Wild Searching For Another Upgrade After Quinn Hughes Acquisition

The Minnesota Wild gave up a haul of former first round picks to acquire Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. One of those players was Marco Rossi, their top-6 center. Even though he was injured at the time of the trade and the Wild had been rolling along without him, their center depth was already their weak point prior to the trade.

The Wild, who are third in the league in points, have Joel Eriksson Ek, Danila Yurov, Ryan Hartman, and Nico Sturm down the middle. Yurov, in particular, is playing higher than he arguably should with his experience, but he's been holding his own. That doesn't mean the Wild can't upgrade and move him to the wing or third line for better depth overall.

Elliotte Freidman said, "I don't think (Bill Guerin's) done, he might not be able to do big stuff anymore...but with Marco Rossi out, he'll continue to look at center. A less pricey option there potentially."

The Wild have $1.3 million in cap space and a number of players injured. They look much better when healthy, but they could also play a man short and up that cap space to $2+ million or so. With cap retention on a $4 million center, that upgrade is doable without sending any contracts back.

An option that doesn't seem like it is available to the Wild this season is trading Marcus Foligno. He has two assists in 24 games and is a -9. He has completely lost any offensive touch, even though he wasn't known for putting up a ton of points anyways. He is signed through 2028 at $4 million AAV, but has a no-move clause until July 1.

Ideally, the Wild would bring in a second line center, Yurov would be able to shift over to the wing on the second or third line, and Foligno would drop to the fourth line or sit games. This would be after Marcus Johansson and Mats Zuccarello return from injury as well. The Wild are a more defensive team, but they have weapons offensively and can get scoring at 5-on-5 from their top-6 and on the power play. If Minnesota was willing to acquire Hughes for two playoff runs, then they would be willing to upgrade further if it means giving the team a shot at the Stanley Cup during their window that is now open.