Quoting: wabit
Kerfoot is an actual center, not a wing trying to playing center. Petry is old, has a year left on his deal, and doesn't add anything to the team that Dumba doesn't already do. For all the hate Zucc gets (and I'm one of the haters) he does still have very similar stats to Domi. Your claim to clear up $12m in cap is false. Petry+Domi is $10m. You save $2m, and spent your best trade chip to do it. Seriously this trade is as bad as all the Tor junk ones for Dumba that have littered the site for months.
Khovanov gets a couple of games in camp as a tryout then gets sent to the AHL. Beating up on kids in the Q in you draft year+2 isn't even close to playing in the NHL.
I want Zucc gone too, but the compliance buyout in your scenario is the way to go. Parise might have a season or two left and be done with hockey, but he is the perfect LTIR(etire) candidate. His real money salary drops to almost nothing the last 3 years of the deal. He can be traded then, or be used as a LTIR slush fund for MN.
Re-sign Chucky to play a bottom-6 center (he's been surprisingly good in the small sample size). Call up Strum to be a bottom-6 center. Sign Haula to be a middle-6 center. Maybe Koivu actually has something left and just came back from injury too soon.
So I looked into the stats a little closer and built a team according to your recommendations.
1st I should mention it's nice to know someone has more of a dislike for Domi than I do. What you say about Zuccarello and Domi having a similar statistical output is true especially if you go points/60.
I was suckered by the chance to dump Zuccarello.
I'll still argue Domi better than Kerfoot, but we both agree neither is going to help the Wild much.
To the point of the signings you suggested, it's a good route in the way that it keeps the Wild in good salary cap standing for future re-signing like, Fiala, Brodin, JEEK, and Kaprizov.
The flaw to your method is it looks like another 1st round loss team. I know Kaprizov is a upgrade, but I fully expect him to struggle his first year, like many Russians do their 1st year, so he won't help much.
Wild still need a youngish number 1 center because Staal seems to wear down as the season gets long.
So I guess Wild are looking at trading Dumba + for a center, what's that deal going to look like iyo?