Charlie Coyle is the latest example in the Minnesota to Boston pipeline
Former Wild forward Charlie Coyle appears to be loving life back home in Boston.
After being traded by Minnesota in February, Coyle, a Massachusetts native, has been a big reason why the Bruins might win the Stanley Cup.
In 21 playoff games, Coyle has 16 points, scoring nine goals with three of them coming in the Stanley Cup Final. He's make a solid case to win the annual Conn Smythe Award, which is given to the most valuable player in the NHL playoffs.
He's already surpassed his postseason point total from his time in Minnesota in half the amount of games.
- Minnesota postseason career: 7 goals, 8 assists and 15 points in 44 games
- Boston postseason career: 9 goals, 7 assists and 16 points in 21 games
Now, the Wild did get a solid piece back in the Coyle trade, receiving Ryan Donato who put up 16 points – 4 goals and 16 assists – in 22 games. Also, because the Bruins advanced past the first round of the playoffs, the fifth-round pick included in the trade has turned into a fourth-round selection in this month's draft.
Coyle's also playing on a much more talented Bruins team with players like Brad Marchand, Patrice Burgeron and David Partsnak. The Wild would love to have just one of those players at their disposal.
Still, fans are probably clenching their teeth watching another Wild player flourish after Wild general manager Paul Fenton traded away a core player, only for him to have more success with another team.
Nino Niederreiter put up 30 points – 14 goals and 16 assists – in 36 regular season games with the Hurricanes, who reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
However, Coyle's success with the Bruins is just one layer to multiple ones that include former Minnesota athletes helping the Boston area to another title.
(Warning these facts may raise your blood pressure)
Let's start with a guy named David Ortiz, who the Twins didn't want pay $1.5 million in arbitration after the 2002 season. So they let him walk away for nothing in free agency, he signs with the Boston Red Sox and helps them to three World Series titles. He's a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Then there's Kevin Garnett, who spent spent 12 years with the Timberwolves and was traded to Boston in 2007, where he won an NBA title in his first season and helped the Celtics become a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference for five years.
It's safe to assume the majority of fans were happy to see Garnett finally get the elusive title that he was never able to obtain in Minnesota, but after Garnett left, the Timberwolves became a dumpster fire and only recently have been able to crawl out of it. Kind of.
Finally, there's the freak Randy Moss, who didn't help the Patriots win a Super Bowl – not that they needed one – but he was Tom Brady's favorite target on the 2007 team that went undefeated in the regular season. Moss caught a career-high 23 touchdowns among his 98 receptions and 1,493 yards. He was First-Team All-Pro for the first time since 2003 when he was a Viking.
Granted, Moss was traded to Oakland before he went to New England.
At least Garnett and Moss returned to the Wolves and Vikings, respectively, but neither had happy endings. Brad Childress traded Moss a month into his second tenure in purple, which eventually cost him his job.
So how will we feel if the Bruins defeat the Blues in this year's Stanley Cup and we have to watch Coyle hoist Lord Stanley above his shoulders?
Probably with a drink in our hands and remorse in our gullets.
