According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Minnesota Wild have made several of their players available on the trade block.
The Minnesota Wild are off to a slow start to their season, as they enter Saturday, Oct. 26, with a 3-7-0 record. Changes could be coming to the organization, especially with new general manager Bill Guerin looking to make his mark on the team. According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Wild have made several of their forwards available.
This report comes from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. He mentions several players by name, and there are likely even more players available. The Wild are in a tough situation, with an aging core and not enough secondary scoring or goaltending to take them deep into the postseason.
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Ryan Donato
The first player mentioned is Ryan Donato. At the 2019 trade deadline, the Wild acquired him and a 2019 fourth-round pick from the Boston Bruins for Charlie Coyle. Donato got off to a strong start with Minnesota, picking up seven goals and five assists for 12 points in 19 games.
However, he’s off to a very slow start to the 2019-20 season. Donato has just one point in his first nine games. After playing over 15 minutes a game with the Wild after switching teams at the deadline, he’s averaging just over 11 minutes per game this season. That’s his lowest average ice time in his career.
Donato is signed through the 2020-21 season with a $1.9 million annual cap hit. At 23 years old, he’s still young enough to have an intriguing upside.
Kevin Fiala
Much like Donato, Kevin Fiala was acquired at the 2019 trade deadline. The Wild got him from the Nashville Predators in a one-for-one trade involving Mikael Granlund. Unlike Donato, Fiala didn’t have a strong start with his team.
In his first 19 games with the Wild after the trade deadline, he picked up seven points. This season, Fiala has just one point through seven games. However, he’s not too far removed from being a critical piece with the Predators, as he put up 48 points in 80 games back in the 2017-18 season. Fiala has a $3 million annual cap hit and is signed through the 2020-21 season.
Joel Eriksson Ek
Joel Eriksson Ek, unlike Donato and Fiala, was not acquired via a trade. The Wild drafted him in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft with the 20th overall pick. However, he has had trouble staying healthy. And when Eriksson Erk has been on the ice, he has struggled to produce.
Through 155 career games, he has 38 points. Eriksson Ek is a legitimate bottom six forward who can kill penalties and play responsibly, but has never been able to produce enough to warrant a larger role.
It’s interesting each of the players Garrioch mentioned are young. The Wild clearly aren’t going to give them away for free, but the fact that they’re on the market suggests they might not be ready to start rebuilding yet.