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Minnesota Wild and Bill Guerin Bet on Jordan Greenway

By Aaron Heckmann

ANAHEIM, CA - NOVEMBER 5: Jordan Greenway #18 of the Minnesota Wild skates during the game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on November 5, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images)
ANAHEIM, CA - NOVEMBER 5: Jordan Greenway #18 of the Minnesota Wild skates during the game against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on November 5, 2019 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Minnesota Wild fans were frustrated with Jordan Greenway at times, could next season be the biggest year of his career so far?

When Luke Kunin was traded, there was a good amount of Wild fans asking why Kunin was traded rather than Greenway. I believe Greenway is a better player than Kunin, shown significantly in their underlying numbers. Bill Guerin made the right call by trading the only negative impact forward on the Minnesota Wild.

Greenway can frustrate Wild fans, rightfully so. He doesn’t use his stature to his advantage as much as he should. He also doesn’t shoot the puck enough. There are even questions surrounding his attitude and work ethic, but he is trying to take hockey more seriously now.

Bill Guerin made a commitment by giving Greenway a two-year contract extension with an annual value of $2.1 million.

The former second-round pick recorded 8 goals and 20 assists for 28 points in 67 games. He averaged just over 14 minutes a night and had a career-high 95 hits.

Next season could be Greenway’s biggest season of his career thus far, he has a chance to show to be the capable player that his underlying numbers state he could be.

If Jordan Greenway hasn’t been taking hockey as seriously as he should but is still being such an impactful player, is that an indicator for the future? There have been reports that he’s spending his offseason in Minnesota, training and staying in shape.

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He is on the path right now to be a top-six forward in the NHL, some people might shake their head at that.

He was above average in Corsi for per hour and Corsi against per hour. He is a solid puck possession player who is able to suppress shot quantity and shot quality. Furthermore, he was above average in expected goals against per hour. He was among the best forwards in the NHL defensively this season.

Everyone knows the Wild have one of the best defensive cores in the NHL, but the Wild are massively overlooked when it comes to defensive play among forwards.

Foligno, Eriksson Ek, Hartman, and Greenway, among others, are all impactful defensively.

Greenway provided the Wild with 1.3 wins above replacement, according to Evolving-Hockey. That ranks fifth among Wild forwards with the departures of Jason Zucker and Eric Staal.

Last season, we challenged Kevin Fiala to have a better season. He delivered. This year it’s Jordan Greenway.

He is 23 years old, Wild fans need to stay patient. We haven’t seen anything from Greenway just yet, his game is on the road to success, it’s up to him now.

All Data and Information Via Evolving-Hockey, Hockey-Reference, & CapFriendly

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