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3 reasons the Minnesota Wild shouldn’t consider William Nylander

By Luke Ryan

TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 8: Goalie Devan Dubnyk #40 of the Minnesota Wild is partially screened by William Nylander #29 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at the Air Canada Centre on November 8, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - NOVEMBER 8: Goalie Devan Dubnyk #40 of the Minnesota Wild is partially screened by William Nylander #29 of the Toronto Maple Leafs during an NHL game at the Air Canada Centre on November 8, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON - MARCH 3: Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (39) tries to keep in contact with his check, Minnesota Wild center Mikael Granlund (64). Toronto Maple Leafs V Minnesota Wild during 3rd period action in NHL regular season play at the Air Canada Centre. Leafs lose 2-1. Toronto Star/Rick Madonik (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON – MARCH 3: Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander (39) tries to keep in contact with his check, Minnesota Wild center Mikael Granlund (64). Toronto Maple Leafs V Minnesota Wild during 3rd period action in NHL regular season play at the Air Canada Centre. Leafs lose 2-1. Toronto Star/Rick Madonik (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images) /

The Minnesota Wild are a team that is on the wrong side of the average age bracket that most NHL teams target these days.

Adding a young 22-year old Swedish winger sounds like a great way to lower that average age, but realistically it just ties up funds that would be better manoeuvred elsewhere.

When your core two pieces, at least based on cap hit, are both the wrong side of thirty and signed for several more years; you’re not really wise to make a move on a young guy like Nylander.

Ryan Suter and Zach Parise are both signed to deals that make them near, if not, unmovable. That hampers the Minnesota Wild severely in terms of building a new core.

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Sure, you have guys like Matt Dumba and Jason Zucker that are young enough to be considered the future core of the side, but realistically you’re giving one of these types of guys up in a trade-and-sign scenario.

Time and again, we’ve seen that the way to rebuild is typically to rid a team of nasty contracts and utilise entry-level deals on well-drafted talent.

Typically this scenario also involves bottoming-out for a season or two. Or six if you’re the Edmonton Oilers.

Whilst I’m not advocating for the Minnesota Wild to implode what they have; I do feel like adding William Nylander doesn’t do them any favours in terms of a re-build.

He’s going to be on too much money, unless you manage to get results out of him as a first-line center and will limit the ability to build a useful line-up.

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