\n<\/p>\n
Heading into the NHL\u2019s March 6 trade deadline, The Athletic<\/i>\u2019s Michael Russo and Joe Smith will update this trade and news tracker with all of the goings-on of the Minnesota Wild, so be sure to bookmark it and return often.<\/p>\nWild trade for Petry<\/h2>\n
LAS VEGAS \u2014 Jeff Petry signed with the Florida Panthers hoping to become the latest player to sign a one-year deal with Florida and leave with a Stanley Cup ring.<\/p>\n
Well, maybe that\u2019ll happen in Minnesota now that the two-time Stanley Cup-winning Panthers\u2019 playoff chances are in peril.<\/p>\n
The respected veteran defenseman was traded to the Wild on Thursday for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in June. The pick becomes a 2026 fifth-round pick if the Wild win two playoff rounds and Petry plays in 50 percent or more of their playoff games during those first two rounds.<\/p>\n
Petry, 38, gives the Wild right-shot depth and, per team sources, understands he\u2019s coming to Minnesota to be an extra behind Brock Faber, Jared Spurgeon and Zach Bogosian. Petry, who has a big shot, is more of a defensive puck mover at this stage in his career, but the Wild like his experience and the fact that he shoots right.<\/p>\n
Also, the fact that the Wild added a right-shot defenseman makes you wonder if David Jiricek and\/or David Spacek are in play before Friday\u2019s deadline.<\/p>\n
Petry will join the team in time for its game against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night.<\/p>\n
Petry has eight assists in 58 games for Florida this season. The Ann Arbor native has scored 96 goals and 393 points in 1,039 games over 16 seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and the Panthers and has blocked 1,616 shots. He has played in 48 playoff games. \u2014 March 5<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The Wild\u2019s hopes of getting Vincent Trocheck are fading.<\/p>\n The price for the New York Rangers center appears to be too rich at this point. It may just be that they don\u2019t have the assets to get it done for a 32-year-old multi-faceted player with three years left on a reasonable $5.625 million average-annual-value contract.<\/p>\n Minnesota continues its pursuit of a center, though, and after acquiring Michael McCarron from the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, the Wild are likely looking for a top-six addition. That means they wouldn\u2019t have interest in the Toronto Maple Leafs\u2019 Scott Laughton.<\/p>\n There aren\u2019t many top-six centers out there right now. The St. Louis Blues are understandably looking for a ton for Robert Thomas, and it\u2019s extremely unlikely the Wild have interest in the Vancouver Canucks\u2019 Elias Pettersson. Nazem Kadri is 35, so his three years left at $7 million annually wouldn\u2019t be palatable.<\/p>\n The Wild have shown interest in the Columbus Blue Jackets\u2019 Charlie Coyle, though at this stage in his career, he is not a prototypical top-six center. And as of now, Columbus has indicated to teams it\u2019s not moving him.<\/p>\n The Nashville Predators\u2019 Ryan O\u2019Reilly is another center the Wild would have interest in. It remains to be determined if he wants to move, though. He doesn\u2019t have no-trade protection but is being treated as such by Predators management, so his decision likely depends on the team pursuing him.<\/p>\n Remember, the Wild may find it smarter to hang onto their remaining assets and go big-game hunting this offseason if potential difference makers hit the market. \u2014 March 5<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The Michael McCarron acquisition was the talk of the locker room before Tuesday\u2019s 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, in large part because he\u2019s had so many run-ins with Wild players over the years. He\u2019s fought 42 times in all during a nine-year NHL career that started as a 2013 Montreal Canadiens first-round pick, including twice against Jake Middleton and once against Marcus Foligno.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a good, honest player,\u201d Middleton said. \u201cHe\u2019s hard on the forecheck. He does extremely well on the kill. He\u2019s a great addition to our room.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more Wild player reaction to the trade<\/a>. \u2014 March 4<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n The sticker shock of the Wild trading a 2028 second-round pick to the Nashville Predators for fourth-line center Michael McCarron had many Minnesota fans and some hockey writers questioning the move Tuesday.<\/p>\n Wild president and general manager Bill Guerin countered bluntly: \u201cThat second-round pick is not going to help us right now. If we have to get it back in three years or whatever, maybe we can do that. But we went through the same thing in Pittsburgh one year. We didn\u2019t want to give up a third-round pick for somebody, and Jim Rutherford said that third-round pick better be a pretty good f\u2014ing player.<\/p>\n \u201cLook, second-round picks are valuable, but we want to improve our team now. We can deal with that down the road. So, I\u2019m not worried about that.\u201d<\/p>\n One reason why Guerin had to trade a 2028 second-round pick is that he already traded the team\u2019s 2026 second-round pick to Nashville for Gustav Nyquist last season and the team\u2019s 2027 second-round pick to Columbus as part of the David Jiricek package last year.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, we have one in \u201929 also,\u201d Guerin quipped. \u201cWe still plan on being active, but we just might not be putting second-round picks out there.\u201d<\/p>\n That was one of Guerin\u2019s main messages during his availability Tuesday night before the team\u2019s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning: that the McCarron trade doesn\u2019t preclude him from continuing his pursuit of a top-six center. Vincent Trocheck remains likely their top target.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can still add,\u201d he said. \u201cHonestly, I always like to be confident. But you just don\u2019t know. It\u2019s a crazy time. You might think you have something, and you don\u2019t. And you might think you\u2019re done, and something big comes across your desk, and you can react. But we\u2019re continuing to try to improve the team and help, and we\u2019ll see what level we can do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Once upon a time, Guerin signed McCarron\u2019s brother, John, to a contract in Wilkes-Barre when he was the Penguins\u2019 assistant GM. And he got to know Michael at the 2025 World Championships when Guerin was there scouting the U.S. team managed by Jeff Kealty. That team won the first U.S. gold medal in 92 years.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a good guy,\u201d Guerin said. \u201cHe\u2019s excited to be coming here, and he\u2019s really looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n McCarron, 30, has had a lot of run-ins over the years with Wild players. He\u2019s fought Jake Middleton two times and Marcus Foligno once. Last season, he and Mats Zuccarello got into it at the bench and each was fined. In December, McCarron appeared to embellish a slash by Zuccarello. He skated off with an apparent injury and drew a major penalty. It was reviewed and rescinded when replays showed Zuccarello didn\u2019t get him. The review delayed the game, and McCarron returned with a smirk on his face and skated to the penalty box with no injury.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t carry over, I don\u2019t think,\u201d Guerin said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see. They\u2019re professionals. This has been going on for 100 years in this league.\u201d<\/p>\n Predators center Steven Stamkos said it was tough for the team to hear McCarron was dealt.<\/p>\n \u201cA little bit of a gut punch right before a game,\u201d Stamkos said on FanDuel TV. \u201cUnderstandable to come out maybe a little flat because of emotions on what went on before the game.\u201d \u2014 March 3<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Read more on the McCarron trade:<\/p>\n The Wild, hoping to upgrade their bottom-six forward depth, claimed Robby Fabbri off waivers Monday from the St. Louis Blues.<\/p>\n Fabbri, 30, is likely going to fit in as a fourth-line winger and potentially a penalty killer for a Minnesota group that\u2019s lacked secondary scoring as of late. Fabbri has just one goal in 15 games for St. Louis this year but had 18 goals for the Detroit Red Wings as recently as 2023-24 and 17 in 2021-22. He also appeared in 10 playoff games for the Blues during their 2019 Stanley Cup run. He\u2019s scored 15 or more goals four times in his career.<\/p>\n Minnesota is already without veteran winger Marcus Foligno, who was placed on injured reserve Monday with a lower-body injury. Their fourth line during Sunday\u2019s loss to the Blues included Vinnie Hinostroza (one goal and two points in his past 10 games) and Nico Sturm (three goals in 38 games this season). Tyler Pitlick was put on waivers on Monday.<\/p>\n The Wild have lost two of their first three games since the Olympic break, with their offense primarily coming from Kirill Kaprizov, Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy. Fabbri provides another veteran option who could benefit from a fresh start. Basically, he\u2019s a free pickup who gives them a better option than Pitlick or Ben Jones. \u2014 March 2<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The Wild continue to have significant interest in center Vincent Trocheck, who met with a small group of reporters in Tarrytown, N.Y., on Monday morning in advance of the New York Rangers\u2019 game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.<\/p>\n The Rangers have two games left before the trade deadline, and New York has a history of sitting players as asset protection, including Mats Zuccarello before he was dealt to the Dallas Stars in 2019, four months before signing with the Wild.<\/p>\n So Trocheck, the top target on The Athletic<\/em>\u2019s trade board<\/a>, is well aware his days could be numbered in New York and seems at peace with whatever happens as long as he\u2019s dealt to a contender.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m gonna get traded to a team that\u2019s in the same situation as us, then I don\u2019t want to move,\u201d Trocheck told reporters<\/a>, according to The Athletic<\/em>\u2019s Vince Mercogliano. \u201cThat sounds miserable in a new city. I am 32 years old. I would like to win a Stanley Cup, so if I am going to get traded, I would like to go to a team that\u2019s winning, or has a chance to win.\u201d<\/p>\n Trocheck, who has three years left on his contract after this one at a $5.625 cap hit, confirmed that he\u2019d like to stay east because of his family situation and that several Western Conference teams are on his 12-team no-trade list. The Athletic<\/em> has confirmed the Wild are not one of those teams, though, and he has a great relationship with Wild president of hockey operations Bill Guerin through USA Hockey, as well as recent gold-medal Olympic teammates Quinn Hughes, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber.<\/p>\n The Wild are in need of a center, preferably a right shot, and one who can win draws (they have had the faceoff edge in just 13 of 61 games this year and rank 31st in the NHL on faceoffs) and kill penalties (they rank 22nd in the NHL). That\u2019s Trocheck to a T. He is perennially one of the NHL\u2019s best in the faceoff circle, and we just saw at the Olympics during the United States\u2019 perfect penalty kill how good he is in that department.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like I\u2019m as involved as I can be,\u201d Trocheck said of trade talk. \u201cI only have a 12-team no-trade clause. It\u2019s not like I have full protection and I need to be in with them on every single phone call. But I mean, me and (GM Chris Drury) have a great relationship. He\u2019s been very open and honest with me and transparent, so I feel like I get as many calls as a player could get.\u201d<\/p>\n Have the #NYR<\/a> considering sitting Trocheck for roster management purposes?<\/p>\n “Not to this point, no,” Sullivan said.<\/p>\n \u2014 Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) March 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n There is no doubt that the Wild have made their one and final offer. Guerin has a history of going straight to his final offer \u2014 not messing around. So if Trocheck\u2019s traded to the Wild by Friday\u2019s 2 p.m. deadline (noon PT, where the Wild will be Friday), there\u2019s no doubt Drury knows by now exactly what he\u2019d receive from Minnesota and could even be shopping around to see if he can get a better package.<\/p>\n The Wild have traded most of their blue-chip prospects and draft picks away in the recent David Jiricek and Hughes packages, so there\u2019s a definite possibility that what the Wild offered \u2014 perhaps centering around prospect Charlie Stramel, maybe another prospect and a 2027 first-round pick \u2014 isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n Regardless, Trocheck is aware of the Wild\u2019s interest. Before the Wild\u2019s Olympians and staff took a group picture in advance of the United States\u2019 first game at the Olympics, Guerin joked with Trocheck that he should join in. That got laughs from Trocheck and even Drury as the 32-year-old faked skating over to the goal crease, where the picture was about to be snapped. \u2014 March 2<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Wild president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin conducted an exclusive interview with The Athletic<\/em> on Friday in Salt Lake City, so you can read his thoughts going into the trade deadline in our Wild Insider that appeared Sunday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Sunday, an hour before the Wild hosted the St. Louis Blues, Guerin reiterated his desire to improve in the faceoff circle heading into Friday\u2019s 2 p.m. deadline. And one other thing has cropped up that could affect deadline plans: the health of Marcus Foligno.<\/p>\n The veteran checker \u2014 who is one of the Wild\u2019s better penalty killers and defensive forwards \u2014 has sustained a lower-body injury. He\u2019s seeing doctors to determine the extent of the injury, but if it\u2019s an ailment that could keep him sidelined for a significant amount of time, Guerin does have the flexibility and time to address the matter with an external addition.<\/p>\n \u201cGuys like him are hard to find,\u201d Guerin said. \u201cI guess I don\u2019t have a great answer for you right now. It\u2019s just kind of new, and we\u2019ll figure it out in the next couple days and see how he\u2019s really doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Guerin did tell The Athletic<\/em> after the news conference that he remains hopeful Foligno won\u2019t be out long, but as we said, at least with the injury popping up before the trade deadline, Guerin can react if needed.<\/p>\n Guerin doubled down on the fact that the biggest area of need is faceoffs. The Wild have had the faceoff edge in 13 of 60 games this season.<\/p>\n \u201cOur center position is extremely important,\u201d he said. \u201cWe could do a top-six, or we could do a bottom-six. We could do either\/or. But I think our current guys have to be better in the faceoff circle no matter what. That has to change. But we can also look at getting somebody that could help us in that department.\u201d \u2014 March 1<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n According to The Athletic<\/em>\u2019s Pierre LeBrun<\/a>, Steven Stamkos has the Wild on his short list of teams he\u2019d be open to getting traded to. The other teams are the Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning, Stamkos\u2019 old team, where he was the long-time face of the franchise.<\/p>\n This is an interesting development on a few fronts. The fact Stamkos has the Wild on his short list shows how far the team has come in terms of being considered a true contender. It also could give Minnesota some leverage, knowing there are only limited options Predators GM Barry Trotz can work with if he decides to deal the likely future Hall of Famer.<\/p>\n Stamkos, 36, has a full no-move clause, so he holds all the cards. And when asked by The Athletic<\/em><\/a> a few weeks ago what he\u2019d consider leading into the trade deadline (staying or going), he put it like this. \u201cYou want to win.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, does Stamkos make sense for Minnesota?<\/p>\n The Wild could really use a right shot (like Stamkos) on the top power-play unit, and other than Alex Ovechkin, what player in the 2000s has been better at one-timing pucks from the left circle on the power play? Stamkos\u2019 611 goals (19th in NHL history) since coming into the league in 2008-09 rank second in the NHL behind Ovechkin\u2019s 756 over that span.<\/p>\n Imagine how enticing it would be to have Quinn Hughes teeing up Stamkos, who is having a resurgent season in Nashville with 29 goals in 58 games. A power play with Hughes, Stamkos, Kirill Kaprizov, Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek would be extremely potent.<\/p>\n Stamkos has two years left on his contract at $8 million. Even if Nashville didn\u2019t retain salary\/cap space, the Wild can afford the 36-year-old now and over the next two years.<\/p>\n What they\u2019d have to decide \u201cfor the now\u201d is whether adding a high-scoring winger makes more sense than adding a center.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an interesting debate because no team has scored more goals since Hughes\u2019 arrival than the Wild, and he\u2019s the best puck-moving defenseman in the league. And when you possess two play-driving wingers in Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy and add Stamkos, perhaps adding a No. 1 center isn\u2019t a necessity. There\u2019s a chance Joel Eriksson Ek, Ryan Hartman, Danila Yurov and Nico Sturm could be good enough to go on a deep run.<\/p>\n Stamkos can still play center, too, and is strong in the faceoff dot \u2014 another reason he\u2019d have some draw for the Wild.<\/p>\n He\u2019s also good friends with Wild defenseman Zach Bogosian, a member of his 2008 NHL Draft class and former Lightning teammate. Bogosian could help Stamkos and his family get set up in the Twin Cities and the area\u2019s youth hockey scene.<\/p>\n What the Wild would be willing to give up is one wrinkle. Is a Charlie Stramel-led package, with a 2027 first-round pick, etc., enough?<\/p>\n Another slight issue: The Predators keep winning and are only two points out of a playoff spot. \u2014 Feb. 27<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n There\u2019s no doubt Bill Guerin has been sizing up the center market and has called on everybody from Robert Thomas to Nazem Kadri to Ryan O\u2019Reilly to Charlie Coyle.<\/p>\n If Guerin wants to swing for the fences and is willing to part with significant assets, likely including goalie Jesper Wallstedt, Thomas would fit the bill. But the moment you give up Wallstedt, that likely takes you out of big-game hunting this offseason or into next season.<\/p>\n The Wild\u2019s top target is Vincent Trocheck, the New York Rangers veteran who just won a gold medal in Milan with Quinn Hughes, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber.<\/p>\n At 32, the right-shot center is one of the best faceoff guys in the NHL, can score, would be terrific in the bumper position on the power play and showed in Milan on the United States\u2019 18-for-18 penalty kill that he could aid the Wild in that area.<\/p>\n Since 2016-17, Trocheck has also been one of the best faceoff men in the NHL, at 55 percent, and since 2000-01, the Wild are the third-worst.<\/p>\n Trocheck has three years left on his contract with a $5.625 million average annual value. Because his contract is reasonable and there\u2019s such a dearth at the center position in the NHL, he will be highly coveted this week, and you can bet Rangers general manager Chris Drury will try to squeeze the best deal out of all interested teams. So the Wild will have to decide whether they\u2019re willing to give up the price required to get Trocheck, knowing the more assets they trade now, the more difficult it\u2019ll be to go after a big fish this summer or next season.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a really good question, because that\u2019s probably the biggest thing that goes through my brain all the time is, \u2018Patience, patience, patience.\u2019\u201d Guerin told The Athletic<\/i> on a recent \u201cFellowship of the Rink\u201d podcast<\/a>. \u201cAnd if it doesn\u2019t happen now, maybe it\u2019s not meant to be? Maybe there\u2019s something bigger in the summer? We were patient. You don\u2019t think a player like Quinn Hughes becomes available, but look at how early in the season he did become available.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I have to look at the history of things to help me be patient. I\u2019ve always said, \u2018No knee-jerk moves.\u2019 I\u2019m not always true to myself on that. But I try to be. We really try to weigh the pros and cons.\u201d \u2014 Feb. 27<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\nPursuit of Trocheck is fading<\/h2>\n
New Wild teammates on McCarron: \u2018He\u2019s an honest player\u2019<\/h2>\n
Guerin on McCarron sticker shock: \u2018Deal with that down the road\u2019<\/h2>\n
Why the Wild added Fabbri<\/h2>\n
Trocheck on trade possibility<\/h2>\n
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Looking for faceoff guys, maybe Foligno help<\/h2>\n
Stamkos interested in Wild?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Wild interested in Trocheck<\/b><\/h2>\n