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NHL Trade Rumors: Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin Wants More After Winning Quinn Hughes Sweepstakes

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
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NHL Trade Rumors: Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin Wants More After Winning Quinn Hughes Sweepstakes

In the first four games after Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin won the NHL trade sweepstakes and snared defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks, the Minnesota Wild went 4-0, outscoring their opponents, 21-6. 

In nine games since the Dec. 12 blockbluster, the Wild have gone 7-1-2. 

Guerin is not content. 

NHL trade rumors continue to circulate, suggesting the Wild’s roster remains fluid. 

With the Wild failing to secure a playoff series win in seven attempts since 2017, Guerin seeks to surround his newly acquired defensive game-changer with additional assets.

In 25 seasons, the franchise remains shut out of Stanley Cup celebrations.

Can Guerin engineer another deal or two to flank Hughes with enough support to end that streak?

NHL Trade Rumors: Will GM Bill Guerin Go Wild?

 

Adding Hughes with left winger Kirill Kaprizov, the Wild can deploy one of the league’s top inside-out combinations.  

In the three weeks since Guerin reportedly outbid Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman, among others, for Hughes, the Wild’s veteran core rewarded the front office by buying into their aggressive transaction. 

Yzerman apparently had a deal in place, but balked at trading away 22-year-old defenseman Simon Edvinsson. Guerin didn’t hesitate. 

The Wild are proving to possess goaltending with Filip Gustavsson and Jesper Wallstedt, both of whom were selected for Sweden’s Winter Olympic team. 

They have proven scorers on the wings. Kaprizov and Matt Boldy pace the Wild in scoring with 47 points each. With Marcus Johansson (32 points), the team’s top three scorers are left wingers. 

With approximately $13 million in projected cap space available at the NHL trade deadline, Guerin appears to have the resources earmarked to add a top-six center, their roster’s biggest need. 

 Entering Friday, the Colorado Avalanche (30-2-7) paced the Central Division with 67 points. The third-place Wild (24-10-7) trailed the Dallas Stars (25-9-7) by two points in the standings. 

Focused on competing for the Stanley Cup this season – Hughes is scheduled to become a free agent after next season – Guerin could target a move before February’s Olympic trade freeze or the trade deadline in March.   

Two of his targets could include Nashville Predators veteran Ryan O’Reilly or Calgary Flames center Nazem Kadri? 

Do Hughes and Kaprizov need extra help? 

Jeff Hawkins Written by Sports EditorJeff Hawkins
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  
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