New Jersey Devils Trade Partner: Minnesota Wild

The New Jersey Devils had one of their lowest moments in franchise history thanks to the Minnesota Wild. However, all these years later, maybe they can help the Devils take the next step in contention.

The Minnesota Wild are in a very odd position in today’s NHL. After going all in the 2012 offseason, they literally have nothing to show for it. They’ve moved past the years where Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are playing up to their contracts, and it looks like their ceiling is a playoff non-contender.

When a team is sitting in this position, changes must be made. The worst spot to be in as a franchise is to continuously get close to a playoff spot and missing, or losing in the first round year in and year out. It just looks like they need to shake things up, and the New Jersey Devils could help them out.

The Wild have two players right now that are intriguing to Devils fans. One is a young player who could be a corner stone, and will cost a fortune. The other is a great glue guy signed for four more seasons.

Let’s start with the latter. Nino Niederreiter. He’s a very intriguing name that’s all of a sudden in all trade rumors. He went from a must sign player to one who even Wild fan are showing the door.

For the first time since he went to the Wild, Niederreiter was injured this season. In the four seasons prior, he played at least 80 games each year. This year, he played 63 games. Even when he returned, he clearly wasn’t the same player.

Niederreiter is signed for $5.25 million for four more seasons. That’s affordable if he can get back to being a 25 goal scorer. He’s elusive, and can play both wing positions. Oh, and he’s only 25 years old. His contract pays him through his 29-year-old season. That’s near perfect.

The big question is, what would he cost? It’s near impossible to answer. The Wild have very little cap space. They also have a brand new GM in Paul Fenton. He’s a former executive with the Nashville Predators, but he has no GM experience. There’s no legacy here. It’s almost like we’d have to guess what he wants.

It’s easy to guess the Wild would want a cheap player in return that can contribute now. They probably also want a pick in return. I think the conversation starts with Miles Wood, because he’s the perfect compliment to an aging roster, and the Wild could sign him this season and control his future. The Devils probably don’t want to trade Wood, and will look to move on to someone else.

I can see the Devils putting up some of their AHL players in order to get this deal done. It may be John Quenneville, but I see Shero trying to take more advantage of the Wild situation. So here’s the deal I’ve come up with.

The Devils get Nino Niederreiter and the Wild get Nick Lappin, Nathan Bastian and a fourth-round pick. Lappin is sneak 25 years old, but was a 31 goal scorer in the AHL last season. Bastian was not great last season, but is still 20 years old. A fourth-round pick is all Shero will likely give up for a player like Niederreiter.

I would love Nino on this Devils team, but he’s not worth losing a Pavel Zacha, Wood or Jesper Bratt. At least not where his value is right now.

The other player is a little more interesting, and will cost a lot more. Matt Dumba is a restricted free agent this offseason, and how things look right now it’s hard to believe the Wild can afford him. He’s arbitration eligible, and the second highest scoring defenseman on the team. He’s also 23 years old. The issue with this move is the Devils will likely have to give up the farm AND take money back in return.

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A Dumba deal will likely have Tyler Ennis tied to it. Ennis is terrible, but he’s only signed to one more year. Honestly, he’s only making $4.6 million. The Devils could buy him out, and only pay a $1.2 million penalty next season.

Beyond that, the Wild will be asking about Zacha, Wood and Mikey McLeod. Plus, the Wild will want the Devils first-round pick in any deal. I think the Devils would say no to most of these deals, but there’s one deal I think they say yes to. If the Wild would do John Quenneville, a middling prospect and the Devils first-round pick for Matt Dumba, it would be worth it for Shero. Dumba could be a top-line defenseman in just a year or two. He’s very close, if not there.

The Minnesota Wild seem like a very good trade partner for the Devils. Working out a possible deal is hard with the opponent’s new GM, but that could be a reason to make a deal. Start the relationship early and things could work out for the Devils in the long run.