ST. PAUL, Minn. — This should be one fascinating summer for the Minnesota Wild.Expectations are higher than ever, with president of hockey operations and general manager Bill Guerin proclaiming last week that they’re in a Stanley Cup window “now.”“We want to make sure that we don’t just open the window three-quarters of the way,” Guerin said. “If there’s a chance for us to get better, we will.”Kirill Kaprizov is just starting his new eight-year, $136 million contract, but he also just turned 29. The Wild need to pounce at the height of his stardom.Quinn Hughes is only 26, but is locked up for only one more year, for now. He is eligible to sign an extension on July 1 — as long as eight years if it’s before Sept. 15, when the new CBA kicks in, or seven after — but in the rising-cap world, star players like him could opt to sign shorter-term contracts so they can hit more homers later in their careers. A three-year extension would also align him conveniently with the end of brother Jack’s contract with the New Jersey Devils.Oh, and the Wild traded a ton of their top prospects and draft picks over the past few years to get into this win-now window. That check will come due as they try to add more.The Wild were good enough this past season to win a first-round series for the first time in 11 years. However, a second-round loss showed they need more, specifically in the seemingly endless search for a No. 1 center, which, aside from extending Hughes, will be the No. 1 priority this summer.The free-agent market is paltry at best, so Guerin will likely have to make his mark via trade.Who could that be? No doubt Guerin has called or will call on everybody from Auston Matthews to Robert Thomas to Jack Hughes to Nico Hischier to Tomas Hertl to Dylan Larkin. He could veer a different direction if a No. 1 center is unattainable, instead going after a top-six winger such as Brady Tkachuk if he’s available.And if a big trade doesn’t happen this summer, Guerin will surely be scouring the landscape in-season the way he did with the Hughes blockbuster.Guerin has already mortgaged a large part of the future in trades for Hughes and David Jiricek and may not want to trade more young roster players (Jesper Wallstedt, Danila Yurov) or prospects (Charlie Stramel, Hunter Haight, Adam Benak). If not, he’ll have to consider outside-the-box deals, maybe even deals that involve core pieces.“Nobody in this game’s untouchable,” Guerin said.That being said, the reality is there are players we’d bet our houses the Wild would not move.A big caveat here is that we had touted prospect Zeev Buium in the “not going anywhere” category of this piece last summer, which shows Guerin is willing to go anywhere if the trade is worth it (as Hughes was).Here’s how we think the roster shakes out from a trade availability standpoint.“Not going anywhere”Matt BoldyBoldy has elevated himself to superstar status after a 40-goal season and Olympic gold medal victory. The Wild believe he’s pretty darn close to Kaprizov — a 1A and 1B situation — and he’s a steal on his current contract ($7 million average annual value), so it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Minnesota trades Boldy and finds itself better. Could he be the answer at No. 1 center? Guerin and John Hynes both said at their end-of-year pressers that it’s doable in short stints but that they wouldn’t want to do it full-time. Hynes essentially said the responsibilities that come with that move could take away from Boldy’s offense.Kirill KaprizovThe soon-to-be $17 million AAV man holds a full no-move clause and is the best player in franchise history. So, no, he’s not going anywhere. Kaprizov drives the team offensively and will hold every scoring record by the end of his time in Minnesota; he already holds many after just six seasons. The end of this year’s playoffs was disappointing, with Kaprizov having one shot on goal in Games 4 and 5 combined, and the scrutiny will grow with being the league’s highest-paid player. Guerin met with Kaprizov for an hour last week before he returned to Russia, and there’s no doubt the Wild are looking for more consistency next season and beyond.
Wild trade tiers: Pursuit of a No. 1 center could cost core pieces. Who’s available?
WIld GM Bill Guerin says “nobody in this game’s untouchable.” But who on his team is most untouchable?













