After whetting the appetite with a trade for a veteran center, Bill Guerin pulled off a deal for a young forward that could be a part of the Minnesota Wild's future for a long time. Michael Russo is reporting that the Wild acquired winger Bobby Brink from the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman David Jiricek.
Brink is a 24-year-old winger who was selected by the Flyers in the second round of the 2019 NHL Draft. A pending restricted free agent, Brink has 13 goals and 13 assists for the Flyers while carrying a cap hit of $1.5 million. In his 201-game NHL career the Minnesota native has 36 goals and 58 assists.
Going the other way was David Jiricek, a young defenseman brought in with great fanfare just over a year ago. Things never quite settled in for the 22-year-old defenseman as he was in and out of the line-up all season. The acquisition of Quinn Hughes earlier in the year made Jiricek's spot on the roster even more questionable and he'll get a chance for a fresh start in Philadelphia.
The addition of a middle-six winger is a bit of a surprise for the Wild, who have been rumored to be in the market for a center like Charlie Coyle or Vincent Trocheck. Brink will give them some depth considering the injuries the team has gone through all season long. The fact that he is under team control for next season helps as well as Vladimir Tarasenko, Mats Zuccarello, and Marcus Johansson are among the teams pending unrestricted free agents.