The Minnesota Wild has been playing without passion lately, neither on offense nor defense. The team has gone more than 120 minutes without a goal, and has only scored 29 goals in 15 games. It would seem time for the Wild to change tactics and get some new players, especially a goal-scoring center. Hold on though, as General Manager Chuck Fletcher stated that a trade is not in the works.
"You can't overreact and force trades. You do that and that's when you can turn a small slump into a bigger problem. If something's there that makes you better, it doesn't matter if you're playing well or struggling, you're going to make a move. When you start to force trades, that's dangerous and when you make poor decisions," said Fletcher by phone on his way to watch the Iowa Wild, according to the Star Tribune. "Time will tell. We're not going to make a trade for the sake of making a trade. But if we can make a trade that helps our team, we'll trade anybody, whether they're young or old."
If a trade were to happen, it would be from the team's depth in its blue line, with defense men such as Matt Dumba, Jonas Brodin and Marco Scandella. Wild coach Mike Yao echoed the sentiments of the GM, according to the Star Tribune, adding that, "[t]here's no question you get three young defense men that are reading the paper and they're looking at the fact that they might be getting traded or at least they're reading that that's a possibility, and that's a distraction. But when we talk about the journey at the end of the year, those teams that are in the playoffs, you have to get through tough times, you have to be able to fight through distractions."
Brodin was just offered in a trade package to Columbus for Ryan Johanson last week, before Johanson was dealt to Nashville. Dumba was also recently reported as being available to be traded in exchange for the well-sought after Lightning winger Jonathan Drouin.
Wild players are satisfied with their place in the standings, and feel they just need to gain back momentum to be worthy playoff contenders.
"We just have to find a way to get one in and I think the floodgates will open," said defenseman Jared Spurgeon, according to Pioneer Press' Chad Graff. "Obviously, we're not happy with the way things are going. When you don't score a goal in two games, it's frustrating."
"You're always worried when you're not scoring, but we're still in a really good place," said Ryan Suter, according to Graff. "We control basically everything. If we can come out and get some goals early, I think it'll settle us down and get us back to the way we were."
The Minnesota Wild is currently fourth in the Central Division and in good position to grab the wild card spot in the West.
