The NHL’s trade market had its opening bell ring this week and it’s assumed the Minnesota Wild will get in on the action. With the Wild rumored suitors for a top line center such as Dylan Larkin and Vincent Trocheck, there are sure to be reports leaking about their summer plans in the coming weeks. But what fans may not have expected was a run at Philadelphia Flyers winger Owen Tippett.
According to Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff, the Wild are one of three teams interested in acquiring Tippett in a trade along with the Boston Bruins and Utah Mammoth. But while Tippett would be a good fit to fill Minnesota’s holes in its top six, the idea sounds too good to be true and could leave general manager Bill Guerin back to the drawing board.
Wild’s rumored pursuit of Owen Tippett sounds too good to be true
If the Wild can pull off a trade for Tippett, it would be a big acquisition. The 26-year-old scored 28 goals and recorded 51 points in 81 games for the Flyers last season and has 121 career goals in his seven seasons in the NHL.
Adding Tippett would help account for the loss of Marcus Johansson, who signed with Farjestad BK in his home country of Sweden earlier this month, and the potential loss of Vladimir Tarasenko in free agency. But there are some significant obstacles that need to be overcome to make a trade happen.
The first is Tippett’s salary. According to Puckpedia, Tippett has six years remaining on his current eight-year, $49.6 million contract. While an annual average value of $6.2 million is a bargain with the way the salary cap is rising, it also would cut into the $9.4 million in current cap space unless they send a high-priced asset back to Philadelphia.
The Wild could try to slide Ryan Hartman into a deal as Di Marco reported that the Flyers want to add a center to their roster next season. With a $4 million AAV, he could also soften the blow of bringing Tippett aboard. But Di Marco previously reported that the Wild tried to offer Hartman to Philadelphia after Tyson Foerster suffered an upper body injury last December and the Flyers declined.
Things may have changed going into the offseason, but with Hartman set to turn 32 in September and one wrong move away from a massive suspension, the Flyers may want a better asset in return.
That could be done by throwing Charlie Stramel or Danila Yurov into the deal, but neither of those could wind up being the top six center Philadelphia may want. In addition, the Wild still need to find a top-line center and Stramel or Yurov may be needed in order to bring either Larkin or Trocheck to Minnesota.
The final hurdle is that Di Marco suggests the Flyers may not be the ones doing the calling. While he mentioned Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram as a potential player-for-player trade, a team source told him “it wouldn’t be something the Flyers are interested in at this time.”
“The Flyers are not shopping Tippett by any means but are not hanging up the phone,” Di Marco added. “If they were to trade Tippett, it would not be for a collection of assets, DFO was told, it would be in a “hockey” trade. …That at least offers a perspective on the type of return that makes sense.”
While Tippett would be a strong fit, the amount of items that Guerin has to do this summer makes it feel like he’s kicking the tires more than driving a potential deal. But with a busy offseason looming, it’s still a name to keep on the radar and shows the Wild are leaving no stone unturned as they look to take the next step.
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