Will MN Wild Trade Back into 1st Round of NHL Draft?

The Minnesota Wild have a table at the Peacock Theater Friday night, when the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft is held in Los Angeles, starting at 6:00 p.m. CDT. What they won’t have is a pick to use, after they traded it to Columbus during the regular season for 21-year-old defenseman, David Jiricek.

But that doesn’t mean president of hockey operations Bill Guerin will just sit on his hands all evening, right? After all, the MN Wild are about to be loaded up with over $17 million in salary cap space come July 1, when the new league year kicks in and the majority of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter’s contract buyout penalties finally fall off.

Geurin still has to get Kirill Kaprizov under a new deal that is expected to be worth over $15 million per season. The Marco Rossi conundrum still looms large, too. On top of that, Guerin has reportedly shown interest in top free agents like Brock Boeser and Charlie Coyle.

So, should Minnesota Wild fans be glued to their television sets on Friday night, in anticipation of Guerin busting out a big, unexpected move up the draft board and back into the first round?

Are Minnesota Wild planning to get splashy tonight in NHL Draft?

Well, Billy got on KFAN Radio on Friday morning, just hours prior to the start of the NHL Draft. There, he was asked by 92 Noon host (and voice of the Vikings) Paul Allen if there are any big deals being cooked up for tonight.

From the sounds of it, the answer to that question is “no”, though Guerin did leave a small crack in the door to let off some surprise fireworks tonight, just in case something he does not currently see coming lands in the Minnesota Wild’s lap.

PA: “Any chance you get splashy and move way, way up to get into the first round?”

Guerin: “I don’t see it. I just don’t see it. I don’t know. But you never know, you never know.”

PA: “Yeah, getting up from 52 to 4, 5, 6, 7, 8… that’s probably impossible, right?”

Guerin: “Yeah, it’s probably impossible. But like I said, you never know.”

“‘Nine to Noon” w/Paul Allen (KFAN)

What is going on with this NHL offseason?

Guerin also talked with PA about how strange the markets are this offseason. He noted the increased number of NHL teams who fancy themselves as contenders in 2025-26, something that has made acquiring talent through trades extremely difficult.

Free agency is moving slow, too. Prices are extremely high and many players are avoiding long-term contracts, given the imminent increases in the NHL salary cap, over the next few seasons.

Related: MN Wild’s Latest Lowball Offer to Marco Rossi was Borderline Disrespectful

One thing Bill Guerin has been preaching this week, at nauseum, is patience. He’s made it clear that July 1 no longer represents this landfall date for the Minnesota Wild, where they’ll suddenly start throwing money and weight all over the place.

Guerin wants to play this offseason smart, and that doesn’t appear to include a massive trade up the draft board Friday night, that lands the MN Wild back in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft. But as he said, “you never know”.