As the Minnesota Wild’s 2025-26 season starts to shake out, something that was concerning in training camp has morphed into an actual problem - even-strength scoring. For all of their offensive talent on the roster the Wild’s 1.38 GF/60 have them sitting dead last in 5v5 goals according to Natural Stat Trick. Could the answer to their problems lie in a reunion with a former prospect?
It might be a little early in the season for Bill Guerin to start thinking about solving his issues via the trade route, but with as competitive as things will be in the division,it’s also not not too early to start considering some outside options. The Athletic just released their Early Trade Candidates Board and one name stood out that could be as close to a perfect solution for what ails the Wild - Alex Tuch.
More than a decade ago, the Wild made the Syracuse native the 18th overall pick in the 2014 draft. From there he blossomed into one of their best prospects, before making his NHL debut at the tail end of the 2016-17 season. That six-game stint would be his lone stretch of play for the Wild. In the summer of 2017 he was traded to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights organization for a third-round pick.
General manager Chuck Fletcher worked a deal with his Vegas counterpart, George McPhee, in which the Golden Knights would take Erik Haula in the expansion draft instead of one of the young defenseman such as Matt Dumba or Marco Scandella. The price Fletcher had to pay for that agreement was Tuch.
The move paid off for Vegas as Tuch posted 139 points (61 goals, 78 assists) in 249 games for the young franchise before he was moved to Buffalo as part of the Jack Eichel deal. Despite the Sabres struggles to win, Tuch has emerged as one of their most reliable players, scoring 107 goals in his 288 games with them.
So, why is he available? The same reason most scoring wingers crop up on trade boards - he’s a pending free agent this summer. Despite a mutual desire for the 29-year-old to stay in Buffalo, the two sides haven’t been able to come to an agreement on an extension for his current 7-year, $33.25 million deal that expires this summer.
Why him?
The right-shot forward would slide perfectly into the hole on the second-line that has bedeviled Minnesota since placing Mats Zuccarello on injured reserve. Coach John Hynes has relied mostly on his veterans in Marcus Johansson and Vlad Tarasenko, but hasn’t found a consistent solution to the problem. Tuch, a solid, 200-foot player that can score would be a pretty formidable solution to the problem.
Tuch has scored twice and added three assists at 5v5 for the Sabres this season. That matches Matt Boldy, who leads the Wild at even strength with identical stats. If the season-opening game against St. Louis, where they scored four of their nine 5v5 goals, only Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek (two assists) and Marcus Johansson (one goal, one assist) have multiple 5v5 points on the season. The team's lack of offensive production has severly hindered their start.
Minnesota is in a good spot to be a big player on the trade market this season. If Guerin sets his eyes on a player, there shouldn’t be too many other teams that can match what he can offer. They still have their 2026 first-round pick, as well as a host of prospects that are on the cusp of being NHL players. They also have cap space to make short-term deals work. With double-salary retention now needing a 75-day window between deals, that could be a huge advantage in the trade wars this season.
The major hurdle in Guerin acquiring Tuch would be the Buffalo Sabres. There was some minor optimism that this could be the year that they end the NHL’s longest playoff drought which has reached 14 seasons. A host of injuries and a three-game losing streak to start the season tempered some of that lukewarm optimism. However, they’ve won three of their last four and just recalled Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from Rochester where he was on a short rehab stint.
They currently sit just outside of a Wild Card spot and just two points back of the Florida Panthers for the third playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. If they are seriously contemplating a run, Tuch would be a valuable player to hold onto for all of the same reasons he’s desired by Minnesota.
Maybe it’s too early in the season to pull off the deal, but not so early to start showing a little interest. A few phone calls between the GMs, a loose framework of the deal, something to build on should the Sabres stumble along the way could allow Guering to swoop in right away.
The Wild are treading water right now, which in today’s NHL is barely better than losing. They have a need for depth offense, and a trade might be the best way to fix what ails them.