ESPN: Minnesota Wild Announces Another Shocking NHL Record Breaking Trade From..
Keeping this paragraph as a starting point if this is your first time reading this series: We will be continuing our journey through this series looking at one team at a time to act as a trade partner. Please keep in mind this should not be viewed in the same way as a comprehensive GM for a day type of post where we are looking to completely overhaul the team in one fell swoop. Each article will “reset” the Sabres roster, so don’t be surprised to see the same players, prospects, and picks used repeatedly in various trade offers.
A commonality that is shared by the Sabres and Wild is weather conditions, neither team or area can brag about an excess amount of palm trees in their respective communities.
The Minnesota Wild GM, Bill Guerin, is often regarded as an aggressive GM that is not afraid to make substantial trades. Calculated risks would be a term used when describing the moves the Wild GM is prone to making when he looks at the potential upside to the deal for his team. Could Guerin and GMKA make for reasonable trade partners? Many of us still miss Marcus Foligno, who still plays for the Wild and is currently wearing an ‘A’ for the team. For the purpose of this article, we won’t be trying to bring back Foligno, as he has NMC, and recently stating publicly he’d rather be in Minnesota fighting through a slump they had at the end of December vs being in Buffalo. I don’t believe this is a slight against Buffalo as a city, but rather the ongoing state of the team continually not competing for a playoff spot.
Swinging for the fences in this deal we will have some major players going in both directions, curious on your take in how well this trade balances out.
Boom, some major fireworks going off with this trade. There is a fair argument to be made that there is no clear cut “best player” going to either side in this deal.
An additional comment to add here would be that Brodin has 4 years left on his current contract, including this year, at 6 million AAV. This year he does have NMC, however no team list that he wouldn’t accept a trade to, but rather the team would need his approval to accept a trade in the first place. This protection goes away entirely starting next year, so its possible he would be more open to a move if that was to happen during the off-season anyways.
Personally, I really liked the pairing of Brodin and Dahlin during the first game of the 4 nations tournament. I imagine our announcers could have some fun with their last names that happen to rhyme. It is very possible that chemistry is built between these two talented players throughout the tournament, and Dahlin gives Brodin a reason to consider moving to Buffalo.
So why would the wild look at agreeing to this trade? I think this would tie back to their GM being open to making big moves, and taking risks based on potential upside and reward. That type of trade really points to the acquisition of players like Cozens and Byram. A 6’3 right shot center with tenacity and the ability to score 30+ goals in the NHL is hard to come by, even if he has been on the downswing the last year or so, the Wild could bet on his potential to return to that previous form.
Byram on the other hand has shown some consistency while playing significant minutes on the Sabres. He is flexible in who is defensive partner can be, and the Wild do not currently have on their NHL roster a LHD with the same upside that Byram offers. These two often get linked together as a bundled package given their off-ice friendship, and them being moved together could make the transition to a new team easier, and more quickly lead to success.
Additionally, Isak Rosen should not be slept on as the 3rd piece to this deal going to the Wild. He is currently 2nd in the AHL in goals – and may be ready to step into a full-time NHL role that has yet to materialize with Sabres. This would be another bet on potential by the Wild, and his style of play could mesh well with their roster as currently constructed. Lastly, by making this move now, the Wild would open up a bit of cap space in time before the trade deadline if the GM wanted to make any additional depth moves.
For the Sabres, the offensive potential they acquire comes most noticeably from Matt Boldy. He has a very similar contract to that of Dylan Cozens, but has shown more consistency year over year trending upwards in his point accumulation. While Boldy is not the fastest skater, he has expectational hands and often has the drive to go to the front of the net to create and cash in on opportunities. He brings good size at 6’2″ 200lbs, and would be a welcome powerplay addition to the team.
The more interesting piece of the trade here, in my opinion, would be the acquisition of Jonas Brodin. He is currently 31 years old and signed for 3 years after this one, and would bring a veteran presence to the Sabres D-core that is sorely missing. Yes, he is another left hand shot, but looking at the 4 nations tournament, seems to be comfortable playing that side with Dahlin playing on his offside for generating more offensive chances. Brodin is widely regarded as one of the most underrated defenseman across the league, and while he may not put up the same point totals as a Byram, his defensive play is upper level and is often reflected is multiple analytics showcasing his defensive impact on the ice.
Marat Khusnutdinov would help to offset the lose of Rosen in this deal. He a center on the smaller side, but has expectational puck transportation skills and skating ability. He made the jump directly from the KHL to the NHL, but is only being offered limited minutes in Minnesota, its possible a change in scenery and ice time would boost his confidence and help him take the next step with his own development.
Looking forward to hearing what you all think about this trade proposal, something of this nature would certainly shake-up the Sabres core, and that may be what is needed at this point.
Thanks as always for reading & Go Sabres!!
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