It’s time to do the final report card of the offseason for the Minnesota Wild and that means the general manager, Bill Guerin, is up. His grade, like Dean Evason, is a little bit more difficult due to no on-ice stats but Guerin’s moves at the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline and other moves he made throughout the season are included.
Like the 2021-22 season, Guerin lost some players but also gained some and while it’s hard to watch some players go, general managers know it needs to be done. They have their team’s best interests at heart even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time. We’ll take a look at the players he brought in and the players he let go and determine if he made the right moves to put his team in the best position possible.
Guerin’s Acquisitions
Obviously at the beginning of the 2021-22 offseason re-signing Jacob Middleton was a big deal that helped out their defense. Guerin signed quite a few prospects throughout that offseason and then things quieted down until shortly after the New Year. The Wild got what they had been wanting when they locked up part of their future in Matt Boldy just two weeks into the New Year.
Guerin signed Boldy to a seven-year, $7 million deal and made sure they would have someone besides Kirill Kaprizov who can score goals. He went on to sign a few more minor-league players to deals before landing one of his defensemen of the future in Brock Faber. It was just an entry-level deal but it led to a couple of bigger deals a short time later that included Frédérick Gaudreau to a five-year deal worth $2.1 million a year and then Marcus Johansson to a two-year deal worth $2 million a year.
Guerin took a break from signing players to work during the 2023 Trade Deadline when he brought in Johansson, John Klingberg, Gustav Nyquist, and Oskar Sundqvist. He beefed up the lineup a bit with more skill than muscle but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get them out of the first round. Following their playoff loss, he, like his players, took some time before getting back to the grind.
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He added more muscle and scoring skills earlier this week when he succeeded in re-signing Brandon Duhaime before his arbitration date. The one-year, $1.1 million deal is a strong deal for both sides in it’s friendly for the team and it also earns Duhaime a slight raise before the possibility to re-sign again after next season. The signings and trades were done to make the team better and while it did help the talent level, they were still missing something. Hopefully this next season Guerin can find that special missing ingredient.
Guerin’s Losses
Last season, Guerin traded Kevin Fiala away and in return received Faber and a draft pick that would later become Liam Öhgren. While letting Fiala go wasn’t the greatest, the players they got in return secured part of the Wild’s future, especially on defense with Faber. This past season, they had to let Jordan “Big Rig” Greenway go in a trade to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for two draft picks, a second-rounder that turned out to be Riley Heidt, and a fifth-round pick in 2024.
So, while it was a big loss losing a sizable player in Greenway, they gained players for their future. Other than Greenway, they didn’t really lose anyone during the season, however, once the season ended, they saw a number of players leave for more cash. Everyone knows the Wild are strapped for money and wouldn’t be able to sign everyone.
They lost Klingberg, Nyquist, and Sundqvist and will be losing Matt Dumba once he finds a team to sign with. Three of the four losses are minimal as they weren’t with the team for more than a couple of months, but losing Dumba will hurt. Thankfully, Guerin has been prepared for this day and even signed Pat Maroon to help alleviate some of the leadership loss as well as the physicality.
Guerin’s Grade
Once again, it’s hard to put together a grade without stats to show any improvement or lack thereof. However, we took a look at his signings and his trades to see how much they helped the team and can give him a grade based on that. Overall, the moves he made helped improve the team with the money he had, however, there are always other deals that can be done but are passed over for others.
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Based on this past season’s moves up until the Duhaime signing, Guerin earned an A-. He’s done what he can to build the best team possible with the money he has. However, as always, there’s room for improvement and other deals that can be done. If the Wild can move past the first round next season, his grade may reflect better, but until that happens, it won’t go any higher. Hopefully, he can get Gustavsson signed and be on their way to a better season.
