Sure, president of hockey operations Bill Guerin could be found wheeling and dealing throughout the last week. First, this time last Friday, the Wild trading away future draft capital to the Nashville Predators for semi-familiar forward Gustav Nyquist.

Then Thursday, Minnesota traded away 22 y/o center Marat Khusnutdinov and 24 y/o wing Jakub Lauko to the Boston Bruins for 27 y/o wing Justin Brazeau. But as other top contenders in the Western Conference were getting better on Friday, Guerin watched and sat on his hands.

Colorado Avalanche leave Minnesota Wild in the dust at NHL Trade Deadline

One of the most active teams at the NHL trade deadline this afternoon was Wild division rival, the Colorado Avalanche. They spent Friday swapping out multiple forwards, while also making upgrades on the blue line. The flurry of activity in Colorado today started right as the calendar was flipping from Thursday to Friday.

Across the hockey world, NHL fans woke up to notifications that the Avs had traded away 20 y/o top prospect Calum Ritchie and 27 y/o defenseman Oliver Kylington — along with a future 1st and 3rd round draft pick — to the New York Islanders, in exchange for 33 y/o Warroad native Brock Nelson and 23 y/o forward William Dufour, a top 10 prospect in the Avs system.

Brock Nelson is off to Denver!! 🏔️ #NHLTradeDeadline pic.twitter.com/GOQifR6gYd

— NHL (@NHL) March 7, 2025

The move for Nelson felt like a direct shot across the bow at their division rival, the Minnesota Wild. Remember, Michael Russo (The Athletic) and others around the league have been reporting on the Wild’s interest in bringing Nelson home ASAP, whether it happened via deadline trade or when he becomes a free agent this offseason.

Now that Nelson is on the roster of their biggest division rival, is it less likely that Brock returns to Minnesota and plays for his home state Wild next season? Only Brock Nelson and those around him can answer that question, but it certainly doesn’t make his homecoming more likely.

Avalanche brass can’t get Minnesota off their brain at trade deadline…

But the Colorado Avalanche were far from finished dealing, after they landed Nelson in the wee hours of Friday morning. This afternoon, the Avs must’ve realized they had too much Minnesota blood on their roster, after the Nelson acquisition.

Thus, the Wild’s top rival traded decided to trade 26 y/o Eden Prairie native, Casey Mittelstadt, to the Boston Bruins. Of course, the Minnesota Wild connections didn’t end there. In return for Mittelstadt, the Avalanche received 33 y/o former Wild fan favorite Charlie Coyle, who played the first 479 games of his NHL career in Minnesota.

We have acquired Charlie Coyle and a 2026 pick from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Casey Mittelstadt, William Zellers, and a 2025 pick. pic.twitter.com/yNozSyN2SS

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 7, 2025

I’m not trying to sound like the late, great Billy Mays selling you Oxyclean when you wake up with the TV on at 3 a.m. with this article… “but wait, there’s more!” No seriously, the Minnesota obsession in Colorado did not stop after the Mittelstadt for Coyle trade.

Related: MN Wild Forward Named Breakout Star to Watch at 2026 Olympics

Moments after that deal went final, the Avs must’ve felt regret for trading away one of the Minnesotans on the roster, because they immediately turned around and acquired another one from the Philadelphia Flyers, this time trading for Bloomington-born and MN raised, Erik Johnson, a 36-year-old defenseman who returns to Colorado, where he spent the best years of his career from 2010 to 2023.

We have acquired Erik Johnson from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Givani Smith. pic.twitter.com/eLpTLJforp

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 7, 2025

Look, I understand that there are a lot of Minnesota-born players in the NHL, but there was a different level of interest from the Avalanche today, in acquiring and dealing away guys with ties to the state of hockey. Even while Bill Guerin stayed quiet at the deadline, we were all up in the brain of those running the Avs front office at the deadline.

Entering last night, the Wild sat just one point ahead of the Avalanche and two points ahead of the Stars, for 1st place in the Central. The winner of the division gets to host a wildcard team in the first round of the playoffs. The 2nd and 3rd place teams face each other. So with only eight games remaining on the schedule, it was a must-win game for both Minnesota and Colorado.

Wild take control of Central

It took two Freddy Gaudreau shorthanded goals, including a 4 vs 6 empty-netter, and Filip Gustavsson stopping almost double the shots (42) as Avs goalie, Alexandar Georgiev (25), but the Wild pulled out a 4-2 victory.

BREAKAWAY MAGIC FROM PHONE BOOTH FRED ☎️#mnwild pic.twitter.com/Nq2spfy1wW

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 30, 2023

Filip Gustavsson makes two huge stops in quick succession to keep the Wild up by 2!#mnwild pic.twitter.com/3bxhh9L7hm

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) March 30, 2023

Colorado head coach afraid of the Wild

Those variables didn’t make Colorado head coach, Jared Bednar, feel any better about his team’s chances vs the “hottest/best team in the league”, should the Avs matchup vs the Wild, as the #2 and #3 seeds in a couple weeks.

“Certainly, we don’t want to run into the Wild in the first round if we can help it. They’re the hottest team in the league. … They’ve put the full package together. The last 20 games, they’re the best team in the league.”

Colorado Avalanche Head Coach, Jared Bednar (via The Athletic)

Now three points up on both the Avs and Stars, the Wild have put the rest of the Western Conference on notice. All they do is win, even without Kirill Kaprizov on the ice. Imagine how good they might look when he returns, which should be soon. Recent reports have Kirill getting back on the ice and skating without contact this week.

And clearly, even rival coaches have no problem telling the hockey world how afraid they are of playing a first round playoff series that goes through the State of Hockey.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Sturm is due to become a free agent after the season and the Wild were unlikely to re-sign him, so trading Nico away before the upcoming trade deadline wasn’t a surprise. GM Bill Guerin’s interest in Jost, however, has some hockey experts scratching their heads.

Jost Deal a Table-Setter?

Including Michael Russo (The Athletic) and Wild broadcaster, Anthony LaPanta (BSN), who racked their brains in a recent episode of their “Worst Seats In The House” Podcast. Both agree the Jost trade could be setting the table for more Wild moves that are yet to come.

Russo: “The interesting part of this trade that’s still, to me, is a little perplexing is that he’s still got a year left [on his contract] at $2 million. So now you tighten things up even more. Unless you’re planning on trading [Jost] this offseason, or somebody else. If the math was hard before to resign Fiala, they’re either saying ‘we’re not doing it’ or they’re planning on moving other guys like Kulikov or even somebody else in the near future.”

Russo: “They’re either acting impulsively to try and fix this season. Or, they’ve got other plans, right now, that we just haven’t figured out exactly what’s going on here.”

LaPanta: “I would guess the latter, rather than the former there.”

Wild Need to Fix Problems Quickly

Tyson Jost is a UND alum who, as the 10th overall pick in the 2016 NHL draft, never lived up to his expectations with the Avalanche. He was relegated to a bottom-six role in Colorado, which is where he’ll start in Minnesota. Still, it’s possible that new scenery will spark better play for Jost. Guerin also hopes some new blood will add some energy on the ice and in the locker room.

An eastern conference playoff team in the Boston Bruins come to Xcel Energy Center on Wednesday night with the Wild’s own playoff aspirations feeling less guaranteed as each game passes. They’ve now lost 10 of their last 14, a stretch that has pushed them down the western conference standings and into the first of two Wildcard playoff spots. Only five points now separates the Wild from falling out of the playoffs completely. Fall one more spot and they’d have to face the Av’s in a first round matchup that’d be nearly impossible to win.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan