Who says no? Evaluating your Wild trade proposals, from Boeser to Marchand to … McDavid
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild are likely done making moves by Friday's trade deadline.
They've got no cap space, especially after Saturday's deal for Gustav Nyquist. So unless there's a legitimate hockey trade — dollar in, dollar out — to be made, it could be a pretty boring rest of the week.
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That being said, as president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin put it, 'You never know.'
'I'm not kicking my feet up and just taking a break,' Guerin said.
Well, Michael Russo is.
My good buddy and teammate at The Athletic really hung me out to dry this week, declining to participate in this 'Who Says No?' assignment. All I had to do was go through your 498 responses and comments, many of which were … far-fetched.
Well, Russo, enjoy that first-class Delta seat next to Dylan Larkin. I've got some work to do.
For the sake of this exercise, I (mercifully) narrowed down your trade proposals to ones that were more hockey trades instead of futures (for picks and prospects), because the Wild would need the money to work. And we've asked a long-time NHL executive to help break down your pitches — silly or not.
And, no, the Wild aren't getting Sidney Crosby for a second-round pick.
Wild insider: Bill Guerin on Nyquist trade, Khusnutdinov demotion and trade deadline plan
From @RussoHockey and me https://t.co/EqBsignoRA
— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) March 3, 2025
(Note: Some proposals are edited for length and clarity.)
Ryan Hartman and a 2025 second-rounder to the Predators for Ryan O'Reilly
— Hunter M.
Exec: I guess you'd have to like Hartman. Hartman has started to pencil himself in as just a knucklehead running around taking bad penalties so I'm not sure that one gets done. I don't see that one being advantageous to (Nashville). I think it would have to be a first-rounder because I don't think Hartman has much value. He used to, but I think he's diminished his value with his antics. I like his compete, but he can't compete, it doesn't seem, without taking bad penalties. So I think he's put himself in a position where he's devalued himself. Old Ryan Hartman and the second-round pick would have gotten that done all day long, but I'm not sure now. If you had two second-round picks with Ryan Hartman or a first this year, it would get it done.
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Smith: Hartman returns Tuesday from his eight-game suspension (the fifth suspension of his career), so we can see why patience is running thin among Wild fans. Guerin said they expect Hartman on his 'best behavior' and made it clear there's 'no more leeway' for the veteran forward. That holds true with the officials, who will be watching him like a hawk. Most likely it holds true for the organization, too. It'll be interesting to see how Hartman plays down the stretch, because they really need him with all the injuries. A key reminder here regarding any trade: Hartman has a full no-move clause this season. We like to joke that O'Reilly is considered among the best centers in Wild franchise history (for those eight minutes he was part of the team in a brokered three-way deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs two years ago). The Predators will give O'Reilly a say in where he lands, and it'll need to be a strong package.
Marco Rossi and a 2026 second for Dylan Cozens
— Jason H.
Exec: I think that's a reasonable one, (but) I'm not sure Buffalo would do it for Rossi because if you look at the Buffalo farm team, they have some Marco Rossis coming. … You're trading away a great big, aggressive forward for a smaller forward. They have two smaller forwards in (Konsta) Helenius and (Noah) Ostlund, a Swede, who are both 5-foot-11 skilled centers that can fill that role that Marco Rossi would fill. So the value is probably OK, but I'm not sure the fit is what Buffalo would want.
Smith: We know the Wild like Cozens, a young center who is in year two of a seven-year deal with a $7.1 million cap hit. Despite Cozens' down year, there's a lot of upside. And that cap hit is probably in the range of what Rossi will seek on a long-term deal this summer as a restricted free agent. It would be very difficult for the money to work on a deadline deal. And while Rossi might be in the trade market this summer, depending on how contract talks go, it's hard to see him getting moved this week. He's currently their No. 1 center with all the injuries.
Brock Faber and Liam Ohgren for Kevin Fiala and a first-rounder
— Kyle M.
Exec: That's kind of funny. All good players. A first-round pick always has value.
Smith: I see what you did there, Kyle. Very clever. Faber was traded to Minnesota, along with a first-round pick, a couple of years ago for Fiala. Our bet is that if they had to do it over again, the Kings would have lost Guerin's phone number when he called about Faber back then.
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Jonas Brodin and Charlie Stramel to Sabres for Dylan Cozens
— Tom S.
Exec: That's got some potential. I'm not sure that Buffalo needs another left-shot D (along with Rasmus Dahlin, Bowen Byram, Owen Powers and Mattias Samuelsson). And then they have a couple more depth guys and they've got another young guy coming, so I don't know that they're looking to add another left shot demon. Brodin plays right side a lot. That has value. So that's not totally far-fetched. I don't think that one's really out of the line. Cozens is … one of my favorite guys. As a junior, I thought he was can't-miss. It was just, could he play first line, second line, or would he be third line? And I'm not sure yet whether he's a first, second or third line — and if he's a center or a winger — but he's a top-nine forward all day long that's big, works hard, has a great attitude and that can score some points. So he's a really good player coming back. That trade could have some merit if they use Stramel to replace Cozens and they get Brodin and they view him as a left shot but a comfortable guy on the right side. That's a decent trade for both teams.
Smith: Again, the Wild like Cozens. And there has to be some injury concern about Brodin. With touted prospect Zeev Buium coming soon on the left side, there's more depth there than before. Stramel has improved his value with a bounce-back season at Michigan State. This idea isn't as far-fetched as the others, but I don't see it happening.
Hartman, Hunter Haight and a second-rounder to Canucks for Brock Boeser
— Skyler S.
Exec: No chance. I don't think so. I think Vancouver has to keep Boeser to try to make the playoffs. So I don't think Vancouver is going to trade Boeser. I think Vancouver is probably under some heat to perform this year. So even though Boeser is going to be a UFA, Hunter Haight is not a lock to be a player. Like I said before, I think Hartman's devalued himself. And those guys aren't going to help Vancouver make the playoffs right now, which I think is important for Vancouver. They're gonna take a lot of heat if they don't make the playoffs.
Smith: I could see the Wild really pursuing Boeser this summer as a UFA, but it's hard to imagine them giving up a ton of assets at the deadline when he's expected to be available in a few months. The Wild aren't just one player away from winning a Cup. And the Canucks would probably ask for more, too.
Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and two first-round picks to the Oilers for Connor McDavid
— Patrick G.
Exec: That's not a bad return for McDavid, but Edmonton can't trade McDavid. He's the best player in the world, still in his prime. They did it once with (Wayne) Gretzky, and the franchise took 20 years to recover. I don't think they'll do it again. It's not an unfair return. Kaprizov and Boldy are really good players. And for the Wild, nothing is too much to get the best player in the world.
Smith: Why stop there? McDavid is going to look really good next to Mitch Marner and Mikko Rantanen when they sign with the Wild this summer.
Rossi, Liam Ohgren and a first-round pick for Brady Tkachuk
— Ringatorp E.
Exec: You know, on the surface, that's not bad. And I'm not as big a Brady fan as Ottawa seems to be. I think he's more disruptive than he is positive a lot of times. So there's been some rumblings that he's gonna want out of Ottawa. If he doesn't want out of Ottawa, they built him up to be this semi-god in Ottawa where he's gonna be their leader going forward. So I don't know that they would actually trade him, but that return if they decided they wanna trade him isn't bad. I think it's too much for Minnesota for the Brady Tkachuk that's going to come in. He's a good player and he runs around, but a lot of his nonsense happens when the team's behind, and then it's just kind of a sideshow. He's a really good player, but he's not — I don't think he's his brother. And I don't think he's an elite guy on the first line. I think he's a good top-six forward that can help you out if he can control his emotions. So Minnesota is giving up a lot to get that guy.'
Smith: Man, Wild fans must have really tuned into the 4 Nations Face-Off considering all the proposals for the Tkachuk brothers.
Ryan Hartman, Carson Lambos, a 2025 second-round pick and a 2026 second-round pick to Bruins for Brad Marchand
— Happy R.
Exec: I don't know how Carson Lambos is doing. He ended his junior career just OK. I thought as he came into junior, he was really good, and I think he plateaued. So I don't know how he's done in the AHL, if he still has value or not. If he had the value that he did when he was first drafted and when he came into junior, that's a good trade for both sides, I think. And everybody wants Marchand even though he's not the Marchand of old. I guess I don't know if Lambos' value is enough to say if that has any validity to it. That's what happens with fans. They say, 'Well, we're trading you a first-round pick.' But if he hasn't produced and progressed, then that pick is absolutely useless. You get excited getting a first-round pick because it opens lots of possibilities for you. Of first-round picks, only two-thirds of them ever play regularly in the NHL. Not stars, just play 200 games. You look at the first round — one-third of them usually don't turn out to be good NHL players. So if you've got a first-round pick and he's not progressing, that's a useless asset.
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Smith: I'm pretty sure most GMs would like to have Marchand on their team, but I doubt he gets traded from the Bruins.
Trevor Zegras for Ryan Hartman … suspension for suspension. Seems like an even swap
— Brandon Z.
Exec: Zero chance. If Zegras goes, which I think (the Ducks) will get fed up with him, they're going to get a good player. He's not going to take on someone else's problem for Zegras. Zegras could explode as a player. They'll get a good player back when they trade.
Smith: The Wild don't seem to be big fans of Zegras, so he probably wouldn't be high on their list anyway.
Kaprizov, Mats Zuccarello, Declan Chisholm to the Panthers for Matthew Tkachuk
— Steve G.
Exec: Florida is never going to trade Matthew Tkachuk. If they did, they'd need Kaprizov and another really good player. Like a good prospect. Kaprizov is a great player. I think they're not going to trade a player with Tkachuk's abrasive style for another guy who is a pure offensive guy because they had that with (Jonathan) Huberdeau. It'd have to be Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek or someone like that. I like Ek a lot. You get a first-line left winger to replace Tkachuk, but you need another good forward or a really elite prospect. Like an Ek to replace (Sam) Bennett. Now you're talking a trade that might interest them. But I don't think there's any chance they trade Tkachuk. He's got folk-hero status there.
Smith: I don't believe the Wild are going to trade Kaprizov (at least, unless negotiations in the next year go really sideways). And for how much Florida gave up for Tkachuk, and him rewarding their faith with a Cup, he's not going anywhere either.
Russo: I insisted on making a cameo. Bill Zito was a firm 'no' on this … until Declan Chisholm was thrown in as a sweetener. Then he was like, 'Now we have to trade Tkachuk! Do it before they change their mind!'
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Hartman, Ohgren, Danila Yurov, Lambos and a first-round pick to Senators for Brady Tkachuk
— Steve G.
Exec: There's the Toronto Maple Leaf (fan) trade. We're gonna give Hartman away because we don't like them, but you should, and we're gonna give you Lambos who hasn't done anything, but he was a first-round pick, so you should like him. Like it's a whole bunch of nothing. We're gonna give you four pieces, none of which are ever going to turn out potentially, and you should be happy to get those for your best player or one of your best players. Danila Yurov is good. He's a legitimate prospect. But it's not enough for Brady Tkachuk.
Smith: Thanks, Steve G., for sending over a potential Wild lineup with the Tkachuk brothers on a top line with Rossi. That must have been fun to put together. Heck, that's what this whole 'who says no' exercise is all about. I'm just bummed that Russo missed out on (most of) this.
(Top photo of Brock Boeser: Nick Wosika / Getty Images)
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