Minnesota Wild: The time is ripe to deal Andrew Hammond

In Andrew Hammond, the Minnesota Wild have a goaltender playing for their minor league affiliate, the Iowa Wild; despite that goalie having previously demonstrated NHL pedigree. With injuries around the league, the time is ripe to make a deal.

The Minnesota Wild, no doubt, have had goaltending struggles of their own, what with the dip in Devan Dubnyk‘s form, but they haven’t suffered the injuries that other teams around the league have. The obvious example of who could benefit from Andrew Hammond are the Wild’s future Central Division rivals, the Arizona Coyotes.

With Antti Raanta injured indefinitely, they’re relying on a motley crew of 22 yeard-old Adin Hill, who to his credit is showing good numbers thus far, former Wild backup Darcy Kuemper and Calvin Pickard.

That group by no means represents an awful time in net, but you’ve got to think that they could be a suitor for Andrew Hammond, especially should they see one of those three go down injured.

Another team that might have some interest, albeit it’d be a minor-league deal would be the Toronto Maple Leafs. Since losing both Curtis McElhinney and the aforementioned Pickard on waivers this year, their minor league team, the Toronto Marlies has looked quite lost between the pipes.

Given that Hammond wouldn’t require clearing waivers to move between AHL teams, you’ve got to think there’s an option there. If Minnesota Wild General Manager Paul Fenton could steal one of the Leafs’ speedy prospects in return, even better.

The Carolina Hurricanes just lost McElhinney to injury and have been bouncing Scott Darling between the AHL and NHL as a partner for Petr Mrazek. Maybe Andrew Hammond offers more stability in that scenario; I’d say he’s a better bet than Scott Darling personally.

In Los Angeles, Cal Peterson is backing up Jonathan Quick. You also have Peter Budaj in the system there and he performed admirably last year, but do you consider Hammond. Or are they in full tank mode, going after Jack Hughes, in which case making any deal where they potentially give up a draft pick seems unlikely.

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Perhaps the biggest dark horse in terms of a team to approach is the Pittsburgh Penguins. I’d say it’s unlikely you could wrangle a one-for-one deal with them, but maybe you could package Andrew Hammond with a couple of other pieces and run a trade past Jim Rutherford.

The Minnesota Wild could gain some younger, speedier players possibly from their farm system and they could add a little experience given they’re struggling with Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry.

In Andrew Hammond, we’re talking a goalie that not that long ago posted a 0.941 save percentage across 24 NHL games. This year in the AHL, he’s rocking a 0.911 save percentage and 2.96 goals against average with the Iowa Wild; nothing to be sniffed at, especially if a deal is made with the expectation of being a minor-league swap.

You could argue that any deal would be a deal for dealing’s sake, but the Iowa Wild have a perfect ready-made replacement in Kaapo Kahkonen, who really needs to claim the net as the team’s starter. Hammond, on the other hand, has an expiring contract so you might as well make the asset work for you.

If the Minnesota Wild want to turn their season around, now is probably the time to start making some deals. Maybe Andrew Hammond could help them get the ball rolling.