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Could a trade with the Minnesota Wild be mutually beneficial?

Photo credit: James Guillory/USA Today Sports

By Sam Blazer

May 23, 2017, 18:52 EDT

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Changes are needed in Detroit. There is no disputing that. The Red Wings had their worst season in more than two decades.

After dominating for a stunning amount of time, it might be hard to find a trade partner that is willing to make a deal with the Wings. Needing a youth movement in the worst way, they need to find a cash strapped team that needs to take advantage of the window that has been given to them.

In steps the Minnesota Wild.

They have many veterans signed to long-term deals with lots of money invested in them. The downhill slide for a couple of their players is already coming. Unless they do a complete blow up, they are going to need to move players and money around.

They’re like the Red Wings of a few years ago minus all of the winning.

In the most recent 30 Thoughts from Elliotte Friedman, he talks about some of the issues the team faces in regard to their salary cap.

2. An unusual name started circulating in trade circles the last few days: Minnesota’s Nino Niederreiter. The 24-year-old winger had a career-high 25 goals in 2016–17, and, after making a few calls, it sounds like teams are looking at the Wild’s expansion/cap situation, wondering if he could be available. Two years away from unrestricted free agency, Niederreiter is arbitration eligible and will get a nice raise from the $2.7 million he just earned.
The Wild also need to re-sign Mikael Granlund. As an exec from another team put it, “It may not be their first choice, but if you make it worth their while, it’s possible.” All GM Chuck Fletcher would say is, “We are actively listening… on everything.”
3. It probably wouldn’t surprise Minnesota fans to hear Matt Dumba’s name, too. The Wild have an expansion logjam on the blueline.

The rumors coming out of Minnesota state that it may be a bit more open season than originally thought.

Niederreiter and Granlund are game changing players. Not having the money to be able to sign them is a good sign for other teams. It’ll take a fair amount to pry them out but the best part about the players is that they are young enough to be valued as an accelerated draft pick.

Dumba isn’t on the same level as those two but is nonetheless interesting as a player. An opportunity to be given a much bigger role could do him some good.

The need for the Red Wings to dump some salary while giving up some good players is a reality no one in the organization wants to deal with right now. Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar and Riley Sheahan are all good players that could be packaged to get upgrades. It’ll take more than just a straight up player but it could be worth it.

The Red Wings have an excess of picks and they need to prioritize what they want to do. Bringing over some RFA’s could make for a new pathway to forge ahead. Niederreiter is going to cost more than any player that would be traded to the Wild but would be worth it. Same with Granlund.

Dumba could be a steal considering his output. He would be second on the team in defensemen scoring if he played on the Red Wings last year.

A full on rebuild should be the focus of the Red Wings but as time passes and deals aren’t made, a rebuild on the fly seems more and more likely. It is unlikely that all of them would come together in a package. You would need to pick one player and focus in on them. They would immediately become a top pairing or top line player from the start on the Red Wings.

The line that they are teetering is self made and easily avoidable. They need to pick one or the other. The Red Wings are going to continue down a dangerous path. They could possibly pick up younger versions of players they already have. Not a lot of improvement but they could tread water at the bottom of the playoffs with these types of moves.

A tough situation only gets tougher if the Red Wings don’t make a move in one direction or another.