Wild just traded for a center ahead the deadline, just not the one everyone expected

While the NHL Trade Deadline doesn't expire until Friday, the Minnesota Wild aren't waiting around to start making moves. After months of dancing around it, the Wild finally made a trade that netted them a much-needed center, and the question now is will this be the first of a few deals the team ends up making.

It's not the blockbuster that fans have been waiting for, as Vincent Trocheck remains in New York. Instead Minnesota flipped a second-round pick to Nasvhille to acquire veteran center Michael McCarron. The trade not only lands the Wild a massive center (McCarron is a towering 6-foot-6) but it reunites him with head coach John Hynes.

That's a major piece to takeaway from this trade, as it feels less like the big move the Wild have been circling and more like a depth addition ahead of something else.

Wild trade a second-round pick for 6-foot-6 center with a mean streak

McCarron is a big addition in the literal sense. He's a brute force on the ice, playing what Michael Russo from The Athletic dubbed a "heavy game", which is exactly the kind of edge the Wild need as they try to muscle their way to the top of the Central and into a deep playoff run.

To put it bluntly, it doesn't seem like Minnesota acquired McCarron for his face-off skills. Those, however, are also pretty decent as he boasts a 53.8 face-off percentage over the last five years, which means the bench just got a lot deeper than it already was.

That's bad news for Nico Strum, whose struggles as of late seem to have in some way motivated the Wild to make this deal.

It's not, however, likely to be the final trade the team makes. The second-rounder Minnesota is sending to Nashville is in 2028, which means the Wild still have their 2027 picks to trade in a deal that lands them a more top-tier center.

Whether or not that ends up happening is the next big question, as the clock is ticking and the Wild have let it be known that they are watching it.