Minnesota Wild: Jonas Brodin Worth Offering As Trade Bait?

For the Minnesota Wild, salary cap issues somewhat limit their ability to find continued improvement. However, in Jonas Brodin, they may have the perfect solution.

Brodin was drafted in the first round (10th overall) by the Minnesota Wild in 2011 and since then has developed into a decent left-side defenseman.

Whilst he’s never going to put up elite offensive totals, he is able to provide a very stabilising two-way presence. As with many Swedish players on the blue-line, he has a certain calmness to his game and is agile and fluid in his skating movement.

At 25, he is still young enough to offer good value with 3 years remaining at $4.1 million AAV, according to CapFriendly.

Now, this could be the first big decision for the new Minnesota Wild General Manager; do you give up on a younger asset because you’ve got the high cap hits of Zach Parise and first-pairing left defenseman, Ryan Suter limiting your options?

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With another young left-sided Swede on the rise in Gustav Olofsson, I think the risk might be worth taking. I can’t see it blowing up in the same way as, say, the Brent Burns trade.

If you could rid yourself of Brodin without bringing much salary back to the Minnesota Wild, you’ve not necessarily improved from a roster standpoint, but you have much improved the salary cap situation.

In doing so, you’ll give some of the players caught in  a defensive log-jam a chance to stake their claim at a regular spot in the Minnesota Wild line-up.

Trading away Brodin gives Nick Seeler and Olofsson a chance higher up the line-up and then allows you to bring up Carson Soucy or Louie Belpedio into the NHL fold.

The primary issue when looking at who might be interested in the player is that he is a left-sided defenseman and thus doesn’t carry the value of the more elusive right-sided d-man.

Could you call up Pierre Dorion of the Ottawa Senators and see if he needs a Swedish defenseman?

He’s been fleeced once already in recent days, so maybe he’s a vulnerable target.

Otherwise, do you sit back and bide your time a little bit in the hopes of a team having a bit of an injury crisis and needing the experience in support.

Whilst it’s never fun to give up on an asset that you’ve groomed within your system for years, sometimes it’s got to be done.

I think, given the cost of Brodin’s contract, he has to be the most likely trade away from the Minnesota Wild. It makes too much sense.