To many, the Minnesota Wild’s playoff run was a success. But as good as the getting out of the first round felt to a starving fan base, it could have been drastically different if they had traded for Robert Thomas.
According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, the Wild offered a package to the St. Louis Blues including goaltender Jesper Wallstedt and center Danila Yurov at March’s trade deadline but “the Blues said no” leaving the Wild to pivot elsewhere.
While the Wild were able to finally make a run, things may have been different had they traded for Thomas. But it may not have helped them get closer to the Stanley Cup as much as it may have continued their struggles in the first round of the playoffs.
Blues saved the Wild from themselves with rejected deadline deal for Robert Thomas
Thomas would have been a spectacular addition for the Wild at the trade deadline. In 64 games this season, Thomas scored 25 goals and put up 64 points but he’s had even more production in the past averaging 74.6 points over the past five seasons.
That type of offensive output would have given the Wild a true No. 1 center and would have taken the sting out of losing Joel Eriksson Ek to a broken heel bone suffered in the series-clinching Game 6 victory over the Stars. While Yurov was elevated to the No. 2 center role in his absence, he wasn’t ready for the promotion, scoring a goal with three points over nine games, and the Wild’s lack of depth contributed to their five-game loss to Colorado.
But for whatever gains the Wild would have had, they would have been taking away from some of the things that helped them beat the Stars.
The biggest was the performance of Jesper Wallstedt. The 23-year-old was brilliant in the first round of the playoffs, allowing 14 goals and posting a .924 save percentage during the six-game series against Dallas and it included some outstanding games including Game 1 where he made 27 saves in a 6-1 victory and 43 saves before Matt Boldy scored the overtime winner in Game 4.
The Wild could have still beaten the Stars in the first round as they were dealing with a long list of injuries. But it may have been much different if they were forced to start Filip Gustavsson instead.
Gustavsson was believed to be the goalie who would be in net for the series against the Stars. But his struggles down the stretch saw him post an .895 save percentage after the Olympics and allow four or more goals in six of his final nine starts. Even when Gustavsson took the net in Game 2 against the Avs, Gustavsson didn’t look capable of carrying the Wild further, allowing four goals on 22 shots in a 5-2 loss.
Thomas’s offensive ability may have been enough to bridge some of the gap, but it wouldn’t have been enough to help Minnesota advance to the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2003. Even if it was delaying the inevitable, as Wallstedt will be a hot commodity this summer, having Wallstedt for this run was a big role in ending a decade-long struggle of going home in the first round.
Talks will likely resume as Bill Guerin looks to land the big fish this summer. But even if he has better luck, the Blues may have helped the Wild from becoming their own worst enemy at the trade deadline.
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