That was supposed to mean president of hockey operations Bill Guerin wouldn’t be alloted any additional cap space to make much of an impact before Friday’s deadline. That, of course, was after the Wild traded for familiar face, Gustav Nyquist.

Minnesota Wild trade away Khusnutdinov, Lauko to Bruins for Justin Brazeau

Now, just a few days later, Billy has found yet another way to wheel and deal, despite Minnesota’s tight cap situation. This time, he has dealt away two forwards — Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko — to the Boston Bruins in exchange for 27-year-old Canadian winger Justin Brazeau.

Brazeau has 10 goals, 20 points and 89 hits on the season, in rather limited ice time (12:58 TOI). He’s a big body forward who will immediately provide a presence in front of the net, until Eriksson Ek returns. The trade was first broken by Kevin Weekes (ESPN, NHL Network), who got the scoop fresh out of surgery.

**Breaking News** 🚨 📰
I’m told @mnwild are trading F Khusnutdinov and F Lauko to the @NHLBruins . #HockeyX
Side note, fresh outta surgery so I’m not that sharp LOL 😂 pic.twitter.com/Iixv4SXynn

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) March 7, 2025

For the amount of time on ice that Justin Brazeau receives on a nightly basis, his statistics this season are really impressive. He averages 3rd line minutes, but ranks top seven on the Bruins in goals and top 10 in both assists and points. The 6’6″, 227 lb former OHL North Bay Battalion star also played 86.2 minutes on the power play for Boston this season, where he scored four of his 10 goals on the year.

Related: With Stars Expected Back, MN Wild Preparing for Underwhelming NHL Trade Deadline

Brazeau was the only skater for Boston who scored more than ten goals but averaged less than 17.5 minutes of ice time per game. Our old friend Charlie Coyle is next down that list, with 17:38 average TOI (15 goals). No doubt Justin Brazeau represents a type of NHL talent that neither Khusnutdinov nor Lauko provided at this point in their careers.

113 points in 68 games for the OHL’s North Bay Battalion in 2018-2019 btw…and wore the “C”

The Justin Brazeau Experience #NHLBruins | @BruinSomethin pic.twitter.com/829wOTib7z

— Michael Sullivan (@_MikeSullivan) May 7, 2024

Justin Brazeau converts on the power play.

1-0 Bruins. pic.twitter.com/n0MZ8Ajmya

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) December 24, 2024

Lauko, a 2018 3rd round pick out of the Czech Republic, left Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury, and did not return. The 24-year-old has played 24 games this season with the Wild, potting two goals and helping on two more (4 points).

Related: How to Watch the NHL Winter Classic in 2024

Minnesota Wild call up Jesper Wallstedt under emergency conditions

The Czech star out of Prague played the first two years of his NHL career with the Boston Bruins, who drafted him No. 77 overall six years ago. According to Michael Russo (The Athletic), the emergency recall of Wallstedt likely means “something’s up” with either Filip Gustavsson or Marc-Andre Fleury.

Jakub Lauko has been placed on IR, so he has to miss at least 7 days. Jesper Wallstedt has been recalled under emergency conditions, so something's up with Gustavsson or Fleury. Gustavsson did back up Fleury tonight. #mnwild

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) December 15, 2024

Fleury minded the Minnesota Wild net for the entirety of today’s win vs the Flyers, and Gustavsson was on the bench, assumedly ready to back him up. Still, nobody has a better feel for the team they cover in all of the NHL, than Russo. He wouldn’t tweet about an assumed injury, unless he was very sure in his assumption.

So, as we await news on the two veteran Wild goaltenders on roster, let’s dig into this emergency call-up of top goalie prospect, Jesper Wallstedt, who is having a season to forget, between St. Paul and Des Moines. Remember, Wallstedt was supposed to be part of a three-headed net-minding monster, between he, Gus Bus and Flower.

Related: Minnesota Wild Reveal Bad News Injury Update on Jake Middleton

Only after Minnesota rose to the top of the NHL standings, behind Gustavsson, who has been one of the best goalies in the league, through 30 games, did the Wild shift their plans and demote Wallstedt back to Iowa, where he has not been very good — 5-6-1 | 3.77 goals against average | .874 save percentage.

Still, that hasn’t shaken Bill Guerin’s confidence in the future of Jesper Wallstedt. He is still expected to get a bunch of games next season, and eventually take over the net for the next decade. Just last season, Wallstedt went 22-19-6 down in Iowa, with a 2.70 GAA and .910 save percentage.

Get well soon, Jacub Lauko…

Just one game after Jakub Lauko made a name for himself among the Minnesota Wild fanbase, when he got into a haymaker-fueled throwdown with 24-year-old Edmonton Oilers defenseman Ty Emberson, and came out on top of one of the best fights of the 2024-25 NHL season, so far. Now, he’ll be out of the Wild lineup for at least a week.

CENTER ICE THROW DOWN 🥊 pic.twitter.com/UY6NZmAqtU

— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) December 13, 2024