You think Bill Guerin is motivated to make another move before the March 6 NHL trade deadline?
Absolutely, he is.
The Minnesota Wild president of hockey operations and general manager likes being aggressive. Likes bold moves. And Guerin told The Athletic that the Quinn Hughes blockbuster in mid-December has put the franchise “more in a win-now mode than we’ve ever been.”
But Guerin also knows he has limited high-level trade chips left in his holster after giving up another first-round pick plus top young players Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren in the Hughes deal.
Charlie Stramel and Jesper Wallstedt are possibilities if the deal is right. But you can only trade those guys once.
What if it makes more sense for the Wild to take their big swing in the summer?
“That’s a really good question, because that’s probably the biggest thing that goes through my brain all the time is, ‘Patience, patience, patience.’” Guerin said on the latest “Fellowship of the Rink” podcast. “And if it doesn’t happen now, maybe it’s not meant to be? Maybe there’s something bigger in the summer? We were patient. You don’t think a player like Quinn Hughes becomes available, but look at how early in the season he did become available.
“So I have to look at the history of things to help me be patient. I’ve always said, ‘No knee-jerk moves.’ I’m not always true to myself on that. But I try to be. We really try to weigh the pros and cons.”
New York Rangers center Vincent Trocheck is one player who could make sense for the Wild. There are other centers and forwards on the market, too, and the Wild are canvassing their options.
“I’d like to add a forward at some point in time if it makes sense,” Guerin said. “If we can do it. It’s always talked about, with our team, adding a center. Of course, we’d love to have a center. I think 32 teams would love to have a center. If you can’t do it, maybe we pivot to a wing. But it all really just has to make sense when we’re doing it.
“You know me. I like to be aggressive. But I like to try to be smart. It’s not always the easiest thing for me. But I have really smart people around me and guys who aren’t afraid to tell me, ‘No,’ or, ‘Don’t do this,’ or, ‘Maybe try this.’ I’ve got great support helping me make decisions.”
A key question for the Wild is what they’re willing to give up. Their cupboard isn’t bare, but their prospect pool doesn’t have many high-end guys left as chips for a trade. Wallstedt is one player who could be moved in the right deal, likely for a top-flight forward, with Filip Gustavsson under contract through 2030-31.
When asked if he had any untouchables, this is how Guerin put it.
“I don’t believe in that,” Guerin said. “I always go back and say, ‘Hey, look, Wayne Gretzky got traded. Wayne played on four teams. Mark Messier got traded. He played on three teams. Eric Lindros. A lot of great players like (Steve) Yzerman and (Joe) Sakic played on one team. But great players get traded, too. So sometimes you just have to be patient. Nobody is untouchable. But you always have to think of who you’re actually getting and what that’s doing for your team.
“What Quinn has done for our team and our market — not that those other guys (in the trade) are not good players or are going to be great players; they might, but it’s not right now.”
With the roster freeze set at 2 p.m. Central on Wednesday through Feb. 22, Guerin’s focus will shift to the Olympics in Milan. He’ll head there this week to see if the team he built can bring home gold. As GM of Team USA, he knows not everybody is happy with the roster.
What was the hardest part?
“I think leaving some players off — players that deserve maybe better,” Guerin said. “But we have to build a team. We have to fill roles. We have to do all those things. I understand people don’t like to see that or understand that or agree with it, and that’s fine. But I have to make hard decisions, and you see some of the guys that didn’t make the team — Jason Robertson, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, three world-class players; they could easily be on the team — but I had to make other decisions. And that was the most difficult part.”
The players that Guerin might get the most criticism for including are Rangers forwards Trocheck and J.T. Miller, who are having off years on a struggling team. Guerin said there’s more that goes into it, though, including their strengths and roles on the team.
“I’m a big believer in body of work, and I’m a big believer in roles those players can fill,” Guerin said. “They’re elite offensive players, but they also are elite penalty killers, faceoff guys. They can do so many things. They are very versatile. And that was one of the things I really had to look at.”
Versatility played a role in Jackson Lacombe being the next guy up on the blue line when they had to make an injury replacement for Seth Jones.
“He plays power play. He kills a ton of penalties,” Guerin said. “He’s a great skater, big body. He plays on the left and the right. Those are the things if we start getting into injury problems, who can go where? If we have guys that have the ability to play multiple positions and do all those sorts of things, then that’s really it.”
