Offseason in full swing

The offseason might have just begun, but it’s already in full swing in Minnesota. The Wild’s GM, SouCHe, got things going right after the Stanley Cup was awarded to the New Jersey Devils. In a shocking move that would put to shame most of the blockbuster trades we’ve seen over the history of the league, SouCHe acquired one of the best young player in the league, 24 years old superstar Auston Matthews.

It all started following a management change in Calgary. The new GM, Boud, made it clear out of the gate that he would be very aggressive in his approach. Nobody was safe there. Clean slate for the Flames. SouCHe was still very surprised to see Auston Matthews on the trading block: "Anytime there’s a new general manager coming into the league, you have to give them a call. You never know what kind of plan they might have in mind. So after talking to Boud, I was very surprised, shocked really, to learn that they were exploring the option to ship Auston Matthews out of town."

SouChe was immediately intrigued by the idea of adding the elite young centerman to his lineup: "Crosby isn’t getting any younger, so it’s time to start thinking about his succession. But with Matthews, you immediately get a top goal scorer that can drastically improve the team offense right away, all while Sid is still giving us amazing hockey. The perfect one-two punch that we’ve been lacking these past few years".

Of course, to get a player of Matthews’ caliber, you have to give up on a lot. The price to pay was huge. Mikhail Sergachev (talented young defenseman drafted 9th overall in 2016, the same year Matthews went 1st overall), Kent Johnson (Grade A forward prospect drafted 5th overall in 2021), two 1st round picks in 2022 (that ended up being Jimmy Snuggerud and Luca Del Bel Belluz following the draft that happened last wednesday) and Jesse Ylonen (a former 2nd round pick in 2018 that took some big strides last year). Although it might seem like a lot, or even too much, SouCHe is convinced he made the right decision : "While the loss of Sergachev is hurting our defense, especially following Weber’s retirement, the rest of the package, the jury is still up. There’s no guarantee any of them will have an impact at the NHL level in the future. And on the other side, we are getting Auston Matthews, a top 3 player in the league, in my humble opinion. No matter what happens with these prospects, we will still have Auston Matthews in our ranks."

Following that splash, there was the expansion draft, where the Wild lost Ben Chiarot, an important part of their defense, which was already hurting bad after Weber and Sergachev’s departure. There is still a lot of work to do, and the offseason is still very young, but you can bet on SouCHe to follow his plan and improve the team before the puck drops in October!