Minnesota Wild trade rumors: Ryan O'Reilly and 3 others
Mired in a slump, could a potential trade for a former Conn Smythe Trophy winner be just the answer the Minnesota Wild?
With two weeks until the NHL trade deadline the Wild have hit a slump, going 3-7-1 in their last 11 games. What's worse is they have just 11 even-strength goals in those 11 games and they've scored three or fewer goals in all 11.
That leads us to the rumor mill, where Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff suggests Blues center and 2019 Conn Smythe Trophy winner Ryan O'Reilly could be a potential target for Minnesota, though the asking price might be too steep.
"If O’Reilly slides into second-round pick territory, it’s easy to see Minnesota’s interest," he said.
The 32-year-old has 12 goals and six assists in 39 games this season. He's also one of the best in the league in the faceoff circle, which is a serious issue for Minnesota.
Other names Seravalli linked the Wild to are San Jose's Nick Bonina (9 goals, 9 assists), Chicago's Taylor Raddysh (14 goals, 10 assists) and Vancouver's Luke Schenn (3 goals, 15 assists).
On Raddysh, Seravalli notes that the asking price won't be cheap but, "...he’s been productive and that contract next season below league minimum would be a perfect guy for their salary cap situation."
The Wild have cap space to use this season, as much as $16 million, but trading for players who aren't rentals means more pressure on next season's salary cap, which is already pinched by the $14.75 million in dead cap hits from the contract buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.
Seravalli lists Vancouver's Luke Schenn as a fourth potential target for the Wild to help a defense that has shown cracks lately.
Minnesota was previously linked to Philadelphia veteran winger James van Riemsdyk, and last weekend The Athletic reported that Minnesota was interested in Chicago's Patrick Kane.
