I see the idea and I don’t hate it, but I’d want the cap space and roster spot to get Boldy playing with Fiala or KK. Getting him a taste of what he needs to do to be a force next year is more important than rights to a UFA we may or may not have interest in.

Yeah I'm good with Boldy sitting in the AHL until the playoffs when the cap goes away. Gusev has a right hand shot Wild could desperately use on the power play that is my biggest motivation behind this move.

While I agree that I'd like to see Boldy in the NHL, let's not rush him if we don't have to. Let him marinate in the AHL and if he shows he's too good for the AHL then figure out a way to call him up. I get giving some guys a taste, but I feel like it's better to make him earn that taste than just giving it to him.

I've long been a proponent of trading for Gusev so I like the deal but I don't see why New Jersey does it. They're just left with another rental to get rid of

I like it as a test run of fit for next year. Gusev is gonna be cheap on a short deal and if he clicks it just makes sense, so it’s a good move if you can’t get value from Johansson IMO.

As an aside, I think we are about to get a thousand different takes on how to handle Boldy. I’m in the throw him to the wolves camp.

If we're trading rentals I'd rather just get a pick. If no one will offer a 3rd or more for Johansson, I guess it's fine, but we still need to move out at least one rental, if not two, at the deadline.

Maybe you make the OP deal some kind of three way, where NJ gets a 4th or something, Minnesota gets Gusev, and another team gets Johansson.

As far as the motivation, it would just be to get a look at another guy to see if he can fit with the team.

I don’t look at it as rushing, more like giving him a taste of where he sits. If he’s not big enough and needs to put on weight, he’ll learn that very quickly. This will likely be the first time in his career he’ll be challenged to this level and I’d rather he learns that lesson this season so he can come in firing next.

I personally want to see Boldy in a Wild jersey yesterday, but I'm going to trust Guerin and the development staff to do the right thing for the kids development. Really hoping Wild have a young Mark Stone on their hands.