Deadline moves help Minnesota Wild’s present, but at what future cost?

With the trade deadline in the books, the Minnesota Wild had one of the most aggressive approaches in the history of the team. Players in and draft picks out, the Wild feel like they are all-in with new additions of reigning Vezina winner Marc-Andre Fleury, solid defensemen Jacob Middleton, former top 10 pick Tyson Jost, and tough-guy Nicolas Deslauriers. 

But. as Wild general manager Bill Guerin put it:

"“You have to give up something to get something, no matter what level.”"

To get these new additions, the Wild had to lose some assets as well. Nico Sturm headed to Colorado, goaltender Kappo Kahkonen departed to San Jose, and several draft picks left along with them.

Over the course of the last week, the Wild have parted with a conditional second-round pick (maybe a first round), a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick. They also managed to receive a second- round pick as prospect center Jack McBain was shipped to Arizona. It is also worth noting that the Wild will receive a compensatory second-round pick by not signing 2018 first-rounder Filip Johansson.

While the players are easier to place a value on, the draft picks can be a little more confusing, as they are players that have yet to be selected. With most of them being 18-years-old and nothing to go on but scouting reports, there is no way to tell who that player could be or what their career may look like.

The question that will remain unanswered for years is, what will those picks turn into? Did the Wild trade away an opportunity to pick up a superstar prospect?

Let’s examine what the Minnesota Wild have managed to do with their draft picks in previous years to gain a sense of what the future picks may be worth.