ST. PAUL, Minn. — What a difference a day makes.After striking out in free agency, there was plenty of fret among the Minnesota Wild fanbase, as they wondered if the team had any plan to fill glaring holes after wingers Mats Zuccarello and Vladimir Tarasenko were allowed to walk on July 1.Whether it was Plan B or not, Bill Guerin addressed some of those openings on Thursday by making a big trade that sent Jake Middleton to Calgary for veterans Blake Coleman and Olli Maatta, then signing former KHL star Maxim Shabanov to a one-year, $1.6 million contract.The Wild see Maatta as Middleton’s replacement on the blue line. They also believe Coleman can play second-line left wing and that Shabanov has top-six upside.What’s more, with so much offseason left, the Wild still feel they have the flexibility to pursue a top-line center, specifically Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin.They have also called on New Jersey’s Jack Hughes — Quinn’s younger brother — although Larkin is the one they know remains available this offseason.“I do think we’re better today,” Guerin, the Wild’s president of hockey operations and general manager, said on Thursday. “I think the guys that we’re bringing in will provide us with a little bit of a different look. It’s just funny how things work out. I understand how people could be worried when we have these holes to fill with popular players that everybody likes, including me, but sometimes you just really have to be patient.”As much as the Wild hoped to sign Anders Lee on Wednesday, getting Coleman at half price ($2.45 million with the Flames retaining 50 percent) with only one year left on his contract is a less expensive, younger and faster addition than adding Lee, who got three years at a $5.4 million average annual value.Coleman won consecutive Stanley Cups with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021, and Maatta did the same with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017. Guerin knows the Penguins’ 2012 first-round pick well from his time there and believes he can be a more stable and less expensive option ($3.5 million) on the back end than Middleton ($4.35 million), who really struggled in the playoffs playing a second-pair role with Jonas Brodin injured.“What he brings to a team — his competitiveness, his winning pedigree, the success rate of all the teams that he’s played on — was something that made him really attractive,” Guerin said of Coleman. “He’s a competitor at the highest level. He’s produced. He’s a top-end penalty killer, as well.“I’ve known Olli for a long time. I believe in the person. His game’s gotten better over the last couple years, and again, the winning pedigree. These guys know what it takes to grind through four rounds of the playoffs, to get to the ultimate goal, and I think when you have guys like that in your dressing room, it can only help.”As much as Guerin hated losing Zuccarello to the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, he hated making that phone call to Middleton on Thursday. Like Zuccarello, Middleton was a popular figure in the Minnesota dressing room. Guerin conceded that he understands the past two days have to have been tough for the Wild’s returning players.A true character, Middleton was also one of Guerin’s best trades with the Wild, sending Kaapo Kahkonen to the San Jose Sharks in 2022 to acquire the mobile, defensive-minded defenseman.But on Wednesday, Middleton’s no-move clause turned into a 15-team no-trade list.When it was submitted to the Wild, the Flames weren’t listed. So Middleton’s heart had to drop when he saw Guerin’s name flash across his Caller ID on Thursday.“We had a great talk,” Guerin said. “You guys know the way I operate, and I build relationships with our players, and maybe in the end, when I have to make a call like this, it makes it tougher. Maybe I’m wrong in being a general manager, but I appreciate the friendship that Middsy and I created. I hope the relationship never changes, but business is business and relationships are relationships.”