Even before the Minnesota Wild started their offseason, the speculation of a trade with the Oilers for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was rampant. As the offseason progresses the question becomes, is a deal to bring Nugent-Hopkins to Minnesota still possible?
In the Minnesota Wild’s failed trade deadline search for forward a lot of names got thrown around as possibly moving to the State of Hockey. The conventional wisdom was that the Wild would leverage defensive depth to acquire a young talented forward preferably a center. That proved to be a tall order as the wants of the Wild were fairly specific, and to find a partner that needed defense as badly as the Wild needed offense added another layer to the challenge.
Still when looking out around the NHL one possible trade situation seemed to just rise above the others. The Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli made it clear last season that the entire team with the exception of Connor McDavid was “tradeable”, and with the Oilers’ biggest need being help on their blueline it seemed that the Wild had found their trade partner.
A piece of the young forward talent of the Oilers is what the Wild are looking to get in return. The desired target from the start has been former number one overall pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. A gifted scorer who has recorded 50 points or more in three of his five NHL seasons, Nugent-Hopkins would be an instant hit in the Wild lineup. Alas a trade did not materialize at the deadline, and the Wild are still looking for a top six forward.
This offseason offers a chance for the Wild to take another run at Nugent-Hopkins. Most of the same factors remain for both teams as Chiarelli has re-iterated his willingness to deal, and Chuck Fletcher has declared that “Whatever we need to improve our team, we’ll do.” So is it still possible for the Wild to make a trade for Nugent-Hopkins this summer?
Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe still thinks so. On May 14th he wrote that he felt Bruce Boudreau would be seeking a situation much like the one he had with the Ducks with Getzlaf and Kesler. Shinzawa points out that Boudreau might be looking to relive the offensive pressure on Mikko Koivu and play him in “matchup play”. He also reiterated the Oilers need for quality defense in return for Nugent-Hopkins which the Wild can provide.
On the other side of the coin there are some that think a Nugent-Hopkins deal to Minnesota might look good on the surface, but there are some small details that should prevent a deal. The Edmonton Journal’s Jonathan Willis has said that the Oilers’ need for defense should be specifically a right handed shot for the top defensive pairing. His contention is that the Wild’s available right shots of Spurgeon, Dumba, Prosser, and Folin are not anywhere near enough to pay the price for Nugent-Hopkins.
Willis’ view is extremely myopic as he really is undervaluing the Wild defensemen. He seems to forget that Spurgeon was a top paired defenseman with Ryan Suter in Minnesota, and that while Dumba may not be a top defenseman now part of his value is that he has the potential to be a top two defenseman. Additionally, both players come at a cheaper price tag than Nugent-Hopkins and would gain the Oilers some cap space in a deal.
Most of all though Willis’ totally ignores the fact that the Wild can offer other players in addition to these defensemen. As I’ve pointed out before Darcy Kuemper could be in play as the Oilers are badly in need of goaltending depth after trading Anders Nilsson. There’s much more options than just a player for player swap when talking about a potential Nugent-Hopkins to Minnesota trade. The Wild can offer other pieces to sweeten the pot.
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Salary cap wise the trade is possible on both ends. The Wild will need to be cautious as they will potentially absorb some part of Nugent-Hopkins $6 million salary cap hit. How much they absorb depends on who the Wild trade. Also if the Wild absorb any additional salary cap hit, it could have an effect on free-agent signings this summer. But with $12 million free this summer for all transactions, and a possible buyout of Thomas Vanek giving the Wild an additional $5 million, the Wild can make this happen.
So taking all that in…yes a trade for Nugent-Hopkins is certainly a possibility for the Wild. The Oilers will be open to dealing, the only question is their price tag. It might be high, but the Wild can comfortably pay it…to a point. The Wild will be smart to only give up pieces that they know they can easily replace, but gaining Nugent-Hopkins would certainly fulfill the goal of adding scoring to their lineup this offseason.
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It’s a long offseason, but with the draft and free-agency bearing down on them, the Wild will at least need to be in negotiations for a trade now to inform the rest of their plan this summer. If a deal for Nugent-Hopkins is possible, it’s more than likely being hashed out slowly as we speak. There’s no doubt Fletcher has talked to Chiarelli about Nugent-Hopkins perhaps even more than once. Where they are in those talks is the question. The one thing we know for sure is that a deal is possible, and both teams will benefit. But when has that even been a guarantee of a completed deal?