The Wild had been planning to continue the rebuild this season. Sitting on a pile of great prospects and the 6th overall pick, we felt like waiting another season or two for names like Kakko and Kotkaniemi to mature would be the best course of action. That is, until the Carolina Hurricanes, with their new GM Alex Nellis at the helm, came calling. The proposal? Send superstar defenceman Dougie Hamilton to Minnesota. How could I say no to a guy like that? Young and talented, exactly the type of player I love, as I’m sure others do as well. The full deal saw Dougie Hamilton and Austin Czarnik off to Minnesota in exchange for J.T. Compher, Ryan McLeod, and a 2nd.

With this addition, I was faced with two options, one being to continue the rebuild with Dougie around, and the other being build a team alongside my new defenceman. I wasn’t sure on where I was going to go with it, until I saw another young star player, Sebastian Aho, put on the block. This is the type of guy I would have traded for, rebuild or not, as he’s 23 and will still be a franchise piece even when my players are maturing into their own. After a quick talk with veteran cup winning GM Rodney Spike of the Calgary Flames, we came to a deal where we sent up and coming young Russian Grigori Denisenko, along with two firsts and Alexander Volkov to Calgary for Sebastian Aho. With two young stars in the mix, I decided it was now time.

Up next was securing a winger for Aho. Seeing Montreal advertising to the league their desire to get younger, we decided to go out and get Johnny Gaudreau from them. Once again a short talk with new GM Holden, and Gaudreau was on his way to Minnesota for Vitali Kravtsov, Antti Saarela, and a 5th.

With a flurry of trades out of the way, the Wild now find themselves with three quality players, and a team to build around them. It’s going to take a lot more moves to get to that stage, but with UFA and potential trades, it can be done.