That 2nd-round pick will become a 1st-round pick if the Wild advance to the 3rd round of the 2022 NHL Playoffs and Fleury is the winning goalie in four or more games, in each of the first two rounds. Earlier in the morning, it was reported that the deal would get across the finish line as long as Fleury agreed to waive his no-trade clause.

Second-rounder will be a first if the #mnwild win two rounds and Fleury wins at least 4 games in those rounds https://t.co/se6uNfjK0d

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 21, 2022

Shaky Fleury Looks to Find Game With Wild

The Blackhawks had been asking for a 1st-round pick, in return for Fleury. That may have changed on Sunday night, after Chicago inexplicably started MAF in net against the Jets. He and the Hawks melted down in the 2nd period and he gave up 5 total goals on the game.

MAF has struggled all season long, posting a 2.95 GAA with a save percentage of just .908. He ranks in the back-half of the league in just about every goalie metric that hockey people care about. In fact, this wasn’t a deal I was up for just a few weeks ago.

But the Chicago Blackhawks are terrible this season and Guerin, who won The Cup with Fleury in Pittsburgh, hopes Fleury will get his old playoff swagger back with a good Minnesota Wild team playing in front of him. MAF will partner with Cam Talbot on this playoff run. This, after Kaapo Kahkonen was dealt to the San Jose Sharks in a separate deadline deal that has landed the Wild another depth piece for their lineup in defensman, Jacob Middleton.

#sharks get Kaapo Kahkonen for hard-nosed defenseman Jacob Middleton and a pick. 9 points, +3, 69 penalty minutes in 45 games.

— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) March 21, 2022

McBain Rights Traded for 2nd Round Pick

Jack McBain was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the 3rd round of the 2018 NHL Draft. But now that he’s ready to become a pro, he isn’t interested in signing here. After the Boston College star center scored 33 points (19 goals) in 24 games in his final collegiate season, McBain’s agent informed Wild GM Bill Guerin that he wouldn’t be signing with the team that drafted him three seasons ago. So on Monday morning, he was traded to Arizona Coyotes for a 2nd round pick in the upcoming 2022 draft.

???? TRADE ????

We have acquired a 2022 second-round draft selection from the Arizona Coyotes. #mnwild pic.twitter.com/1BoXbODlI9

— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 21, 2022

According to Michael Russo (The Athletic), the Wild were willing to sign Jack McBain and get him on the NHL ice immediately. Depending on how he adjusted to the National Hockey League, Guerin was hoping he could help with their playoff run. Unfortunately, that didn’t entice McBain. He sees Minnesota as already set up the middle both now, with Ryan Hartman and Joel Eriksson Ek, and into the future, with Marco Rossi.

Of course, that’s ludicrous. The Minnesota Wild’s biggest weak spot for years has been at the center position and it remains a hole today. But if Jack McBain is that intimidated by mediocre NHL roster competition, his professional career isn’t worth investing in anyway.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

It's time for the #mnwild to ride Kaapo Kahkonen. pic.twitter.com/taNotaZhM1

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) February 23, 2022

Whether you prefer more established goalie metrics or the advanced type, Kaapo Kahkonen is currently a better NHL goaltender than Cam Talbot. But the questions don’t have to end inside the Wild locker room. The NHL trade deadline is three weeks away and their are plenty of intriguing goalies who are up for auction, including playoff legend, Marc-Andre Fleury.

The Trade Route

Others mentioned as gettable by NHL.com are Braden Holtby (Dallas Stars), Thomas Greiss (Detroit Red Wings), Joonas Korpisalo (Columbus Blue Jackets), Pavel Francouz (Avalanche) and Martin Jones (Flyers). If the Minnesota Wild feel they need to upgrade at goalie, they have a plethora of options but the only dude who would turn heads has the initials of MAF and he’s the former teammate of Billy Guerin.

But would Marc-Andre Fleury really be an upgrade over who the Wild already have on roster? The answer around hockey circles seems to be a resounding “yes”. In fact, Dan Rosen (NHL.com) believes he’d be an upgrade for just about any team, even the Colorado Avalanche, whose current goaltender, Darcy Kuemper, has been absolutely dominant of late and for most of the season.

Darcy Kuemper‘s strong play of late might convince the Avalanche that he’s capable of carrying them on a Stanley Cup run. He was 16-0-2 with a 2.06 GAA, .933 save percentage and three shutouts in 20 games since Dec. 2. 

Fleury might be the only goalie available who would be considered an upgrade from Kuemper.

The Wild are in a similar spot, and unless they land Fleury to play ahead of Cam Talbot. it seems unlikely they would make a move for a goalie, but they’re worth watching.

MAF Juice Worth the Trade Squeeze?

What would the Wild have to give up to land MAF? Probably, Kaapo Kahkonen plus more. Would Fleury’s juice be worth the squeeze at that point?

No. While it’s true that Cam Talbot is playing poorly, it’s also true that Marc-Andre Fleury has been worse. Playing for a bad Chicago Blackhawks team, MAF is 44th this season in goals saved above expected (-9.1), according to MoneyPuck.com. That’s far below both Talbot (28th: -1.2) and Kahkonen (17th: 5.7). Fleury’s .912 save percentage trails Kahkonen’s .921 and sits right next to Talbot’s .910.

Kaapo Kahkonen is playing some of the best hockey of his young career. Trading him now could be a genius move, given his stock is higher than ever before. It could also be a huge mistake, should Kaapo go on to have a successful career (especially in Chicago) and Marc-Andre Fleury isn’t able to help lift the 2022 Wild to a deep playoff run.

#mnwild goalie Kaapo Kahkonen is now 8-1-1 in his last 10 starts with a 2.47 GAA and a .930 SV% since Jan. 6. Since entering the NHL in 2019-20, he ranks first amongst NHL rookies in wins (31) and has surpassed Pekka Rinne for most wins by a Finnish-born rookie goaltender.

— Minnesota Wild PR (@mnwildPR) February 21, 2022

This is about the playoffs.

I can hear you yelling at me through your phone screen. ‘THIS ISN’T ABOUT THE REGULAR SEASON!‘ Yeah, I get that… but Marc-Andre Fleury isn’t the playoff goalie he’s been made out to be. Yes, he’s played in the 3rd-most playoff games of any goalie in NHL history (163). But his career .912 postseason save percentage doesn’t even rank in the top-50 in league history.

Fleury’s been more consistent in the postseason of late, posting a .921 save percentage in 47 playoff games with the Vegas Golden Knights (4 seasons). But you know who’s been better? Cam Talbot, whose career save percentage in 32 playoff games is .923, good for 15th-best in NHL history.

Kaapo now, Talbot later

Yes, the Minnesota Wild need to make a change at goalie. But the change is already sitting on their bench. With 34 games remaining, it’s time to give Kaapo Kahkonen the starting job. Let him run with the torch until it burns out. And if/when he starts struggling, then history tells us Cam Talbot would be one of the best possible playoff replacements they could turn to.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The AHL has officially announced that Iowa Wild Goalie Kaapo Kähkönen has won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s most outstanding goalie for the 2019-2020 season.

.@IAWild netminder Kaapo Kahkonen is the winner of the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL's outstanding goaltender for 2019-20.

Details: https://t.co/z1ol4LqvIr pic.twitter.com/mINsWTyznW

— AHL (@TheAHL) May 26, 2020

Kaapo Kähkönen, the 23 year old prospect from Finland, was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the 2014 NHL Draft 109th overall. Although Kähkönen was drafted in 2014, he didn’t come to the U.S. to play for the Iowa Wild, (Minnesota’s AHL affiliate) until the 2018-2019 season. Kaapo posted a .908 save percentage, with a 2.78 goals against average and a record of 17-14-8 in his rookie season with the Iowa Wild… but was clearly just getting started.

Kähkönen played the majority of the 2019-2020 season with in Iowa, except for five games in late November, when he was called up to Minnesota while Devan Dubnyk was away from the team. Kähkönen played pretty well during his 5 game stint with Minnesota, recording a .913 save percentage and a 3-1-0 record. Kähkönen secured his first NHL win against the New Jersey Devils in a 3-2 victory. 

Kaapo Kähkönen’s most impressive play was this last season with the Iowa Wild, though, securing a .927 save percentage, a 25-6-3 record, and 7 shutouts. Kaapo piled up the accolades in only his second season in the U.S.. Kähkönen led the league in wins (25), was selected to the AHL all star game, the AHL all-1st team, and now tops off the year with this “Goalie of the Year” award. 

While Kähkönen might still have a while before he inevitably takes the reins from current Minnesota Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk, it is exciting to see promise and improvement at the goaltender position, moving forward.

Cam Thompson | Minnesota Sports Fan