Bill Guerin continues to try to change the Minnesota Wild. For the 2nd time already this offseason, Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin has made a trade. This time he traded C Eric Staal to the #Sabres for F/C Marcus Johannson.
Guerin on Staal:
“Eric Staal was a positive influence on guys, but sometimes it’s just change is good for us,” Wild general manager Bill Guerin said. “This is part of it. We need to mix things up. We need to find a different pathway to success and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to build a better team and sometimes you have to take some drastic measures.
“We’re getting a little bit younger. It’s a different look for our team. Marcus provides a lot of speed, a lot of skill, and we’re looking forward to adding him to our lineup.”
Guerin on Johannson:
“I think opportunity,” Guerin said about why Johansson might succeed as a center in Minnesota. “They’ve got a pretty good No. 1 centerman there (in Buffalo) and sometimes it’s not a great fit, but I think Marcus fits well with us and he’s going to get a lot of opportunity. Dean (Evason) knows him very well from Washington (as a former assistant) and believes he can an impactful centerman, so he’s going to get that opportunity.”
I like the move more for what it says about changing this team than maybe the player the Minnesota Wild acquired although, kind of like Zuccarello, with the right linemates, Johannson has the skill to make plays. Does he center Fiala & Kaprizov on the top line? Does he join Zuccarello on a line?
Who centers the top line? TBD as there will likely be more moves.
Here’s what Guerin said about the culture of the Wild and likely why he wants to make changes:
“I’ve got to figure out what’s the issue. Why have we been falling short? There’s something rooted here that’s not working. … It’s something in the culture, and we need to change it.”
Staal was a good guy to have in the locker room and he loved it here but the GM can’t worry about hurting a player’s feelings or he’d never make a move. It’s a business and the Wild need to fix the team. Bill Guerin knows how to win on & off the ice!
Who will be next? Donato? Greenway? Kunin? Parise?
I’m only for trading Parise if you get something of value back. I realize that’s difficult to do with his contract but keep something useful back, not just another shorter bad contract. Parise still scores goals.
Guerin is definitely trying to put his mark on the team. Culture is the hardest thing to change but the biggest piece to build a winner in my opinion. I thought the 2019-20 Wild started to show that Play-For-Each-Other vibe, especially after the coaching change.
That’s another thing that will be interesting to see. How does Evason change how this team plays? System changes? Power Play? The lines? The defensive pairings? In goal?
All of this is still to be determined in an offseason that has already brought a lot of change to this team. It will be exciting and interesting to see how the Minnesota Wild look at the end of it.
Thanks for reading this Clutter!!! Have a Great Day! GO WILD and…
