Minnesota Wild Lose Draft Guru to Toronto
The Minnesota Wild are going to see some major changes this offseason, no matter which way you slice it. Most of those changes will be on the ice, where team president of hockey operations Bill Guerin made it extremely clear during his end-of-season press conference that no player is off the table during trade talks.
If the right deal presents itself, Billy and his front office will do everything in their power to add an elite talent at forward, preferably a center. One place they won’t get an opportunity to reel in that type of talent is in the 2026 NHL Draft, which will take place later this month (June 26-27).
As was the case last year, the Minnesota Wild do not have a first round pick in 2026. It was traded away as part of the massive package sent to Vancouver, in exchange for Quinn Hughes. In fact, the Wild don’t have a second round selection this year either. Billy traded that to Nashville last year for Gustav Nyquist
Minnesota Wild lose Judd Brackett to Toronto
Maybe Minnesota’s lack of draft capital played a role in Guerin’s draft guru, Judd Brackett, leaving the organization on Monday. For the past five years, Brackett’s official title with the MN Wild was director of amateur scouting.
This morning, news broke that Brackett isn’t just leaving St. Paul, MN — but the United States of America, after accepting an offer to become the Toronto Maple Leafs new assistant manager.
We have appointed Judd Brackett as Assistant General Manager, Player Evaluation, and Freddie Hamilton as Chief of Staff. pic.twitter.com/3HwXpi0toG
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) June 1, 2026
Obviously, with the draft just a couple of months away, the timing of Brackett’s departure isn’t ideal. But that’s how life works in professional sports sometimes.
As much as the Wild value their draft guru — who played a key role in drafting a handful of first round picks that made Minnesota’s farm system one of the best in hockey, leading up to the Quinn Hughes trade — they already have three assistant GMs on Guerin’s staff.
Guerin didn’t have room to promote Brackett
According to Michael Russo (The Athletic), Guerin offered Brackett — who was in the final year of his contract with the Wild — a contract extension back in December that he never signed. And unfortunately, there was no room for a promotion in Minnesota.
So now, the MN Wild will now entrust AGM Matt Sells — along with director of European scouting, Ricard Persson — to take control of the organization’s 2026 draft plans.
The Wild offered him an extension in December, but Brackett was seeking more responsibility and an elevated role with the franchise. With three assistant GMs — Mat Sells, Chris Kelleher and Mike Murray — promoting Brackett was not something Wild GM and president of hockey operations Bill Guerin was willing to do.
Brackett will not run the Wild’s draft this month. Sells and director of European scouting Ricard Persson are expected to run the draft until Guerin opens the director of amateur scouting role to internal and external candidates.
Michael Russo – The Athletic
Related: Icy Relations Between MN Wild and Russian Agent Could Doom Contract Extension
Who knows how many draft picks the Minnesota Wild will have in either of the next two drafts, given what Bill Guerin plans to do this offseason. Obviously, the raise and promotion to assistant GM would be reason enough alone to leave.
But let’s be honest… who would want to be the Wild’s director of amateur scouting right now? That has to be top-10 most frustrating high-level executive jobs in all of pro sports, given how trigger happy Bill Guerin has been in trading away draft capital.
Personally, I love Guerin’s aggressive approach. But I can’t imagine it was all that fun for Brackett.
More About:Minnesota Wild
