances of winning the Stanley Cup in 2025.

All 3 Central Division contenders got even better

The Stars and Avalanche were two of the big winners of trade deadline season. Dallas snagged Cody Ceci and Mikael Granlund from the San Jose Sharks earlier in the year, but made headlines by acquiring and signing Mikko Rantanen to a long-term deal. Colorado added proven scorer Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders, as well as Ryan Lindgren from the New York Rangers and Charlie Coyle from the Bruins. The Avs also made a splash much earlier in the season by adding goalie of the future Mackenzie Blackwood from the Sharks.

And even the Jets, who are the best team in the division but made the least amount of moves of the three, added Luke Schenn and Brandon Tanev to the roster ahead of the postseason. Clearly, the moves those trio of teams made are much more significant than anything the Wild did during trade deadline season.

At this point, Minnesota desperately needs to keep winning games, and that is going to be extremely difficult considering the top line currently consists of Nyquist, Boldy and Marco Rossi. The offensive depth just gets more and more troubling the further down the lineup you go, and neither Kaprizov nor Eriksson Ek are close to re-joining the roster.

Earlier this year, it looked like the Wild were pegged to at least finish in a top-three spot in the Central. Now, that’s out the window. The way Colorado and Dallas are playing, the best Minnesota will do is finish in the top wildcard spot. Of course, they could do that and upset a team like the Vegas Golden Knights or Edmonton Oilers in Round 1 — especially if they are fully healthy for Game 1 of Round 1.

Still, with only 14 games left and no reinforcements close to returning, things are starting to look dire. The Wild badly need to get back on track if they hope to avoid back-to-back missed postseasons in 2025. Monday’s triumph over Los Angeles was encouraging, and a couple of guys really need to step up down the stretch to ensure Minnesota is one of the last eight teams standing in the Western Conference come mid-April.