I think, in a Wild point of view, getting Ghost is useless. If Chuck is ok with trading Nolan (unlikely like you said) the wild should give a LOT for him.
Patrick and a 2nd vs spurgean and Zucker. Does that make sense ? (habs fan so I may not be the best to evaluated your players value)

The problem with moving Spurgeon is that I don't think we have anybody that could step up and play on the 2nd pairing. Pateryn has done it in the past, but he should not be playing a full 82 games there. That's where adding a Ghost would help fill the void that losing Spurgeon creates.

As for the Wild giving a lot for him, I personally think giving Spurgeon for him is a lot. He's easily our best defenseman and, at least in my opinion, our best player. That's a ton to give up for an unproven but talented player.

Yes I fully getting your point. But, Nolan Patrick, 2nd overall pick 2 years ago (!!), as a ton of value. With that potential D problem, as a Habs fan I can tell you that a D by comitee can work. + You, as a Wild fan, do you see next year has a playoff year or a "reset" (popular term in MTL) year? Having dumba, brodin, Suter is still SOLID IMO

That's fair, and I do like Patrick a lot, but he really hasn't shown nearly as much as his fellow classmates. Hischier, Heiskanen, Petterson, and even Makar all look better than Patrick has. He has a ton of potential, but I think it's concerning how little he has done. For that reason his value shouldn't be as high as theirs. He still has a good amount of value (which is why I'd be willing to move our best player for him), just not as much as the other players that went top 5 that draft year.

We saw last year what our defense looked like by committee since Dumba was out for over half of the year. Spurgeon and Suter were on the top pairing with Pateryn and Brodin playingon the 2nd for a little while after Dumba was hurt. That did NOT go well, so much so that we actually had Brodin with Brad Hunt for the last 10-15 games with Pateryn relegated to the bottom pairing. Brodin - Hunt looked alright, but I wouldn't want to watch a full season of those two together.

I honestly have no idea what next year will be. Our GM hasn't made the most convincing trades in terms of long-term success and our owner is notoriously impatient. I think if we don't make the playoffs next year, Fenton will be on the hot seat. Seems like our GM wants to get younger and do a sped-up rebuild (by trading older players like Coyle and Granlund for younger players like Donato and Fiala) but our owner wants to contend (I think he's the one behind the Zucker for Kessel trade that fell through).

Fair enought. About your first point, if Patrick would have shown half of Petersen,Makar,heiskanen and hishier talent, he would not be trade ! For the Wild, I see this has a HIGH Risk, HIGHER reward kind of deal, forget the short rebuild it rarely works (not talking directly to you) !

I agree with all of that! We will see how his acquisitions play out. I liked Donato a lot and Fiala flashed a ton of skill, but it's a matter of them putting it together and becoming as good or better than the players we moved to acquire them. Rask will never be as good as Nino, so that one's a lost cause...

By the way thanks for your responses, as a Montreal Canadiens fans it is hard to know a lot about other teams (value of players, fans expectation etc..). Plus, English is not my first language as you can guess..

Can I have your thoughts on Brodin. In MTL, our Biggest needs is a top 4 LD to pair with Weber. Do you think Brodin would be a "perfect fit". I'm not talking about is the trade possible or what MTL could offer, I just want your opinions on him because you probably know him well !

I actually did not! Your English is great. It's always tough to figure out value of other team's players, which I think is the fun in this site.



I think he's a great #3 but probably shouldn't be on the top pairing although maybe with a veteran like Weber he could do it. He had his best year in a wild sweater last year so maybe next year he could handle it without a veteran, but for now that's where I stand with him. Right now the Wild can't really afford to trade him unless we get another 2nd pairing D in return and at that point it's kind of pointless to trade him... We don't have anybody in our prospect system that projects to be a top 4 LD, nor anybody on the roster that can handle top 4 minutes on the left side.

What about Suter? He is not on your top 4 ?

Looks like I can forget about Brodin he is too important for your team

He is but he's best buddies with our owner and it has long been speculated that he gets whatever he wants. I think he'll retire playing on the top pairing for the Wild, whether he should be there or not.

I wouldn't abandon all hope. It's possible we go after a younger LD in a trade or draft one with hopes that they could replace Brodin. I'd be surprised if that happens, but it's certainly possible.

So a D with Suter, Dumba and Spurgeon could work ? Dont forget, most of the teams dont have 3 good D, so 4, that is a lot ! For a (very unlikely) trade for Brodin, is there a player in MTL that could be great for you ?

Ryan Poehling (that hurt me a lot to propose him). Young 20 years old center, local guy, could be interesting for the Wild.

I think if any of our D are moved this year, it's Spurgeon. BUT, if we trade for a young LD (like Kylington, Sergachev, etc.) then next offseason Brodin could be on the move.

That's kind of the big issue for a Wild and Habs trade, Montreal doesn't have much that helps us. The Wild need right shot top 6 forwards and I cannot see Gallagher being traded. Suzuki is intriguing as well, but again I don't see Montreal trading him either. There's other prospects like Ylonen but personally I wouldn't want to have Ylonen as the centerpiece to a Brodin trade.

Poehling is intriguing as well but I'd be pretty surprised if Montreal is willing to trade him.

I would be surprised to but if Marc thinks Brodin solve is biggest problem... That would not be so dump to offer one of our big prospect. Agree with you, ylonen is a B prospect. You don't get a top 3 D at his prime for a B prospect... I laught when habs fan put Shaw or Byron or Leckho for a Brodin.. fans want great player but are not willing to give !

How about Spurgeon, Zucker, and a 2nd for Patrick, 2019 1st, and Gudas?

I'd be alright with that!

That, paired with Greenway for Kase is a good approach to simultaneously addressing both the RH-C need and the RHRW need.

Alternatively, Greenway for Kapanen makes a ton of sense to me, too.

In your opinion Is Kapanen or Kase the better choice? Seem like similar upside.

Good question. I'm not sure, it kind of depends on what you value more. Kapanen has a better shot and is faster but Kase has better hands and can be more of a playmaker.

So a lot would depend on who else is brought in... we of course need a sniper, but kaprizov will need a RW who can get him the puck. If I am Fenton I would at least explore both ideas and see what response I get