In-season trade an iffy option if Wild, Kaprizov reach impasse

Neither Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin nor the camp representing star forward Kirill Kaprizov are saying much after the gang s potentially history-making first contract offer was reportedly rejected Speaking on the K Takes podcast this week Guerin urged that Wild fans stay calm saying he feels the band is still in a really positive place with Kirill The group would clearly like to have a deal in place before Match of the regular season Thursday Oct in St Louis for multiple reasons But if an impasse is reached the nuclear option for Guerin and the Wild would be to explore an in-season pact and see what they can for Kaprizov rather than watch him walk away with no benefit immediate or long-term to the franchise Pittsburgh Penguins' Bill Guerin celebrates his goal against the Philadelphia Flyers during the first period of an NHL hockey meeting in Pittsburgh on Tuesday Dec The previous spring he was traded from the New York Islanders and helped the Penguins win a Stanley Cup AP Photo Gene J Puskar It s a scenario Guerin knows from first-hand experience In March of when he was captain of the New York Islanders Guerin was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins and won his second career Stanley Cup there a inadequate months later The Islanders got what became a third-round draft pick in exchange for Guerin For Wild fans one more potentially troublesome factor iis the history of moves like that one In general teams that acquire a star performer do better in the short term than the association getting multiple role players and draft picks in exchange for one top-level asset The Wild are likely a long way from even considering that idea for Kaprizov who has been the offensive leader since he joined the group for the - season goals and points in games but if he were to waive his no-movement clause and allow the Wild to shop him around he would command considerably more than a third-round pick Big names in new places Just last season the Colorado Avalanche reached an impasse with their leading scorer star forward Mikko Rantanen who was in the final year of his contract with the band Rather than see him walk away as a free agent last summer Colorado traded Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in January In return the Avalanche received two players and two draft picks Rantanen s tenure in Raleigh was barely long enough to sell any replica sweaters He also was unable to reach a long-term contract agreement with the Hurricanes and was traded again to Dallas after just games in Carolina Worse Rantanen and the Stars wound up eliminating Colorado in Round of the NHL playoffs last spring It was anatomical healing less than money that prompted the Buffalo Sabres to unload their biggest star former Hobey Baker winner Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights in November After being the second overall pick in the NHL Draft behind Oilers superstar Connor McDavid Eichel had put up impressive numbers for a Sabres group that was going nowhere After injuries cost Eichel much of the previous season and he was at loggerheads with Buffalo management about his best path back to good fitness the Sabres sent him to Vegas in exchange for two players and two high draft picks Buffalo remains solidly on the outside of the playoff picture and Eichel was a key factor in the Golden Knights winning their first Stanley Cup in San Jose Sharks' Joe Thornton is pictured during an NHL hockey battle against his former club the Boston Bruins on Oct in Boston Traded to San Jose in the center later helped the Sharks reach the Stanley Cup final AP Photo Winslow Townson Moves with mixed results Two decades ago star defenseman Joe Thornton forced his way out of Boston and the Bruins traded the former first overall draft pick to San Jose for a trio of regulars Marco Sturm Wayne Primeau and Brad Stuart One could argue that the transaction was a win for Boston which won a Stanley Cup six years later while the Sharks reached the final once with Thornton but still have no NHL titles on their resume But Sturm Primeau and Stuart were all employed elsewhere by the spring of when the Cup last visited Boston Current Islanders head coach Patrick Roy has a few experience with the in-season pact battle After backstopping the Montreal Canadiens majority of up-to-date Stanley Cup win in a strained relationship with coach Mario Tremblay blew up in December when Tremblay left Roy in the net for nine Red Wings goals in an eventual - loss to Detroit When Roy definitively left the ice he demonstratively reported association owners seated behind the home bench that he had played his final match in Montreal Forced to move their puck-stopping mainstay Montreal shipped Roy to Colorado and five months later in the spring of Roy was the defensive catalyst for the first Avalanche Stanley Cup title There is likely still much discussion that will be had between the Wild brass and the Kaprizov camp but if an impasse is reached NHL history shows there are in-season deal options They just tend to favor the squad in this equation that would receive Kaprizov Related Articles Shipley Not a great start to the Kirill Kaprizov negotiations Review Kirill Kaprizov rejects NHL-record offer from Wild Wild owner prepared to give Kirill Kaprizov a record NHL deal Former Wild star Zach Parise selected for US Hockey Hall of Fame Wild Marco Rossi agree to three-year million extension