Minnesota Wild: What Would Acquiring Erik Karlsson Cost?

Trade talk across the league regarding Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson and where he could potentially end up has been going around as far back as the 2018 Trade Deadline. So, what would it take for the Minnesota Wild to land the top available NHL trade target?

Erik Karlsson is a 28 year old superstar defenseman, a 4 time NHL All Star, and a 2 time Norris Trophy winner. 4 times he has topped 70 points in a season. The Minnesota Wild have not shown any reported interest as of yet, but that’s not to say they are out of the running.

According to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, the Senators are seeking as many as four pieces in return for their captain. These would include a player to step into the lineup immediately, a highly valued prospect for the future, and a 1st Round Draft pick in 2019 to replace their own used to acquire Matt Duchene last summer.

The front runners in trade talks so far have been the Vegas Golden Knights, Tampa Bay Lightning, San Jose Sharks, and Dallas Stars. The Vancouver Canucks have been linked to Karlsson as well, though Vancouver’s GM denied those rumors.

The Minnesota Wild would be making this trade with no guarantee of a long term deal, as Karlsson is a free agent at the end of 2018-19. His asking price would likely be extremely large, and out of Minnesota’s available cap space, so this would be a 1 year deal for a cup push.

Let’s have a look at my specualated trade possibility, taking into consideration what Ottawa is asking for, what the Wild have to offer, and making sure the cap space lines up on a trade of this size.

The biggest piece going back to Ottawa would be Minnesota Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin. Brodin would be a suitable piece for Ottawa to build their back end around, he is younger than Karlsson, has been a Top pair defenseman in Minnesota, and is signed through the 20/21 season. He is the piece that helps them lessen the blow of seeing Karlsson leave.

Center Joel Eriksson Ek is a high end prospect, who is NHL ready and could help Ottawa immediately, but also be a long term key to the Senators rebuild. With the depth on the Minnesota bottom 6 currently, losing Eriksson Ek this season would not be a huge blow to the lineup as there are plenty of players who could fill his role.

Gustav Olofsson is another young top end defensive prospect, who has found himself lost in the shuffle on the D line in Minnesota. He is currently projected to be 8th or 9th on the Wild defensive rotation and is unlikely to see much, if any, NHL time this year. He would stand a chance of making the Senators Top 6 to start the season.

The last piece, is the Minnesota Wild’s 2019 1st Round Draft Pick. This is the key, as the Wild should not be willing to make that trade unless they are certain that this will make them front runners for the Stanley Cup this year. To Wild Fans, a Stanley Cup win is worth more than a future prospect, and should be pursued however possible.

I added a 4th round pick coming back to Minnesota in return, as a replacement pick for the 1st rounder. This could be a negotiation between Paul Fenton and Sens GM Pierre Dorion, but I would think a later round pick is a fair ask considering what the Wild would be giving up to acquire essentially a one season rental piece.

Conclusion

This is a risky proposition, suggesting risking the future of the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a rental player. We’ve seen it fail before, most recently the Martin Hanzal trade in 2017 that did nothing for the team.

On the other hand, a Defensive Top 4 consisting of Karlsson, Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, and Matt Dumba would solidify as one of the best defenses in the league. Standing with Devan Dubnyk in net, and those 4 sharing the ice in front of him, would be intimidating to any forwards playing Minnesota

Of course, this is purely speculation at this point. Minnesota has shown no interest in Karlsson, and there’s no guarantee they’d be willing to part with any of the players I’ve specualated. It’s fun to dream sometimes, and maybe the Wild are just biding they’re time until the other bidders fall away.