Minnesota Wild: Being disinterested in William Nylander is a good thing

The Minnesota Wild seem to no longer have an interest in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ winger, William Nylander. Thank goodness for that!

Not only does that mean that the Minnesota Wild isn’t about to lock itself into a contract that may not offer the value it equates to, but it also means they’re not going to be foolish enough to give up someone like Matt Dumba to the Leafs in return for William Nylander.

Per Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription required): ‘the Wild’s interest — whether it was once legit or just simple due diligence — has waned.’

Now don’t get me wrong; it’s only right for Minnesota Wild General Manager, Paul Fenton to conduct due diligence.

Players of William Nylander‘s ilk don’t typically become available at such young ages on the open market. Not unless there’s a known attitude problem or some sort of caveat to getting consistent performances out of them.

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In William Nylander, they were talking a 60-point plus winger that at least deserved a little attention.

Realistically, I think a combination of both William Nylander, himself’s asking price in terms of salary and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ asking price in terms of a trade were both too high for the Minnesota Wild to continue any pursuit, however realistic or unrealistic it was.

Frankly, in Matt Dumba they have a defenseman that one day could challenge for the Norris Trophy, whereas it’s hard to envisage a day where Nylander challenges for the Hart Trophy or any scoring award, for that matter.

This just allows the team to move on and continue on the upwards trajectory they’ve been on this season. It means there’s no need to shake up the defensive pairings because you’ve traded a key part (you can still shuffle them anyway though!). It means you hold on to all the pieces that are working right now and keep another run to the play-offs on track.

No need for any silly business, especially business that requires massive overpay by the Minnesota Wild. Smart business all round!