While the rest of the NHL rested up over the holiday break, Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin was working the phones. Like Santa Claus dropping gifts down the chimney, Guerin gave fans a little gift in the form of yet another trade.
It's more of a stocking stuffer than anything else, but it's another reminder that the Wild aren't going to sit around and wait for things to fall into their laps.
The Wild announced that the team was acquiring veteran forward Boris Katchouk from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Michael Milne, an AHL prospect whom the Wild selected in the third round of the draft back in 2022, is headed back to Tampa.
It's hardly a splashy trade, nor is it anywhere near the marlin that Guerin hooked with the Quinn Hughes blockbuster, but it's still a meaningful deal for Minnesota. Katchok is being assigned to Iowa, which means we won't see him on the ice in St. Paul any time soon, but he does bring with him some NHL experience.
This is a change of scenery trade that doubles as a potential depth acquisition for Minnesota.
Wild make another trade as Bill Guerin continues to build a winning roster
Kotchouk can play minutes in the pros if needed, which is going to be valuable as the Wild enter a new year with Stanley Cup aspirations. Depth has sometimes been an issue for Minnesota, but we've also seen Guerin pull off deals that bring in veterans who can help take some of the edge off the main core of the roster.
As for Milne, the chances of him getting called up and making the team were slim. The fact that the Wild were able to flip him for anything is a win, and the fact that it's a veteran reinforces this new timeline Minnesota has established.
Milne might not have been a top prospect, however this is now twice in a month that the Wild have flipped future assets for something that can help them now. Kotchouk is hardly Hughes, but Guerin is establishing that he wants to win now and not kick the can down the road -- even if that comes at the expense of dipping into the future.
It's a refreshing change of pace, not just for the Wild but for a Minnesota sports team in general. Even the small moves like this one feel like they're part of a bigger picture, one that fans have been waiting decades to finally see come into focus.