Revealed: Minnesota Wild Top Trade Target
The Minnesota Wild restarted their 2026 regular season on Thursday with a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche, then followed that up Friday with a 5-2 loss vs the Utah Mammoth, snapping a six-game win streak going in.
Meanwhile, Wild president of hockey operations Bill Guerin appears more determined to make another blockbuster trade between now and the NHL trade deadline next week (Friday, March 6).
But who is Billy G. targeting?
Minnesota Wild working phones on centers before NHL trade deadline
We know the Wild are trying to get their hands on an high-caliber center, and in a piece co-authored today at The Athletic by Michael Russo and Joe Smith, they have been calling on every single center rumored to be available.
They specifically name Blues 26-year-old star Robert Thomas (Blues) as “gettable” if Guerin is willing to completely empty out the Iowa farm system + young Swedish Olympic goalie, Jesper Wallstedt.
The Wild are also monitoring the other top available centers –> Nazem Kadri (Flames), Ryan O’Reilly (Predators) and Charlie Coyle (Blue Jackets).
There’s no doubt Bill Guerin has been sizing up the center market and has called on everybody from Robert Thomas to Nazem Kadri to Ryan O’Reilly to Charlie Coyle.
If Guerin wants to swing for the fences and is willing to part with significant assets, likely including goalie Jesper Wallstedt, Thomas would fit the bill. But the moment you give up Wallstedt, that likely takes you out of big-game hunting this offseason or into next season.
The Athletic
Related: MN Wild Patiently Waiting to Unite Hughes Brothers?
If you have been paying attention, you know that the Wild have been dangling Wallstedt in front of losing teams with talented forwards on the trade block since before the Olympic break.
When Minnesota drafted the now 23-year-old with the No. 20 pick back in 2021, he was one of the most can’t-miss goalie prospects since Marc-Andre Fleury was selected with the first overall pick in 2003. However, a difficult 2025, combined with the rise of fellow-countryman Filip Gustavsson, have made Wallstedt expendable.
Minnesota Wild No. 1 target: Vincent Trocheck
That doesn’t mean Wallstedt is as good as gone, though. Guerin is reportedly nervous that putting all of his eggs into one 2025-26 basket could cost the Wild an even better trade opportunity down the road.
What Minnesota would like to do, according to The Athletic, is find a way to land New York Rangers 32-year-old stud center Vincent Trocheck, who also played a major role in Team USA’s Gold Medal in Milan.
The Wild’s top target is Trocheck, the New York Rangers veteran who just won a gold medal in Milan with Quinn Hughes, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber.
The Athletic
But can they get it done without including Wallsted… and if not, will Guerin part with his 23-year-old top goalie prospect in exchange for a center who is far closer to the end of his career than the beginning?
Because (surprise) the Wild aren’t the only team looking for a veteran talent up the middle on a reasonable contract. While he might not cost as much as some of the other centers mentioned above, Trocheck has a lot of pursuers and certainly won’t be cheap.
Trocheck has three years left on his contract with a $5.625 million average annual value. Because his contract is reasonable and there’s such a dearth at the center position in the NHL, he will be highly coveted this week, and you can bet Rangers general manager Chris Drury will try to squeeze the best deal out of all interested teams. So the Wild will have to decide whether they’re willing to give up the price required to get Trocheck, knowing the more assets they trade now, the more difficult it’ll be to go after a big fish this summer or next season.
The Athletic
Trocheck is the exact type of top-six center the Wild are looking for. He’s scored 20 or more goals and 50+ points in each of the past four seasons and he’s arguably the best faceoff man in the NHL. Just as important, the New York Rangers’ alternate captain would be an incredible addition to the locker room.
Related: MN Wild Olympic Star Adds SNL and Tonight Show to Insane Schedule
That again brings more questions about how many of his chips Billy wants to push into the pot for this 2026 run, if it means he doesn’t have anything left to work with in the future.
What about Steven Stamkos?
On Thursday, The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun reported that Nashville Predators forward Steven Stamkos would accept a trade to three teams, the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Minnesota Wild.
At 36 years old, Stamkos isn’t playing center this year for the Predators, instead slotting in on either side of Ryan O’Reilly on Nashville’s top line. Of course, that doesn’t mean he couldn’t play some center for the Wild, and he would undoubtedly cost less than what Trocheck or other centers will.
A recent report from Emily Kaplan (ESPN) says Minnesota Wild talks with Nashville surrounding Stamkos have centered around former first round pick Charlie Stramel, who’s having a standout season right now at Michigan State.
Here is Emily Kaplan via The Point on Vincent Trocheck. She believes he will get dealt at the deadline. Mentioned Minnesota. I do recall seeing @DobberHockey putting up the exact trade she mentioned. #nyr @92In82 pic.twitter.com/KmXwdOQU2g
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) February 26, 2026
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