Sabres sending 2023 2nd and 2024 5th to Wild for Greenway https://t.co/PyQaRggb18

— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) March 3, 2023

Wild deal for Oskar Sundqvist

In a separate deal with the Detroit Red Wings, GM Bill Guerin traded away a 2023 4th round pick for 28-year-old depth winger, Oskar Sundqvist, to replace Greenway. Sundqvist has 7 goals and 14 assists on the season and has never topped 31 points in his career.

Sounds like Oskar Sundqvist is heading to the Wild

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) March 3, 2023

Wild acquire John Klingberg at bell

Then, just when it looked like the dust had settled, Guerin went back to the drawing board again, this time sending a 2025 5th rounder to the Anaheim Ducks for 30-year-old defenseman, John Klingberg (8 goals and 16 assists). Klingberg is known for his offense. He played most of his career in Dallas, where he earned an All-Star spot in 2018.

John Klingberg has been traded to Minnesota, the Ducks got it in just under the wire

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) March 3, 2023

John Klingberg return: #mnwild sending 4th in 2025, Andrej Sustr and rights to Nesterenko. Ducks retaining half the salary of Klingberg.

— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithNHL) March 3, 2023

Are the Wild deep all of a sudden?

That means both Alex Goligoski and Matt Dumba will remain on a roster that now looks extremely deep. While Guerin may not have been able to add a game-changing scorer or playmaking centerman like many fans hoped, he certainly made them more equipped to handle a run to and through the Western Conference playoffs. Especially should Nyquist be healthy and up to task before the postseason starts.

With #mnwild acquiring John Klingberg, they'll carry 8 D with Alex Goligoski staying put. As I reported this morning, it felt like they'd want a D and were willing to move Goligoski if he wanted. Now that he's staying, Goligoski/Addison may be the extras once Jonas Brodin is back

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 3, 2023

All acquisitions on Friday were for rental players on expiring contracts. The Wild did not retain any of Jordan Greenway’s salary so his trade will free up $3 million both of the next two seasons. The Wild will look to continue their hot streak on Saturday vs the drowning Calgary Flames.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

With the NHL trade deadline approaching, one of those names appears more likely to be moved than the other two. No, it isn’t Matt Dumba, who gets more and more untradeable by the game. At this point, it again looks like he could escape the trade monster.

Jordan Greenway Trade Imminent?

Insiders, like Michael Russo (The Athletic) aren’t sure the Wild will get an offer intriguing enough to move a top-4 defenseman that they still need in their lineup. Instead, it’s 26-year-old, Jordan Greenway, who Russo says is most likely to be dealt by the 2 PM CT, trade deadline on March 3.

Greenway is expendable because the Wild could re-sign pending restricted free agent Brandon Duhaime for probably half the price this offseason and stick him right to the left of Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno. At 25 years old and 6-foot-6, Greenway would probably be an intriguing name around the league despite his brutal season so far with the Wild. His production is nonexistent: two goals (one an empty-netter) and four assists in 29 games. Plus, he drew the ire of the club Jan. 8 when he overslept, missed pregame meetings and missed a game against St. Louis in the second half of a back-to-back. He put the lineup in an unacceptable bind and is now undoubtedly on the outs.

Michael Russo (The Athletic)

Bill Guerin hoped Greenway would take a step forward in 2022-23. Not only has that dream not come to pass but it’s turned to more of a nightmare. According to reports, Greenway’s healthy scratch in St. Louis earlier this month came after he missed multiple team meetings and showed up late on game night.

Production Fallout

And on the ice, his production has fallen off of a cliff, the opposite of the jump the Wild were hoping to see. His contract once looked like a bargain, but that $3 million per season that he makes is now more than what his play is worth.

Greenway’s point production has dropped into the 24th percentile, according to The Athletic, and he continues to get worse as the season progresses. He’s still a force on defense but that’s not enough to make up for his recent offensive deficiencies and how much of his defensive acumen can be attributed to playing on the same line as Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno?

No-Nonsense Bill Guerin

We know that Bill Guerin is a no-nonsense guy and it seems shocking he’d allow Jordan Greenway to stick around after antics that include missing meetings and being late to games. Especially when this locker room has a rising number of issues that continue to expose themselves publicly.

At 6’6″, 230 pounds and only (almost) 26 years old, Greenway should still have plenty of value on the open market and his contract is much more tradeable than, say, Matt Dumba’s. So if Guerin wants to pull the trigger on a trade that nets him that top-6 center his Wild so badly need, dangling Greenway feels like a perfect starting point.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Ryan Hartman Scratched

On Thursday morning, head coach Dean Evason told Paul Allen on KFAN Radio that Ryan Hartman will take his turn in the Xcel Energy Center press box tonight when the Wild play host to the Philadelphia Flyers. Evason made it clear that Hartman’s recent poor play and propensity to commit stupid penalties are the reason for his benching.

Dean Evason tells @PAOnTheMic on @KFAN1003 that Ryan Hartman will be scratched tonight for #mnwild due to his propensity of penalties.

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) January 26, 2023

The Wild’s issues run up and down the roster. Key contributors from last year’s team, like Marcus Foligno, Jordan Greenway and Ryan Hartman, have been shells of themselves so far this season. Pair that with disappointing first halves from Matt Boldy and Calen Addison, and it becomes easy to see why this team is struggling to remain part of the NHL playoff conversation.

Do the Minnesota Wild have locker room problems?

But problems bubbling below ice’s surface that might be even more concerning than the results on it. Recent reports suggest the Minnesota Wild have clear issues inside their locker room.

The most jarring reports surround Jordan Greenway, who (according to Michael Russo – The Athletic) has been missing meetings throughout the season and showing up late on game days. That sort of thing is unlike any reports of unprofessionalism within that we’ve heard about previously.

Greenway {arrived} significantly after the Wild’s 4 p.m. meetings for a 6 p.m. game against the Blues (Jan 8), multiple team sources told The Athletic.

While the Wild didn’t suspend him or fine him — teams often let captains levy fines into a player’s fund, Greenway also missed a meeting earlier this season. One thing is for certain: he drew the organization’s scorn with this latest misstep because he put the lineup in an incredible bind on a second of a back-to-back with no extra healthy forwards available to play.

Michael Russo (The Athletic – Jan 12, 2023)

Then there’s Matt Dumba, who was scratched for two straight games last week as trade rumors swirled. Dean Evason pointed to poor play but reports have come out since that some teammates were left scratching their heads on the timing.

Throw flammable material — like Hartman’s on-ice discipline issues and Alex Goligoski’s frustration at his lack of playing time — on top of this already smoking pile problems, and it seems like the entire 2022-23 campaign is in danger of going up in flames.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Oh, speaking of the 2022 draft, it takes place tonight. Like I said, there’s a lot happening. But freshest off the press, is an update on Jordan Greenway and Jon Merrill, who both underwent offseason “upper-body” surgery.

According to Michael Russo (The Athletic), Wild general manager, Bill Guerin, isn’t sure if either player will be available for the start of next season.

Guerin has confirmed both players could miss the start of the season https://t.co/lIVCWY0boz

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) July 7, 2022

Remember, the Minnesota Wild are short on money and short on depth. One also has to wonder if the Merrill injury could affect any ideas Guerin has to trade Matt Dumba. This could give Calen Addison a shot to start in St. Paul next season, too.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Wild find themselves needing to respond in the Stanley Cup qualifying round, after losing Game 2 to the Vancouver Canucks 4-3. Through those first two games, Kevin Fiala has been absurdly good but he can’t carry the team’s scoring by himself. If the Wild are going to win this series they’ll need more from a few different guys…. and a change at goalie.

MATS ZUCCARELLO, RW

After signing a lucrative five-year, $30 million dollar contract with the Wild last July, Zuccarello’s first two playoff games in a Wild sweater have been extremely underwhelming. With 75-career playoff games under his belt, you would expect Zuccarello to come out with a little bit more juice than he has.

The passing and vision is all there but he needs to start showing up on the scoresheet if the Wild have any hopes of getting past the Canucks. So far, Zuccarello has mustered up a complete goose egg in every statistical category. He just hasn’t seemed to mesh with current linemates Marcus Foligno and Alex Galchenyuk.

Zulgad: No return on investment: Mats Zuccarello’s underwhelming ways continue in Wild’s return https://t.co/H4QFmvk2Tn pic.twitter.com/1ZlclAvWf8

— SKOR North (@SKORNorth) August 5, 2020

MY SOLUTION: Bump Zuccarello up to the top-line with Eric Staal and Kevin Fiala.

JORDAN GREENWAY, LW

Coming in at a mammoth 6’6”, 225 lbs, Greenway has been gifted the tools to be a top power-forward in the NHL. There’s one problem though… he never seems to use those god-given talents while on the ice. He is a player that has the ability to change the momentum of the game with just one shift. I have seen way too much hesitancy in his game and not nearly enough grit and power. I want to see Greenway simplify his game. Dump pucks in, retrieve them, and go to work beneath the dots in the offensive zone with his linemates. It’s time for the big rig to play big again.

Luke Kunin and Jordan Greenway chirping from the bench. pic.twitter.com/g0SFHdeOdh

— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) August 3, 2020

MY SOLUTION: Get Greenway in a more simplified role and pair him back up with Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Foligno.

MATT DUMBA, D

Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin have had an incredible playoff series thus far. But it’s been a fairly quiet one for arguably the Wild’s most dynamic defenseman, Matt Dumba. With a stud like Quinn Hughes on the other side of things, the Wild need Dumba to get cooking before their steak is all burnt up. Like a lot of highly-skilled defensemen do from time-to-time, far too often I see Dumba trying to make that “perfect” play or attempting to force things that aren’t there.

The thing that makes Dumba great is his rocket of a shot from the blue line. He also brings a ton of physicality in the open ice. I don’t see the drought lasting much longer for Dumba. He is just one big goal or one big hit away from becoming himself again.

Matt Dumba literally saves a goal to keep the score 3-1. #mnwild #canucks pic.twitter.com/RBEiWaNOBe

— Giles Ferrell (@gilesferrell) August 5, 2020

MY SOLUTION: Put Dumba on the top power-play in place of Ryan Suter and let him drop bombs from the point.

WHO WILL DEAN EVASON PUT IN NET FOR GAME 3?

I would be crazy to blame that ugly game two loss against the Canucks on Alex Stalock. You could make the case that none of the four goals allowed were even his fault. Two of them were strange bounces and the other two were absolute snipe shows. That being said, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that Evason might be pondering the decision to go with Devan Dubnyk in game three (Thursday, 1:30 CT, FSN/NHLN).

Now why do I say this? Heading into this series, there was already uncertainty surrounding the Wild’s goaltending situation. Do they go with the experience of Dubnyk? Do they go with the hot-hand towards the end of the season in Stalock? Or do they even give the promising young Kaapo Kähkönen a look? Evason evidently chose to go with Stalock. While it worked in the first game, game two was a whole different story. The Wild got outplayed in just about every aspect of the game in Game 2.

TIME TO SHAKE THINGS UP

In my opinion, the Wild have always seemed to play better defensively when they have a calming presence in the blue paint. With his experience and calm demeanor, Dubnyk can provide that for the Wild. On the other side of things, Stalock’s roadrunner playing style has proven to bring anxiety to the lineup more often than not. You just can’t be swimming around in the crease with guys like Elias Petterson, Brock Boeser, J.T. Miller, Bo Horvat and co. lurking around in the shadows. All of the momentum is on the Canucks side right now. Changing your goaltender can help gain that momentum back heading into the game.

So, getting to my point, I think Stalock starting in net is more of a systematic issue for the Wild than a simple “this-guy-is-better-than-this-guy” one. Does Alex Stalock deserve to come out of the lineup? No. But I think this team has a better opportunity to win against a high-flying team off the rush like the Canucks with a veteran, calming presence in net. And you don’t think Dubnyk has a chip on his shoulder after losing his starting job this year? If it were me, I would go with Dubnyk in game three. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Jake Jensen | Minnesota Sports Fan