There’s been a lot of trade rumors surrounding the Minnesota Wild lately, and with the trade deadline this Friday, March 6, any move they make, even the small ones, will gain a lot of attention, at least at first. The Wild have already made two moves, both on the more minor end of things. The first was picking up Robby Fabbri off waivers from the St. Louis Blues, which was also the same day Marcus Foligno was put on injured reserve, Monday, Mar. 2.
The second move they made was a little bit more significant as they picked up Mike McCarron from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a second-round pick in 2028 on Tuesday, Mar. 3. Neither of these moves was huge in terms of improving the team, but overall, they bring some different elements and hopefully can fill in some smaller gaps that need help.
General manager Bill Guerin took time to have a quick press conference before the Wild took on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night, Mar. 3, to talk about the recent pickups by the team. We’ll look at these moves, starting with McCarron and what he brings.
McCarron Wanted For Faceoffs & Size
The Wild have been needing a strong center for basically their whole existence. They’ve had some good centers, and it’s safe to say Mikko Koivu has been the best the Wild have ever had. With all respect to his skill, he still wasn’t a true star center, which is exactly what the Wild needs. Bringing in McCarron isn’t filling that role as the Wild are still in search of someone, but he’s here to bring size, penalty kill strength, and win more faceoffs than they have been lately.
Many were questioning Guerin making this move, but as he said numerous times in both of his press conferences this week, he’s always looking to improve the team, and this is a way to do that. It doesn’t mean he’s done making moves, but it also doesn’t mean he will make one either.
“Yeah, and again it’s, he (McCarron) brings a lot, and faceoffs are one element of his game that we really like, you know Hynesy’s had him before, so there’s some comfort there with the coach and the player which I think is good but yeah faceoffs are something we’ve been needing to improve and looking to improve and I think Mike has the ability to be a really good faceoff guy and on penalty kill too, the right shot is…it’s hard on your off side and I think just to have that right handed guy is important…,” said Wild general manager Bill Guerin in his press conference about adding McCarron.
“We’re more excited to have him on our team than play against him again. So, it’ll be fun and I know he knows a handful of guys in this room pretty well, through a few things…Moose, there’s a lot of guys but I’m sure he’s a great dude, he wouldn’t be coming into the room like this if he weren’t so we’re excited to have him,” said Jake Middleton while laughing to the media after their win over the Tampa Bay Lightning when asked about McCarron and continued, “Yeah, no he’s an honest player…I shouldn’t say that Zuccy (Zuccarello) wouldn’t agree with that, but no, he is. He’s a good, honest player, he’s hard on the forecheck, he does extremely well on the kill, he’s a great addition to our room.”
Wild Could Still Be Active
Although the Wild grabbed a center, they know they may still have options out there. McCarron brings size, and what Guerin really emphasized was his penalty kill abilities as well. The Wild’s kill has done pretty well recently, but finding a way to improve it to be even better is always good, especially heading into the postseason.
McCarron’s also not meant to be a replacement for the injured Marcus Foligno, as they still would’ve made the pickup if he was healthy, Guerin told the media, but his size doesn’t hurt. The Wild is a team that sometimes gets pushed around, and adding a guy that’s 6-foot-6 is definitely a plus.
“Yeah, I mean hey you can’t teach size, it’s nice to have, a bigger body, heavier guy but he gets around the ice like I said he’s a good penalty killer and he’s very competive which is attractive like I said there are a lot of elements to his game that we like,” said Guerin when asked about McCarron’s size during the press conference.
Wild Know Price is High
Getting so close to the deadline, teams are asking more for the players that other teams are interested in. The Wild have known this for quite some time, especially with some of the players they have been linked to, like Vincent Trochek. Only time will tell if the Wild are done; it’s really hard to say if they’re done with moves or not. Guerin has surprised everyone in the past, especially when he brought in Quinn Hughes, so don’t count him out.
“Supply and demand, that second round pick’s not going to help us right now,” Guerin said about what it took to get McCarron and added, “Look, second round picks are valuable, but we want to improve our team now, we can deal with that down the road, so I’m not worried about that…”
“… Honestly, I always like to be confident, but you just don’t know. It’s a crazy time, so you might think you have something, and you don’t, and you might think you’re done, and something big comes across your desk, and you can react, but we’re continuing to try to improve the team and help. We’ll see what level we can do that,” Guerin said when asked if he’s confident about making a bigger move with the market right now.
Wild Liked Fabbri
The Wild’s first move that wasn’t too significant was picking up Robby Fabbri, but he did make an impact in his first game played. He nearly scored a goal but just missed in the Wild’s game against the Lightning, and he definitely showcased his speed, which is what Guerin mentioned in his press conference.
“Yeah, you know what, he’s a competitive guy, he’s always had speed, he’s a high character kid. When I spoke to Doug Armstrong about him, he raved about his character and what type of person he is so I think he just needs a really good opportunity to play and he’s been through a lot in his career, he keeps fighting through and you know he’s established himself as a solid NHL player, you know sometimes it’s a change of scenery that can rejuvenate you or get you going again and a lot of times guys just need a different opportunity,” said Guerin to the media when asked about bringing in Fabbri.
Related: Wild’s Marcus Foligno Fondly Remembers His Mom And Opens Up About Grief
While neither of these moves is the big one Wild fans have been expecting, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. These players are meant to fill some smaller gaps in their lineup and provide faceoff help as well as the penalty kill. It will be interesting to see if the Wild pursue any other players or if they’ll wait until the offseason to go for that big player they’ve been hoping for.
