3 Minnesota Wild Trade Candidates Heading Into 2026 Deadline

The Minnesota Wild have already pulled off the trade of the season, acquiring Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks, and word is, general manager Bill Guerin is far from finished.

The Wild are in the market for top-line forwards, depth forwards, and ideally, players with playoff experience, who can bring some more winning pedigree into the dressing room, for what the team hopes is a long Stanley Cup Playoff run this year.

In order to add another significant piece up front, Guerin's going to have to ante up, which is something he's shown he's certainly not shying away from this season, as he landed Hughes with his very first trade offer to Jim Rutherford.

If the Wild make significant upgrades up front, look for one of Ryan Hartman, David Jiricek, David Spacek, or goaltender Jesper Wallstedt to be heading the other way. Hartman's a pesky forward with another year on his contract, and he's had some inconsistent struggles throughout his tenure in Minny, leaving management always wanting more.

Meanwhile, Jiricek and Spacek are two of the Wild's best defensive prospects, still in their early 20's and with a ton of potential left untapped. They'll only be moved for someone with term on their contract heading to the Wild.

Wallstedt is the most intriguing trade chip, as he's someone who could land a top-line forward, and is likely the best goaltender available on the trade market at the moment. The 23-year-old is signed through next season at a very reasonable $2.2 million AAV, and after the 2026-27 campaign, is under team control as a pending restricted free agent. Wallstedt's put up a 14-5-4 record this season, including a .914 save percentage, which is among the league leaders. It's going to cost a pretty penny for Guerin to flinch, but he's shown he's not shy when it comes to being aggressive on the trade market this season.

Keep an eye on the Wild, they're far from done heading into deadline day.