Gone Puck Wild
Fansided

Minnesota Wild: Franchise 5 Worst Trades of All-Time

By Cody Defoe

ST. PAUL, MN - APRIL 17: A general view of the Xcel Energy Center before Game Four of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Winnipeg Jets and the Minnesota Wild on April 17, 2018 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, MN - APRIL 17: A general view of the Xcel Energy Center before Game Four of the Western Conference First Round during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Winnipeg Jets and the Minnesota Wild on April 17, 2018 in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 7
Next
Minnesota Wild
MONTREAL, QC – JUNE 26: Nick Leddy of the Minnesota Wild poses for a photo after he was selected #16 overall by the Wild during the first round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft at the Bell Centre on June 26, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

#3 The Tragedy of Nick Leddy

At the 2009 NHL Draft, the Minnesota Wild used the 16th Overall pick in the 1st round to select defenseman Nick Leddy. Leddy was coming off a fantastic year at Eden Prairie High School, as a Minnesota born and raised prospect, and was named Minnesota’s “Mr.Hockey” for 2008-09.

In the 2009-10 season, Leddy was playing as a freshman at the University of Minnesota, while the Minnesota Wild were struggling to be competitive in a tight Western Conference. In an attempt to boost the roster immediately the Wild were willing to gamble the future, and traded away their top prospect.

Leddy had broken his jaw at the start of the year, and missed time due to the injury. The Wild were apparently disappointed in the progress of the first year colleagiate player, according to Mike Russo of the Star-Tribune, and made the call to send him on his way.

“Trading Leddy was made easier by the influx of defensemen in the system — Marco Scandella, Tyler Cuma, being the main two, and the long-term future of Brent Burns. The Wild, I am also told, was very concerned about Leddy’s development at the U.” Mike Russo, Minnesapolis Star Tribune

In February 2010, less than 8 months since being selected as a first round draft pick, Nick Leddy was traded with Kim Johnsson to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Cam Barker.

Cam Barker was coming off a 40-point season for the Blackhawks in 08-09 and was originally a 3rd overall draft choice, so his prospect value was still high. But he was having a terrible follow-up season with only 14 points through 51 games.

That should have been the Wild’s first clue that they were overpaying, but instead the scouting team thought Barker could still develop into a skilled forward.

Barker never panned out, playing only 1 season as a member of the Minnesota Wild. He was plagued by injuries throughout the season, a hip injury in preseason, a groin injury in october, and a back injury in february/march. He finished with only 5 points in 52 games played, and was bought out of his contract in the summer of 2011.

Johnsson only played out the remainder of that season for Chicago, 8 regular season games and no playoffs before retiring.

Leddy has had a tremendous start to his NHL career as a contributing member of 4 playoff runs for the Blackhawks, including a Stanley Cup ring in 2012-13. He never missed a single game due to injury over 4 years in Chicago, and has established himself as a Top 2 defenseman in the NHL.

He is currently on the New York Islanders top pairing, still has never missed more than 3 games in any one season, and is developing into a consistent 40 point player for a below-average Isles team.

This was a clear miss by GM Fletcher and the Wild, and he has even admitted to that in an interview in 2011. To make matters worse, Tyler Cuma had even less NHL success than Barker, and was a possible option for the trade. This just as easily could have been a completely irrelevant trade had Fletcher given up Cuma instead of Leddy.

Home/All-Time Lists