Turns out the Wild general manager wasn’t even close to being done.

Newly-acquired Wild forward Gustav Nyquist wins a puck battle with now teammate Jared Spurgeon as a member of the Detroit Red Wings in an April 4. 2015 game at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Jonny Watkins)

Guerin made three more trades before the 2 p.m. deadline. Winger Jordan Greenway was dealt to Buffalo for a second-round pick in this year’s draft and a fifth-round selection in 2024, and Oskar Sundqvist, who can play center and wing, was acquired from Detroit for a fourth-round selection in 2023.

Those two moves weren’t surprising. The third one, which was reported just after the deadline had passed, was a stunner. The Wild acquired veteran defenseman John Klingberg from the Anaheim Ducks for Andrej Sustr, a 2025 fourth-round pick, and the rights to 2019 sixth-round selection Nikita Nesterenko (Boston College). The Ducks also retained 50 percent of Klingberg’s $7 million cap hit.

Guerin acknowledged even he was surprised by the amount of activity. “I did not think we would get this busy,” he said. “I told my wife that this morning and she called B.S. I guess she knows me better than anybody. I think we got a lot accomplished today. I think we’re better today than we were yesterday and that’s the idea.”

The Klingberg acquisition means coach Dean Evason is going to have some decisions to make on the blue line, especially when Jonas Brodin returns from injury. Klingberg’s skill set could mean that Calen Addison, who has ended up in Evason’s doghouse this season because of his play in his own zone, could be making a return to the press box. Veteran Alex Goligoski also could be the odd man out.

The 30-year-old Klingberg spent his first eight seasons as a standout defenseman in Dallas before signing a one-year contract with the Ducks in July. He had eight goals and 24 points in 50 games with the Ducks and was minus-28 on one of the NHL’s worst teams. Klingberg is considered a defensive liability — and his performance this season was a major disappointment — but the Wild are willing to take a risk and hope he returns to the form that led to a 47-point season in 74 games with the Stars in 2021-22.

Winger Kirill Kaprizov has been a one-man show on offense for the Wild of late — he scored both goals in a 2-1 win on Thursday in Vancouver — and Klingberg’s ability to move the puck from the back end should help the Wild’s transition game. Klingberg also is likely to quarterback the first power-play unit, replacing Addison in that spot.

The Wild’s average of 2.77 goals per game puts them 26th among 32 NHL teams. However, Minnesota is fifth in the NHL in goals against, giving up only 2.66. In winning seven of their past eight, and getting at least a point in each, the Wild have averaged only 2.25 goals per game. Take out the shootout goals the Wild was credited with to secure victories in two of those games and the Wild have 16 goals in that time. Kaprizov has eight of them.

Somebody else, anybody, needs to create offense.

“The blue line has been great,” Guerin said. “Not that our guys don’t move the puck well now, but it’s just that natural offensive instinct, that natural offensive ability (that Klingberg will bring). We like to defend first, but when there’s a play to be made he’s the type of guy that really can make a high-level offensive play.”

Jordan Greenway, seen here in a March 26, 2022 game vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets, is taking his grinding, defensive game to Buffalo after the trade deadline dust settled. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Guerin’s activity at the deadline shouldn’t be confused with a desperation that he had to rebuild the roster. Despite having plenty of salary-cap room as the deadline approached, the Wild will be back in cap hell starting in the offseason and will remain there through 2024-25 because of the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Guerin knew what he was getting into the day he decided to jettison the pair, so there is no attempt at a pity party coming from the GM.

What Guerin tried to do this week was give his defensive-first team a bit of a boost with some offensive pieces that he will have the ability to move on from when the season ends. Johansson, who spent the shortened 2020-21 season with the Wild before moving to Seattle, is playing on a one-year contract, while Sundqvist and Nyquist (who is currently injured) are in the final seasons of their multi-year deals. All are rentals, but also come at reasonable prices.

Greenway’s departure is addition by subtraction. The fact the Wild received a high pick (which originally belonged to Vegas) in what is considered a deep draft is a big win for Guerin.

The Wild once had high hopes for Greenway but the 2015 second-round selection never consistently used his 6-foot-6, 231-pound frame to his advantage. He was sidelined in training camp and for the early part of the season after having shoulder surgery and things went downhill from there. Greenway was scratched from a January game after showing up late and eventually received a talking to from Guerin about his play.

Greenway, 26, had only two goals and seven points in 45 games this season. His assist in Tuesday’s win over the Islanders broke a 21-game pointless streak and his last goal came on New Year’s Eve in St. Louis. 

The 28-year-old Sundqvist, whose size (6-3, 220 pounds) will help replace Greenway’s, had seven goals and 21 points in 52 games this season with the Red Wings. He has played in 340 career NHL games and has 116 points in eight seasons with the Penguins, Blues and Red Wings and also has 10 points, including four goals, in 36 playoff games.

The Wild deserved some sort of boost, considering their 76 points put them three behind first place Dallas in the Central Division and the Western Conference as the deadline arrived. Minnesota was three points ahead of third-place Colorado, the defending Stanley Cup champion and the team the Wild would face if the postseason began today. 

But Guerin wanted to be careful not to go overboard with his support because the Wild were only four points up on Winnipeg, which holds the second and final wild card spot in the conference.

Joel Eriksson-Ek and Jonas Brodin look on as fellow Swede and new Wild teammate Oskar Sundqvist fires a shot for the St. louis Blues in a Feb. 24, 2019 game at Xcel Energy Center. (MHM Photo / Jeff Wegge)

Guerin made it clear as the deadline neared that he wasn’t going to trade his first-round pick in this year’s draft, or any of his top prospects. He knows that once the Wild emerge from their salary-cap issues, which could happen sooner than expected if the cap increases in the next two seasons, a prospect pool that was voted the best in the NHL by The Athletic could put the organization in a spot to make a run at its first Stanley Cup.

Mortgaging that future for a team that Evason has molded into a shut down unit that would make Jacques Lemaire proud, would not have been wise. Guerin, after all, had high hopes last season after acquiring goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and others at the trade deadline. That Wild team had a franchise-record 113 points — and a far more dynamic offense — and was bounced in the opening round for the sixth time in its past six tries.

The Wild is hoping to end that stretch, and win their first playoff series since 2015, this spring. Guerin’s moves this past week appeared to increase the chances of that happening. “We’re committed,” Guerin said when asked what he hoped these moves showed his team. “Our owner, Craig Leipold, is committed and he’s providing us with the financial backing that it takes to get better. We’re serious. We’re serious about winning.”

Just not at the expense of harming a bright future.

The post Committed to the Cause appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

The Wild need to see the aggressive side of their forward.

It wasn’t an ideal start to the season for Wild forward Charlie Coyle.

After breaking his fibula in the third game of the season, he was sidelined for 16 games and was able to return game action just five weeks later. Upon his return from injury, he was able to generate some offense with 13 assists in his first 30 games but netted just four goals. Coyle, also rarely shot the puck, as he registered just 44 shots during that span.

However, the classic cliche of “good things happen when you shoot puck” started to apply to Coyle’s game. Entering play on Feb. 15, Coyle has four goals in his last seven games while firing 16 pucks on net.

After Minnesota’s 5-2 loss to Washington, Coyle logged 18:59 of ice time, which was the most of any forward.

“I mean he worked hard. I don’t know if he had any shots on goal or anything but I mean Charlie works hard every night,” said Bruce Boudreau after the Wild’s 5-2 loss to the Capitals. “There’s no ifs ands or buts. It’s just always you think that he could start shooting the puck a bit more, he could get more offensive points.”

Boudreau’s not wrong either. In 41 games this season, Coyle has scored in seven of them and in six of those games he’s fired at least three shots on net. 

This is nothing new for anyone that’s watched Coyle over the last six years. Fans have seen glimpses of a bulldog mentality and nose for the net that leaves you wanting more. Yet, it’s almost as if he possess a switch, sometimes it’s on and sometimes it’s off.

Where has he been effective?

Coyle has earned the bulk of his points this season in even-strength situations – as 20 of 23 points have come five-on-five. He’s seen time on power play units, but probably hasn’t been a mainstay because of his inconsistent nature of shooting the puck.

The former college hockey standout at Boston University has floated between both the wing and center position during his career. Although he may look like prototypical center at 6′ 3″ and 220 pounds, Coyle’s always had trouble winning faceoffs, having won just 46 percent of his draws in his career. But the former first-round pick has been excellent in the circle this season, winning  53 percent of his faceoffs, which is actually the best percentage on the team.

Now winning faceoffs and scoring are two very different things – but his improvement in something he’s historically struggled with provides hope one day he can turn his offensive game around too.

What do analytics say?

New age hockey analytic statistics like Corsi and Fenwick have not been kind to Coyle this season. If you’re not familiar with Corsi, it basically measures the number of shot attempts said player gets at even strength while he is on the ice and it’s divided by the number of shot attempts the opposition gets while he is on the ice. Think of it like plus-minus but for shot attempts.

It’s not a perfect statistic, but since the NHL doesn’t have puck possession figures, this is the closest thing to it. Coyle’s Corsi percentage is 47.2 – typically you’d like to be above 50 – which is five points lower than his career average and seven points lower than his career-high figure of 54.4 from last season. In other words, when Coyle’s on the ice this year, opposing team are getting more shots on net.

Now that’s not all on Coyle, as the Wild as a team are averaging just 28 shots per game which is the fourth-lowest total in the NHL. If anything it’s another tell-tale sign that Coyle – and the rest of the team – needs to fire more rubber on net.

Could they move on?

Currently Coyle is in the third year of a five-year contract and has a cap hit of $3.2 million this season. Unlike most of the veterans on the Wild, he doesn’t have a no-move clause which means he could be moved to any team. His name has even been floated around the trade market, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic.

When you consider his friendly cap hit, the fact he’s just a season removed from a career-year and still in his mid 20’s, you can understand why another team would be interested in his services. Now would the Wild be willing to give him up? That remains to be seen.

But for Coyle’s sake, his head coaches sake and for the fans of State of Hockey, Coyle needs to be more aggressive on the ice for the Wild to succeed.

The post What’s up with Charlie Coyle? appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.