The Minnesota Wild are going star hunting this offseason and there are plenty of big names on their radar. While some like Toronto’s Auston Matthews are more of a pipe dream and a weak free agent class will make their plans more difficult, there are other names that could be more attainable including Ottawa Senators wing Brady Tkachuk.
Tkachuk was thrown into the Wild rumor mill earlier this month when The Ottawa Citizen’s Bruce Garrioch reported that he could be a centerpiece of “a package” in a trade for goaltender Jesper Wallstedt. While a deal may not make sense in some regards, it could mean Tkachuk is on the Wild’s radar and could be a target for one of the big moves the Wild are thinking about making this summer.
While Tkachuk has a deep friendship with Quinn Hughes and may convince him to sign an extension to stay in Minnesota, it may also not be the move the Wild need, leading to a mistake the franchise can’t afford as they head into next season.
The Wild should pass on Brady Tkachuk this offseason
Tkachuk is one of the most known players in hockey thanks to his role on the U.S. Olympic team and that trip to Milan gives him a connection with general manager Bill Guerin. He plays a gritty style that the Wild want to model their game after and he’s a productive winger that could help make up for the pending loss of free agents Vladimir Tarasenko and Marcus Johansson.
The offensive numbers alone make Tkachuk worth considering as he recorded a career-high 83 points during the 2022-23 season and 74 points in 2023-24 to earn back-to-back All-Star appearances. He was also an All-Star caliber player with 55 points in 2024-25 and 59 points in 60 games last season, but he may not be the player the Wild should be looking for.
While Tkachuk can fill the net, he normally does damage to his own team while sitting in the penalty box. Before this season was shortened to 60 games, Tkachuk had over 100 penalty minutes in four straight seasons and five out of the past six seasons.
This was also a bar that wasn’t cleared narrowly. Tkachuk’s penalty minutes increased from 106 during the 2019-20 campaign to 117 in the 2021-22 campaign and went up to a career-high 134 minutes during the 2023-24 season. If he wasn’t out for a month with a thumb injury earlier this year, he would have also threatened for another year with over 100 penalty minutes, although he was on pace for 97.
For a Wild penalty kill that was brutalized during last year’s playoff run, adding a player that makes the penalty box his second home isn’t ideal. But it’s less so considering his performance in the playoffs.
Tkachuk did well in his first taste of the postseason with four goals and three assists in a six-game loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 2025 playoffs. But he failed to record a single point as his Senators were swept in four games by the Carolina Hurricanes, complete with 13 penalties and a plus/minus rating of minus-4.
There’s also what this trade could do for the Wild down the road. According to Puckpedia, Tkachuk is locked in for the next two years at $8.2 million per season. But with the salary cap going up over the next three years, he could be positioned to cash in big when he becomes a free agent in the summer of 2028.
That’s money that could be used to extend Hughes long-term and even bring in a talented player with less baggage. After watching the Wild self-destruct in last year’s playoffs, the idea of bringing another powder keg into the equation could leave Guerin looking like Wile E. Coyote without factoring in what it would take to bring Tkachuk here.
While the Wild need some more scoring in their top six, there are better options to pursue. It should leave the Wild targeting a different forward to fill the void and let someone else take the gamble if the Senators make Tkachuk available.
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