Priority one for the minnesota wild this offseason: get a center

The series exposed a glaring roster hole

Everyone praised Guerin for acquiring defenseman Quinn Hughes from the Vancouver Canucks. Guerin stepped up to the plate and hit a homerun, sending Zeev Buium, Marco Rossi, Liam Öhgren, and a first-round pick. Quinn Hughes paid dividends and more for the Wild, getting to the second round in a tough Central Division.

Hughes carried the load offensively and defensively for the Wild, averaging over 30 minutes a night and recording 15 points in 11 games. That is all well and good, but the Minnesota Wild could not match the Avalanche’s depth down the middle.

With Rossi in Vancouver and Eriksson-Ek hurt, that meant Ryan Hartman, Yakov Trenin, Nico Sturm, Robby Fabbri, and Michael McCarron were matching up with Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri, and Nicolas Roy or Jack Drury. That is hard to go up against every game.

Why the trade deadline opportunity slipped away

The Wild showed competence and fight, but there were players at the trade deadline that Guerin could have gone after that would have helped the Wild in this series. The biggest one being Vincent Trocheck of the New York Rangers.

“Joel Eriksson Ek not being in this lineup has clearly hurt this team. We knew their depth down the middle. Victoria, you and I talked about this; we’ve said they don’t have the center depth. They should have got a center. Where is Vincent Trocheck? Still with the Rangers. He needs to be in Minnesota.”

Trocheck brings his playoff experience and ability to win faceoffs. Not to mention, he can provide offense outside of Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy up front. For his career in the playoffs, Trocheck has 37 points in 56 playoff games. We all know what Trocheck did for the Rangers alongside Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere during their run to the 2024 Eastern Conference Final.

Available assets make a move feasible

Trocheck is the cheapest with three years at $5.625 million a season. But again, the Rangers and Chris Drury had to win a trade for Trocheck, given their situation with other trades involving Panarin, Jacob Trouba, Chris Kreider, and the list goes on.

Outside of extending defenseman Quinn Hughes, this team needs a center, plain and simple. Whether it is Nico Hischier or Jack Hughes from New Jersey, Brady Tkachuk from Ottawa, Auston Matthews from Toronto, or Robert Thomas from St. Louis, the Wild need help down the middle. As Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic noted in their recent analysis, the priority list starts and ends with center depth.

As we write, here are some of the young assets, which include Jesper Wallstedt, Danila Yurov, Bobby Brink, Daemon Hunt, Charlie Stramel, Hunter Haight, Riley Heidt, Adam Benak and, of course, future first-round picks that could be included in a trade. The Wild’s prospect pool gives Guerin real ammunition to land a difference-maker without gutting the roster.

Looking ahead to a stronger 2026-27 campaign

Regardless, it is an interesting off-season for Bill Guerin and the Minnesota Wild. The addition of Hughes already proved transformative, and pairing that success with a true No. 1 center would elevate the group from playoff participant to legitimate contender. The organization now has a clear blueprint: protect the core, add size and skill up the middle, and give Kaprizov and Boldy the support they deserve in the postseason.

Fans should expect Guerin to be aggressive yet measured. With the right move at center, the Wild could avoid the depth issues that derailed them against Colorado and position themselves for a deeper run in 2027. The pieces are there. Execution is all that remains.