Guerin: Wild want to be 'very active' ahead of trade deadline
After stumbling out of the All-Star break, the Minnesota Wild's five-game point streak has general manager Bill Guerin interested in being a major player at the trade deadline.
"They're showing me they're serious," Guerin told The Athletic's Joe Smith on Friday. "We're going to be in a dogfight until the very end. We'd like to be active. What we can do or whatever we'll be able to do is another story. But we have to take a look at being very active."
The Wild already helped broker major trades for other teams in the past week. Minnesota acted as a third party for additional retention in Ryan O'Reilly's move to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Dmitry Orlov's trade to the Boston Bruins.
"I think we've managed our cap well and have flexibility that's important," Guerin said. "But it just doesn't mean that we're going to go out and use it all, because that costs assets. And we're just not necessarily in that spot."
Minnesota is in a unique position with upward of $10 million in available cap space at the trade deadline but limited room to maneuver past this season. The Wild's dead cap space rises to nearly $15 million in 2023-24 due to the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.
Guerin added they don't want to trade first-round picks or top prospects. With the lowest goals for record of any team currently in a playoff position, his preference is to make additions at forward.
Despite speculation that defenseman Matt Dumba could be traded, the pending unrestricted free agent appears set to remain with the Wild through the end of the campaign.
"I would lean that way," Guerin said of keeping Dumba. "Matt's played really well. His game is in a very good place. Right-shot defensemen who can skate - it's tough to replace. Matt being a big part of the room and the organization for a number of years, it's not an easy thing to do."
The Wild are third in the Central Division with a 32-21-6 record. The Colorado Avalanche are one point back of Minnesota with three games in hand.